Cloud Atlas .. By David Mitchell

A book that has been the biggest mystery of my stint as a reader. Not in terms of its story, but in terms of the writing. I am still not sure whether I am a fan of this novel or not.

Cloud Atlas is a compilation of six stories from six different places and times that are somehow interlinked. The first five stories are each interrupted at a pivotal moment. After the sixth story, the others are resolved in reverse chronological order. It is a hugely ambitious novel connecting characters through divergent times. From Adam Ewing's mid-nineteenth century sea-voyage to Sonmi's ascent to sentience at a dystopian futuristic Korea. In fact, it goes so further into the future that it becomes indistinguishable from the past and collapses back in on itself, ending exactly where it began. 

Even though this book has a fabulous meaning to it, if you really want to see it (which I will get into soon), but that doesn't change the fact that Mitchell also did an incredible job to confuse the readers. Not only did I have to go back several pages and that too multiple times to understand the context of the ongoing story, but it is also hard to categorize this book and put it under the umbrella of a certain type of genre, as it could be a mixture of historical fables or science fiction or post-apocalyptic dystopia.

However, it cannot be denied that the book is trying really hard to put out a message to the readers, especially about slavery and captivity as it exists in all its forms, at all points of time. Throughout history, humans have enslaved each other based on skin color and racial background, religious beliefs, and cultural or ethnic differences. This novel goes a step further by exploring the concept of knowledge and how it relates to the socioeconomic hierarchy of the future.

All in all, I can admit this novel is a brilliant puzzle filled with exciting characters, entertaining dialogue, and throws enough loops to keep you guessing. You will find it very difficult to put this novel down. Mitchell achieves his goal of transcending conventions and addressing the broad scope of humanity and is at times bitter, funny, frightening, paranoid, and downright tragic.

Happy Reading!!!

The Moon Sister .. By Lucinda Riley

 

"The Seven Sister" series is getting more interesting with each book, this being the fifth out of seven. Adopted and raised in a mansion in Geneva, the six sisters have only known each other as a family until one day when their adoptive father dies and leave them with enormous wealth and a letter each, containing clues to discover their heritage and roots. Each book focuses on one of the girls as they track down their ancestry and which part of the world they come from. And "The Moon Sister" is the second youngest sister, Tiggy's story.

Tiggy has always been the most perceptive one out of all the sisters with the kindest nature and uncanny psychic powers. She loves to take care of animals and chose a profession that provided her stay at a vast estate of Scottish highlands with its natural wintry beauty and wildlife to work as an animal conservationist.

Tiggy's life unexpectedly unsettles when a familial row breaks out between the estate owner and his wife. The instinct to protect a white doe; her feelings towards the estate owner; and the discovery of a life-threatening disease make her flee Scotland to the hills of Granada in Spain, where she learns of her connection to a famous flamenco dancer and to a generation of seers/natural healers known as Brujo. 

I found both the present story of Tiggy's life and the back story of her ancestor Lucia's life absolutely fascinating. The Gypsy lifestyle in Spain has been extensively showcased. Even though it is filled with poverty and a marginalized lifestyle for centuries of being shunned, their passion for Flamenco is unparallel. Among them rises a young star - Lucia, one of the best Flamenco dancers Spain has ever seen. Although, she travels the world to follow her dream, her restless nature and childish behavior make it hard for her to settle anywhere with anyone for long. 

I enjoyed this novel immensely, but it's not my favorite out of this series. Nonetheless, it has been well researched with an in-depth explanation of the plots and admirable writing that you fall in love with the current as well as the historical storyline. I have also learned a lot of things from this book of which I did not know enough about. And I have also been transported to places I perhaps will never get to see.

Overall the entire series reveals the rich traditions of various cultures from all around the world. This book also leaves us with a tantalizing snippet into the next sister, Electra's life. I don’t really know much at all about the youngest sister, other than the fact she is quite difficult. So, I am especially intrigued to know what makes her so different from the others. 

I am also looking forward to the whole sequence wrapping up but like always, dreading the end of another great series. I can't wait to bring you the review of the next book - "The Sun Sister".

Meanwhile, go ahead and enjoy reading my blogs on the previous novels:

The Seven Sisters

The Storm Sister

The Shadow Sister

The Pearl Sister

Happy Reading!!!

