Book Review (non-fiction): Benazir Bhutto's Autobiography (Amrita)

"Daughter of Destiny" is an autobiography of Benazir Bhutto. It's a very empowering book in a sense that its a real-life tale of a fight for democracy, and basic rights for the people of Pakistan. Benazir writes about her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, how much politics meant to him and how involved he was in bringing a secular government to the countty. She writes about her childhood in Pakistan, her family life, her siblings, her education at Harvard and Oxford, then coming back home to Pakistan after graduating. She describes General Zia-ul-Haq very calmly, but you get the sense of how he had tortured, and murdered her father on the basis of wrong charges. I dont know how can one suffer so much and still stand upright. How much she herself endured, losing her family members one by one. She never gives in, she has the courage and it shows through her experiences. Even in the maddening Solitary Confinement for months, she maintains her sanity. There's a lot to learn and feel in this book, and its all fact, its non-fiction, so you get a taste of what really went on in Pakistan, with its people and with Bhutto family from July 1977 to August 1988. A full decade of military rule, forced on Islamization which was a twisted version of Islamic rules just to rule the people and terrorize them if they wanted to go against the Martial Law.

You cannot put the book down without its having a tremendous effect on you. I hadn't known Benazir's life and her work the day I saw the news of her assassination, I had felt sad but I did not grieve on the news. Now when I've known a woman of that courage, of that nobel nature to give even her life to at least give the people some basic human rights by democracy, of fighting against the bad, I now feel deeply hurt. What bold hopes she must have had to return to Pakistan in December 2007 when she knew how close she would be to death. Her life is an example of kind of an ideal life, read it, see for yourself that the life worth living is only a life of courage and honour and truth. She was assassinated on December 28, 2007 in a country where she had come back from exile, back to get into polictics and elections, with denied security from the President.

This is an auto-biography to read! It's not hard-core politics, so even if you're not at all political, its a smooth read taking you into the lives of people, their powers and their effects.

Book Review - That Thing Called Love (Sam)

Have you ever thought about falling in Love during the rains? At least the rainy season. When the mind races over different matters as you are stuck in a rain induced traffic jam.... and your mind actually wanders freely into zone you had hitherto not visited.. at least for some time.

It was in one such monsoon that Mayank Sahai, that Mayank met a lady who seemed to fit the bill of his idea of the perfect woman, though he had got engaged to another lady a few weeks back. He went after her even though she was married and finally realised his folly when his contact with the lady was destroying her once strong now fragile relationship with her husband.. to be finally irreparably damaged. Then there are Mayank's colleagues, who have their own set of problems and equations to deal with. Anil and his equations with his wife, which take a turn for the better only after a drastic incident. Vishal's infidelities catch up with him just when he had turned new leaf and decided to be loyal to his wife. Tina the receptionist has a dark secret to hide...... And they all have the Mumbai monsoon to deluge them in their emotions. How the monsoon takes along these characters along with it to reach their true self is what makes the reader to stick around till the last page. Every one has a past that mould one into what they are today.... sometimes...... more than they would ever acknowledge.

I could have told you so much about this book... might have revealed the story. But then, I want you to undertake this journey on your own. Go ahead get the book NOW!!

Happy Reading!!

Monthly Book Review—A Thousand Splendid Suns ( Mala)

Khaled Hosseini would probably always be known as the man who authored “The Kite Runner.” However, his subsequent attempt at authoring fiction is equally captivating, if not better.
Set in Afghanistan, the novel spans two generations—political unrest being the common thread running through them. Hosseini beautifully captures the hardships of Afghans during the times when it only rained ammunitions.

The main characters of this story, two women of different generations, find company in each other. While one is fiercely independent and vocal, the other has been raised to be a docile housewife. But, circumstances script your destiny. Or your destiny scripts your circumstances. Either way, life takes a dubious turn for these two women. The rest of the story is about their love and their hatred; their failure and their success; their smiles and their tears.

“A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a beautiful yet heart-wrenching story of two women I couldn’t help but fall in love with. I felt their pain, rejoiced in their success, and applauded their courage.

All this because Hosseini, for me, is the best visual storyteller of modern times.

Book Review : Above Average (Sam)

Hello people..... I am taking over the book review for this month from Mala.

This particular book would appeal to all I believe, especially the engineers out there.. for their life is impeccably reflected in there.... Nostalgia.................

Enough said... over to the book!!

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One glance at this book and I groaned, "Oh no!! Not another IITian penning down life at IIT. Chetan Bhagat was good but can't stomach the same stuff so many times." I looked at Mann, who had asked me to check it out, promising that it was a good one. Now, funnily enough I still went ahead and bought the book... may be because the one element that stood out there was Rock Music which is close to my heart. That was 27th June, 2007.

Today as I write about this book, I must say Amitabha Bagchi is not Chetan Bhagat. No.... they are different. The book Above Average is in so many ways the story of many a lives since say the mid 1990s.

