Where There's a Will - Piorre Hart (Book)

Where There's a Will - Piorre Hart.

Thanks to SRRs (A group on Facebook) I came across this book and the Author. SRRs are surprisingly credited even by the Author too in the book, thats terrific. Again I heard of this book from Pune Litfest which I somehow missed even after being in town :(. Hence no Author signed copy this time around. Finally got my copy and got an opportunity to read it yesterday. I started it in the afternoon and by the time it was my office time, I was done with 40 odd pages and was in no condition to stop and go out. Right then got a call from my HR informing me that there was some issue in office and I will be required to work from home :) Can you believe that? And as predicted it was over before I could call off my shift from home at 3.30 AM, such was the pace and the story that I just couldn't let it stretch any longer. Another good thing was that a day or two prior to reading this I had finished "Feluda (Part 1)" by legendary "Satyajit Ray" as that book too contained some dozen odd detective stories, I must say this felt like a continuation of sorts. As all Ray books and stories have, this too had a heart and books with a heart never fail to amaze me as its story although fiction is so convincing that I actually felt as if I knew quite a few characters in their co-incidentally one of the lead characters was my namesake :) that even added the fun element for me and gave me a grin from ear to ear throughout.

I have read quit a few Doyle, Christie and Ray stories in the recent past but have never come across a lady detective that too in lead, this was a first for me. But Pranita the detective seriously won my heart that too big time as she is not only gorgeous but damn intelligent too. Even as a Billionaire Businessman's murder mystery is thrown her way by her new boss that too in her very first day of the new job, she takes it in her stride and how she solves the case is the story. As I said this story has a heart that too at the right places. Pranita is no hardcore detective who is all serious and has no emotions. She has her own background and story to tell which develops parallely and is totally amazing. I loved the way Author has developed the characters in the story, may it be over busy father always on trips (there is a reason behind it), or a little sister to be taken care who is about to fly out of her reach sooner, or even the maid who had been filling in for the mother they lost not so long ago. It all falls in the right places in the initial couple of pages and the chase begins to not only find the murderer, but to know the reason behind it and as the title suggests, a lot of "Will's" get tested in the due course. The clues and the decoding are the best part, the way one after another they are revealed and decoded was simply mind-blowing, it kept me in hooks, tried as hard as I could I suspected the wrong person. Even after a handful of suspects right from the very start, my loyalty or shall I say my doubt kept shifting from one to another (prayed my namesake shouldn't be the culprit) the question is not only "Who" but "How" too. And to know how she unravels it, you've got to read the book which is as per me too short but very sweet.

Another thing that I loved about the book is that Author has packed in so much in such a short book that I just couldn't believe it. Also, it is written in such a smart way that a chapter ends every 5-6 pages and the reader is simply hooked to read just one more before taking a break but let me warn you - the break never comes. And before even you could guess the right person who did it all, she unravels it all in superb style. The love angle, thrill, suspense as well as action is so superbly and subtly done that it never goes overboard. I hope and pray that she does writes a sequel as I would love to see Agent Pranita going places to uncover more mysteries.

If you have read this, do let me know how you like it and if you haven't, you've got to read it ASAP. Also, specially for the people who know me a bit better, this guy in the story my namesake isn't he too much like me in real :) barring of-course he is filthy rich ;). Terrific. 

The King Within - Nandini Sengupta (Book)

The King Within - Nandini Sengupta.

I am not much into Historical Fiction but this book came very highly recommended from a dear friend and she told me that this was her friend's debut work hence I had no expectations from it. Also, this is one of those very few books that can very well be judged by its cover as they say "Never Judge a book by its cover" it works totally opposite for this one. As beautiful its cover is, the writing is way more beautiful, a very intriguing account of four friends told in a riveting manner such that I kept asking for more as it ended. Another co-incidence if I may call it is that the story starts from a town called Ujjainy :) that fortunately happens to be my hometown as my parents and siblings still stay there and we visit it twice a year religiously. Also, I did my schooling from an institute which is named after one of the main characters of this book. That was like WOW! I had no idea what I had in store as I started the book. But this book made me realize how hard it is to rewrite a story which is 16 Centuries old, just imagine. One has to take care of so many things, not only the timeline of the story or the characters but the Geography, attire, weapons, what they eat, how they talk, how they fight and so much more. But this one, even after being a debut work does not only full justice to the narrative, it actually sets a standard so high for the Author herself that I will be hooked and waiting eagerly for her other works or you may call a sequel if she ever writes.

