"The House by the River" by Lena Manta, Gail Holst-Warhaft (Translator)

"The House by the River" 

by Lena Manta, Gail Holst - Warhaft (Translator)

This book is a sweet, cute story about 5 girls from a small village in Greece.  How they despise their village, their little house, the river and crave to get out and see the world.  Every girl gets a chance to live an adventure in her life, they get chances to see  the world and lives life to the fullest.  However, each of them reaches a certain point in her life and after that they long for their roots - The same house by the river.  A very emotional story of the mother and her 5 girls.  Their home is the only constant in life and the mother has made sure that each of them knows whatever happens in their lives, this home will always be open to them. 

Even though the five girls are sisters and have been born and brought up in the same house in a village, their lives and fate are so different from each other. The book has got all the elements - romance, mafia, Africa, murder, suicide, remorse and even war.  A total masala book if I say in Indian context.  The best thing I like in the book is the reference to the river.  Each girl is tied to the river closely and that is what brings them back. It was a simple and quick read not taking much of my times in terms of processing or analyzing or thinking.  Everything was straight and clear.  This story does remind us one fact of life - never forget your roots and always stay connected.  

Overall Rating: 3.5

Grip Factor:    3.5

Writing Style:  3.5

Engaging Plot: 3.5

Characters:       3.5

Satisfying End: 3.5

GoodReads review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3014372466 

"The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" by Stuart Turton

"The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle"

by Stuart Turton

For a moment you feel this book is about Evelyn second, you feel this will actually include a new birth as a new person every day.  Is it the same or some new mystery totally and completely out of  this world? You will know when you read this book.  It is a murder mystery mixed with a fantasy. A little confusing in the beginning but you get a hold when you push a little ahead.  It also goes flat at some places in the middle and those are the times when you need to force your self to proceed.  But at most  of the times you are always on the edge and since the behavior of the character keeps changing you keep focus on each and every one of them.  I have read several mysteries but nowhere have I been so desperate to understand what is happening.  

Looking back in time to things such as Lantern, Horses, Stable master feels different and you feel you are in whole another world.  While reading this I could have been easily transported into some period drama or play.   I started liking this book once I finished around 20% of it.  I liked the story line and the concept a lot.  It seems all characters are puppets who are being pushed and pulled by an invisible hand and you just keep racking your brains on what will happen next and who will do it.  It does require a lot of attention though.  The many names get confusing after a while and you forget who was who.  Many times I have actually gone back to refer who was this person in the past.  

The story is such that you feel the whole plot is actually work of devil himself.  To top it all the devil is making everyone go through all horrors again and again and also taking notes while doing it.  Period drama, mystery, sitting on edge --- an attempt at Agatha Christie and not a bad one.   

Few sections that I like in the book which hold so true in everyday world. 

"Tomorrow can be whatever I want it to be which means I can actually look forward to it.  Instead of being something to fear, it can be a promise I make myself"  "You can forget everything but how can you forget yourself.  Looking at yourself for the first time can be disappointing""How lost do you have to be to let the devil lead you home" 

Overall Rating: 4.5

Grip Factor:        4.5
Writing Style:     4
Engaging Plot:    5
Characters:          3.5
Satisfying End:   4

GoodReads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3223756230

  

"The Paris Architect" by Charles Belfoure

The Paris Architect

Charles Belfoure

The book proves one thing for sure - Howsoever bad people are there in the world, somewhere or the other you will find good souls.  A story of an architect who builds hiding places for Jews in regular houses in the middle of world war Paris.  WW II affected many people not only in Germany but also all the countries which were occupied by Germany.  This story is about Paris and its Jew/non Jew population.  How an architect who is originally not interested in the Jew cause gets himself aligned to saving them and how he stays away from the eyes of the German police is the whole story. 

