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Home » book review » Page 2

book review

The Book Corner Vol. 3 – The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

Swati · October 9, 2015 · Leave a Comment

The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

As the title says, the book is based on the trials of a family to set up their son/brother/grandson with a female successfully in midst of which tragedy aka recession strikes. I always read the reviews of other readers before writing my own review of a book and when I checked out goodreads for this book’s review, I was astounded at how many raving reviews the book has! Let me see what I have to say about it now.

The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

My Review

Let me skip telling you the story! It is just what it says.

Now, let me get over my grouches. I always hate Indian slangs which is a big deterrent for me to read Indian authors. The repeated invocation to Lord Shiva could have been just replaced with Oh God which is more common in the regular vocabulary of Indians.

Another huge issue I had was the name confusion. Parshuraman, the protagonist. I was confused till almost the middle of the book whether he hails from a South Indian family settled in Chandigarh or was actually a North Indian. I think it comes from being a South Indian. And, it turns out that the protagonist is a Punjabi! I wish the matrimonial description would also include ‘Punjabi’ word.

Parshuraman Joshi, 27, handsome, Hindu-Brahmin, IT Professional, settled in Canada, earns a high-figure salary.

should probably have been

Parshuraman Joshi, 27, handsome, Punjabi Brahmin, IT Professional, settled in Canada, earns a high-figure salary.

No racism intended here. I would rather like to be clear about my protagonist so as to visualize him clearly. The language is simple and good. The story flow is smooth and non-repetitive or huge on details. The protagonist is relate-able but the rest of the story not so much.

[Read more…] about The Book Corner Vol. 3 – The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

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The Book Corner Vol. 2 – The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

Swati · October 8, 2015 · Leave a Comment

The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

It has been a really long time since I have read a good book by an Indian author. Last time, it was a few months back – The Bougainvillea House by Kalpana Swaminathan. But, when I read the premise of this book, I was definitely intrigued but a little sceptical as it sounds almost on the lines of The Shiva Trilogy by Amish which fell flat for me.

Now, before I proceed, let me clarify a bit of confusion I had. This book was released in 2013 and there is already a sequel out. Anyways, I am glad that Readers Cosmos sent it to me otherwise I would have missed reading an amazing story. I just ordered the second part as well which was released in January this year and hopefully would receive it by today or tomorrow.

The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

The Story

So, this is a fantasy novel if you are feeling confused reading the name of Gaya. I sure was! So, no we are not talking of the holy city of Body Gaya but this Gaya is a fantasy continent which is divided into two parts – Land of the Rising Sun and Land of the Setting Sun. If you have read Amish, you would remember Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi clans!

The story begins with a king fleeing his son into the safety because there are some dark forces after him to snatch away the newly-born baby. And, then, the story shifts to twenty years later when Agni and Vrish lose their entire world in a bomb blast or better mentioned as huge fire in their language. Agni finds out that it was a planned attack and thus begins the saga of revenge and both the friends travel to Nisarga in the hope of solving the puzzle.

My Review

I would really not go into defining the story or its plot as it is complicated and I am sure we are not aware of many elements in the book. The book is actually the first part of a trilogy and not much has been revealed. If you are clever enough, you can spot the good guys and the bad guys but making sense of the mystery is a little difficult.

[Read more…] about The Book Corner Vol. 2 – The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

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The Book Corner Vol. 1 – What I read all this year?

Swati · July 24, 2015 · Leave a Comment

book reviews on perfect skin care for you

Last year, I did book reviews for almost all books I realized that I am not much adept at reviewing a book, its not my forte! So, this time, I decided to keep the reviews only to a paragraph and do a round-up of the books I have read so far. So, yes, this year has been rich on psychological thrillers with the ones with wrecked marriage and psychopathic couples on the top of the list.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Who has not heard about this book? I have read it too late and I have not yet seen the movie but when I caught up with its first look on the television, I think Rosamund Pike nailed the character of Amy and I know you must be lost if you have not read the book or watched the movie so I would just leave you with – there is a reason you have heard about the book so much and all around!

