John le Carré - A Murder Of Quality

Background:

This book was also picked up as part of the Take A Chance Challenge - Judge A Book By Its Cover. The copy of the book has a cover identical to the one on the left, and I fell in love with it! I've only read one le Carré before: The Constant Gardener. That was about four years ago, and while I liked the book, for some reason I can't pinpoint, I've never picked up another one... until now!

So, what's so special about the cover? Well, for starters, it's simple. It's not glossy, like most covers out there. Instead, it's got a matte finish, with the title of the book being glossy. I love the way the title is sprawled, the font and the color. Finally, there's the picture: it shows a hut in the middle of nowhere.

Taking all of the above into account, you know it's got to be a good mystery. The author is well-known, the cover is simple (which would normally signify the plot being simple and not overtly convoluted, which tarnishes most mystery books), and it's got the 'surprise' factor: "where is this happening? Is it realistic?" And most importantly, is it a proper 'whodunnit', with ample clues scattered around, to that the inner detective can piece them together?

It's always amazing, when you pick up a book randomly, and it turns out to be fantastic, meeting your expectations almost all the way.

Review:

An unpopular teacher's wife is killed in a prestigious boarding school, Carne. A school where 'perception dies with puberty,' and one of its oldest teachers claims never to have taught a student. Instead, the rare scholar that does go through has ignored the 'cult of mediocrity' which the school has propagated through the generations.

A murder in a school is always going to be talked about - by the students, the staff, and the media. However, what makes this murder slightly more bizarre is the fact that the victim wrote to Christian Voice, claiming that her husband was going to kill her. By the time Miss Aisla, the editor, received the letter, and got in touch with an old friend, George Smiley, to help her investigate the veracity of it, Stella Rode was dead. So, you have the obvious suspect: the husband! But, what if he has an airtight alibi?

As Smiley sets out to determine who the culprit is, the reader is given an insight into how respectable people really aren't as straightforward as you'd expect them to be. Conversely, they tend to be petty and small-minded, attracting attention to themselves, as possible suspects, for... if it comes down to that, everyone has a motive.

The book is not complicated; it doesn't twist and turn, looking for the 'shock' ending. However, what le Carré masterfully does is, weave a story, which keeps the user engrossed and guessing. Honestly, I didn't figure out who the perpetrator was, but, when it was disclosed, almost casually, I wasn't surprised. The other thing is, the book was kept short and simple, at 180 pages, and that's what a good mystery novel should do!

Rating: 4

Terry Pratchett - A Hat Full Of Sky

Background:

This book was picked up as part of the Take A Chance Challenge - Random Word Selection. The word I picked out was 'sky', and I entered the word in Amazon. The second result I got was A Hat Full Of Sky, and it was an easy decision. I've never read a Terry Pratchett book before, but I've had wonderful things about his books, and figured, this is a golden opportunity handed over to me on a silver plate. How can I refuse? It was a great start to the challenge, for I loved the book, and am going to try reading more of Pratchett. So, if you have any recommendations, please let me know.

Review:

This is the sequel to The Wee Free Men, and it follows Tiffany Arching's adventures, this time with her being an apprentice to research witch, Miss Level. Tiffany, still relatively new to the world of witches, hopes to learn from her employer, and become a fully qualified witch, during her apprenticeship. However, things don't quite pan out that way, as she helps Miss Level take care of the needy in the village, without actually using any magic. Miss Level says a witch doesn't always need to do magic. All a witch needs to do is not 'go to the bad side'.

However, Tiffany has one trick, which she hasn't shared with anyone yet - she can step out of her body at will, leaving it an empty vessel. What she doesn't know is, an ancient and bodiless spirit (a hiver) is just waiting to inhabit her body, and take over. And so it does. What ensues is drama, as the cleverest of witches (Granny Weatherwax, Miss Level) and the Nac Mac Feegles (a wee fairy race (they are extremely tiny), who protect Tiffany, from the time she acted as their 'Kelda' - this was done in the previous book of the series) attempt to get rid of the hiver, and bring the real Tiffany back, before the hiver takes over completely, and Tiffany is lost forever, in her body. At the same time, the hiver's disregard for anything moral coupled with Tiffany's powers wreaks havoc, as she turns a man into a toad, 'borrows' Miss Level's broomstick, and goes on an expensive shopping spree which, without her powers, she'd never be able to afford... she's turning over to the 'bad side'.

This is a well-written page-turner, which has oodles of dry humor. The characters are extremely well-drawn, and one cannot help but associate with all of them, from Tiffany to the Nac Mac Feegles (who are probably the best drawn out group). Despite the Nac Mac Feegles being drunken thieves, you admire them being loyal and good=hearted, while simultaneously appreciating the lack of conscientiousness. There's a part in the book where Miss Level is horrified that they're talking about invading her body, to get the hiver out, for it would mean invading her privacy. They reply saying they've already read her diary, and if it was that personal, she wouldn't keep it in the sock drawer. And when Tiffany goes on a perilous mission, one of the Nac Mac Feegles joins her, saying he's promised his wife that he'd help her eliminate the hiver.

As you'd expect for any children/young adult book, it demarcates between good and bad, courage and cowardice, loyalty and flippancy. The obnoxious fall, and the good rise to the occasion to help. So, the feel-good affect that this book has is an added bonus.