You live your lives a certain way and work towards achieving and attaining all sorts of possessions.  A good house, clothes, friends, jobs, kids etc... At the end it is only the lives of your kids and yourself that matters.  Post German occupation Jews in Paris take refuge in hiding places designed by this architect to save their lives.  There are few things which I like in this story - there is no sob story or sad story behind any characters action.  Everyone is aware of the consequences and goes ahead with the plans for hiding places as a choice.  At the beginning Lucien is only looking for money which is hard to earn during war time, however later on he starts getting a kick out of creating more innovative hiding places and gets more attached to the cause.   

This is a balanced story and talks about both the views.  It does not show any side in bad light, although there are bad and good people everywhere.  The way the story goes is also intriguing, it keeps our minds and focus on what can be the next move or what can be the next hiding place.  Who is getting benefited, what happened to the person who hid there.  The author has certainly made sure this book stays a page turner.  I certainly like the fact that it stayed with the architect and the hiding places designed by him.  Luckily for us it does not go away to other Jew Causes and issues/concerns and that is why I like the story. 

Overall Rating: 4.5

Grip Factor:            4.5
Writing Style:         4
Engaging Plot:        4.5
Characters:             4
Satisfying End:       4 

GoodReads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3226737354

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage

Tayari Jones

I personally did not like this book too much to be honest.  It has got lots of good feedback and reviews but I fail to understand why.  Maybe it is because of the story which is good or because of the fact that it caters to the problems faced by a certain community in US.  This is a heartbreaking story and it is a painful situation for anyone to be in.  A young couple goes through a tough time when the boy is wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit.  Sad to see that this can actually happen with anyone.  Also sad to accept the hard fact that howsoever you love someone, your life needs to go on without them.  This is indeed a sad story to read through and there are several areas in this book where you really feel sad for the characters involved.

I liked the story and I liked the way the author goes through the story via letters.  However, that likeness stops there and I just kept on having one feeling that it was going too fast and not enough time was taken to make the reader go through a journey.  It felt as if the writer was in a hurry to reach the end and also in a hurry to reach a conclusion.  It left me hungry for more - more about the life in jail, more about the life alone outside, more about the dying mother, more about the dolls... More about everything.  Almost everything felt incomplete.

I wish the writer had described the scene where Rob was dragged for a crime he did not commit in more detail.  There were actually various scenes or areas which could have had much more detail - the scene where he gets hurt in prison, the scene where he gets the letter from his wife, the scene where his wife chooses someone else, the scene where his mom dies, the scene where he comes to good terms with his wife.  All of them felt incomplete.

The story though is very good and full points to the author to showcase the problems faced by people who are wrongly sentenced for some crime they do not commit.  Good effort an one time read.

Overall Rating: 3.5

Grip Factor:      3.5
Writing Style:   3.5
Engaging Plot:  3.5
Characters:        4
Satisfying End:  3


GoodReads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3184061440

"A murder on Malabar Hill" by Sujata Massey

"A murder on Malabar Hill"

By Sujata Massey

India in pre-independence era, where women barely get basic education is the setup of this story.  Story of a woman who leaves her husband and becomes the first woman lawyer of India.  Her fling, her trust, her faith, the cheating and her bravery is impressive.  Frankly I would call this a complete Bollywood masala story with all the elements - love, romance, treachery, Britishers, Religion and obviously murder.  The biggest plus for me in this book is the time in which it is set - the 1920's.  You get to read about the culture and practices followed in that time.  

When you read such books you actually realize how far the women of this country have come in terms of rights and freedom.  Today we have a right to chose whether it be education, travel or clothes.  It is indeed due to the hard work of women in those times, the ones who took bold steps and fought with the world to ensure today's women get rights in future.  The character of Parveen is my favorite character since some time.  The book also provides lot of information related to Parsi culture and practices around the time period in the country.  

"To the power of Women" - rightly said so by Parveen and Alice in the book.  It is because of women like her that today we enjoy equal rights in this country.  The cheating by her husband makes Parveen more strong and she moves forward and ahead to make her own life.  Such books must be read by all young girls and set as an example.  

