Nineteen Steps - Millie Bobby Brown

Book: 32/52
Nineteen Steps - Millie Bobby Brown. 
My Rating: 3/5

After the grand success of “Stranger Things” on Netflix, I came across this book on Amazon written by Millie Bobby Brown (ghostwritten, at least), which is based on her Grandmother who survived the tube station accident where 173 people died in an attempt to get away from German bombers attacking London during the Second World War. I didn’t know that it was ghostwritten; I only came to know when I Googled the book after finishing it. There is no way one can tell whether it is written by her or not, but that takes nothing away from the book or the story, which was heart-touching, mushy, romantic, but with a pretty predictable plot and ending. No doubt, I enjoyed it and finished it in 4 sittings with around 360 odd pages but written in big letters, making it further easier to read. As I said, it's a story from a London suburb, where Millie’s grandmother lived when she was a teenager; a simple accident changes the lives of so many families from the neighbourhood when so many lives are lost. As the family survives the loss of loved ones, she falls in love with an American pilot, leaving her next-door neighbour heartbroken. Things change as war breaks out properly, and a second setback leaves her in a really bad state. What happens next was again predictable but, no doubt, good to read, and I was able to connect with all three lead characters. And I must say, the epilogue put a smile on my face. 

Do let me know if you have read this one or any other celebrity (ghostwritten) book that worked for you. I would love to give it a try. 

 

Kitne Pakistan - Kamleshwar (Hindi Book)

Book: 31/52

Kitne Pakistan - Kamleshwar (Hindi)

My Rating: 5/5

A few years back, I decided to read at least 30% of my books in Hindi from a full year’s quota of 52 (minimum). And I am super glad that I did that, all thanks to legends like Kamleshwar, who have written such beautiful, heart-touching, engrossing and time-relevant stories like “Kitne Pakistan”. Incredible book that was first published in 2000, which takes a dig not only at the current scheme of things but also at the Mughal and British invasion too. It starts like a simple love story of sorts, but the reality hits the reader hard when we realise the time period of the story, as it starts a month before the partition of India and when the first Pakistan is made. Trust me, my post does no justice to this gem of a book, which was hardly 350+ pages but covers at least a good 400 years of our own history in an angry young man’s style. Kamleshwar’s words and language are fierce and show his anger towards all the wrongs we humans have done to each other. The way Aryan’s came to India in so many forms, sizes and from different cultures, we embraced them back in the day, but the way they changed it all was totally unbelievable, and see where we stand today on the cusp of a civil or, say, religious war, which now seems inevitable. 

Imagine there is a court of law and all the culprits from our history are summoned to tell their own truth and stories, including but not limited to people like Gandhi, Mountbatten, Nehru, Hitler, Spanish adventurer Hernando Cortez, Saddam Hussein, Babar, Aurangzeb, Humayun, Shahjahan; even Dara Shikoh has nice detailed chapter(s) dedicated to him, his siblings and father too. Now imagine the situation of the unnamed Judge who mulls over the casualties of Kurukshetra, Kargil, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Nazi Germany, East Timor, the Aztec civilisation and mythological Greece to Bosnia. The most interesting is the case of the Babri masjid demolition to the start of the making of Ram temple is covered in great detail. How Babar covers his ground and pleads innocence was an eye-opener. I am sure Kamleshwar has done his own research on the claims that he has made in this book; I am sure of that, as this one is pretty famous and so far, I haven’t heard anyone criticising his claims or shooting them down. I love the way he uses Pakistan as something two warring countries create, especially the way things are going globally; there are so many Pakistans being made because of neighbours fighting each other or because of civil unrest in so many countries. Millions of innocents are not only losing their lives in the situation but also going homeless and struggling to survive was so true. The painful journey of leaving everything behind, starting their lives in an alien country from scratch, was so heart-touching. Especially the way that love story in the initial chapter comes to an end on the last page of the book; I just simply couldn’t predict that, and it was such a huge shock to me. 

Do let me know if you have read this one from Kamleshwar or any other work from him that you loved big time. I have read a few, but certainly looking forward to so much more from him now. 

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak (Book).

Book: 30/52.

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak.

My Rating: 2/5 (Let me explain).

Now, this book became a legend for me; the longest ever I stretched a book was Ulysses (Guess almost 45 days plus), but this one broke all my previous records and settled it in 60-odd days. With that, for the first time in years the month of July became the only month when I didn't post about a book at all, as I just couldn't finish this one. Thanks to the drag it was and partial no thanks to FIFA for having this edition in the US of A, making us go back in time when I used to work graveyard shift. My dad still swears by two movies that he says are the best made; first is, you guessed it right, "Doctor Zhivago", and the second one is "Where Eagles Dare". I might get the first one now to make sure we both are talking about the same story, as the second one, anyway, I loved- an amazing action thriller from the days of yore.

One thing I am sure you will agree with me (at least partially) when it comes to Russian literature of writers: they are either a hit or a total miss. This one fell in the second category; of course, the translator justified his shortcomings right in the introduction, saying he believes he hasn't done justice to the original Russian classic, which got banned right away when it was first published. Second, it got Boris a Nobel prize in literature, which the then Russian regime forced him to denounce. On top of that, the story of the great Doctor Zhivago almost goes nowhere from the very start; of course, it had all the Russian things, the deadly weather, no man's land everywhere you look, gone-to-the-dogs life back in the early 20th century till the Second World War, no value of life and whatnot. On top of that, Boris leaves no stone unturned in giving all important characters three names each, starts with one, goes on with another and finishes with the third name; by the time you realise that he is talking about the same guy, you are solidly confused and scratching your head. But still it had some heart in it and emotions that kept me going on a snail's pace of say 10-12 pages a day with a few office travels in between, World Cup matches and life taking its toll on me, I somehow finished it last night and said goodbye, good riddance to Boris.

