Shantaram - Book Review

Have you ever felt like a book was written just for you? Like someone carefully sifted through your memories, all your doubts, your rhetorical questions, your self awareness, your little bouts of collected wisdom, picked them all up, hoisted them as reference points and weaved a book through them? Shantaram was that book for me. I urge you to read it if you haven't already, and see where it takes you, because only when I read it I realized how I'd been waiting for this book my whole life. I've changed in a permanent way since, in a way that great books can change you; it was almost spiritual.

Thank you Ramya Vedicherla for recommending it to me. It is one of very few books that have touched me at such a deep level.

And thank you so much Sharmila Bhandari, for lending me your copy and waiting ever so patiently until I finished it. ❤️

To Kill a Mockingbird - Book review

I once read about a newspaper columnist who reviewed music concerts. He was very popular and his one good review was all the accolade you needed. Someone asked him how he graded the artists and he simply said he went to the show with an open mind, sat down with his eyes closed and listened to the music. If the singer kept him focussed on the concert and if his mind didn't wander, he knew their music was good and if they had the power to move him to tears (like they sometimes did) he knew they had the gift of great music.

I have similar tactics to know good books - if I can't get the book out of my mind through the day while working, eating or trying to sleep and I itch to come back to it, I know it is a good book. If I feel the urge to post about it online urging everyone who will listen, to read it then I know it's a great book.

To Kill a Mockingbird - This classic harbors a great reputation, and it doesn't need my appreciation to convince you. If Harper Lee's humour and timeless writing don't get a lasso around your heart, Scout Finch (the lead)'s southern accent and firecracker personality will. What a beautiful, simple book? I'm so glad I was lucky enough to find its 50th anniversary edition on sale (Thanks Amazon.in).

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Book Review

"One winter night while the soup was boiling in the fireplace, he missed the heat of the back of his store, the buzzing of the sun on the dusty almond trees, the whistle of the train during the lethargy of siesta time, just as in Macondo he had missed the winter soup in the fireplace, the cries of the coffee vendor, and the fleeting larks of springtime. Upset by two nostalgias facing each other like two mirrors, he lost his marvelous sense of unreality and he ended up recommending to all of them that they leave Macondo, that they forget everything he had taught then about the world and the human heart, that they shit on Horace, and that wherever they might be they always remember that the past was a lie, that memory has no return, that every spring gone by could never be recovered, and that the wildest and most tenacious love was an ephemeral truth in the end."

Let me give you a little background study before you dismiss the quote as too complicated. No spoilers from the book I promise: This paragraph is from the book 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'. It talks about a man who flees his motherland and comes to live in a village called Macondo. He opens a bookstore and kind of settles in but all the while missing things about home, reminiscing and wanting to go back. Then one fine day, he just packs up and leaves. When he's back at his own house sipping winter soup by the fire like he always wanted, he realizes something - he now misses Macondo. His two nostalgias come face to face and make a terrible mess of his heart. This quote struck home with me because I have experienced this feeling several times. It is a painful routine that every seafarer goes through- while we are onboard we are dying to come home to our lives, our families and friends; when we sign off and finally get home, we miss our jobs, our work friends and our routines. We don't get to do it in two parts on the same day like everyone else - office in the morning, home in the evening. It is either work or home and whatever we choose is the chosen option for months together at a time. This strange lifestyle of ours leads to the "clashing-nostalgias" phenomenon- a damn bummer.

'One hundred years of solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: This book had been on my TBR list for more than a year. The many reviews I happened upon, all nearly said the same thing, that people had trouble going through it because it was a demanding book - and demanding it was! I couldn't read it as fluidly as I do generally; my average reading speed came down, there were just so many characters and events and things to remember. I was worried it will all cloud together and become one giant mash in my brain so I kept taking breaks in between. When I was reading the book, I didn't want to read it any longer and when I wasn't reading the book, getting back to it was all I could think of. I had such a love-hate relationship with it, but I was going through a rough patch in life personally and this book gave me exactly what I needed - an alternate universe that will suck me in, keep me sucked in and fill up all the voids of my empty mind. It was a very interesting read and truly one of a kind. Thanks Ramya Vedicherla for recommending it. It's been an absolute rollercoaster!

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood - Book Review

"In society, we do horrible things to one another because we don't see the person it affects, we don't see their face. We don't see them as people, which was the whole reason the hood was built in the first place, to keep the victims of apartheid out of sight and out of mind. Because if white people ever saw black people as human they would see that slavery is unconscionable. We live a world where we don’t see the ramifications of what we do to others because we don’t live with them. It would be a whole lot harder for an investment banker to rip off people with subprime mortgages if he actually had to live with the people he was ripping off. If we could see one another’s pain and empathize with one another, it would never be worth it to us to commit the crimes in the first place." - Trevor Noah ❤️

'Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood' is a very lighthearted, happy book. It is written in simple language and narrated with endearing expression. He talks about many serious issues and problems that a child growing up during apartheid would have encountered, about the problems with his society and the struggles his mother had to face as a black woman in the 80s, all with a hint of humour and a genuinity that makes you love him instantly. I expected to have far less context with this book, for it is set in a different continent and in a different time than I grew up, but boy was I wrong!  How much I related to it, just goes to show that we are a big world full of people looking so different from each other but all suffering the same humanity. 💕🌍

I had been wanting to try audiobooks for a long time now (thanks to Stephanie Huston for the inspiration). So when I decided to read Trevor's book, I immediately got it in the audio version. I absolutely adore his modulations and accents. He is my favourite comedian, host and go-to source of laughs, so this book was a delight to my ears and soul. I cannot recommend it enough. 🤩

The Secret Diary of Kasturba - Book Review

"Nothing fixes a thought so irrevocably into the matrix of the human mind as the desire to forget it."
- Neelima Dalmia Adhar, the author.