A Midsummer Night's Dream .. By William Shakespeare

I am very nervous writing a blog regarding this book that is my teenage days' favorite and written by one of the greatest authors of all time. It is absolutely not a book review as I am not qualified enough to give a professional opinion on this greatest work done by a genius visionary. Rather, I am here to pluck up the courage and pen down my thoughts about this classic play written centuries ago. 

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most widely popular plays still performed all throughout the world largely due to its humorous context and simple story with complicated characters and a happy ending. 

The crudest synopsis of the plot goes like this..

Hermia and Lysander are in love, however, Hermia's father opposes their union and wants her to marry Demetrius. Her father invokes an ancient Athenian law before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter needs to marry a suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong chastity as a nun worshipping the goddess Diana.

Hermia decides to elope with Lysander to the forest of Athens. Demetrius, desperate for Hermia's love, decides to follow her, however, Helena, Hermia's best friend, who pines for Demetrius and promises her love to him, tries to convince him to stay for her. But, he rebuffs and insults her.

In a parallel plot, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of Fairies), decide to attend the Duke's wedding, have come to the same forest. They both are estranged from each other, as Oberon is desperate to own Titania's changeling, although she refuses to budge. The enraged Oberon calls upon Robin "Puck" to help him concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called "love-in-idleness", which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid's arrow. When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower with the hope that he might make Titania fall in love with an animal of the forest and thereby shame her into giving up the little Indian boy.

Oberon, however, eavesdrops on the conversation between Helena and Demetrius and instructs Puck to spread some of the magical juice from the flower on the eyelids of Demetrius, so that he falls in love with Helena. Instead, Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and administers the juice to Lysander. While Oberon charms Demetrius and both men immediately fall in love with Helena. 

Helena and Hermia are confused and enraged to see both the men determined to win Helena, choose to duel and kill for her love. Oberon orders Puck to keep Lysander and Demetrius from catching up with one another and to remove the charm from Lysander so Lysander can return to love Hermia, while Demetrius continues to love Helena with none of them having any memory of what happened, as if it were a dream.

Meanwhile, Peter Quince and his fellow players, including the obnoxious Nick Bottom, have arranged to perform their play about Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus' wedding, venture into the forest, near Titania's bower, for their rehearsal. Bottom is spotted by Puck, who transforms his head into that of a donkey. When Bottom returns for his next lines, the other workmen run screaming in terror. Determined to await his friends, he begins to sing to himself.

"I see their knavery: this is to make an ass of me, to fright me if they could. But I will not stir from this place, do what they can. I will walk up and down here and I will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid."

Titania, having received the love potion, is awakened by Bottom's singing and immediately falls in love with him. She lavishes him with the attention of her and her fairies, and while she is in this state of devotion, Oberon takes the changeling boy. Having achieved his goals, Oberon releases Titania, orders Puck to remove the donkey's head from Bottom, and arranges everything so Helena, Hermia, Demetrius, and Lysander will all believe they have been dreaming when they awaken. Eventually, all four find themselves separately falling asleep in the glade. Once they fall asleep, Puck administers the love potion to Lysander again, returning his love to Hermia, and claiming all will be well in the morning.

***

The fairy fantasy is sandwiched between a love story combined with jealousy and betrayals was the perfect greek twist and took the story to the ideal Shakesperean level. The best part of the story is the romantic plot, turning into a humorous context. And the writing is beautiful; poetic and lyrical. This is the second time in my reading of Shakespeare that I came across this type of writing, the first time being in Romeo and Juliet. It is a real treat to read the verses as they tell this light hilarious story.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the most creative and imaginative plays by Shakespeare. The fantasy element is brilliantly combined with reality and the play is cast by an interesting set of characters ranging from humans to fairies to human-animal forms! All these elements have contributed to making the play a very interesting read. I enjoyed it very much and had a good laugh all along. Shakespeare had done a great job with this play.

Happy Reading!!!

The Valley of Fear .. By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

The final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle was an absolutely terrific one. With powerful characters and exceptional dialogues, this book also has an intriguing storyline. 

The Valley of Fear is divided into two acts. Part 1 is about a murder that happens in Birlstone, where Sherlock Holmes ends up solving the mystery. Part 2 is about the secret society known as The Scowrers, which tells the background of the crime that took place in part 1.

