A Gentleman in Moscow by "Amar Towles"

 A Gentleman in Moscow 

by "Amar Towles"

Overall Review: 4 

Grip Factor: 4

Writing Style: 4

Engaging Plot: 4

Characters: 4.5

Satisfying end: 4

This book is one of the most emotionally and linguistically challenging books that I have read in some time.  You do need a dictionary continuously while reading it.  Sometimes you get lost in between when it comes to historical references or discussion on great poets or literature.  You need to read and re-read certain passages to be able to grasp the exact reference.  It is tough in the beginning and you need to push yourself till you complete around 40% of the book.  A little girl comes in the life of the count and things become interesting.  That is when it becomes difficult to keep the book down.  

Being stuck, jailed at a hotel for his entire adult life; the count has made a routine and a life for himself.  He moves from being a count to a common man to a father during the course of his stay.  Even being in such a grim situation, he tries to make the best of the life.  His affair with an actress, his discovery of a secret room, his relationship with Nina and his friend Mishka, his camaraderie with the people he worked with, even his regular meeting with Osip; all reflect his attitude towards life.  

The author has taken one location and written an entire book on it with limited characters.  The story and life of the count is tightly built around the life of the Hotel and everyone working in it.  There is certainly a lot of research done by the author while writing the book however, the writing could have been made little more simple.  

Few things which I referenced while reading this book - 

1. Dictionary definitely - This book has all the difficult words possible

2. Map of Russia to get a hang of where everyone is during the story

3. Links to history of Russia specially around the Renaissance 

3. Links to various wines and their composition to understand which would suit which food item

Needless to say I learned a lot while reading this book and also I have always been a vodka fan. 

"Who would have imagined - when you were sentenced to a life in the Metropol all those years ago, that you had just become the luckiest man in all of Russia"

"What matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim"

"The Dressmaker of Khair Khana" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

 The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Overall Review: 3.5 *

Grip Factor:       3.5

Writing Style:    3

Engaging Plot:   3

Characters:         4

Satisfying End:  3.5

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3019794464

Never die attitude for women in a war torn country

For the rest of the world war torn Afghanistan is a place which needs to be talked about and managed.  For the people living there since ages it is a shock and matter of life and death.  This book is all about how the fairly modern lives of women living in Kabul get rudely shaken and turned upside down to a closed, repressive lifestyle.  But still there are some who do not leave hope, do not bow down and find out options to make their mark in the world.  The never say die attitude of one girl in a family ensures not only survival but betterment of lives of this and other families who came in contact with them.  

The book is simple to read and flows easily from event to event.   It talks about the changes that were brought into the lives of people living in Afganistan when Taliban took over.  Going round only wearing the chador and only with a male member of their family was mandatory.  With no way to get themselves educated, the women not only stitch clothes to earn a living but end up setting up a tailoring school for the betterment of other women in the society.  

Simple narration but changed directions

The lives of the family and the women surrounding them is observed by the author and the book seems to start as a journalistic set of events.  However, the narrative changes in between where things are seen from the eyes of Kamila.  It could have been better if the author could have stuck to one style of narration.  

The lives turn for the better not only for one family but for a community

I admired Kamila from the Siddiqi sisters for her bravery and determination to continue working for the betterment of her family and women in her country.  All women who get associated with her and her group are brave women who refuse to bow down to Taliban and are willing to learn new skills to put food in front of their families.  The risks these women took during the toughest times shows a lot about the women of Afganistan.  

All Power to strong willed women.  

"The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey

 The Snow Child 

By Eowyn Ivey

Overall Review: 4 *

Grip Factor:       4.5

Writing Style:    4.5

Engaging Plot:   4

Characters:         4

Satisfying End:  3.5

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13590366-the-snow-child

Lovely book full of magical movements.  

What happens when a couple longing for a child of their own start seeing glimpses of a little girl running in the forest.  What happens when a boy falls in love with a fairly running around in the snow.  Magic happens when people devoid of love just find someone in the woods to whom they can shower love.   Two people who moved to Atlanta hoping to make a living are able to make a life when they happen to chance upon an abandoned girl running around.  When they made a girl from snow, they never knew she would come back to them as a real child.  

A story to fall in love with

One could fall in love with the book only by reading about the portrayal of the woods, animals and life in Alaska by the author.  They story first focusses on two main characters who have moved to Alaska to make a living for themselves.  Slowly and gradually people come together and become a family.  This couple has lost all hope in their lives and are living a mundane living but, life takes a turn from them when they find a girl in the woods.   I really fell in love with Jack and Mabel, the relationship they have.  They have faced lot of disappointments  and challenges in life, but despite everything they still have faith and love for each other.

