Manisha V
All were stories written by women. The stories show the trauma that residents must go through under the settlers or how people have had to migrate to make something of their lives. Heart rending tales of the human condition under trying circumstances. Its a must read.
I loved this book. A totally different style of writing, it took me some time to figure it out but then the flow of the story was great. It is set in the aftermath of WWII. Even though the difficulties that people faced under the Germans were well documented, the book was not at all depressing. Its about the human spirit and how we find reasons to go on. I read many a page with a smile and a tear. Superb read
By the second half of the book I really couldn't put it down. So simply told, the story of a boy growing up in tough conditions, it is a beautiful read which brought me to tears again and again. I cant wait for the next Anees Salim boom.
The relationship of Moral Proximity. This intriguing read is a study in the ethical dilemmas that we must face at every turn. Isabel Dalhousie, the philosopher, constantly introspects and deals with each situation that comes along, within the purview of the moral and ethical codes that we should be engaged with. While trying to make her life as a working woman and a mother of two kids, easier, Isabel engages an au pair and an assistant. Both have different codes of moral conduct which Isabel must come to terms with. Alexander McCall Smith has been one of my favourite authors ever since I read the first Ladies Detective story. He has not disappointed again.
I would not have come across this book had it not been for a book club. I am glad I did. Its not a long read but its a powerful one. Its the story of a lawyer's first criminal case. A chance comment during a conversation turns the case around completely. Not in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined the climax. Definitely recommended.
Gareth is a decent man, a burglar but they can be gentlemen too. A woman comes along and makes him rethink his choice of profession. It starts out as a beautiful story of love and acceptance. And then it turns into a murder mystery- fast paced and constantly moving.
There was never a dull or slow moment in the entire book. After a point it was difficult to put down and just had to be done with to reveal the twists and turns.
I am waiting for the next one from this author.
I received an advance review copy for free,and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
“But I'm still curious”. This line at age 97 from Babe, the author's mother, probably sums up her entire attitude and zest for life. This book is a tribute to an indefatigable mom from a daughter who over time has realised all those little things that went into making her mother an incredible person.
In another place, Jo says – “Having grown into being Babe's daughter, I adopted a personal mantra: In spite of what's happening, it's okay to be happy today.....People don't like to be around depressed people.” There are a number of such light bulb moments throughout. By themselves they sound clichéd and corny. When put into context of Babe's life, these have much more life and depth.
It's only when we get older that we truly appreciate the trials and tribulations of our parents as they raised us. It's a lot of credit to Jo who saw how her mother evolve from being depressed to a die hard optimist. Most of the times we cannot see our parents for the individuals they are, only for the roles they have played for us. While reading this, I was reminded so many times of my own parents and the life lessons they have passed on to me and my siblings.
I think this is a great book club read. There is so much to talk about and to ponder on that it can make great discussions. I enjoyed the journey in this book – joyous and hopeful.
Note : I got this book as an ARC from Booksirens.
The backdrop of the story was the Los Angeles library fire in April of 1986. The investigation of the cause of the fire threaded with the history of libraries in the United States makes up the narrative. The book which I read as an audiobook was read by the author herself. The possibility of arson in the library and the tale of the most likely person to be the arsonist definitely made it an interesting read. The book brought home the fact that libraries may be the reservoir of all kinds of information but, in the end, are run and maintained by people. There is politics and intrigue wherever there are social interactions and are the most alive of places. The story was fascinating for me but I really felt that the narration could have been livelier. It had the potential to engage me more with its in-depth research into the history of the libraries in the country. Maybe if I had actually read it as a book, I would have appreciated it better.
Reggie Swann or Blackie as she was called in prison, is a private detective. She is working on a high profile case which has been officially declared as an accident. The wife, though, does not agree and engages Reggie to look into her husband, Milo Getz's death. Milo is a rock'n'roll musician turned vintner. Reggie discovers a bevy of people who are enemies of the deceased. Credit to the author who keeps the suspense till the end.
The book carried more than one subplot at the same time and did not disappoint in its treatment. Reggie has a number of personal issues making the book quite wholesome. I like the fact that a crime fiction includes a little bt of this and a little bit of that making it really quite entertaining.