After a very long time, this is the second time that I have read this story, and I must say that this is my least favorite one out of all the four Sherlock Holmes novels, probably because of the absence of Sherlock and Dr. Watson from a good part of the plot. However, it still is worth reading because nothing keeps you hungry for a mystery like being so utterly surprised by it.

The first part is highly enjoyable, where Holmes gets to shine by using his usual power of deduction, but the second part gets a little boring when the plot goes a little thinner without our hero's presence. All in all, I still rather enjoyed reading this novel, but my absolute favorite of Sherlock's adventure will always be The Hound of Baskerville.

Happy Reading!!!

Fifty Shades of Grey .. By E.L. James

 

An erotic novel that created quite a buzz when it was released back in 2011. I gave in to my curiosity and finally read it a year later. 

I am not sure how else to describe this book, but to call it a deeply disturbing and disappointing read.

This is the first of the three-book series, which showcases a deepening relationship between a young and wealthy businessman, Christian Grey, and a college graduate, Anastasia Steele. The story proceeds to show us - how dark a character Christian Grey really is and how braindead Anastasia is!

Overall the novel felt like a twilight - fanfiction, fantasy replaced by porn. There were so many bad things to talk about, but I will stick only to the few:

1. The story glorified sexism, abuse, and sadism. 

2. The female protagonist was portrayed as innocent but sounded extremely dim.

3. The male lead sounded like an obnoxious narcissist. The "issues" that he had in the past, which explains his psychotic behavior was not satisfactorily delineated.

4. And finally, the writing itself is unimpressive due to the usage of extremely corny and repetitive dialogues and misplaced sentences. The author also can't seem to stop using the same idioms and expressions that will massively irritate the readers till the end.

All in all, it was not the abusiveness/BDSM that put me off because I knew what I was diving head-first into. I think it's mostly because this book clearly puts out a very disgraced message that you should give abusive relationships a try and stick with them.

It pains me to write a bad review about any book without mentioning at least one good quality. But I can make an exception for this one. And at the risk of sounding too irrational towards this particular book, I will also add - if you ask me whether to go for this series, all you'll get from me is a big fat NO! 

Eclipse .. By Stephenie Meyer

 

Life or Death?

Mortality or Immortality?

Vampire or Werewolf?

Bella Swan is a human girl - tormented by the herculean decision to choose between something good versus something indispensable. As the cover of the book suggests, she is torn, trying to force the two magnets of her life with opposing sides to stick with each other. But like oil and water, they are not meant to be mixed together.

The third book of the Twilight Saga picks up the story from the return of Bella's vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Even though she is happy and content to be spending all her time with Edward, she terribly misses her werewolf best friend, Jacob Black, who refuses to talk to her because of the natural enmity between vampires and werewolves.

That is not the only problem that Bella is facing currently. She has a sadistic vampire trying to revenge her mate's death with her own and also the Volturi - the vampire royal family - who insisted that her heart should stop beating one way or another in the near future because humans weren't allowed to know they existed. As a consequence of all these reasons, she has no other choice but to become a vampire, for which she is quite ready if the alternative is to leave Edward and that she cannot bear.

However, Jacob despises Bella's decision to give up on her human life. He offers his love and protection for life to her and pleads her to stay human and choose him instead. 

From the open hostility between Edward and Jacob to the agonizing terror of the vampire army and the wretched suspense of their creator's identity, this book was an epic adventure to the readers. I particularly enjoyed the unspoken comradeship between the Cullen and the Quileute families, which started to brew because of their mutual love for Bella.

Stephenie Meyer has evolved with each of her books in this series. She has taken her story-telling to another level by sharing Rosalie and Jasper's past and the Quileute legends in the most intriguing way possible. Even with all the love triangle predicament that was created, she managed to take the story forward with an unprecedented level of precision and pulled off the most epic battle between the good versus evil vampires.

Even though this book has gathered a lot of mixed reviews like its predecessors, I will go out on a limb and would describe it as a captivating series and would recommend it to those of you who wouldn't mind a bit of "fantasy for teens" at any stage of their lives. 

Do check out my reviews of the previous two books of this series:

Twilight

New Moon

And keep your eyes peeled for my blog on the last and final book of this series - Breaking Dawn.

Happy Reading!!!

Inferno .. By Dan Brown

 

There's a switch. If you throw it, half the people on Earth will die. If you don't, the human race will be extinct in a hundred years. What will you do?