It takes a village to build a story

The supporting characters in the story actually carve out the story to what it becomes just like it is in all our lives.  The letters from Mabel's sister give her comfort and strength.  The neighbors in the book who become a family to Jack and Mabel and help them when they needed them the most.  They end up having a special relationship with the youngest son making up for their own lack of children in their life.  

Could have been better with different ending

The ending however could have been a lot better.  I am cutting down the ratings only because of the missing parts in the ending.  The ending is sudden and happens without any closure or clarity.  The book ends just like that without any closure to anyone neither to the mother, father, husband, child or to the reader.  

Some Excerpts

"He drifted into a kind of sleep that wasn’t much different than wakefulness, a mystifying, restless sleep where dreams fell and melted like snowflakes, where children ran soft-footed through the trees and scarves flapped between black raven beaks."

‘We are allowed to do that, are we not…? To invent our own endings and choose joy over sorrow?’

"The Sialkot Saga" by Ashwin Sanghi

"The Sialkot Saga"

by Ashwin Sanghi

Overall Review:  3.5 

Grip Factor:         4

Writing Style:      4

Engaging Plot:     4

Characters:           3

Satisfying End:    3

Goodreads Review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3712754712 

 

We can call this book as falling in historical fiction or politics genre both.  It has covered entire spectrum of Indian history from just after independence till the year 2000.  It has also covered old Indian history running thousands of year old relating to Ashoka's 9 men and also covered secret organizations ensuring ancient history carries on.  

Two stories running in parallel

Two stories run in parallel here - one which is few thousand years old and one which runs from 1947 till 2001.  They both do sit well however, personally I feel there was no need to put the older story in the midst to make the modern main story good.  They have been written in a manner which relates them but that did not seem necessary.  The modern story seem more like a hindi movie where two kids separate from their mother at the time of partition and end up becoming rivals. 

All events in story are linked to historical facts of the nation

I liked the linking of the story to the historical facts and I also liked the part where they were explained and described more.  People tend to forget even the most recent events and soon things as far back as 5 years old just become some historical fact to be ignored and moved on from.  Reading about the death of S. P. Mukherjee, emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, forceful works of Sanjay Gandhi, 1984 Massacre by Congress, Gujarat riots, election and non election of Vajpayee ji, 9/11 attack, Mumbai attack... all certainly give you goose bumps.  There are all the events you have lived through and it feels surreal to read them all together in a book.  The linking of the love/hate story around all these events is flawless in the book.  At many points it is difficult to put the book down since I have wanted to know more and more about these events.  

Main story is a love/hate story

Two kids who are separated from their mother at the time of partition end up becoming business rivals.  Their kids end up falling in love and getting married.  At the end it is identified that they were from the same village in Pakistan and got separated when they were forced to move to India at the time of partition.  The ex of one end up marrying the other in an all so obvious twist.  Not to forget that these kids were saviors of some long forgotten sect tasked with protecting a long lost secret from Ancient times.  I can only call it a love/hate story but certainly feels it comes straight out of a movie.  

"The Rabbit Girls" by Anna Ellory

 The Rabbit Girls

by Anna Ellory

Overall Review:  4

Grip Factor           : 4

Writing Style        : 4

Engaging Plot       : 4

Characters            : 4

Satisfying End      : 4 

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3014393961

When you pick the book, you don't have the faintest idea where would this term be used "The Rabbit Girls".  This is such a harmless reference to such a cute animal and the usage is entirely different.  World war II and Hitler have so many stories hidden; it will take a lifetime to know all.  The book is set during the time when the wall between east and west Germany is taken down and a young daughter is taking care of her father.  She uncovers an old war mystery for her father and while doing that identifies a fact about her own life.  During this process she finds out about some girls who were chosen for experimentation at camps, their struggles and their lives.  She also surprisingly finds out new things about her relationship with her parents.  

More of a love story rather than WWII

The book is more of a love story and less of a story related to WWII.  There are certainly places where the book describes what is happening at the camps to the character but majorly focuses on love.  One might think that this book is written with a view to giving voice to the Rabbit girls.  However, that is not the case and instead a major portion of the book is more  of a love story and has no historical reference.   

