I have often thought about this. When you read books by foreign authors, the cultural, emotional and metaphysical elements of their place of inhabitance are sometimes strongly felt through it. When Literature and Visual Art meet each other, it's altogether an ethereal experience. Author Bussi proves to be brilliant and a genius storyteller who interlaces History, Arts, Language and Literature into his beguiling novel. The narration of this story focuses on various characters who lived during different times in different places. "What's so great about that?", you might ask. Well, the author had constructed the chain of events in such a way that the readers don't get to discover the elements of surprise till the time the last chapter is read. It's one hell of a way to keep the suspense mounting from page to page.        Black Water Lillies is a stimulating book filled with tons of fascinating facts about the world-famous Artist Monet's life and his paint...

"Family"- This word, This concept or This system has always been an overrated concept for me personally. End of the day, I believe that an individual's comfort and support lie within himself/herself and nobody can necessarily fill that void or can forever offer an unconditional company that would last longer. But this book has gradually disintegrated that thought of mine and has given a huge deal of thought to process. The way Mr Hosseini weaved this beautiful web of relationships among his characters in "And the Mountains Echoed" is absolutely beautiful and powerful. It's an amalgamation of strength and subtlety, I should say.           Human relationships are complex and also one of the interesting aspects of this societal set-up. The nature of association we all have with each other, with the environment around us and with our inner selves is beguiling and makes us who we are. This wonderful piece of work is packed with delightful experiences and emo...

I am filled with a lot of dismalness that no words can describe. What started off as a slightly satirical narrative gradually turned into an emotional life story of a young man called Stuart Shorter. What do we know about those who live on the streets, observing the pedestrians, gawking longingly at the Store Window Displays, looking vacantly at the vehicles speeding past them every day? What could we possibly assume to be the reason behind their abandonment and unusual lifestyle? This might seem peculiar to the middle-class nine-to-fives or to the elites but certainly not to the homeless. Each of them has a story to tell; a powerful one indeed. This book is one such creation.      Truly can't appreciate the Author Alexander Masters enough for his pertinacious work in compiling the biography of a derelict soul whose actions and temperaments were nothing but the manifestations of a turbulent past. Every individual that is committed to a wrong-doing ...

Civics- This used to be a separate chunk of 50 pages in the history books when I was in school. By looking at the design of the books and syllabi, would feel that much importance is given to history and it is complemented by civics in the end. Another impression we could get would be that history, civilization and civics go hand in hand. It helps us understand the path we have taken and the significant episodes that have transformed our society during this journey. This book has compiled this journey in a simplified manner. The writer has tried to cover all the major aspects of the Constitution, Government, and Judiciary and has been substantially successful in producing a quality result. In many areas, the Indian Constitution is referenced through the mention of Articles and Sections. There are also criticisms in the form of appreciation and assessments in various chapters. My favourite part is where the statement of CN Annadurai "Autonomy to states and Coalition in Cente...

"For the first time, I felt a drama calming my nerves down; Zero anxiety; No stress; Nill cliffhangers. It's like sailing on a boat in lovely weather listening to the sounds of rumbling waves. The author Cathy Kelly had exquisitely created the characters and relationships among them. It's also not like a fairy tale all is well sort of a Novel. It is very believable and unfeigned. The writer's inventiveness truly lies in places where she had tried to bring in a little suspense and drama but still managed to create a pleasant bearing for this book. Of course, it has been a wonderful experience getting teleported to the imaginary city Kinvarra and enjoying the glimpses of Ireland. Watching the happenings in and around the lives of 3 amazingly contradistinctive women for the past few months made me truly enjoy reading this book and imagining beautiful things.

    After going through some astounding reviews about this book and the author, I picked the book "Chronicles of the Death Foretold". This is a brilliant tale of a plot that's set by two men involved in the complicity to kill a man called Santiago Naser for he had desecrated the dignity of their sister Angela Vicario. The arrival of the Bishop, being the big event of the entire plot becomes the beginning of any new happening that's a part of this tragedy. The lifestyle, culture, festivities and daily routines of the Spaniards are lucidly elaborated in different passages. Being the skirt-chaser that he is, Santiago after the night of debauchery would not have expected the fatal turn of events that were about to happen the next day. With sharpened Scimitars, his perpetrators were waiting to commit the heinous act amidst the delirious crowd. The beguiling and pitiable part is that everyone in the town knew about the plan devised to kill Santiago except him. In defi...

There's a reason why I used the word "Prophet" in the title of this blog post. I bought this book with the thought that it was an autobiographical compilation of Abraham Lincoln. However, it turned out to be an extensive collection of facts and assumptions to prove that Lincoln believed in God and the Church. Though there had been a time when he had prejudices and scepticism in his beliefs in the existence of a supreme power, once he attained leadership, his trust and faith in God strengthened. In his speeches on various occasions, he quoted and alluded to scriptures and verses from The Holy Bible. This also gives us a glimpse of the events that took place during the Civil War. The Missouri Compromise, Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Battle in Fort Sumpter, Fighting the Confederate army led by Robert Lee, recedence of various states to consecrate the practice of slavery, are some notable information. Lincoln's greatest strengths are his oratorical skills and his unwilli...

    Called by the reading community the celebrated writer of Medical thrillers, Robin Cook definitely manages to prove the tagline right. The technicalities and attention given to each portion of the chapter are simply flawless. With many characters around Dr Laurie Montgomery to support the plot, the author has ended each chapter with a cliffhanger through a sentence brewing suspense. Though I wished to see a lot of emotional encounters between the protagonist Laurie and Inspector Lou Soldano, it is very clever of Mr Cook not to have actually opted for such chemistry but just keep both of them constantly unleashing their egos whenever they had the slightest chance to do so. There has also been a lot of understanding about ophthalmic procedures, drug detection, drug-induced crime rates, cocaine intake ramifications, procedures carried out in a morgue and much more.           What's more interesting is that despite having the story primarily revolve a...

All the books written by Paulo Coelho, alike their paperback editions are light and ebbing with simplicity. Paulo Coelho had gracefully elaborated various aspects of life and Mankind's volatile experiences in this eternal space, through the words of the Copt. The preface of the book gives a pretty picture of what is going to be discussed in the following pages. The fact that this composition is a transcription of the valuable evidence that has been unearthed from the ruins of the City of Accra in Ancient Egypt, is absolutely a shocking surprise for the readers. In this Mortal world, we live and carry a lot of learning and knowledge with us. These experiences are to be passed to people around us lest they die with us. This book comes with absolute profundity to explain love, solitude, loyalty, courage, failure, war, sex, beauty, faith, elegance and much more. Our lives become meaningful and thoughts become enlightened only if there's a sharing of beliefs and lessons learn...

I have never read a classic that has garnered too much controversy, dissension and global attention. "The Good Earth" happens to be one of such nature that is filled with so many facts, demystifying the cultural norms and practices of the Chinese. Despite historians and philosophers demurring the depiction of the Chinese lifestyle in the novel, the book has earned a Pulitzer prize and a Nobel prize for the Author.            O-Lan is a character that is undoubtedly the backbone of the entire plot for if it weren't for her deeds, Wang Lung would have remained a poor slave under the clutches of the Westerners. Each scene in the story is factual and beautifully unfolds the life and experiences of a Chinese farmer who found happiness on his land and on a handful of earth. Ultimately the book indirectly harps on the fact that it is a farmer who determines the survival of Mankind. As a reader, it is very pleasurable to imagine and mentally picture every scene...