The Silent Wife by A.S.A.Harrison

I have this habit of finding out similar books in a particular genre which I happen to like and this book is one which comes after Gone Girl. I do not really remember being impressed with the book at all and you can really skip it. Btw, this is again about a disintegrated marriage and lady who is living in denial.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Well, it is all following the cult and I am not sure if I really like it but I think its ending is very satisfying unlike Gone Girl. So, yes, you can try it. It definitely engages you while you are reading it but it would nt stay with you after finishing it!

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Books #2015 Vol. 1 – “Ramayana The Game of Life – Shattered Dreams” by Shubha Vilas

Swati · February 12, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Ramayana The Game of Life - Shattered Dreams by Shubha Vilas book review

An entire month without reading a book?? Whoa, I am getting older. Did you ever hear them saying your concentration decreases as you grow older! That is what is happening to me. And, then, time seems to fly away all the time.

About the Author

Honestly, I have not heard about the author before I came across the book. Among both the great epics, I have always loved Mahabharata more than Ramayana but the premise of the book made me pick it up for review.

How does one prepare for a danger one knows nothing about? – The easiest way to forget your limitations is to shift focus from self-absorption to active-facilitation. Dasaratha had not realized his shortcomings because of his absorption in his responsibilities.

There is not much information about the author online but goodreads mentions him to be a spiritual and motivational speaker who holds both an engineering degree and law specialization.  

About the Book

Okay, so let me start with the book. This is the second part in the series.
I have not read the first book but it was all about the birth and childhood of the sons of Dasaratha culminating in their marriage.
This second book takes off from the decision of Rama’s coronation to twelfth year of the exile period with a peek into Ravana’s psyche and life.

Half the night had been damned by despair and the other half buoyed by hope. Wasn’t this what life was all about?

Dasaratha is sad and suffering from nightmares. He has a sense of impending doom but is unable to figure out the reason. Due to his unstable mental state, he decides it to be the correct time to coronate Rama as the new king and take off time to spend his last years in spiritual contemplation.
Before proceeding, I would like to add that I have just reached pg. 120 and the story has just reached the scene of Kaikeyi asking her boons from Dasartha for Bharata’s coronation and Rama’s exile. In between, there was a bit of introduction of Ravana’s character and how his sins were one of the catalyst in maligning Kaikeyi’s mind.  
Ramayana has been retold many times and we are all aware with it. What makes everything different is the interpretation of different authors.

Decision-making is akin to breathing. Just as in breathing there is careful balance between inhalation and exhalation, decision-making must be a careful balance between personal benefits (taking in or inhalation) and communal harmony (giving out or exhalation).

My Verdict

The author has tried to simplify some of the obscure events in the epic and justifies the philosophical importance behind each event in the footnotes on each page.
Some of the points made by the author are extremely prudent and force you to rethink. And, this is something which I found very interesting:

The word mantra is a combination of two words – man meaning mind and tra (from trayate) meaning control. Mantra literally means that which controls the mind. Mantras are subtle sound waves that soothe the subtle mind. 

I had been researching on the same topic – how chanting mantras affect our mind and body so this piece of information was extremely useful. 
From the point of editing and grammar, I found the book to be very mature except for a few phrases which were a lot cheesier than I would expect in a philosophical manuscript. For example, 

Praise is the temperature at which any human melts. It is the garment that warms a cold body. It is a password to log into the software of any heart.

Death is a universal virus installed in every individual, programmed to terminate and dissolve the machine itself.

I know that the aim of this book is to align it to today’s life but the technical terms in it look really weird and I felt that they break the flow of the book. But, then, that is my opinion. Otherwise, yes, it is a good read. Do try it out!

So, what do you say? Do you prefer Ramayana or Mahabharata? Have you read any of Shubha Vilas’s book? How did you like it?

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Books 2014 Vol. 11 – “God is a Gamer” by Ravi Subramaniam

Swati · November 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramaniam book review

About the Author

Sometime last year, I received The Bankster by the same author which I was not very impressed with. It was a plot involving the corporate bankers and secret nuclear project and blood diamonds. But, I was not really thrilled over there and that book had a lot of grammatical errors. I might not be a grammar nazi but the editors are expected to be!!
But, a lot of changes have happened in the last one year. And, his latest book God is a Gamer is a real game changer. The plot is all over there right from America to India which starts with a senator assassinated to a major ATM heist in the heart of New York in broad daylight to a major banking CEO murdered and many more sub plots which will have you reeling!!

