Coolie

For book lovers from India, there are some few writers who are must read for them considering the kind of role the writers have played in Indian writing over the decades and also considering the quality of their writings. Rabindranath Tagore, R.K. Narayan, Kamala Markandeya are a few of the names that comes to my mind. Add to that the name of Mulk Raj Anand, one of the finest writers of India. His book "Coolie" is a seminal book in Indian literature. Coolie depicts the life of an young boy who dreams of a life in the hills, but is forced to travel out of his village to earn a living as a domestic help, porter, factory worker & rickshaw driver which is basically foot rickshaw. There are pages filled with poverty, filth, loss of dignity, abuse by employers, calling of names in the sense that the early pages of the book is one unending story of depression following deprivation. But slowly the beauty of Mulk Raj Anand emerges in the way he surreptitiously heaps scorn on the ruling polticial class of that time - the Britishers and their cahoots in pre-Independence India. It is an absolutely savage book on par with Kamala Markandeya's "Nectar in a Sieve". The final pages of the book guts you like a sledge hammer. Absolutely highly recommended must read by every Indian book lover.

Sacred Games

Just finished reading this 947 page book "Sacred Games" by Vikram Chandra - a far cry from his first book "Red Earth Pouring Rain" which was a huge disappointment. Sacred Games is a page turner for sure but i was not entirely awe-stricken by this magnum opus as much as other magnum opuses which i have read and savoured. Thankfully the narrative does not bore you but what was again disappointing is that the suspense is revealed in the initial few pages itself leaving the rest of the book like a history being told in the slow motion flashback - He has tried to make it like a family saga but he has put in too much irreverent family details in the book. He has taken on the Bombay police force and the political force head on and damned their practices brutally. The story closely resembles many small time and big time goons and newspaper headlines of the past couple of decades from Bombay.

A River Ran out of Eden

Just finished reading a short book "A River Ran out of Eden" by James Vance Marshall. It is a nice adventure story about the love of a young boy for the elusive golden seal in Aleutian Islands and the impact that his love makes on three adults in the story.

When Eight Bells Toll

Just finished reading "When Eight Bells Toll" a gripping sea thriller from Alistair Maclean, who is one of my favorite writers. Maclean unleashes the suspense in the end but keeps letting in the secret bit by bit as the story unfolds, the big one coming in the end.

Word of Honour

Just finished "Word of Honour" by Nelson de Mille, my first one by him. Its a long book 752 pages in all and is about a war crime committed in Vietnam by an American soldier which went unreported for 18 years, but is suddenly brought to life due to a book written on it. The book takes some time getting into and then deals with a whole lot of army court martial procedures. There is an unwritten code of honour amongst the platoon persons to protect each other, but inevitably as it happens, few persons hate each other, due to which the book comes out and then there is a long winded investigation, followed by another one and then the court martial. The soldeir Benjamin Tyson is no saint but it is his honesty in protecting the code of honour that the book dwells on. I would give it a rating of 3/5.

Tale of Two Cities

Just finished reading "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. It is my first Dickens book and took some time in finishing. It is a brilliant book encompassing love, tragedy, deception and is supposed to be one of the most unDickensian books as it lacks humour. It is one of the classics of literature and highly recommended.

From Yukon to Yucatan

Just finished reading a travel book "From Yukon to Yucatan" by Irwin Allan Sealy. It is a unique travel book in that the author retraced the route taken by the first travellers when they arrived into America from across Siberia - they traveled from Alaska into American continent across the western path and then onto Mexico where they crossed all the way into east to a town called Yucatan. The book traces a lot of history and culture across Mexico, which was really lacking in U.S. It took the author three months to travel and it took me almost that much time to read this book, busy as i was with a lot of things on my hand.