I just finished reading 'The Secret Diary of Kasturba'. It was a very well written book about the Gandhi household, about Mohandas' growth into the man he became, his unique way of life and consequences of his every decision that impacted his family and large sections of our population. The 'Indian struggle for Independence' is a glorious, historical topic that tugs at every Indian's heart. The book is written entirely from Kastur Ba's point of view starting from their youth until the end of their lives. I was thoroughly immersed in the story the entire time and slowly grew to adore Kastur Ba and the other less famous Gandhis. While the life of the Mahatma is no secret, this book highlights various portions of it that I might have considered insignificant earlier. It feels enriching to have such an insight, reading about a young Bose and a spirited Patel as characters of a book, it makes their images most human in front of your eyes. I admire the fact that the book is not biased or opinionated. It doesn't debate whether Gandhi was right or wrong. It does not try to justify to you his actions or the lifestyle he wanted for everyone, instead it gives you a chance to see all of it just the way it was and then decide for yourself.

The Diary of a Young Girl - Book Review

"People who are religious should be glad, since not everyone is blessed with the ability to believe in a higher order. You don't even have to live in fear of eternal punishment; the concepts of purgatory, heaven and hell are difficult for many people to accept, yet religion itself, any religion, keeps a person on the right path. Not the fear of God, but upholding your own sense of honor and obeying your own conscience. How noble and good everyone could be if, at the end of each day, they were to review their own behavior and weigh up the rights and wrongs. They would automatically try to do better at the start of each new day and, after a while, would certainly accomplish a great deal. Everyone is welcome to this prescription; it costs nothing and is definitely useful. Those who don't know will have to find out by experience that a quiet conscience gives you strength!" - Anne Frank

To think she was only 15 years old when she wrote these lines. 🙌

I got to this one quite late in life (it is classified under YA Lit), but I'm very very glad I read it. 'The Diary of Anne Frank' should be on everyone's reading list because it educates you and opens up your mind in unbelievable ways. I had a certain expectation for this book and was surprised to see it was a mere journal with entries of a 15yo kid's day to day life, but then she has a strong character this girl. I found myself admiring Anne at various points through the book. I started feeling so close to the members of the Annexe and kept wanting the best for them. Even though I knew very well how it all ended even before I started reading the book, it still broke my heart when I finished it. When a book has such an impression on you, when it changes you a little and touches your soul, you know for sure its a great book.

It made me go back and read about the World Wars (I only bothered a little bit about them back in school), the Holocaust, about the Führer, the invasions, the camps. I wish everyone let themselves understand the impact of war and destruction on human lives, I swear there wouldn't be so much hatred in this world. 💔❤📑

The Sense of an Ending - Book Review

"I certainly believe we all suffer damage, one way or another. How could we not, except in a world of perfect parents, siblings, neighbours, companions? And then there is the question on which so much depends, of how we react to the damage: whether we admit it or repress it,and how this affects our dealings with others.Some admit the damage, and try to mitigate it;some spend their lives trying to help others who are damaged; and there are those whose main concern is to avoid further damage to themselves, at whatever cost. And those are the ones who are ruthless, and the ones to be careful of." - Julian Barnes

When life throws hurdles in your way, dodge them and move on. If you get hit, wear those wounds like medals and trod on, because you survived. Don't bask in its glory or in its gory, the longer you stay in that moment holding on to what came with that bullet, the longer you stay left behind. Life isn't waiting, people aren't waiting, youth isn't waiting, time isn't either. Walk away from the things that hold you down, let them go, as you do the barriers that you managed to climb over, because there is more to see and more to experience. Maybe take just one step at a time, but take it.

Thank you Sharmila Bhandari for the wonderful book.

I've Never Been (Un)Happier - Book Review

"I've never been (un)happier" by Shaheen Bhatt is a tiny battery of emotions. I called it tiny because it is a small book with only 66 pages but I had to stretch it out over two days while reading it, because the subject dealt with is quite heavy. The author, Shaheen Bhatt talks about her struggles with depression and how it manifests itself in her life. It is written almost in the form of a journal, and I often felt like I was shuffling through someone's extremely personal thoughts and feelings. Shaheen is incredibly talented and words just line up so seamlessly when she writes, especially with her very well thought out analogies. Her deep understanding of what she is experiencing and living with, and her courage in seeking a lesson from this experience have both gained my eternal respect 🙏

Through this book, I have come to understand so many aspects of depression, suicide and the associated pain that I earlier couldn't fully comprehend; I've heard many a people who suffer from depression say, 'it is hard for someone on the outside to truly understand what it is like to suffer from it', I fully agree. But I have some perspective now and for that I'll always be grateful to this book. The book most definitely instills an empathy in you, and a reinforced need to protect anyone who suffers from a mental illness.

I vehemently recommend most of the books I read but this one, I'm holding on to the strings with a little unsurety because as enlightening as it is, this book is also a very painful account of someone's darkest struggles and sometimes that is not for everyone. But if you're on the road to some self-discovery with mental health or if you just want to learn and understand depression so you can help someone else who is dealing with it, this is your go-to book. It is available on Amazon for ₹16.