Hidden letters uncover a bitter truth

The thought that I can find old crumpled, folded, rolled letters inside the seam of a dress gives me goose bumps.  A series of letters found in her mother's old dress forces her to look at the history of her country, her mother and her father.  Living in modern day Germany when Miriam finds these letters she had no idea her parents could have suffered at the hands of the Nazis.  Her initial thought coming from the assumption that only Jews suffered in those times.  However, this book brings out a separate group of people who were political prisoners, people who were not Jews but were punished simply because they did not support Hitler or his policies.  

One area which I hope this book could have improved upon was certainly touching the topic and the story of the Rabbit girls a little more.  The book is named after them but does not deal with them for even half of the narration.  

Certain scenes which don't leave my mind after putting this book down are - Finding crumpled letters hidden in the dress, Facing domestic abuse even in times of father's illness and lastly finding a friend for support in the times when she was at her lowest possible. 

"The Nightingale" by Christin Hannah

 "The Nightingale"

By Christin Hannah

Overall Review:  4.8

Grip Factor           : 5

Writing Style        : 4.5

Engaging Plot       : 5

Characters            : 4.8

Satisfying End      : 5 

Goodreads Review:   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3001566800 

Fight of women who fought with bravery in second world war

A story of two sisters who are heroes each in their own way in the second world war.  The book celebrates their bravery and their struggles while trying to survive the German occupation of France.  This is certainly an inspirational story where the women showed incredible strength during their contribution to the war.  Nightingale is the code name given to the woman who helps downed pilots flee the Nazi controlled regions to safer space.  Her zeal of love for her nation and support her country men in whatever way she can lead her to meet people and find out new and risky opportunities.  

Fighting need not be on the front only, the chain at the background is key

Taking danger head on is certainly brave but sneaking around and smiling in the face of danger pretending to be all well is braver, something which the women in this book have done.  Nightingale could not be caught and even though she was a young girl, she was not hesitant to leave her identity, her family, her life and take a new name for her nation.  She kept on finding pilots and leading expeditions across mountains to take them to safety.  She knew she is constantly in danger but that could not stop her from causing harm to the Germans.  Historically in every war women have provided equal  support and played crucial roles in the whole process. 

A story on war but love sneaks in 

I could never think a book on war could have love story but there is.  Love has made its way in the lives of both the sisters in such dire situations.  One think I like the most about the book is the two sisters who come from the same background perceive life in such largely different way.  Their reaction to war events, their handling of situations, their dreams and the point of action towards what is wrong is world apart. Even though I am not a romantic, I felt disappointed when both romances ended a little quickly.  I also felt incomplete with the relationship of the two sisters. The book could have shown more of a bonding between these two.   

Some Excerpts

"In love we find out who we want to be, in war we find out who we are"

Do we really know ourselves.  Situations bring out the worst and the best in us.  

"Of course, men always think war is about them" - When have men thought anything was for anyone other than themselves.   

"The Institute" by Stephen King

"The Institute"

by Stephen King

Overall Review: 4

Grip Factor:        4

Writing Style:     4

Engaging Plot:   4

Characters:        4

Satisfying End:  3 

Goodreads review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3503651566

A thriller loading with all sorts of emotions

Every year thousands of children are abducted world across and are never found.  The reasons for kidnapping are many and this book has brought forward an area completely unknown and scary.  This book is about a shady organisation which takes kids with special abilities and puts them to use for their benefit.  An amazing read, a page turner for me certainly.  The book is not only a thriller but it brings forward many emotions such as loss, friendship, first love.  How a small event or person or thing pushes the kids to fight for themselves and bring out victorious is amazing.  

Starts small and post all twists turns big

The starting of the book seems very ordinary with a small town and a person running away from past.  How that is tied to the main story of the kids is wonderful.  When both the stories are brought together, you actually go back to the beginning and realize you have been reading the same book.  The tale of the institute is dark, scary and unfair where the kids are exploited.  

Brings together multiple stories with ease

Multiple stories are intermingled in this book together very beautifully.  There are stories about the kids, the main character Luke, the caretaker who helps them, the lonely police guy who helps them.  There are even short stories about the side characters and none of them seems incomplete.  Every story has its space and every story contributes to the main story of the book.  The beauty of the book is this all is done very easily and is so smooth that you do not even see it happening.  

Ends with too much drama

The ending of this book however, could have been better according to me.  There were lots of guns, lots of people shooting other people then kids moving and re-shaping the whole buildings.  At one point it becomes too much and I was glad at one point that things finally ended. The ending could have been made a little less dramatic and realistic.