Overall Rating: 3.5

Grip Factor        : 3.5

Writing Style     : 3.5

Engaging Plot    : 3.5

Characters          : 3.5

Satisfying End   : 3.5

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3009601267

  

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

"The Book Thief"

By Markus Zusak

The book is about a little girl, the one who loses her brother and mother but saves herself by stealing books and reading.  The book tells us about her foster parents, her brother, her friends and all events which help her live in the Nazi Germany. This is not only the story of the girl but so much more, it is about Nazi Germany, it is about the story of Jews and Germans during war.  So many stories are brought in together by the writer and told by the eyes of the little girl.  Those are the times where there is death everywhere and who better to narrate it but death itself. 

This book presents a different world to you - a world torn by war, a world where communist and Jews have their lives snatched from them.  This is a world where Germans are living in poverty, on rations.  So many families are eating less to allow the country to fund the war.  Fathers and sons are taken away to fight and no one knows when and if they will be back.  People are angry but cant say anything as there will be repercussions. All this while this little girl is finding the magic of words.  Her reading has brought comfort to a lot of people - her father who teaches her to read, her neighbor who opens up her window to allow her to steal from her library, her immediate neighbor who listens to her reading, the Jew who is hidden in her house and the whole street who listens to her readings at the time of air raids.

Words give her comfort specially when she is writing her story.  As she herself says - "I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right".  There are many places in the book where the author has given us a peek into the future as in what is coming up further in the book. That gives us something to look forward to all the time.  The way the narrator describes war here is so different.  It does not hold life for anyone, it is just there.  "War is like a new boss asking you to "Get it done", "Get it done".  You work hard and hard but never receive anything in the end.  It just keeps asking for more."

Unfortunately her hunger for words are what lead to the end of the world in her story.   

Overall Rating: 4.5

Grip Factor        : 4
Writing Style     : 4.5
Engaging Plot    : 4
Characters         : 4.5
Satisfying End   : 4

GoodReads review:   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3139403049

"Around India in 80 Trains" by Monisha Rajesh

"Around India in 80 Trains"

Monisha Rajesh

At first glance this book is funny and witty.  It is a journey of a girl travelling across India taking 80 trains.  To begin with I must say it is indeed a very brave attempt and she has actually done it beautifully, covering all corners of the country.  The best thing is after finishing the book you get that good positive feeling that all the problems in life can be dealt with determination and faith.  I like the book for lots of things - first the journey, secondly the detailed and in-depth look into India this book provides, thirdly her resolve to just keep moving ahead.

This book gives an extensive view of the Indian railway network.  Living in India since last 40 years, I did not know many of these places can be reached by our railways.  Loads of information around the places is being touched and shared.  The author has covered tourist places as well as famous religious places irrespective of religion.  Certain trains like Indian Maharaja and its Deccan counterpart were like news to me.  I did not have any idea that they existed.  

At the same time author has talked about the traveler's own personal challenges, fights and determinations.  I must say this whole journey was a very brave effort and I wish I could travel across India just like her.  I specifically like her style of writing; it feels easy to relate to.  Her idea of calling her companion 'Passepartout' is just cool.  This book could have been entirely different- it could have been just pointers and logs of her train travels; instead this book is more like her travel through life while she is doing all these train journeys.  This books talks about her journey as a person, meeting new people, fighting with old people, trusting random people, forgiving old friends.  I specially was surprised by her 10 day vipasanna course as not many people are brave enough to complete that.  That is something I myself want to do but cant take our 10 straight days from my life.  The end of her journeys not only mark the end of certain number of Indian trains but a lot more.  On a high level this book gives a good look into the very heart of India. 

Overall rating:  3.5 out of 5

Grip Factor        : 3
Language Style  : 3.5
Engaging Plot    : 3
Characters          : 3.5
Satisfying End   : 3.5

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3139409000