Humanity's fundamental question is asked to all who are in denial that our time on earth might be numbered and it's coming to an end sooner than we can imagine!

Dan Brown is my favorite author in the modern world and there is no doubt he keeps on producing a nail-biting, fast-paced drama that takes us back to some of history's most chilling episodes that we might otherwise keep away from. And this time, he has us on our toes and makes us face the crucial realities of over-population and the burden it is to our mother nature and suggests that the Black Death might be one of nature's ways of punishing mankind's multitude of sins.

Poussin painted The Plague of Ashdod in 1630-31 (Credit: DEA / G DAGLI ORTI/ De Agostini via Getty Images)

With exquisite details, the novel entices us with its nonstop action thriller with Robert Landon and his lady accomplice - Dr. Sienna Brooks. They are running from assassins and armed soldiers, to find the location of a bioweapon, threatened to be released to the world by a master transhumanist and Dante fanatic, Bertrand Zobrist, who wants to curb the world from humankind’s biggest fear - extinction by over-population.

Their mission is to decipher an obscure Dante poem, re-engineered by Zobrist, that will reveal the location and the true nature of the deadly plague, which Zobrist created to reduce the population of Earth so that humans can achieve transhumanism before the probable apocalypse of time.

Bertrand Zobrist had boundless hope for humankind and believed we are living on the threshold of a glittering "posthuman" age - genetically enhanced species. However, he also understood that we'd not live long enough as a species to realize that possibility. So, he took matters into his own hands to save us from the brink of extinction and blamed the World Health Organization for stopping him from doing so. He aptly quotes the below line from Dante's poem to describe WHO's denial towards the perils of over-population and to do nothing about it!

      The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their  neutrality in times of moral crisis.  
                                                                                                                                                                         - Dante Alighieri

 

I always seem to learn a great deal from reading Dan Brown's books and this novel explores the centuries-old poem - The Divine Comedy of Dante; Sandro Botticelli's Map of Hell; Vasari Mural and the magnificence of the gilded mouseion - Saint Mark's Basilica and Hagia Sofia. 

The historical references of major artifacts are a literary feast for your senses. Dan Brown takes us through famous museums, old crypts, and celebrated tourist spots of Florence, Venice, and Istanbul, where Robert’s knowledge of symbolism; famous frescoes with their inconspicuous messages to the world; secret passages, and their historical significance enable the World Health Organization to unearth Zobrist's menacing ploy. 

This book, without a doubt, is an absolutely phenomenal read and an eye-opener to the unprecedented situation that we are currently facing with the coronavirus pandemic, which could be another blatant reminder that one way or the other, nature always finds a way to keep the human population in check or we actually might be a species who is on the brink of collapse. 

Imagine how different our world might be if more leaders took time to ponder the finality of death before racing off to war.

 

Murder on the Orient Express .. By Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is one of my favorite childhood authors and it has been a long time since I read any of her books. So, when I recently picked this one again, it was with some trepidation at the possibility of me enjoying this one. To my utter surprise, I re-discovered my passion for Agatha's mysteries. 

A train stopped at midnight in the snow. 

A dead body is found in a compartment.

Twelve stab wounds leave no doubt it was a murder. 

And Hercule Poirot, tasked with solving the crime, is certain the culprit is a passenger on the Orient Express.

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Detective Hercule Poirot's well-known series of novels and as always is a classic mystery that makes you scratch your head trying to draw your own conclusions and playing the mental detective, but takes you completely by surprise at the end of it all. 

But how come this particular book made it into a movie with multiple adaptations?

It is the 10th installment of Hercule Poirot's series, which was published in 1934. Even though it was published 87 years back, the language is incredibly simple and easy to sink into and the novel stands absolutely well on its own. It’s also a really concise mystery that doesn’t waste time with fluff and description, rather it’s driven by dialogue as the investigation plays out.

The characters were wonderfully varied. The star of the book, Poirot, actually took a back seat to the other characters, but this was very purposeful. He is a more laid-back and introverted person than many famous detectives, which works really well for his line of work. When people don’t notice you, it’s easy to observe things they'd prefer to remain hidden. 

So, to answer my previous question, this novel has a poignant storyline with an outstanding ending that keeps the readers on their toes and the classic styled perfect vision for a "closed" set-up (A Train with limited passengers) of detection is always fun visualizing. 