This was the first Reggie Swann mystery I read and will definitely not be the last. I have not read the first in the series and yet, it was not a problem at all.
I received an Advance Review Copy free from Book Sirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Annalisse and Alec - a pair where sparks fly from the first moment, are embroiled in a theiller filled with guns and deceit. The story moved fast, part romance and part adventure, from trying to solve a murder - to finding Alec's kidnapped mother feared dead.
Annalisse was brought up by an aunt having lost both her parents at a young age. She is an antique jewellery appraiser who has lost a dear friend Sam in a most heinous crime. Sam had a bracelet that was lost and when Annalisse saw a necklace from the same collection with a gallery owner, she warns her of a curse attached to the piece and suggests, no begs, the lady to get rid of it. Generosa, the gallery owner, pays no heed and so starts an adventure which takes Annalisse and Alec, Generosa's son, to Turkey and Crete while looking for answers.
I enjoyed the initial part of the book which moved quickly and developed at a fantastic pace with a romance simmering in the background.
After about the second part of the story though, I found it a little difficult to follow. The action jumped between people and places too fast to keep track. I finished the book because I had to know what happened to the jewellery and the people involved.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Booksirens who provided the book to me for free.
The story of Christine as she embarks on a journey of the self is a good read. Though it started slowly for me, it was exciting after a point. The author built up anticipation of something momentous happening very well. Unfortunately nothing really happened. Thats when I realised its actually a trilogy. I suspect the real action starts in the sequel.
There is quite a clear depiction of the cultures where Christine is at - in both Australia and Greece. I also like the portrayals of the family interactions, the jealousies and the relationships. It is a good read. And I am waiting for the next part now.
Thanks to Booktasters who gave me the opportunity to discover a new author.
That was a brilliant read. THis is the story of Dani growing up in a foster home with a loving mother and the dynamics of relationships between the different members. The love and the hate - it was all there and very much felt. It was a short read but all the characters were so vivid. The author has done an absolutely great job of bringing emotions to the fore. I really cant write much more without giving away the story. Suffice it to say that the book was impossible to put down and I cant wait for the next part.
The train car as a home was the first clue that this story was different. Its a tale of generosity, kindness and love inspite of personal tragedy and hardship.
When human beings are put through so much pain, they react in many different ways. It was a little difficult to believe the level of goodness here but still Hagen and his family won my heart and tears.
Lots of food is mentioned throughout and I found that to be quite telling of our lives. So much revolves around food and our kitchens.
It was an enjoyable read for me which I got as an ARC from Netgalley.
To be honest, I approached this graphic work a little skeptically, not knowing exactly what to expect. I am happy to say It did not disappoint. Gerard Depardieu's personality comes out quite clearly in this telling. He is at once larger than life and human. Sapin has brought out his quirks with a sensitive touch making the great man of french cinema and his life ever more interesting.
Joel has lost his closest friend Adam to suicide. Post his graduation from college, Joel along with two of his friends Kev and Riley, decides to explore Europe. In the course of this story, the author has touched upon the political atmosphere as well as personal relations. I like the way the emotions and relationships have been handled and expressed. They make the characterisation of all the participants in the story come alive. Though the book is not a light read, it is very readable, making it quite engaging.
The book could have been just a bit shorter. There were parts where I felt myself dragging my feet. All in all, a read I would recommend.
DNF. I just could not get into the book. I did read about 25% but just could not make any sense of it.
#netgalley
All stories are journeys. Some in to the past and some into the future. This story of Milla and her mother Sarah is both. Milla must look into her past to find her future.
Milla has inherited a shop in Mallorca from her grandmother who she thought had been dead all her life. This betrayal by her mother, prompts her to go to Mallorca days before her wedding to Paul, She meets Leandro and his girlfriend Diana, next door to her grandmother's gift shop, and very keen on buying the shop from her.
She decides to stay and find out what had happened in the past to result in estrangement of mother and daughter across two generations. She is sure that the unraveling of her grandmother's life's mystery will also explain the distance between Milla and her own mother.