Rating: 4

Sebastian Barry - The Secret Scripture

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2008, and winner of the Costa Award 2008, The Secret Scripture explores the lives of both, Dr. Grene (a psychiatrist) and his centerian patient, Roseanne, as both characters reflect on their life from their youngest days, to where are they at this point in time.

Roseanne McNulty has enjoyed the comforts of the Roscommon Mental Hospital for more decades than she can remember. However, the hospital is about to be demolished, and Dr. Grene is re-assessing his patients, to see who are free to roam the outside world, and who need to go through the pains of moving hospitals.

When Dr. Grene breaks the news to her, and says he'll need to revisit her admission to the hospital, she starts reflecting on her life, from her earliest memories, and jots them down, addressing the reader of the 'scripture'. However, she's reluctant to share her memories with her doctor, and keeps the scriptures hidden from the hospital staff, by keeping it under a loose floorboard. Calling herself a cailleach (the old crone of stories, the wise woman, and sometimes a kind of witch), Roseanne tries to keep her writing as accurate as possible, but, as she admits

No one has the monopoly on truth, not even myself.

At the same time, Dr. Grene is dealing with the pains of his personal life, with the estrangement of his wife, despite living in the same house, followed by her death.

We are not wolves, but lambs astonished in the margins of the fields by sunlight and summer. She lost her world, Martha. And I lost mine. No doubt it was well deserved. Whatever her husband suffered was not, and whatever Bet suffered I know for a certainty was not.

Because faithfulness is not a human question, but a divine one.

As Dr. Grene tries finding out more about Roseanne, while battling his own problems, the book progresses into a beautiful piece, with some incredible memories, and some terribly sad ones (and some disturbing ones). The reader cannot help but empathize with both characters, as they struggle to figure out how they got to where they are: from Roseanne's early childhood memories and the silence of her mother, to her father's unfortunate death, to her marriage with Tom McNulty which was followed by an annulment, to the birth of her child, which was taken away from her - a lot of which boiled down to her being Presbyterian. She acknowledges her loneliness, at various stages of her life, and the reader cannot help but feel a tug in their heart as they read her story.

How I wished suddenly for my own mother to seek for me, so fiercely, so sweatingly, to find me again on the lost strand of the world, to rescue me, to recruit others for my rescue, to bring me again to her breast, as that distant mother so obviously ached ached to do with the happy creature in my arms.

With almost poetic writing, Barry brings to life a realistic Ireland during the 1922 civil war, where there's the smell of death and betrayal; where idealism is being compromised, and, innocence lost; where the only thing that matters is being on the side of power, and surviving. The characters are incredibly well-drawn, specially that of Fr. Gaunt - a character I grew to hate as the book progressed, for it was he who seemed to be making life very difficult for Roseanne, just because she did not follow his instructions.

Both, the beauty and the problem of the book lies in the first person narration of Roseanne and Dr. Grene, as they both write in their respective journals. It is easy for the reader to lose track of whose reflections they are reading, and as the stories come together, it gets confusing... specially as, Barry also highlights the meetings between the various characters in the present-day (i.e. the whole book is not written in a reflective manner).

I really enjoyed the book, and Barry's writing flows so lyrically that it makes this a very pleasant reading experience. You feel like the characters are in front of you telling you their stories, and you can actually see all the emotions that must be flowing through them at each moment.

Rating: 4

Sophie Kinsella - The Undomestic Goddess

I'm not a chick-lit fan at all. The last time I read a book belonging to that genre, I was traumatized and vowed to steer clear of the genre at all costs. So, I surprised myself when I picked this up without someone holding a gun to my head. I needed a mindless book, which would just entertain me for a bit.

And that's exactly what this book did. I haven't read the much-talked about Shopaholic series, and I didn't quite know what to expect with this bestseller.

Samantha Sweeting is a high-flying lawyer, working in one of the most reputable law firms in London. With no work-life balance to boast of, Samantha is focusing on her one and only goal: become a partner at Carter Spink. However, the day she's informally told that she's made partner, she also discovers that she's made a mistake - a mistake that will cost one of Carter Spink's clients £50,000,000. So, what does she do? Run out of the office, head to Paddington, and climb on the first train she sees, which takes her to a London suburb. Coincidentally, the house she knocks on, to get a drink of water, is expecting an interviewee for the position of their domestic help, and they mistake Samantha to be her. Samantha, in first person, says she has never failed an interview in her life, yet. She's not about to start now.

She doesn't have a clue about the basic domestic tasks: from cooking to ironing, from cleaning to laundering. However, she attempts to give it a go, and what ensues is total disaster: Putting the chickpeas in the oven to make hummus, taking the clothes out of the washing machine to discover they are all pink, and, ordering sandwiches from caterers just because she can't slice bread. However, she finds help in the gardener, Nathaniel, and his mother, Iris. The latter offers to teach her the basics of household work, and typically, Samantha being a fast learner, is cooking gourmet meals in a couple of weeks. There's a love story (duh!), where Samantha has a crush on Nathaniel, and he's interested in her as well... (and they live happily ever after - no surprises there, I guess?)