Overall, the book is a great read that will keep you hooked and make your head spin in circles. So, its HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Happy Reading!!!

The Pearl Sister .. By Lucinda Riley

 

The Pearl Sister is another mesmerizing read by Lucinda Riley that continues to highlight her incredible talent and imagination as a storyteller.

The fourth installment of this series continues to surprise us with yet another gripping story of the fourth sister, CeCe, the struggling, awkward artist, who seems adrift and in desperate need of inspiration, companionship, and contentment. She decides to run to Australia to find her roots. What will she find there and what is her relationship with Kitty Mercer, a person who lived hundred years ago, is hands down a marvelous read!

The interweaving plot of CeCe and Kitty cannot be more compelling, which takes place at the same wild and hot landscape, although in two completely different era, was exceptionally captivating to read and digest.  

The prose is expressive, eloquent, and heartfelt. And the plot is a heartwarming saga filled with familial drama, introspection, love, loss, grief, determination, passion, and loyalty, as well as an in-depth look at the culture, history, and politics of Australia, including the effects and influence of both the aboriginal people and the pearling industry.

Happy Reading!!

Check out my posts on the other books of this series:

• The Seven Sisters
• The Storm Sister
• The Shadow Sister

The Awakening .. By Kate Chopin

 

A Novel by Kate Chopin, published in 1899, The Awakening is a feminist drama of a 19th-century woman named Edna Pontellier and her struggle between her increasingly unorthodox views on feminity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. 

This book is widely criticized because of the so-called "flawed" protagonist's selfish behavior. However, the gravity that this book carries lies not in the heroine’s flawed actions but in her ability to be flawed. Written during the backward 19th-century society that not only asks but creeds that women should be the perfect embodiment of macho yearning: subservient, immaculate, modest, sensitive – and to be otherwise was to be unwomanly. Kate Chopin presented the then remote possibility that perhaps a woman defines herself rather than is defined by the conventions and social-edicts around her. 

“Many who knew her, thought it a pity that so substantive and rare a creature should have been absorbed into the life of another, and be only known in a certain circle as a wife and mother. But no one stated exactly what else that was in her power she ought rather to have done.”

The writing is quite beautiful. From the very start, Chopin does a great job of creating the tone and the atmosphere with unique taste and flavor. The plot resembled a little to Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, but only on the surface. Both women are married unhappily, both of them fall in love and decide to pursue a love affair outside of their marriage. Both of them defy society. Despite many similarities between Anna’s and Edna’s upper-class life, one can’t dispute that Chopin has created a unique and fascinating character in her own right. Modern women have been the beneficiaries of the bravery of such women as Chopin who braved convention and brought such subjects into the light.

The Girl Who Lived .. By Christopher Greyson

The first book I ever read of Christopher Greyson is The Girl Who Lived and I am wondering why didn't I discover this author earlier?! It is an absolutely thrilling novel about a sole survivor of a multiple-homicide and the cat-and-mouse game played by the killer and the would-be victim, that would for sure capture any reader's interest right from the start. 

Faith Winters is now twenty-three and is back in the same town where her dad, her elder sister, her best friend and her best friend's mom's brutal murders took place ten years ago. Barely surviving the encounter herself, Faith spirals into a pit of depression, alcoholism and unrelenting anguish. No one believes that she recognizes the killer even after all these years and is obsessed about catching the "Rat Face" single handedly. As she works to try once again to dig herself out of the grave through court mandated AA meetings, survivors groups and "family" time with her mother, her past comes back to haunt her once again.

Hush, little girl, rest your head. Hush, little girl, stay in bed. The sun and your friends are fast asleep. Now’s not a time to cry and weep. For in your dreams, there we’ll be. Hurry now, and follow me.

 

Greyson did such a phenomenal job threading the needle of the unreliable narrator trope while simultaneously creating a character in Faith that you couldn't help but root for. From the start your heart breaks and bleeds for Faith's story and what she has endured from such a young age but you can't help but want to shake her out of her self-induced survivor's guilt.

It was a well-crafted, fast-paced page turner with a resilient and an unapologetic protagonist who keeps you on edge with every thought and move she makes. The story takes so many unexpected twists with furious emotional depths that proves the authenticity of each character at every level.

I strongly recommend this book to all the avid readers who are looking for a break-neck pace action thriller novel. Please check out the Kindle Unlimied edition for the same.

Happy Reading!!!