Allah is not Obliged

Ahmadou Kourouma wanted the title of the story to be like -Allah is not oblighed to be fair about all the things he does here on earth. and sometimes he is right .

Birahima is 10 year and he is a child soldier fighting his way through sierra leone , Liberia, and all the _ucked up places in Africa. Gnamokodé! Walahe! . The novel is stark revelation of what africa is going thru, its geopolitical mess and its muli million conflict economical travesty.

In search of his aunt, birahima lives his village after the death of his beloved maman. Yacoube, the money multiplier turned GrigGrigman , takes the little brihama to his destination but only reaching his final destination a little late. hoppin from one gang to another and fighting for someone who doesnt stands with you just for some hash and few american dollars or a bottle of petrol, the novel depicts the silenced life of people of africa from a childs point of view.

If you have a strong heart, read it.

A surgeon's Rhyme

This one is not a novel but a memoir by a surgeon. Dr barry says his life as a general physcian, as a psychartist, as a peadeatric and as a surgeon.

The opening page starts with the college from he passed. He tells you the pain, the happiness , the anxiety and perils of being a doctor. one is amused when he tell you all these because i happened to believe a doctors were not human. Not knowing who is sitting in opposite to you, Dr barry tells you innumerable stories that stranger talks to him in personal .Between the lines you could smell some wounds still open but tried to be hidden in the best way one could.

Dr barry's memoir, i count as a must read, not because its memoir (huh!) but it tell you the other side of the picture- that of doctor's!

Witch of portobello

This time Paulo Coelho disappointed me. I would say it was frantic effort for repeating the success. But he failed miserably in that attempt.

Witch of Portebello tells the story of Athena as perceived by others. Some say she was divine some evil. Some despised her yet some other adored her. Some were mystified by her whereas some got transpired. And in the end she was casted as witch. Athena tries hard to fill the blanks of the life but always end up missing something. The story is told by third person account involving Athena, they are her husband, her mother, her teacher, her disciple, a journalist.

If you got anything else to read this one simply can be ignored. I guess that’s states it all.

The Historian

Once in while you read a book that is supposedly a fictional work but the places and narration makes it difficult to believe its not real. Elizabeth Kostova’s Historian is such a kind.

Historian tells you the story of..Umm…well about the historians, not just any historian but world’s finest historians who are chosen by the prince Vlad Tapes A.K.A Dracula to catalogue his centuries old book and epilogue collections. But before they do that everybody has to undergo a test to prove their mettle. They are given a book all identical with just a dragon in the middle page and nothing else. They are to decipher the hidden meaning of the book. While in this journey the Prof Rossi comes to realization that Dracula is not a myth but an evil that still hunts in the dark. The story takes you through eastern Europe to Middle east then back to the happening place America. The description of kostova about the places, mainly the universities and Monasteries even more interesting and this adds to reality that blinds the fiction. There is no vampire slaughtering pictured in this book, so don’t look for one. But tell you what it would definitely create goose bumps and some sleepless nights.

Its in line with Da Vinci code and others like it.Another fine piece of literary skill. A must have in your collection.

Purple Hibiscus

One of the best debut novels I have ever read. And I find it strange that I found it in british council and I was not surprised to see that author was not British. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a Nigerian by birth, has written her first novel so eloquently that you sometimes wonder how somebody could picture the life so well.

Narrated by a girl of 16, kambili, about her family whose patriarch is staunchly catholic, the story takes you through the crumbling social and economic environment in Nigeria. Papa(kambili's) is a generous business man with a strict devotion to the lord but he fails to keep his warmth with the family. Kambili and her brother leads a time-table life which is immersed in fear and an unpleasant eagerness to please their dad. Every thing changes when they get a chance to be with their aunt Effoma, whose place is filled with loud laughter and haughty air of frankness coupled with freedom.

A nice read, which you will enjoy on any given day.

Thumbs up for this one!

My Name is red

Brilliant! That says it all.

Orhan pamuk is a gifted writer. My name is red is quite an exquisite piece of fiction that’s very rare to find now a days. From the page one, it’s an interesting and a wonderful read.

The story revolves around miniaturists in Istanbul in early 15th century. The sultan of Istanbul has secretly placed an order to make book to reveal his might to Europeans (franks), only problem is that people think book contends are anti Islamic. There is also a notion that illustration in the book is dealt in a mix of venation and old master of herat style quite contrary to style followed by the miniaturist present at that time. The story starts with a murder of the a miniaturist who is one among the 4 assigned for this work. And until the second last chapter, the story is told by different characters in view that perceive and the most interesting part is - one would never leave the continuity of the read. Simply superb. The main characters are Black,Shekure, Elegant Enshinte, Effendi Enshinte, Olive, stork and butterfly.

As soon as I finished this book, I ran to the nearest book shop to get another book of his. The guy is too good and the mystery that he plots in a multifaceted manner is simply splendid. I am too thrilled and looking forward for a good read with book in my hand right now….!! Btw red got orhan the 2006 noble prize for literature .