I am sure my Dad must have shown me the movie when I was a teenager; I have no memory whatsoever of it now, hence I will be catching up on a much-loved classic (going by the Wikipedia page) and actually looking forward to it, now that I have finished the book, which was hardly 550+ pages to my shock and surprise. Do let me know if you have read Doctor Zhivago, and forgive me if you have liked it any better

Roman Stories - Jhumpa Lahiri (Book).

Book: 29/52

Roman Stories - Jhumpa Lahiri

My Rating: 5/5

This is my 4th book from Jhumpa Lahiri back to back, and I am totally loving the experience of exploring her more. Now I have two more to go with her Pulitzer Prize-winning book - Interpreter of Maladies being penultimate and The Namesake being last from her till she comes out with a new book. Now that I have recently read her "In other words", which turns out to be her own story, connecting with these stories was charming. Again, taking a lot of cues from her own experiences in and around Rome, she has written this one. And I can bet my life on that story where a married woman is having a one-sided affair with another married man was her own story, or at least an inspiration from her own life, that she has written it so beautifully. I totally liked the story and loved its ending big time. The good part now about almost all her books is that she is writing them in Italian and getting them translated by someone else, as she believes she cannot do justice to both languages together, and it will be like cheating if she writes or even translates them herself in English. I am enjoying them more right now as I have recently started taking French lessons myself for no good reason but to be able to read someday a French classic in its original form and to be able to watch a French love story in its own originality (someday in the near future).

Some of these stories are so real-life-like that it feels as if she herself experienced them all in person and then narrates them to us for our benefit. Her characters are totally believable, and I guess, at times, they are based on her too, as so many times she mentions others' bias towards their skin colour, or origin and whatnot. Maybe religion she hints at, but it isn't that clear, so one has to guess what she is talking about, but the pain is pretty much evident as she is always talking about the expats in one way or another, as that's exactly the case with all her books and stories so far. There is a story about teenagers passing their time on the "Steps", and one must read to know what exactly they do to strangers at the dead of the night, which was shocking, but then again, can't deny as my own nephew who visited Italy not so long ago called it a country full of thieves, so you take a guess what I am talking about. And then there is this heart-touching story of a couple who have lost a teenage kid, how they survive in the shadows of his death was a totally emotional story with such a touching ending. Although the book was hardly 250 pages, it took quite a while for me to finish this one, as each story has such superb depth that I had to take a pause every time I finished one before I started on the next one.

Do let me know if you have read this one and liked it. Namesake will remain my forever favourite from her. Going to read it again in the next month to make sure it remains the same.

 

In Other Words - Jhumpa Lahiri (Book).

Book: 28/52
In Other Words - Jhumpa Lahiri
My Rating: 4/5

After reading a lot of fiction, I decided to pick up a non-fiction book, and fortunately came across this one in our library. And anyway, after reading two of her books (The Lowland & Whereabouts) earlier this month, I decided to give this one a try too. But I must say it was an amazing experience reading her personal account of a much-loved and acclaimed writer searching for herself in words. This was more like when she challenged herself to learn a new language, not only to be able to communicate but to write in it as well. And I guess this was the first book that she actually wrote in Italian, and then never stopped. All other works after this one she has written originally in Italian and had them translated by others, as she believes she will be betraying the language if she does it herself. Three years back, my favourite nephew (I have a few to choose from) moved to Finland, the first thing he was supposed to do there was to learn the language, because it was a must to find a job in his field. His struggle and the effort that it took him to learn, and especially the way he did it, by talking to everyone around initially in broken words and sentences, while some kept correcting him and others just turned and never looked back, Jhumpa’s experience was no different, but Italian is a much easier language in comparison to Finnish. On top of that, I end up reading this book while I too was contemplating learning a foreign language myself and picked up French to start with. After taking three lessons in the last few days, I am so excited about it, and the way she has captured her feelings in this one actually inspired me big time to not only learn it fully and not just learn it that much to watch movies, but I would someday love to learn French literature in its originality too, let’s talk about writing in it some other time. 

Of course, just like all her other works (so far, what I have read), they are more about an Expat’s life in a foreign land with its own challenges and all that, this one was no different. Born a British / American with Indian origin parents, she is neither accepted in America or Britian nor any of her relatives or friends take her to be Indian in India as well. Although she can speak Bengali and Hindi fluently, while her parents struggled with English in their own ways, she developed a proper American way of life too early, which again wasn’t acceptable to her parents; even in America, it was compulsory in her home to speak only Bengali. Now look at her dilemma, just like any NRI in today’s time, they are neither here nor there properly. But if her talent is to be praised (much due), she is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author with terrifically acclaimed books to her credit. And now she writes in Italian while living in London. But her obsession with Italian and the final result, as this book has to be praised big time, as her words (even the translation in English) just flow like honey and never gets boring for one moment. This book is compared with Vladimir Nabokov’s intensity and clarity for a startling act of self-reflection and a provocative exploration of belonging and reinvention. Now, that will be sent to me, Nabokov’s way, as I haven’t read anything from him, maybe I will start with his Autobiography, assuming he must have written one if this is how they compare her with him. 

Do let me know if you have read this one or any other Jhumpa Lahiri book that became your favourite. I am going to read The Namesake after finishing all her other books first.