The book's an easy read, and does what it says on the tin (or the cover, in this case). It's unrealistic in a number of ways, like, would a high-powered successful lawyer really make a break for it over one mistake, or try and resolve it and keep her job? There's no room for mistakes, but is absconding really the answer? To make it even more unrealistic, becoming the house-help to pretentious socialites? Then, I'll concede that slicing bread is a tough job, but, can someone, as intelligent as Samantha is made out to be, really not figure out how to use the oven, or the washing machine? What about ironing - it's kind-of obvious what needs to be done, even if you've never done it?*

Rating: 2.5

*I've never ironed a single item until I started working three years ago. I had one catastrophe, where I ruined a shirt, but, other than that, nothing!

Alice Walker - The Color Purple {Weekly Geeks Q&A}

Last week's Weekly Geeks encouraged us to ask the blog readers to ask questions about books we're reading/books we've read, and not yet completed. I'm running extremely late, but, I am finally getting down to doing this. I was asked the below questions:
From Becky:

The Color Purple. Did you enjoy it? Would you recommend it? Is it easy to read or more intimidating? Have you seen the movie? If you have, which did you prefer the book or the movie? Did you have a favorite character? How about a favorite quote? Will you be seeking out any other Alice Walker books?

Yes, I did enjoy the book, and I think it's definitely worth a read. It provides the reader with an insight into life in the South in those times: oppressed women, abusive men, judgmental society. The story is told through the eyes of Celie, a girl of 14 (when the book begins), who has suffered a fair bit; being raped by the man she calls 'father', being forced to marry a man significantly older than herself who is in love with a famous blues singer (Shug Avery), and being separated from her sister, Nettie. It's the exploration of these subjects that make the book a little difficult to read, as you can't help but feel your heart go out to poor Celie, who writes her story to 'God', as she has been told never to tell about her abuse to another person.

My favorite character, trite as it may sound, was Shug: a blues singer, who's condemned by society, for her lavish ways; a strumpet in short skirts, smoking cigarettes, drinking gin. Singing for money, and taking other women mens. Talk about slut, hussy, heifer, streetcleaner. However, Shug doesn't let all this bog her down, but instead, aspires to enjoy life, unlike most of the other women of the time. She's also compassionate, friendly, and becomes a savior of sorts to Celie.

As for a favorite quote... while there are a couple which highlight Shug's attitude, I think this one will give you an insight into Celie's head, as she writes her story:

Dear God,

He act like he can't stand me no more. Say I'm evil an always up to no good. He took my other little baby, a boy this time. But I don't think he kilt it. I think he sold it to a man an his wife over Monticello. I got breasts full of milk running down myself. He say Why don't you look decent? Put on something. But what I'm sposed to put on? I don't have nothing.

I keep hoping he fine somebody to marry. I see him looking at my little sister. She scared. But I say I'll take care of you. With God help.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen the movie - in fact, I didn't even know there was a movie, so...

Regarding seeking out more of Alice Walker - yes, I probably will. Her other books seem to have good reviews as well, but I guess I just haven't gotten around to doing so yet!

From Louise:

I tried reading The Color Purple a few months ago, but could not find head nor tail in it. I only read a couple of pages. Should I have kept it and continued (as in “it will all become clear a few more pages into the book)?

I think so. It's one of those books, where the narrative just drifts into the story, and then, you easily get yourself lost into it, sympathizing with Celie, and hoping she finds happiness eventually.

From Dreamybee:

I have same questions about The Color Purple as some of the other commenters. I’ve only ever seen the movie but I thought it was great, and it’s a movie that stands up over time. It was just as good a couple years ago as it was when it came out in 1985. Have you seen the movie and how does it compare to the book? If not, does the book stand up over time?

I haven't seen the movie, so, I can't really comment on the movie-book comparison. The book does stand up over time. It's a 'historical' book, in a manner of speaking - talking about a time, place and society which has existed in the 'past'. As one of the comments on the back says:

The Color Purple is a work to stand beside literature for any time and any place. It needs no category other than the fact that it's superb. {Rita Mae Brown}

From Eva:

Did you find The Color Purple difficult to read? I’m not super-good with books written in dialect, so I’m a little afraid of it. But I enjoyed Their Eyes Were Watching God earlier this year; if you’ve read that one, how do they compare?

Haven't read Their Eyes Were Watching God, so can't really comment. However, I do think the 'dialect' is what made this book more 'real' than anything else. It can get occasionally awkward to read, and you may have to re-read a line or two over again, to ensure you haven't misinterpreted anything. By your comment, you recommend Their Eyes Were Watching, so I'll definitely try and check it out.

From Jodie:

Which characters did you like the most in The Colour Purple? How did you feel about Mr by the end of the book?

I've answered the first part above, in detail.

As for Mr. -, it's a tough question. I hated him for most of the book, simply because he came across as a selfish chauvinistic sadistic abusive man, and I couldn't possibly have a lower opinion of people like that! I guess, putting it in context, many men at that time (and place) were similar, although I wouldn't say that makes it alright. However, I think, by the end of the book, he did try and redeem himself, which helps some... just not enough. Again, I find it very difficult to forgive such things, so... it might just be me!

So, my questions:

Is there any character you held in utmost contempt? and, What do you think the most defining quality of Shug was? And, the stereotype: did you enjoy the book?

Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children

The winner of the Booker Prize in 1981, the Booker of Bookers in 1993, and the Best of the Booker in 2008, this book is much-acclaimed and highly recommended. The New York Times claims:

The literary map of India has to be redrawn... Midnight's Children sounds like a continent finding its voice.

And, I can't even refute that for argument's sake, because this epic novel explores the history of Indian independence, of the Indo-China war, the Emergency, blackouts, the Partition, the emergence of Bangladesh, and essentially, it's a history of the Indian sub-continent from the time of its birth. But, what makes this novel truly historical is its protagonist: Saleem Sinai, born exactly at the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world slept and, India awoke to life and freedom, and the other 'midnight children' - children born between midnight and 1 am on the day of India's independence. One thousand and one of them. These children are all special, gifted. While one can travel through time, another can travel via any reflective surface. There's a witch, and there's a girl so beautiful that her beauty blinds anyone who sees her face. Someone else can changes sexes at will. But, of course, the most potent of gifts comes to Saleem, born exactly at midnight - the gift of telepathy, as well as, being able to 'conference' in all the midnight's children, and allowing them to communicate through him. And his nemesis, Shiva, who ironically enough, is born in the same hospital at exactly the same time. While Saleem was the offspring of a Hindu street-singer, Shiva was born into a affluent Kashmiri family. However, typically, a nurse made the switch, thereby changing the destiny of the two most potent Midnight Children, who would be mortal enemies until the end. While Saleem's birth was celebrated, with a letter from the then Prime Minister, saying his life would always be entwined with his country's, Shiva's birth was not celebrated nation-wide!

So, who were the Midnight's Children? What did they signify?

Reality can have metaphorical content; that does not make it less real. A thousand and one children were born; there were a thousand and one possibilities which had never been present in one place at one time before; and there were a thousand and one dead ends. Midnight's children can be made to represent many things, according to your point of view; they can be seen as the last throw of everything antiquated and retrogressive in our myth-ridden nation, whose defeat was entirely desirable in the context of a modernizing, twentieth-century economy; or as the true hope of freedom, which is now forever extinguished; but what they must not become is the bizarre creation of a rambling diseased mind. No: Illness is neither here nor there.

However, this book does not trace the life of all one thousand and one children, or the five hundred and eighty one that survived. In fact it focuses solely on Saleem, the narrator, and the thirty-one years of his life. And the life of his parents and grandparents. An astrologer predicted Saleem's fortunes (or, shall we say misfortunes, for he was both, the master and the victim of his time) before his birth:

A son... such a son! A son, who will never be older than his motherland - neither older nor younger. ... There will be two heads - but you shall only see one - there will be knees and a nose, a nose and knees. Newspaper praises him, two mothers raise him! Bicyclists love him - but crowds will shove him. Sisters will weep; cobra will creep... Washing will hide him - voices will guide him! Friends mutilate him - blood will betray him! Spittoons will brain him - doctors will drain him - jungle will claim him - wizards reclaim him! Soldiers will try him, tyrants will fry him... He will have sons without having sons. He will be old before he is old! And he will die before he is dead!

Sounds complicated, right? The above pretty much sums up the story. If you think it's confusing, it's because it is. A tryst with destiny, a dance with fate and he seems singly responsible for a multitude of historical events in India, post-independence: be it the emergence of Gujarat and Maharashtra, or the Indo-Pak wars, the politics, or even the Emergency period!

You would think that the Midnight's Children would unite, to do some good, to do their nation proud. But, India at the time, seemed to be in a chaotic state of class differences, where people of the various castes did not interact with one another. And, there was a bigger problem: Saleem was their only mode of communication, and once he discovered how he and Shive had swapped destinies, he was reluctant to open the Midnight's Children network again, lest his arch-enemy discovered how his affluent birth had been denied. So, the children lived in denial, hiding their gifts, not interacting with one another, and thereby letting the nation succumb to an apparent greater evil, which would be the end of the Children.

Yes, it's a complex plot, and it's a difficult read. Rushdie's writing is convoluted, and he has literally created his own language and grammar rules. From not using commas, to using words like 'nearlynine' and 'almosteight'. Towards the latter half of the book, there are chunks where in the same paragraph, he refers to himself in both, first and third, person, making the book more difficult to read than it should be. But then again, with my past experiences with Rushdie, this isn't altogether surprising.

The book's interesting, gripping, and colorful. It shows you a historical India, tainted with its new-found independence, and corruption. It gives you an insight into the culture of the country, and the lifestyle. The fascination with Europeans and Americans, and the emphasis on 'black' being unattractive.

However, what I really loved about the book was the role of Padma - a role so effortlessly and artistically worked in, that it actually helped me through the first couple of hundred pages. So, who is she? Padma is physically present as Saleem is writing his story. Through the book, we are allowed a glimpse into the psyche and emotions of Saleem, as he narrates his story, battling his past, and simultaneously attempting to adhere to the truth as much as possible. However, Saleem is prone to digressing, and often, initially, I found that I wasn't quite sure where the book was going. And, that's where Padma steps in: she calls him on it.

But here is Padma at my elbow, bullying me back into the world of linear narrative, the universe of what happened next: 'At this rate,' Padma complains, 'you'll be two hundred years old before you manage to tell about your birth.'

or,

You better get a move on or you'll die before you get yourself born.