Its a love story and a self discovery. A journey where women discover their own strength and their truth. I enjoyed reading this book even though there had been some predictability to the eventual turn of events.
I read this book as an ARC thanks to Netgalley.
This book by Layne Dalfen gives an overview of how to understand your dreams. The book started with a quick dive into the four schools of thought which are used for dream analysis - Freud, Adler, Jung, and Gestalt schools. She then helps the reader to analyse their dreams using clear marked visuals. How the events in dreams can directly relate to the waking world and its issues is revelatory for the explorer of this world. She has made it very clear through her approach that delving into the dreams can be enriching and fruitful for the dreamer. It is possible to find solutions to your problems by observing and analysing the dreams. There are techniques required for these analyses and that is where the book comes in.
I enjoyed reading this book a lot which I had chosen because I was so interested in this subject. The author did not disappoint with her knowledge and approach. I will definitely recommend the book to anyone who finds their dreams fascinating and wants to make more sense of them.
A big thanks to the author and Booktasters who gave me access to the book.
I had read the first book by Nev March and had been eagerly waiting for the new one. So I was quite excited when I got the opportunity to read the next one thanks to Minotaur books.
This book is set entirely in Chicago contrary to my expectations of another in British ruled India. Captain Jim And his wife, the very resourceful and spunky Diana have moved to the US and Captain Jim is now Detective Jim. He is an ardent fan of Sherlock Holmes and loves teaching his wife the methods that the literary character employed to get to the bottom of problems.
The book is set in 1893, a momentous year as we see various illustrious historical characters throughout the course of the mystery. They are both embroiled in figuring out a terrorist plot at the Chicago World Exhibition. There is a lot of talk of new scientific discoveries and ideas being showcased at this exposition. There is opposition to some of the new ideas by people deeply invested in the older way of doing things. There are so many twists and turns that it was a little difficult to keep pace. But the author has got the atmosphere of Chicago taking a leap ionto the new world beautifully.
There are places where I was forced to take Diana's capabilities, specially being a colored woman in 1893, with disbelief. That coupled with the sheer number of famous achievers from the time along with Swami Vivekananda, is what made me give this a four star rating instead of five. That said, I will still be waiting for the next Nev March reveal of this duo working together passionately to solve another crime.
Hans Calmeyer helped to save thousands of jews from sure death even while staying in the system and working for the germans. This is his story and how he saved the author, Laureen Nussbaum, and her family along with several others. This book was riveting for it is an account of not just how Laureen saved her boy friend's life but, also of how life turned out after the war. There are more details here than what we got from Anne Frank's diaries (a contemporary) about Amsterdam. In fact, Otto Frank, the only survivor from Anne Frank's family stayed a friend with this family.
Calmeyer was instrumental in helping to keep thousands of jews from the concentration camps. He was a german bureaucrat and did whatever he could by way of providing appropriate paperwork to save as many as he could. The book is his biography while also being Laureen's memoir of those times and beyond.
It was fascinating to read so many details of lives at a time when neighbours and friends had turned on each other. Humanity goes on because there are decent and morally upright men in the mix. We will always need stories like these to give us hope for a future that is increasingly become narrow minded and selfish. It is a must-read for that.
I took a long time to finish this book. It was not because I was not enjoying it, but because I read it twice. There are two ways to read the book a)the normal way from front to back and b) the Baroness sequence - a sequence that changes the narrative.
I enjoyed the book anyway I read it. There is mystery, there is a romance and there is the unexplained . The story spans 150 years and seven generations.it is about a manuscript written by Charles Baudelaire and the journey to find it. I love books about books specially when they are at the heart of the matter.
Highly recommended. My thanks to Netgalley that gave me this book to read and review.
This was strangely my first Rushdie novel and clearly will not be the last. So many aspects of the modern life - be it political, personal, questions of identity, social are a part of the narrative and seamlessly done. Initially, it took me some time to get into it as the story telling is a little slanting, nothing is hit directly, but, once I got into it, I found it hard to put down.
I would definitely recommend the book to anyone interested in family relationships and their dynamics.
You can talk about gender issues without being preachy at all. You can actually be hilarious too at the time. Some serious issues here but done so well. Simply loved it.
