"The Guest Cat" by Takashi Hiriade

 The Guest Cat

by Takashi Hiriade

Overall Review: 3.5*

I had been wanting to read something from a Japanese author since a long time.  Every country and region in the world have some or the other mythology, history, cultural relationship and significance.  In Japanese folklore, cats have protective powers and symbolize good luck and fortune.  Due to this reason I had this book in my reading list since a long time.  A husband and wife living in a small rented apartment find a reason in their life when a cat owned by the neighbors start visiting them.  Both of them have started working from home for their literary careers and the cat provides meaning to their monotonous life.  They are able to see the wonders of the nature, the house, the garden all due to the cat.  

This is a short book and I had thought I will finish it in one weekend.  However, it was tough to read.  You need to slowly soak in what the writer is trying to say and focus on the wanders both husband and wife are experiencing.  Such simple things are written beautifully in this book.  Small things as insects coming in the garden, cats playing together etc. are events which are nothing but can provide happiness and meaning in our lives.  

This is a difficult book and everyone might not enjoy it.  The writing is not about a story but discovering life as is depicted in the book.  Apart from the cat the book also talks about the house, the little marvels in the house and couples attachment with the area and the surroundings.  I am also sad that this is given a sad ending.  Wish the ending could have gone towards a more fun direction with the cat here.  

"The Midnight Library" By Matt Haig

 The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig

Overall Review: 4.8*

I would begin by saying this is an amazing concept which the writer has touched and has certainly done wonders with it.  Everyone in the world is unhappy at some point or the other and all our lives are full of regrets.  This book gives you a perspective around choices since we all are unhappy with our choices in life.  The writer takes the heroine back in life giving an opportunity to live each of the lives which she regretted leaving only to finally realize what she has right now is the best life she could ever have.  

You need to be bold in the first few chapters and push through the first few chapters.  Post that all you need to do is imagine yourself in the scenario.  It helps to expand your thought process and discover new ideas.  It incorporates several philosophical concepts and reminds us of what matters eventually in life.  The daily questions that we all put to ourselves - what if I had done that, what if I had take difference course etc. actually only diminish the quality of the current life we are leading.  

I like the concept of the previous lives being kept in a library.  I like the concept that each prior choice could be visited and experienced to actually know the outcome.  This book does not come actually in the self help category but for someone going though strong emotions and doubts in life, this can come in handy. 

Best line in the book - "You do not have to understand life.  You just have to live it."

"The four winds" by Kristin Hannah

 The Four Winds

by Kristin Hannah

Overall Review:  5*

Historical fiction covering the Great Depression:  This is the first book which I have read related to the years of great depression in America.  The book is a historical fiction and provides and insight into the hardships faced by people of the country in those tough years.  How to find hope and seek a future for your family when everything you have ever known just fails.  The years of no rain in the country made the farmers see the toughest of times.  A young girl was able to single handedly stand tall and provide for her family to the best of her capabilities.  A story of courage, love and survival.  

Make the best during the worst of times:  Elsa is the heroine of the book and she is a heroine after all - truly inspiring.  A girl next door who does not have a fulfilling childhood, searches for love where she gets and ties her future to that little thread of hope.  Family is something which an individual can not choose.  It can make or break you and shape your life.  Elsa got love from family very late in her life and then had to take a difficult decision to move ahead for her children.  The world always harps about the hardships the men bear, but it is the women of the world who make or break the families, communities, villages and the country.  

I just wish and hope the climax was different from what it was and there could be some more of happiness for our sweet Elsa.  The book is emotionally and exhausting read and you end up feeling sad but content at the end.  

Amazing writing: Hannah has become one of my favorite authors now.  While I was reading this book, I ordered two more from the same author.  The way she writes, she is able to provide a vivid imagery of the events in front of you.  I felt I was in the moment and was able to see everything from my own eyes.  I was able to feel the sand in my mouth, the water during the flood and the love in Elsa's life when it came.  

"The Purple Violet of Oshaantu" by Neshani Andreas

 "The Purple Violet of Oshaantu"

by Neshani Andreas

Overall Review: 4* 

A narrative describing life in a small village in Africa: A small and sweet book giving a peek into the village of Oshaantu in Namibia.  When you read such books, you get a perspective towards life as a whole.  It is a story of a woman and her neighbor living in the same village but have totally different lives.  The book provides a peek into the patriarchal structure of the village and the total absence of women's rights in these villages.  

The narrator is telling the story of her friend and there is a comparison between hers and her friend's life.  The entire village is full of women with similar challenges and obstacles in life.  Her neighbor and friend is being cheated on, beaten and ignored by her husband.  The society just turns a blind eye towards anything that is done to her and just expect her to live on.  At the time of the death of her husband though people gather like vultures to take away whatever they can.  