Honestly, at the time I was reading this portion, I was hoping the narrator would bring his meanderings to a close, and move on with the story. What's amazing is, this allows both: digressions, and a gentle push back into the story line.

This is an amazing work of literature, and I fully think it deserves to win both, the Booker of Bookers and the Best of the Booker. Volume, story, historical value and literary significance - all in abundance.

Overall rating: 9/10.

Bernhard Schlink - Homecoming

 This is another one of my reviews that have been pending for over a month. While I'm reading the super-chunky Midnight's Children, I thought it's a good time to get up-to-date with some of the reviews which really should have been written earlier.

Homecoming was my attempt to get familiar with Schlink's writing, before I read The Reader - Schlink's much acclaimed international bestseller, and unfortunately, I was fairly disappointed, so much so that, I've put off reading The Reader 'til next year. 

Another book that originates in the post-war Germany, this one traces the life of Peter Debauer as he struggles to find his 'home'. Born and brought up in Germany, by his mother, Peter has never known his dead father, although he spent his vacations with his father's parents in Switzerland, while growing up. 

His grandparents were editors of a series called Novels for Your Reading Pleasure and Entertainment. However, they were insistent that young Peter never read these manuscripts, and instead, they would provide him with books more suitable for children his age. However, Peter disobeyed them only the once, and coincidentally, stumbled upon a story that would change his life... 

The story revolved around a soldier who escapes from Russian imprisonment, and starts his journey home, overcoming obstacles on the way. Yet, when he reaches home, he finds his wife married, with a child. What transpires next is unknown, as the last few pages of this story are missing. 

Years later, Peter finds the story again, and is filled with an urge to determine what happened next in the story. So starts his quest to look for the novel, and its author. However, he is unable to find a published copy of the manuscript, but, he is able to identify the building in Germany which used to be the soldier's home, and he rings on the apartment. Typically, a woman opens the door, and Peter ends up falling in love with her. And in due course of time, she tells him that she is already married. 

When they meet again, a few years on, Peter proposes to her, and they decide to tie the knot. However, the legal documentation cannot be completed, as the authorities are unable to find anyone with Peter's name born at the time/place of his birth. In theory, he doesn't exist. When he goes back, to ask his mother the details of his birth and early life, he finds out that she hasn't been totally honest with him, about his father, or his early life. In fact, his father might be alive. Another coincidence: the author of the manuscript might just be the man who fathered him! 

And so he sets off to New York, to find out who he really is, where he's come from, and the mystery surrounding his father. 

The book is well-written. However, it's a hackneyed unbelievable plot, with too many coincidences; most of which seem far-fetched. Also, Schlink's tried way too hard to allude to the Odyssey, drawing parallels between the protagonist's life and the classic masterpiece. In fact, it looks like he's tweaked and tucked his plot to match the Odyssey's. I also think this might be one of those books, which suffers from losing a lot of its brilliance due to translation. The words just don't flow easily, and at the end of the day, it seems like a rigid forced novel, instead of an easy free-flowing one. 

Overall rating: 4/10

Philip Roth - The Plot Against America

This review has been outstanding for about a month and a half, and for that I apologize. I read it back when I was working towards a big deadline, and I just didn't find time to review it back then. But here it is, now...

I stumbled on to this book by chance. One of my colleagues recommended The Man In The High Castle to me, fleetingly, and it sounded quite interesting. However, by the time the day had come to a close, and I got home, I just couldn't remember the name of the book. So, I googled something like 'World War II alternate reality", and guess what I found: Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. I still haven't read The Man In The High Castle, but this, this was fantastic! Is this what they call 'serendipity'? A fortunate mistake? Because, it sure was. Barring the classics that are Gatsby and A Clockwork Orange, this has been my favorite book in 2009. 

The premise of the book is both, credible and simple: what if Lindbergh had won the 1940 Presidential election, instead of Franklin D. Roosevelt? In an interview, Roth says he stumbled upon a sentence in Schlesinger's notes, which stated something along the lines of: Some Republican isolationalists wanted Lindbergh to run for President in 1940. And so, the book was born.

Roth has gone to great lengths to keep all the other events as historically accurate as possible, so much so that the book actually seems like real history. The political characters, the speeches, historical events - they all seem to add up. He even chose Winchell to lead the opposition against Lindbergh, as he hated the latter; calling him pro-Nazi from the moment Lindbergh propagated the cause of America not intervening in events geographically far away from them. I concede that the thought of Winchell ever running a political opposition against the President of the United States is scary, but, then again, you can say the same about Lindbergh becoming President. Nonetheless, one can also see why Lindbergh becoming President was not as incredible as it sounds: an aviation hero (making the first transatlantic flight in the late 1920s), he gained public sympathy when his child was kidnapped and murdered. He said 'Hitler was a great man,' but simultaneously voiced what must have been a very popular opinion: No American should die on foreign soil! So, yes, what if Lindbergh occupied the White House in 1940... 

While some of the historical accuracies makes the book 'real', what makes it magnificent is that Roth chooses to write it in first person, in a direct way, where the narrator is Roth's younger self - all of seven when the book starts. Living with his parents, his older brother and his cousin, Roth's narration is a mixture of childhood pains and adult intelligence.