About the Book

Where should I start talking about the plot and which ones should I talk about? Russia plans an imminent change in their payment system and shut down the visa and mastercard and put up a nationalized payment card system. Gillian Tan, a senator, is called upon to control this change as it would result in billions of dollars of loss for the involved parties.

And, soon after, Gillian Tan is assassinated. The scene then shifts to PM’s office in India where appointment for the RBI governor is pending and he looks through the shortlisted candidates. On the other hand, Swami comes to know through his mother that some amount of cash was withdrawn from their neighbour’s account when she reacted to the almost-real looking spam mail.

Turns out that this fraud has happened with many of the customers of NYIB, the bank for which Swami is the retail head of India. Malvika, the CEO, has sour relations with him and holds him responsible for the damage and loss the spam has caused the bank. Soon after, to contain this damage and realizing that the CEO lacks leadership skills, the management of NYIB plans to replace Malvika which throws her into depression.

God is a Gamer by Ravi Subramaniam book review

Aditya is the owner of eTIOS and Indiscape, a BPO which has NYIB as one of its clients and a growing gaming company, is an ex-employee and mentor of Swami. His son, Varun, comes into his life after 20 years and takes over the gaming company with his bright and new-age ideas. He meets Tanya in Rio-de-Janeiro and accidentally bumps into her in Goa and then again in Mumbai.

Tanya, Malvika’s daughter plans a birthday blast for her in Four Seasons during which her colleagues and the who’s who are invited. Even the finance minister makes his appearance and just as he leaves, Malvika is found lying on the ground floor after a 32 floor fall. Tanya actively blames the finance minister.

And, in New York, a grand ATM heist of 5 million dollars in the heart of New York is planned and executed successfully. And, this money is taken from NYIB. The FBI gets on the case and then they start unravelling the threads which connect all the incidents happening.

My Verdict

But, the surprise is at the end of the novel and the tagline befits the plot perfectly! Though you would wonder if the motivation and the target were really in sync with each other.

The novel is breathtaking and everything moves at jet speed. The language is correct and I could spot only one grammatical error in the entire book which was a missing period, nothing major. So, yes, I would say its a treat for any crime thriller lover.

Have you read the book yet? Or, do you love any other book by Ravi Subramaniam? 

Other books I have reviewed:
5 Healthy Takeaways from “Perfect Digestion” by Deepak Chopra
Books 2014 Vol. 9 – “7 Secrets of Goddess” by Devidutt Patnaik
Books 2014 Vol. 8 – “The Sealed Letter” by Emma Donoghue


This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!


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Books 2014 Vol. 9 – “7 Secrets of Goddess” by Devidutt Patnaik

Swati · October 28, 2014 · 3 Comments

7 secrets of goddess by devidutt patnaik

About the Author

Mythology has always been an inherent part of Hindu culture. Where we used to spend our Sundays being enriched in the epics, the newer generation is gradually being drifted apart by the new age technology. So, how do we fulfil this gap? 
Devidutt Patnaik is one of the authors who has been constantly churning stories from various epics for our delight and trust me when I say, we are unaware of some them. I have already read a few of them and would definitely recommend The Pregnant King. Yes, some of his books may be just too mature for kids but we can always retell the stories in our way!
Along with such retelling of small episodes in the puranas or retelling of the major epics themselves, he also specializes in writing about the interpretation of the epics in the factual form as they come! Whether this interpretation is true or not is something which the author right away absolves himself of by stating that every man’s interpretation of these works is correct.

About the Book

As much as we all love our mythology, we love it as a fiction. We love to visualize characters, we love to hail some of them and wish the others to the dungeons. But, here we have the stories of the Goddess and not just the stories but the literal interpretation of the female standing through the ages in our culture. 

It was a matriarchal society earlier, the male could not refuse the woman. In Mahabharata, Urvashi curses Arjuna for refusing her advances. In Greek mythology, Artemis turns Actaeon into stag that is ripped to pieces by his own hunting dogs….