An eye opener which tells the plight of women:  A behavior which is more or less common across the world.  A woman takes care of her family and her in laws.  In return her life is so much dependent on how her husband behaves.  If the husband is not with the wife, no one is there.  The same thought is being shared in the book when suggestion is being made so many times for her to leave the husband and move on.  I was angry at how this woman was treated by her husband, the society and his family.  At the end however, she chose her peace.  

Well written with great thought and flow: It is the first book by this author and she has done a good job and describing the lives of the women in the village. It is well written where each big and small event is being described beautifully.  It certainly exposes all things wrong with the society and human mentality.  

"The Family Lawyer" by James Patterson

 The Family Lawyer

by James Patterson

What will you do if one fine day your kid lands up in jail for allegedly killing someone.  I for one would certainly have a heart attack.  But then that is the time when the kid needs us the most.  That is what the whole one story for the family lawyer is all about.  The father is able to bring his daughter out of the mess she has dragged herself in.  Knowing your family and believing in them is the most important thing specially when trust is broken.  The story includes a twist which came at the time when most needed.  However, steps could have been made to make the other lawyer more productive.  I believe the finishing of the first story was rushed.  

I was disappointed by this book being a collection of three short stories.  I was not looking for that.  Also, the name of the book is the name of the first story.  The other stories are also fine but that is not what was sold to me.  I honestly like the first one only.  The second story for the Night Sniper is also good but then it just goes downhill with the third.  Even in the Night Sniper, I do not understand the significance of making the lady cop as dysfunctional.  I also do not understand why is being high and on drugs all the time glorified by writers.  

I am giving only a 2 star to this book and honestly the writer could have worked better on the first story and shaping it better to make this book a success.  

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfiled

 The Thirteenth Tale

By Diane Setterfield

Story telling at its best: The need of telling your story and the need to know different stories can consume you.  This is a story of twins - those who stayed alive in flesh and also those who stayed alive in sprit.  This books revolves around two stories - one for a well to do family living in a big house and the other for a biographer living with her parents.  A mystery caught up in the web of family drama and complicated characters.  Angelfield is huge mansion where a family lives, flourishes and lastly withers away.  The girls living there make another life for themselves and that is when they come in contact with the second set of twins.  However, throughout their lives they harbor a deep and dark secret which comes out only at the end and breaks the heart of the reader.  

Amazing writing: The writer has the capability of making you get lost in her words and her characters and her story.  The book can engulf you and you can get lost inside the shop, roads, house, cake, garden etc. mentioned in the book.  It took me some time to get hooked to this book, but once I got into it, I could even dream about the story and the characters.  I love this book and it has stayed with me just like the Night circus.  I would love to come back to it one day.  

Perfect book for book lovers: This is a book for people who love books.  I wish I was the biographer who could spend her days surrounded by books.  Any book which involves book shop, library, reading, writing; I feel like I could enter it and live there forever.  I want to be a part of that book store and read each and every book.  In case you want someone to become fond of books, ask him/her to read this one.  

Certain Excerpts

"One gets so used to one's own horrors, one forgets how they must seem to other people."

“There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.”

"The Guest List" by "Lucey Foley"

 The Guest List

By Lucey Foley

Overall Rating:    3

Grip Factor:         3 

Writing Style:      3

Engaging Plot:     3.5

Characters:           3

Satisfying End:    2.5 

You might think you are going ahead in life by bringing harm to people.  You can show love on your face and complete malice at the back and think that you can get away with it but life catches on and punishes you for it.  

Classic Mystery setup:  This is a classic nail biting page turner mystery setup where first we don't know who gets killed and then we don't know who kills.  A wedding party all full of rich, high profile, egoistic people go to a little island to celebrate and end up getting involved in a murder.  Everyone who is part of the guest list has one or the other agenda and is out to kill or let down someone.  

Wedding celebration turned into murder: Talk about an isolated island and a wedding and the first thing that comes to mind is romance.  That is what the initial section of the book is all about.  But when there is so much history behind people on the guest list, there are bound to be some surprises.  The book starts with a hearth throb getting hitched and finally tying the knot.  The story is first revolved around all the good things in a couples life and then slowly the darkness starts creeping in.  

The past always creeps up: The writer has brought up the issues of almost each and every member of the party.  The bunch of bullies who even though have grown up physically still live in the world with a view that they can go around and mess with people.  A section of people who consider themselves to be privileged enough to be able to do anything they fancy doing with even a slightest bit of remorse.  

Predictable: Good read but was predictable at many sections.  Did not understand the location of the wedding as to how come such a remote island where it is even tough to get to could be chosen as a high profile wedding location.  Then there was a huge discussion about a storm coming up which mysteriously went away at the end.