The book opens with:

Fear presides over these memories, a perpetual fear. Of course no childhood is without its terrors, yet I wonder if I would have been a less frightened boy if Lindbergh hadn't been President, or if I hadn't been the offspring of Jews. 

One of the so-called pains is when one of the neighboring kids tries to befriend him, but Roth only has disdain for him, even after Seldon saves his life. In fact, the greatest tragedy of the book is orchestrated by Roth, inadvertently, and one ends up feeling the greatest sympathy for Seldon's loss. 

While Roth is fighting these childish personal battles, he is also aware of the political environment, that seems to be pulling his family apart, as all its members are dealing with Lindbergh as President in their own world. His cousin runs away from home, to fight the War, and comes home with a prosthetic leg and anger - anger at how things turn out. His brother idolizes Lindbergh, and uses his artistic talents to create amazing portraits of him, which he keeps hidden under his bed. His father is furious with the turn of events - specially, when he takes his family on a holiday to Washington, and their hotel room is rendered unavailable. Bess (his wife) is embarrassed, as he reminds the people around him of the Gettysburg principle : All men are created equal. It's no avail, and they are forced to find another hotel room. They live the dream, Philip's father says, and we live in a nightmare.

As the book progresses, and more anti-Semitism is introduced through programs like 'Just Folks', which encourages Jewish city boys to go and work on a farm for a summer. Philip's older brother, Sandy, is one such member, and he is later requested to encourage other Jewish boys to do the same. Bess' sister, Evelyn, has a boyfriend who is a Rabbi, a Rabbi who propagates Lindbergh's cause, insisting what's happening in Germany is completely different to what's happening in America; i.e. the Jews should enter into a country life, and disappear into it. This adds more friction to the family relationships. 

Can you imagine this? A fascist America? The President of the Free World being anti-Semites? America siding with Germany during the War, and signing non-aggression treaties? I can't, not for the life of me. But Roth, he's managed to a spectacular job of bringing something we can't imagine to life, and making us grateful that for once, the 'what if' didn't quite pan out. 

Overall, a 9 on 10.

Anne Enright - The Gathering

I'm trying to read all the Booker winners, in the next couple of years. This painstakingly dull book, filled with unengaging characters and a pointless plot adds a serious blemish to my plan at the very outset. I struggled through the first thirty pages, and struggled some more 'til I hit page 89, in a week... And then... then I just gave up, and figured this book is not for me. I mean, what a gigantic waste of my reading time! 

I wonder if the Booker judges even read this book, and if they did, did they have exceptionally low standards? I must read the rest of the shortlist for 2007, for I really can't fathom how this book won any kind of prize. 

I mean, what kind of a person imagines the sex-life of her grandmother, and starts off a chapter saying she thought her grandmother was a prostitute? That's the narrator for you. She also judges her mum, and talks of the 'endless humping' in her family, which led to the number of siblings she had being in double-digits. 

I feel terrible, but, 0/10. If negative ratings work, I'd probably give this a -10. Argh! Ok, rant over. 

PS: I was almost tempted to create a new 'genre' called pointless reading for this!

Zoe Heller - Notes On A Scandal

Who doesn't love a good juicy scandal? The type that makes its way to the tabloids, and has everyone talking about it, and judging the protagonists of the impropriety. Everyone has an opinion, and more oft' than not, it's judging the miscreants. Society. Business as usual. 

So, what's the scandal? One newspaper headlines read:

Sex Teacher Passes Her Orals With Flying Colours

while another read:

Teacher Takes Keen Interest In Student Body. 

I'm sure you've heard about it: a teacher having an illicit affair with one of her high school students. Or, in this case, a happily married forty-one year old having an affair with a fifteen year old. 

But, the narrator isn't Sheba Hart, the forty-one year old teacher. Nor is it Steven Connolly, the student. Instead, it's Barbara Covett - a sixty-something year old woman, who has never married. Barbara is Sheba's friend, her defender, if you like. The Sun refers to her as the saucy school teacher's spin-doctor, despite the fact that she has had forty years of experience as a teacher, and has never been associated with anything scandalous prior to this. 

So, what prompts someone like Barbara to act as Sheba's defender? When Sheba walks into the school for the first time, Barbara feels like she's found her 'kindred spirit'. Jealousy overcomes her when she discovers that Sheba has befriended Susan, another teacher who Barbara dislikes. In fact, as the book progresses, the reader comes to find Barbara as an increasingly judgmental condescending character, who has a superiority complex, coupled with some major inhibitions about being single. She's overbearing, clingy, and tends to drive people away. Yet, her extremely high opinion of herself, and the way she manages to justify all her acts almost makes the reader feel sorry for her delusions of grandeur. 

Barbara uses gold stars to mark the timeline of her friendship with Sheba, in her notes; notes that she's writing in order to help Sheba's looming court case. She's almost subservient to Sheba, as she cooks for her, and looks after her, and takes great delight in Sheba's increasing dependence on her. Don't worry - these are not spoilers. In fact, this book is written retrospectively, so the thriller aspect of it is minimal. At the very outset, we know where the protagonists stand, and what has happened. 