Darkness Falls

I just carried away by seeing the review comments on the cover. Well, what else can I say, that brits like their authors very much. This one is by Margaret Murphy

Clara pascal is a high flying barrister who doesn’t care about the clients she associates with. Things go haywire in her life when she is kidnapped by someone. Put in a dungeon, she rakes her brain to find the identity of her kidnapper. Mean while the police is trying its luck to find her by tracing all the moments of guy who she was prosecuting. Now that’s was dim wits always do!

This novel should be read when there is nothing else is in your hand and your brain is down with fever. I don’t know why people start with a brilliant opening and then fail to continue the train in tact. Oh one more things, I found that review comment at the back actually belong to another book of her!

House of Women

This one by Lynn Freed. What to say about this one. As the name suggest the story revolves around the women and their desires and secrets.

The story says about a mother and her precious daughter. Natalie is Nazi tortured soul trying to find peace with herself in the wilderness and loniless of some place in south Africa. Her only concern is a daughter of 17. Caged away from the eyes of public, and her freedom confined to the iron gates of her mansion, Thea(Theodara) is eager to break this and know more about the world around. Their life changes when her father (who keeps her mother as mistress) and introduce her to his friend(his cousin,reveaed later!!) . Thea elopes with him and then journey of seduction and treachery begins with secrets of mother and daughter revealed in chapters one after another.

A fanatastic SAD read.

I missed

The books i Finished and forgot because somebody didnt stop for me - TIME!!!!!

1.Cat 'o Nine Series
2. Brother and sister
3. Power of simpilicity - good one read!!!
4.Spider - reading - Not bad till now.

Men without Women

Ernest Hemmingway…, that would explain the book. You read it then you see the difference between the good writers and great writers. This collection of short stories describe raw men without any male chauvinism or rather a lot of it ( you know its hard to explain)

In these fourteen stories, Hemingway says about a era that emphasized much :the casualties of war, the often uneasy relationship between men and women, sport and sportsmanship. In "Banal Story," says story of Spanish matador. "In Another Country" he tells of an Italian major recovering from war wounds while mourning over the untimely death of his wife. "The Killers" is the hard-edged story about two Chicago gunmen and their potential victim. Then there are others like Nick Adams "Ten Indians," in which a Indian girlfriend betrayed is portrayed (no I don’t have one say!!).

Apart from the pain of taking up dictionary to look for some hard and mystique words, it was an exquisite delicacy.

Tatty

An Irish writer, with a nice and variant way of thinking line according to character’s age, that’s how Christine Dwyer Hickey upholds her stature through her book Tatty.

Tatty tells the story of little girl and her tell tales from an age of 5 to 12. Dads favorite, mums dislike, a congenital liar with a delicate heart – nah it’s impossible to describe tatty.

The story starts with a self spectacle of life by 5 year old girl, her outings with dad to pubs and nearby Derby’s, clearly stating her position to dad with respect to 4 other siblings. She is loved by everybody- by her mum,cousins and aunts ( of course they had her lying but then…). Things change when Her mum suddenly become hostile for a reason unknown, or maybe due to her closeness to her dad and eventually turning insane and coming to juncture of putting her into a boarding just 5 kms across from her own home. Then the story turns into her recognitions , she becoming third in the class, getting a friend for the first time….and so on.

The story evolves thru tatty’s voice and her age. But suddenly stops with an end that keeps the reader wondering whats going to happen next. – this part I really liked. I have got one more affinity to this book; I read this book standing in a single stretch – my first ever standing-read book. Hah……!!!

The Ambler Warning

Robert Ludlem - an author who can get you to the near reality of spy world with that lot of plots and sub plots. This one can be rated among his best except for the ending.

Hal Ambler wakes up with his identity lost and in highly sedated state that too in a mental asylum where worlds most dangerous spies are kept. He is kept there for a reason unknown, only thing he knows is that he can judge a person and their intentions with their looks. this makes him a walking lie detector and much sort after guy in the spy world . He some how managed to get out of the prison with help of nurse laura and is on the roll to find out who put him there and who he is actually. Only to know that his record of existance has been erased. In the end ambler find the motive behind making him a semi nuerotic and real reason for letting him out and who the actual executioner is - that is love, the nurse, laura.

The end is a pretty dull one ...with less of adrenalin rush. except for that, its a great read.

PS, I Love You

Lost Love and reclaiming your life afterwards - the trauma, the consolations, the get overs and new hope, This is what Cecelia Ahern tells u thru her international best seller.

Holly just lost her husband,Gerry, who is pictured larger than her life ...huh...ya this is a more romantically inclined one ( not my type !) . Sharon and denise , holly's friends along with her family support her to get off this trauma. Then there is this special friend of hers, ya you guessed it wrong, its not her new BF, whom she feels comfortable to talk and laugh - Daniel. The readers curiosity is poked to make the story moving by Gerry ( who is dead) suggesting holly about the ways she must follow to overcome the grief by giving 10 letters for every month to open after his death. Some fun filled challenging moments are put across to Holly to follow ...

If you like stories that floats on nostalgia and sways around on tears, this is a must read. If this is the first venture by the author, then its really good one. What else should i say ...did i miss anything ...ah.... if you need to enjoy everything you read ( books i mean) then some thing of this kind should also be there in your kitty, after all ,variety is the spice of life , isnt it ???