Story is set in the year 373 CE and about four main characters. Deva (The Prince and soon to be a king), Virsena (The Warrior), Kalidas (The Poet) and Darshini (a girl they save from savages) and who joins them for the journey called life. Right from the word go, the story is so amazing that I just couldnt put it down and had to finish it in flat 24 hours with a couple of breaks in between. The way they save her and the action which follows sets up the course and she follows them on their journey to Ujjainy. Even the introduction of the prince in the very first chapter, the way it is done and how his identity is revealed actually gave me goosebumps, I had to read the para thrice for that amazingly unbelievable title and his full name. And I realized there was no looking back from thereon. It has its own twists and turns too as it couldnt be that simple as I expected it to be. How it goes forward and the Prince even after having his own past and life, keeps up with Darshini and his friends is a superb tale with so much packed in it. Story the way Author has told is so smooth and transforms from one scene to another brilliantly, from regular fun life to the Kingship is totally amazing. I loved the part Kalidas plays in the story and almost all the Epics that he has written get not only a mention, he actually throws some light on them himself as when he was writing them what all he was going through and even that gels so well with the story , thats totally commendable on Author's part and hats off for the research she must have done to make it that way.

I totally didnt expect that a book with mere 224 pages will pack in so much punch in it. Also, two sequences that I must mention without forgetting is a terrific action sequence between the Prince and his elder brother (not only fighting for the throne but for a lot more), the way the entire sequence is done and the way it ends - it actually reminded me of visuals from "Lord of the Rings", I will not call it an inspiration but if you read it, I am sure you will agree with me that the sword fight and the ending totally reminds you of one important sequence from LOTR and imagination is terrific. Second is another fight sequence towards the end done in full public view, Man! that sent me back in time and reminded me of the "Gladiator" fight, not so much action but the arena that came to my mind was almost as good as that. Hats off to the way it was done in the book, totally Goosebumps moments and that made me wonder if this ever gets made into a movie, it will be a superb watch. I have no doubts on the books historical accuracy too in depicting the times of Samudragupta and the making of Vikramaditya as it is so convincingly and terrifically done. Even the support cast and their own stories are given their own dues and hold up pretty well. I loved the Buddhist, Chinese and SriLankan connections too.

If you have read it, do tell me how you liked it and if you haven't, you've got to read it as soon as you can. Do not miss this epic of a book which is too short to my shock, surprise and pleasure as I never wanted it to end. Pray that the Author does comes out with a sequel as I am really keen to know what happens to the four friends in the end an their next generation :). 

Dance Dance Dance - Haruki Murakami (Book)

Dance Dance Dance - Haruki Murakami.

This is my Fifth book from Murakami and I can very well now claim that I have actually understood what to expect from him or where exactly his stories are gonna go and end :). First book that started my Murakami journey was of-course "Kafka on the Shore", as I finished it, I decided to take Murakami's works from the first to last. Yes, I am madly in love with his works and the man himself too, I always go nuts like that pretty often on an Author and don't rest till I have finished all his works. Now the book in subject is the fourth of a Trilogy (read Epilogue of the series) which I finished last weekend and still am in its hangover. As I said earlier in my Trilogy reviews (if you cared to read) that this series was special as he refuses to give character names, even the protagonist who is taking the story forward is unnamed. On top of that the series is called the "Rat Trilogy", this guy "Rat" too has no name :) can you believe that. I finished all three and the Epilogue and was desperately looking forward to get at least the names in the end, but did he give out the names? You've got to read the book(s) if not, message me personally I will tell you if he does or does not. But that was one of the so many reasons that kept me hanging to go through the books which made up for superb reading as usually all his books do without fail (so far). As the title suggests this one too gets quite philosophical but never preachy (I hate those preachy types).

Taking the story further forward in the fourth part is our Unnamed Hero in search of multiple things including his Friend who had turned into a Sheep in the last part (or did he die?), his lost Girl Friend who was with him in the pursuit of the Sheep-man (his friend), the vanished Dolphin Hotel where they stay and decode the suspense etc etc. Now he is divorced, out of business, even quits his job as he has enough to survive a year or so longer as he needs to clear the mystery behind the things happening with him. How he goes forward to unravel the mystery or gets into further mysterious circumstances is the final book from the series which I hoped will give me a sort of closure by the time it ends :). Murakami seriously has a very good sense of humor this book proves that as our Hero comes across rather takes care of a teenage girl in this one who father happens to be a guy called "Hiruka Makimura" who is crappy writer, who know one likes in Japan but is a blockbuster hit commercially, plays Golf, is Gay, has left his wife (who is a professional photographer) and pays enough to anyone who can take care of his daughter. How our Hero gets entangled in their life and how his own story gets crisscrossed with all this is the rest of the fantastic story all about. Individually I will say this one is the best of all four parts but one has to read the first three for the fourth to make more sense.

