Book Review: Onion Tears

11234119Title: Onion Tears

Author:  Shubnum Khan

Format: Paperback (296 pages)

Publisher: Penguin

Price: Rs. 595

                                 Rating: 4/5

Image courtesy: http://www.goodreads.com

I know Shubnum Khan through twitter. Very often I have found her tweets echoing my thoughts, but of course she puts them in a better manner as she writes for a living! I bought her book long after I knew it was out there, and chose to keep away from reading reviews as I wanted to get in to it, with an open mind. Needless to say, knowing her a  little bit through the online world, I was extremely excited when I got my hands on the book finally.

At the outset, I must mention that the moment I began reading the first page, I knew her writing is special. Given the market flooded with “chick lits” and new age writing, it is so hard to come by new authors who dabble in literary fiction,  and for that lyrical prose that is Shubnum’s writing , it is worth picking up the book! The author spins a story of three generations of women living in South Africa, who largely form the backbone of the book and take the story forward. That said, she also manages to capture history that spans the early Indian migrants to South Africa, living with Apartheid. Bringing in perspectives of all three women, the author manages to give them unique voices throughout.

She intertwines the story of Khadeejah Bibi Ballim, her daughter Summaya and granddaughter Aneesa, with issues of  love, loss, identity, duty and finding out the meaning of family. While the story starts out in a leisurely, almost lazy fashion , it gradually pulls you in and makes you feel like you are living the life with the delightful characters, and observing them sitting in their drawing room. While it is based in South Africa, the trials, tribulations and emotions are universal.

To sum up in a line, it worked for me simply because it stirred something inside. It is a book with a soul. And what more  does one need?

Can’t wait to see what Shubnum brings us next!

Book Review: The secret life of bees

Title: The secret life of bees

Author:  Sue Monk Kidd

Format: Paperback (302 pages)

Publisher: Penguin

Price: Rs. 395

Rating: 4.5/5

Image courtesy: http://www.suemonkkidd.com

There was something extremely intriguing about the title of this book, which made me extremely impatient and eager to know more the moment it found its way in to my hands. The main theme, just as I thought, is really summed up in the title itself. And somewhere in the novel, one of the main characters named August explains “Most people don’t have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about”.

Indeed. The book is replete with metaphors: the beehive, honey, the queen bee, the workers, all represent some or the other aspect of the human life, and if you know my taste in films and books, you would know I thrive on symbolism and metaphors.

In context of racial tension in South Carolina in the 60s, this novel tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed, who yearns for her mother’s love, hates her father and still manages to find love and new hope from the unlikeliest of sources.

I loved the fact that every chapter in this novel begins with an epigraph, which captures the main theme of the chapter. Each epigraph involves bees, which Kidd uses as a metaphor for humans and their interactions with one another. Delicious!

I do wonder if the author has over simplified the racial tension of those times, and whether such stories of love could really exist in a time remembered as only dark, but well, I am sure one can forgive the same, because the story is just so heartwarming and hopeful.

At the end, all I can say is, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the style of writing, the flow of words and sentences, and more than ever, the metaphors. All in all, I must mention that this book tells you that if you go near a bee hive, you must learn to be still and just send the bees love.  The bees will feel your love and will not sting you.

So yeah, lets try it with people, and who knows, it might just be true.

Book Review – Just married please excuse

Title: Just married please excuse

Author:  Yashodhara Lal

Format: Paperback (264 pages)

Publisher: Harper Collins

Price: Rs. 199

Rating: 3.5/5

Image courtesy: Homeshop18

When the book was out this July, of course I was part of the excitement considering I’ve known Y as a fellow blogger for years, followed by meeting her once at another blogger’s place for dinner years ago. That time, she was a mother to one tiny little peanut, who came along that day. Cut to present, and Y is not just a mother of three but also an author! How time flies, really!

I missed the launch of her book owing to out of town friends visiting, and so was determined to support her for any other activity around the book. Then came the contest, which asked for our own personal stories of being just married, asking to be excused, or something like that. 😉

So I sent in my entry and actually won! The result was a lunch at Mamagoto in Gurgaon and a free copy of her book!

I started to read the moment I got home from that lunch on a Saturday, and finished it in one sitting by evening. At the outset, I must confess that initially I thought Y’s first book falls under the category of “chick lit”. Not only do I hate the term with a vengeance, over the years I have decided the genre is just not my cup of tea. So yes, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is nothing pink or “bubble-gummy” about her writing  and it actually is a work of fiction full of intelligent humor and wit!

The book documents a couple’s journey in to marriage and parenthood and how they maintain their balance in the roller coaster ride that is called marriage.

What I loved about the book was how real it was. How very honest and refreshing in its style. There were several moments in the book I could relate to, from being clueless in the kitchen to finding a balance between conflicting tastes in upholstery…..