Did you know what a virgin really meant? According to the book, it meant a woman who was ready to bear a child. Every woman was a virgin during the ovulation period which also explains how Draupadi’s virginity would be restored before going to the next husband. Also, the term whore was meant for females who were free to go to any man. As the times changed, both the terms lost their true meaning and started denoting the chastity of women. – Gaia’s Secret

7 secrets of goddess by devidutt patnaik
the book is full of such illustrations and the font itself is easy to read and easy on the eyes

Kali has been portrayed as a symbolism for both violence and sexuality. She is wild and naked (Smashan Kali) which represents she can not be domesticated. She (Bhadra Kali) also has been portrayed as the medium who connects Shiva to the universe and his domestic responsibilities by indulging in familial duties with him. 
 
As opposed to Kali, Gauri is the calmer version of the Goddess who is dressed in bridal finery but her unbound hair reveals her independent nature. She is self-created and rides a tiger. Brahma seeks to control her making him unworthy of worship. Shiva is indifferent to her which makes him desirable to the Goddess and Vishnu values both the importance of Kali and Gauri as opposed to both the extremes. 
Hinduism is mainly symbolism and even the small stories can be interpreted than what they actually appear in their face value. Similarly, Brahma represents the human mind that misbehaves. Shiva vehemently rejects this misbehaviour. Vishnu is the human mind which does not condone this misbehaviour, ye understands it. What is the misbehaviour? It is the assumption of property – that culture and all its creation belong to humans. 

My Verdict

The book is not a light read. It talks about philosophy but while reading it, one should remember that it is just one man’s interpretation and does not provide a holistic perspective of the issue. 
For example, while saying that the earliest of our culture was actually matriarchal, we also find a contradiction made by the author himself- the male partner chosen by the female (specified above) is killed at regular intervals.  

The chosen came to her during the sowing season and he was sacrificed at the harvest season.  

While the female gets the right to choose her partner, she does not have the right to stay with him for lifetime! In fact, love is then doomed in such circumstances. How does it become a matriarch society? 

Have you read the book or any other book by the author? How do you like his writing? 

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Books 2014 Vol. 8 – “The Sealed Letter” by Emma Donoghue [Weekend Post]

Swati · September 21, 2014 · Leave a Comment

the sealed letter by emma donoghue book review

I love sensational novels. I think we all love sensationalism. We thrive on it, in fact. That is what makes the city times and page 3 circulated far more than the regular newspapers get read. So, when I came across the book, I instantly knew I wanted to read it.
The book is based on the famous divorce case, Henry Codrington vs Helen Condrington, of 1864 in England on the grounds of infidelity on part of the wife, Helen. It was the time when women empowerment movement was gathering quite a bit of attention and Emily Faithfull, a major player in the above divorce case, was an active member of the movement.
The Plot
Emily Faithfull encounters Helen one day on her way to the press. And, that leads to bittersweet reconciliation between two long lost friends. As the story moves on, we and Emily both get to know that Helen’s cavalier, Col. Anderson, and Helen are having a hushed affair and Emily is a unsuspecting promoter of this affair. 
Helen portrays herself as an ill-used wife of Henry Codrington and a devoted mother of her two girls. While the latter was true to a degree, the first was a twisted version of the reality. The relationship between Codrington and his wife had reached to a cooling degree of affection but it was as much the responsibility of the flirtatious wife as much as the aloof husband. 

the sealed letter by emma donoghue book review

But, till a telegram of importance does not get answered to by Helen does Henry think his wife to be cheating on him. Once the suspicion gets rooted, Henry employs a detective to follow his wife and report her movements. Everything was above reproach till she makes a slip and what follows is the infamous courtroom drama. 
To secure her side of the witness, Helen again ropes in Emily to give a testimony against Henry by taking advantage of Emily’s guileless nature.
My Verdict
I could see a lot of parallels from Anna Karenina but the way Helen has been portrayed as compared to the classic heroine is very different. Helen ends up being shown a manipulator and a deceiver, Henry Codrington comes across as a victimized husband and Emily Faithfull is a foolish instrument, dangerous in intelligent hands!!
The book slows a bit at times but it has rave reviews in GoodReads. Feel free to skip or skim some pages and decide for yourself if you would like it. I would say it comes across as a decent read but then you would not miss anything if you do not come across the book. 
Have you read the book? How did you like it?
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