Again, as it is said so many times that Murakami is highly influenced by his western counterparts, this was an easy read as so many movie, music and book references made by him say the same. His books and stories do not talk nothing about Japan or anything to do with Japan but just the names of people (that he does discloses) and places otherwise it could be based anywhere in the world and will make no difference to the narrative. Whatever said and done, fortunately his stories are written in such an engrossing way that I just couldn't put it down as it seems like a never ending chase with so many surprisingly elements cropping here there and everywhere. He actually takes his readers in a kind of trance state too, almost after doing 80% of the book I was asking myself "Could this all be real?" "Is it really happening in the book" or "Has he taken me into a ride again to shock me in the end and give no answers?". Terrific I will say. I so much wish I could disclose anything or a little more but then that would be called a spoiler. Also, as all his books do (I guess), I so much look forward to come across a person who has read this, so I can talk on and on about it. So if you have read this, do let me know if you liked it and if you haven't, I guess its high time that you got the Trilogy and the Epilogue and read them back to back. If you survive in the end, do ping me, I would love to chat with you about the whole experience. 

The Complete Adventures of Feluda (Part 1) - Satyajit Ray (Book)

The Complete Adventures of Feluda (Part 1) - Satyajit Ray.

Surprisingly, I have (had) read quite a few "on" Satyajit Ray but never one "by" him so far. Blame the availability in the book stores or getting my Kindle too late or may be too few Bengali friends around ;) whatever it may be! Till, I praised Agatha Christie's and Arthur Conan Doyle's works in front of a Hardcore Patriot, that I had read recently finished and also showed him what all I had from them. He just said one thing which got me thinking big time that "You are one of those quite a few Indians who haven't been to Leh - Laddakh but praise Grand Canyon to no end", and I was like "Whats the point dude?". It took me quite a while to actually decode (You see I am no Feluda) but when I got the point, I vowed to not to read a Christie ever till I finish "Feluda" completely. To my shock, amazement and ashamed confession - I even had the first of the two book series already on my Kindle which I picked I guess quite a while ago when it was being sold at a paltry 99/-. But as a true Satyajit Ray fan I have already got the second of the series too, all thanks to a friend who almost has every book that I can think of or at least he can source one at the drop of a hat :) (You know who you are and I love you for that). And am I glad? WHOA! I am super happy to have come across these gems, guys! If you haven't read these yet, you have no idea what you have missed. Although Satyajit Ray claims to have written them for children but no ways, these are too good to be ignored by adults or for that matter anyone who loves thrillers. Supremely clean of Violence, Blood and Gore stuff, it doesn't even have a female character in any of the stories - just imagine.

The Author himself is a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes and he mentioned the same at the very start in the opening note that he has read all Sherlock Holmes stories when he was a kid himself and the inspiration is quite evident. Not only that I will even say that his works are not in league with Doyle or Christie but the audience that he was catering to, seeing from that angle I can very well say they are not only fantastic but mind-blowing with ample of comic moments to keep one not only engrossed but happy too. The three main characters in all stories are Feluda (The Detective, real name Pradosh C Mitter), his side kick Topshe (Watson, real name Tapeshranjan Mitter - Cousin) and the hilarious Lalmohan Babu without which no story goes any further, who happens to be a B grade thriller writer who writes under the pseudonym "Jatayu", gets all his plots from Feluda and Topshe's adventures. The Adventure stories are written from the perspective of Topshe (a teenager) who sees it all happening in front of his eyes as his cousin Feluda not only takes him and us on the thrilling rides but makes him understand it all too. Among-st the three lead characters my favorite will always be Jatayu, the way he cracks the situation up is simply amazing and always had me in splits, may it be the way he screws it all up or the way he talks, the use of words, his vocabulary which keeps getting better with time and so much more. And of-course my favorite story will always be "The Golden Fortress" not only because I have seen the movie and I could visualize it all but because the way the entire chase and sequence is written that too with Rajasthan as background is simply superb.