Barbara (and subsequently, the reader) struggles to understand Sheba's infatuation with this semi-literate adolescent, who is marginally artistic. She has a devoted husband, a rebellious attractive teenage daughter, and a son with Downs' syndrome. Barbara at one point says that she'd bet they were happily married, and even according to Sheba, they are. In my opinion, what instigates Sheba is a combination of the innocence the boy has, as well as the adventure that a fling like this brings: sex sessions in Hampsted Heath (I kid you not!), meeting at his place when his parents are away, smuggling him into her basement studio, and finding some time in her art studio at school, where they drew the curtains.... Sheba isn't an idiot. She knows what the consequences of her actions are, if found out. But, that doesn't stop her. Incredible that people are ready to risk their entire life (as they know it) because someone finds them attractive, at a time when they're vulnerable to feeling otherwise due to a mid-life crisis of sorts.  

Why, then, was Sheba moved to such an extravagant estimate of his virtues? Why did shr insist on seeing him as her little Helen Keller in a sea of Yahoos. The papers will tell you that Sheba's judgment was clouded by desire: she was attracted to Connolly, and in order to explain that attraction, she convinced herself that he was some kind of genius. 

This is a fascinating gripping story of betrayal, sex, and infatuation. It's not a thriller, but yet you can't let go, and you're compelled to turn each page, and consume it all. It's well-written, funny at times, perverse, thought-provoking (specially in the beginning where they discuss why a woman being the deviant is funny, whereas if it was a man and a fifteen year old girl, it would be disturbing. Guess there is an element of truth in that), and truly shocking. Barbara's tone throughout the book is matter-of-fact and to the point, with minimal padding and meandering. So, while it's not as emotive as you'd expect it to be, it still makes a great read. 

Overall, four stars. 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Half Of A Yellow Sun

War destroys all that is left of innocence. It pulls people together, and it drives them apart. People are left asking questions, as they pine for their loved ones, as they try and contemplate the horrors of war, and as they struggle to survive - just so that they can see a better day.

And it is this aspect of war that Adichie focuses on in her much-acclaimed novel, Half of a Yellow Sun. The story, based in the 1960s, revolves around the Nigeria-Biafra war - a historical event that has escaped the chapters of most history texts outside Africa - and the massacre, starvation, illness, and fear it brought in its wake, as the Igbo people battled for their independence, which was short-lived. Biafra (even my spell-check doesn't recognize it!), in 1970, returned to Nigeria, and as the book stated: a million people died, in the process.

The story's main protagonists are the twins: Olanna and Kainene, who are poles apart, both in looks and in attitude; their lovers: the 'revolutioary professor' Odenigbo, and the awkward introverted Richard - an expatriate writer, enchanted by Igbo history. And then of course, there's Ugwu, a poor village boy who has come to serve the professor, as a house-boy.

The twins, at the outset, are estranged and distant, for no reason whatsoever. Olanna is about to move in with Odenigbo, and teach in Nsukka, whereas Kainene is looking to take her father's business to greater heights. However, as things turn out, due to love and betrayal, the twins' rift grows deeper, and Olanna finds herself avoiding Kainene. She does, however, adopt Odenigbo's love-child from a brief one-night affair, and finds herself devoted to Baby's health and happiness.

When war breaks out, and strains some of the relationships, while simultaneously bridging the gap in some, we see the weakness and strength in the characters as never before.

Richard, an Englishman (and Kainene's lover) remains in the warzone, and writes articles for the international media, propagating the cause of the Igbo, instead of returning to his motherland. He is disgusted when some white journalists show up, and ask about the unfortunate death of another Englishman. His sarcastic comment at that point is along the lines of: one white person is equivalent to a thousand Biafrans.

Odenigbo finds comfort in his papers, and his theories, but when war breaks out he resorts to alcohol. Olanna, and Ugwu set up a small formal school, as all the schools around them are closed down, and transformed into refugee camps. Kainene, on the other hand, sets up a refugee camp, and tries to ensure that there are enough protein pills and food for everyone - specially the children.

As the characters are introduced, and their role in the story starts shaping up, I couldn't help but marvel at how Adichie's writing shifts from prosaic to poetic. And that, at times, is disconcerting. For example, in the opening chapter, Ugwu is overwhelmed by the richness of his new environment:

He looked up at the ceiling, so high up, so piercingly white. He closed his eyes and tried to reimagine this spacious room with the alien furniture, but he couldn't. He opened his eyes, overcome by a new wonder, and looked around to make sure it was all real. To think that he would sit on these sofas, polish this slippery-smooth floor, wash these gauzy curtains.

and I think that's a beautiful piece of writing - so vivid, and I can close my eyes, and actually imagine Ugwu's wonder, just by the above line.

But then, later on in the book, after the war had started, the descriptions were enough to make me, as a second-hand observer, feel queasy. The below is a snippet when Olanna was on a train, heading back home to her revolutionary lover, after the war had broken out, and the Igbo people were being found out and massacred.

Olanna looked at the bowl. She saw the little girl's head with the ashy-grey skin and the plaited hair and rolled back eyes and open mouth. She stared at it for a while before she looked away. Somebody screamed.

The woman closed the calabash. 'Do you know,' she said, 'it took me so long to plait this hair. She had such thick hair'.

And then there's the scene Richard witnessed at the airport, on landing from England, where his cousin was getting married.

