Review

“Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?” – Vikram Seth, An Equal Music Honestly, I never imagined reading Vikram Seth - I’ve had a lot of people, including my mother, criticise him, particularly for “Suitable Boy”. Luckily, Amrutha Whatsherlastnameits convinced me otherwise, and I’m rather grateful for that. I can’t remember a more beautifully written book. The following does have some plot spoilers, but that takes little away from the beauty. ...

Let me admit that I have somewhat of a crush on Haruki Murakami. I so wish I were capable of writing this review in his metaphorical meter and cast upon you such a spell that you would be compelled to question your existence without having read Murakami. He is simply a fantastic story teller, and even though his stories have no real point, no true conclusion, you are drawn in and captured. He never preaches, there is no stated moral, yet, at the close you find yourself certain that there was something profound you missed. In searching, you take a meaning that is truly yours - perhaps there is no other true path to profundity but self discovery. And that is Murakami’s magic; he writes a story in the surreal, in a crazy way that can never be part of our lives, yet that connects on a deeply personal level. And so, the stories stick, floating around in some metaphysical way. ...

Many would have probably either seen the movie, or the animated series on TV (I loved both); the book is slightly different, but totally worth reading (I have to thank Sir Varun Joshi for the recommendation). Written by an ex-army man, this is a thrill ride in book form. Packed with good comraderie, honour, heroism and all the other good stuff, the book is an excellent stimulant, and will leave you “on the bounce”. ...

I am simultaneously impressed and depressed by this book. On the one hand, it is almost blasphemous in its mortal depiction of gods, yet in a way that seems to underlie a believable reality that I could respect. Sadly, its poor rendition left me wanting. The series by Amish has been well touted, after all, it’s not unlike a Chetan Bhagat story - simple, drab, yet extremely easy to read. ...