I was talking to a friend about the book, and what I think of the book can be summed up in what I told him “It is like sitting with a friend hearing about this phase of her life over a cup of coffee.”

The characters are lovable, believable and regular people. What’s not to like? Neither does the author oversell the concept of marriage, neither underplays it, just tells it like it is. And that, for me, is always a winner.

Its a light breezy read, perfect for a weekend afternoon or between heavy reading.

I think the best part was the lesson in the end that our character receives and passes on to the reader. I think this is sound wisdom that can really make marriage work. Offered by Vijay’s mother , the advice is simple.

‘Ladne ki kya bat hain? Kabhi main maan jaati hoon, kabhi wo maan jaate hain.’

Hear!

PS: While Y herself says that a lot of content is factual and reflects her life, over lunch the other day, her husband did say “Sab sach thodi hai!”.  🙂

Book Review: Dongri to Dubai

Title: Dongri to Dubai – Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia

Author:  S. Hussain Zaidi

Format: Paperback (402 pages)

Publisher: Roli Books

Price: Rs. 350

Rating: 4.5/5

Image courtesy: HomeShop18

Of course everyone has heard of S. Zaidi, known for being the longest surviving crime reporter in Mumbai! Perhaps his friendship with Bollywood people also contributes to his fame as film makers lap up his writing to convert to celluloid, for me, still, his claim to fame remains the sheer depth of knowledge on the Bombay mafia and the crime scene there. I enjoyed the earlier Black Friday as well as Mafia queens of  Mumbai, and so when I found it ready and available at my place, I picked it up instantly.

Apart from his knowledge and extensive research, why this book worked for me is the voice of Zaidi. His writing is gentle, interesting and engaging and somehow earnest. Neither did he glorify gangsters nor did he run them down….across the book I felt a certain detachment and objectivity which made for an engaging read.

I could have called it a niche book saying that it is for those who are interested in the murky stories of the underworld but I can’t, simply because of the story telling, that will make it a good read for the average person too (Hello? Me!). It won’t be an exaggeration to say that this is perhaps the most exhaustive resource available to us on 6 decades of crime scene in Mumbai. While Dawood Ibrahim emerges as the king of all dons with substantial words spent on him and his life,  a lot of other well known characters characters like  Haji Mastan, Varadarajan Mudaliar, Chhota Rajan, Arun Gawali, Chhota Shakeel, Abu Salem, etc. also find a place.
Of course it has its failings. Towards the second half and especially in the end, it does tend to drag a little, but somehow I was able to forgive the same as I had spent a lot many delightful hours with it. And so, it gets a thumbs up from me! Given the number of bad books in the market, this one sure is a winner and considering my relationship with non-fiction, a good buy!

The light of these candles is still stored in my mind*

Title: A Life in Words: Memoirs

Author: Ismat Chugtai (Translated by M. Asaduddin)

Format: Hard Cover , 312 pages

Publisher: Penguin Books (2012)

Price: Rs. 499

Rating: 4.5/5

Image courtesy: Amazon

As I found myself drowning in wonderful words and a life that begs to be celebrated, I couldn’t help but  mark a few lines in the book as I read along. Of course you know I wouldn’t do that literally, but I noted down page numbers and passages that I want to revisit, so that I can linger over the words, long after the book is over. One of the first is where Chugtai says,

“There’s something in me that militates against putting faith in anyone uncritically…One should first examine all points of disagreement before coming to a consensus.”

How can I not relate to this feisty writer who is known as the first feminist writer of South Asia? How can I not find parts of myself in her words, that seem to suggest such independence of thought, such defiance of society as is given to us, such a zest for life and learning?

I have been a self confessed Ismat Chugtai fan for a long time. I think I heard of her, first in college in some Literature course, and also remember seeing a play titled “Manto Ismat Hazir hai”, which featured a story as well as an essay by her I think. While I have read most of her writing, it always saddens me that she is still remembered most for the controversial story Lihaaf that earned her a summon from court, rather than all the other lovely body of writing she owned.

Well, coming to the book, it is more a collection of her musings about her own life. She is generous while talking about her childhood and youth, and provides a lot of insight, not just about  her personal life, but also about state of women in the Early 20th century, especially in Islamic households.  I wish she had also shared her experience as a wife and a mother, but well, that’s just me being greedy!

Reading Ismat Chughtai’s autobiography, ‘A Life in Words: Memoir’, translated by M. Asaduddin, for me brought to life and immortalized a writer I admire greatly. I am told its a near perfect translation from Urdu, but it makes me yearn to learn the language…

For fans of Urdu literature, for fans of Ismat Chugtai, for fans of caustic writing,  this collection comes highly recommended from me!

*The title of the post is taken from the last line in the book.