Richard saw fear etched so deeply on to his face that it collapsed his cheeks and transfigured him into a mask that looked nothing like him. He would not say 'Allahu Akbar' because his accent would give him away. Richard willed him to say the words, anyway, to try; he willed him something, anything, to happen in the stifling silence and as if in answer to his thoughts, the rifle went off and (his) chest blew open, a splattering red mass [...]

My favorite character of the book has to be Kainene, just because she's offbeat, and has no illusions (read delusions) of grandeus about herself. While Olanna was occasionally self-piteous, Odenigbo was a character I couldn't relate to. He was an intellect, but came across as a know-it-all. Ugwu was a character I had grown quite fond of, as I could actually relate to some of his thoughts (hats off to Adichie for creating one of the most 'real' characters I've come across, in a long time), but without giving much away, I will say that there are certain things that make a character somewhat irredeemable. And Richard, well, I admired him for sticking to the Igbo people, as though they were his own, but, his character was probably the blandest of them all, if you know what I mean?

In this story about love, loyalty, betrayal, redemption, and survival, Adichie brings up the painful reality of war; unflinchingly discussing gang-rapes, starvation, children dying, and the horrors of air-strikes, where everyone tries to hide in a bunker. In an ironic statement, we see how everything is held together, precariously, as a girl's belly starts to swell, and her mother wonders is she pregnant or is she dying. (a swollen belly indicates 'kwashiorkar', or protein deficiency).

This is a very well-written profound book, and it really wouldn't surprise me if it became a classic of our times. However, in critique, the couple of things I will say are:

In my opinion, the flow of the book was disrupted by how the first section was based in the early 1960s, the second in the late 60s, the third in the early 60s again, and the final section was based in the late 1970s. I didn't quite understand why that was done, because I'm not at all convinced it enhanced the story in any way.

Second, why on earth was a six year old referred to as Baby throughout the whole book? Fair enough, it worked for Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing, but, in a warzone, even if you're trying to depict the innocence of a child, the name 'Baby' really doesn't do it. Well, it didn't for me!

And also, I found the last paragraph a weak ending to an otherwise great story. I really do not want to give much away at the time, but, it was an ending that left a bit to be desired. In fact, the way it came about was almost rushed.

Overall, a 7.5 on 10.

Gene Brewer - K-Pax

He insists he came from K-PAX, about five years ago, on a beam of light. He's going to return on August 17, at 3:31 pm. In the meantime, he's in Ward II of the Manhattan Psychiatric Institute, under the supervision of Dr. Gene Brewer, who doesn't believe that he's alien. His name is prot. Yes, that's right - in lowercase. In K-PAX, the beings spell their names in lowercase, whereas astronomical bodies like PLANETS, EARTH, the WORLD are in uppercase.

But that's not the most bizarre thing about K-PAX. In fact, K-PAX has been around for millions of years, and not just a couple of millennia like EARTH. There's no government, there's no crime, people live happily, and the science and technology is supremely advanced. There's a herbal cure for everything, from AIDS to cancer. Money is non-existent, as is any kind of trade. In fact, it's much like Gonzalo's state (where he'd be King) in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Oh, and sex is painful, vegetarianism is the standard diet, and all beings co-exist in harmony. When asked for K-PAXians are like, prot says like Swedish people, or Gandhi, Lennon or, Thoreau.

As prot speaks to Dr. Brewer, who tries to figure out who prot really is, and where he's come from, we see prot as a funny, albeit patronizing, 'being' (prot is very insistent that EARTH is the only planet which has homo sapiens). However, if you aren't 'crazy' but you have someone (i.e. Dr. Brewer) treating you as though you are, the patronization is probably justified. Gene asks him multiple times where he's come from, and how he's traveled, and the answer is the same: Using mirrors and light!

As prot befriends some of the other patients at MPI, and starts helping them get better, they all have only the one thing on their agenda: they want to go back with prot. Heck, they all write essays to warrant their candidacy! And we have Dr. Brewer who struggles to find out more about him, and his condition - is he a savant (does that explain his knowledge about the UNIVERSE?)? Is he an amnesiac? Or, is there something more? Finally, he resorts to hypo-therapy...

This short quirky humorous book is one of a kind. You can't help but get completely immersed in it, and wonder about prot, and his home planet; about Dr. Brewer and his relationship with his parents; about life and how different it can be in reality and in utopia. I'm scared if I say more, I'll ruin the end for you, but, this book raises loads of interesting questions, and it gets you thinking...

"You mean your mental patients aren't treated with any drugs - herbs - to make them well?"

"Mental illness is often in the eyes of the beholder. Too often on this PLANET it refers to those who think and act differently from the majority."

"But surely there are those who are obviously unable to cope with reality...."

"Reality is what you make it."

I don't think I've read such a well-written funny thought-provoking fantasy book before, and if you have a chance, you must read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The only thing I can moan about is, the ending left much to be desired. Where does prot get his knowledge from? Is he actually alien? Will he return in four-five years, as he promised? How can he see light in the UV range? So many questions... no answers.

The book is the first of a trilogy, so I will probably pick up the sequel and the finale, to see how it pans out, and whether the story still has loopholes, or do all the pieces fit together. Woohoo! More books to be TBR list. Overall, a 7 on 10... and a very engrossing read.