In all its a huge collection of Fifteen stories each almost equally good. What is more outstanding is the way he has covered not only Bengal but the other cities and states like Rajasthan, Assam and even Bombay in the stories is superb. They are always travelling, either on a Train, or an Airplane or later half on Jatayu's new acquired car that he buys from his books selling so well :). Solving the cases of Emperor's Ring (a ring from Mughal Era) to solving the cases of Bandits of Bombay, Feluda gets to do it all and in style. From the bylanes of Calcutta to Mumbai, Benares, Lucknow, Gangtok, Darjeeling, Jaisalmer and even on moving trains. How Feluda starts from a mid 20's inexperienced unknown guy next door to a full-fledged very well known Detective almost all across is the book all about. His body language, mannerisms, book that he reads, movies that he watches and what not is simply amazing. For some reason young Satyajit Ray's face kept coming in front of my eyes as I kept reading the Feluda stories. One thing I missed in these stories may be in the first part is that they don't go out of India anywhere. Who knows, may be in the next they get to go out, I so much wished that Feluda at-least gets to go to England once :).

If you have read Feluda's adventures, do let know how you liked them but if you haven't, you exactly know what to do now. As I move on eagerly to the second part to see if Feluda goes out and solves some International cases too. 

A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami (Book)

A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami.

Now, where you do you start to talk about a Murakami book, even that is pretty confusing. As it has been said time and again by so many that his books are either a hit or a miss by a long shot. I fell in love with him, his writing and his amazing characters after reading my first Murakami (Kafka on the Shore) and there was no looking back. Hence picked up his first book (Book 1 of Rat Trilogy) after a friend sent him the fourth book from the series (Epilogue). Imagine he wrote a Trilogy and ended it with a fourth book as an Epilogue. Got me all hooked from the very first one as of-course I predicted and what an amazing journey it had (still has) been. Finished the third book today afternoon and I still do not know what the protagonist's name is or what is the real name of his best friend "Rat" is as he is always referred as the Rat. Or their best buddy's name (called J) who owns a bar and they've been frequenting it from College (first book) to their works (second) and even in third where they are about to hit their 30's. May be because these are the initial books that he wrote hence it is like that but I am having a ball of a time keeping a very keen eye to see if he mentions any names anywhere. The closest I got in this book and almost he had me having a wide grin on my face is when the unnamed protagonists lands in a Hotel and the manager asks him to sign the register :) but he damn well uses a fake name and not his real name. Even his girl friend I shouldn't fail to mention has no name, she is referred as the girl with most beautiful ears, the moment she ties her hair in a pony the world stops revolving and everyone just gets mesmerized by the beauty of her ears and she has some special powers to (read the book to know more).

As I said the third book of the Trilogy and story hasn't gone much ahead. Our hero is now married for four years, his wife walks out on him, he makes a new girl friend (the girl with the beautiful ears), they have moved ahead from their earlier business of translation to advertising, his friend the Rat is gone on a sabbatical location unknown. J has opened a new bar somewhere far. All hell breaks lose in this one (after 50% mark) is when he prints a unique sheep's picture sent by the Rat to him in an advertisement. A super rich man on death bed assigns him of the task to find the Sheep in picture or lose everything he had by not taking up the challenge. What he does next or where his journey takes him in search of the Sheep is the rest of the book but how it all ends is simply terrific (read typical Murakami) still he refuses to give you a closure of sorts as he always does with his books I believe. So many unanswered questions and so many cross connections that I could make out but not sure if they are really there or am I just confused. But there is a silver lining as I now have the fourth book which he wrote as an Epilogue. Guess another 400 pages to satisfy my questions, queries, confusions or the metaphors he has created in these ones so far. I hope that gives me the answers.

As always the case is with any of his books and stories, this too has superb book(s) and music references. It actually did put a wide smile on my face as the books, Authors and quite a few music references are something that I have read and listened too in the recent past and some that I haven't have gone to my "To Be Read" list as always. The western influence on Murakami's writing is pretty much evident I believe this one onward as I plan to go forward with his other works and is damn impressive. He surely knew right from the very start how to keep his audience hooked and to keep em happy at that. Have you read the "Rat" Trilogy? If you have, please tell me that I am going to get that closure by the end of the series, if not, I will say do think before picking this up :). If you like long prose with nowhere going story yet with so many stories thrown in between, do read this series or else stay away.