The book is about an IITian, his dreams that were built during his life in there, how they fructified to some sort of a conclusion, how the entire friend group stayed in touch, where things went, how the undercurrents can spoil some good things, how life of an engineer shapes up!! Everything that happened around him made him sit up and take stock of facts. Life at IIT is not easy.... Life in it's full glory is a beauty not meant for the faint-hearted.

To identify with the story, the plot.... one need not be from IIT, or an engineer for that matter (though for this breed it's a life they know, they have seen, they are living!!)...... one just needs to be human. In fact, should one lok closely at it, just about every moment is being relived by loads of individuals be it some Dinesh from Stephen's Delhi, Arnab from Presidency Kolkata, Neha from Pune University, Diya from Sydenham Mumbai.... It's not the story about being an IITian.... it's about being a student, of dreaming, aspiring and..... living!!

The downside of this book, is perhaps the strange disconnected manner it might seem to proceed..... often one would be shuttling across time frames.... to the author's credit, the thread was still there.... one just needs to be really into the story to keep hold of it. Again, the pace is very relaxed... so take it up on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And what with the monsoon being in full swing (if not now, soon it would be), this might just help you pass by that weekend, with your favourite brew for company.

Happy Reading!!

After going through the book, I surmised the following:

Life was never fair........... But then they never said it would be unfair. To understand it and grow up is what constitutes the greatest of challenge... the most important education. For some it's at IIT.......... And for you??

P.S. This was my first attempt.. so please be extrememly critical in your comments

I have edited the post with due respect to the author's comments. To get the plot...... read the book :D

Monthly Book Review: The Sweet Science by A J Liebling

I'm back, but only for the review. Work's been hectic, and my apologies for my no-shows. Please bear with me for a little while longer.

So, on with the book review - this one is especially for Rajbir.
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I've often heard of A.J. Liebling being refereed to as one of, if not the greatest boxing writer of modern times, equitable to say, the Sugar Ray Robinson of pugilistic prose. However, being a child of today's 'show me, in order to convince me' world, I had my share of doubts. Frankly, because I find that many of today's contemporary writers have similar and consequently indiscernible styles, it's difficult to be truly distinctive and audacious in this arena. So, when I had a chance to pickup Liebling's, The Sweet Science, I felt not only intrigued, but also compelled.

The book is a compilation of some of Leibling's best works during the decade of the 1950's. During that time he covered boxing greats Rocky Marciano, Sandy Saddler, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Joey Maxim, Joe Louis and a host of others.

One of the most obvious and discernible traits that Liebling displayed was his ability to re-create the current times and atmosphere he was writing about. He not only paints accurate fistic portraits, but also cultural and sociological ones. During one instance he talks about the day Sugar Ray Robinson challenged Joey Maxim for the Heavyweight crown in Yankee Stadium, where he not only provides candid moments on the fight itself, but also salient features on the venue, its atmosphere and the people that populated it.

As well, you'll quickly notice that Liebling was a very erudite man. Many, many times he'll amaze you by providing terms that are unequivocal in their defining purpose, and only with the assistance of Merriam–Webster will you be able to fully appreciate them. I found myself thumbing through my own copy on numerous occasions, all the while though, realizing the rewards that Liebling's caveats provided.

Liebling also had an uncanny knack of providing, and invoking humor and humanity in the characters he was covering. I never found his satire to be malicious, as he attacked everyone from fans, to fighters, to foes, but rather comical as no one was able to escape his sardonic wit. I found his portrayal of the verbal and linguistic skills of the patrons that attended fights quite enjoyable.

Monthly Book Review: Children of Hurin

Walk into a bookstore. There's a huge pool of people around one shelf. You peep in to see what's gripping these people. What else, but..................Tolkein mania again :))))))))))))))))

Children of Hurin, Tolkein's latest book to hit the world bookstores, has taken the readers' imaginations by storm. However, this time the mania didnot quite work its magic on me. Children of Hurin proved to be a disappointment, to say the least. Perhaps because the benchmark for comparison was the LOTR trilogy. Children of Hurin doesnot match the standards of LOTR, but what is commendable is the way Christopher, JRR's son, has taken cues from notes left behind by JRR, and compiled those to weave yet another fantasy tale. While reading Children of Hurin, you will be left in limbo at times because of the break in the flow of the story. However, to give credit to Christopher, he worked on a vision, that of his father. He beautified the story conceived by someone else.

So, what is Children of Hurin about?

Set during the First Age of the Middle Earth, Children of Hurin is a tale of time when Men was still a respected race. Hurin, the Chieftain of Men, is held captive by Morgoth. Hurin must now live his biggest nightmare, for his family is destroyed by the curse of the Dark Lord. The story then shifts focus on the children of Hurin, Turin in particular. Turin displays greatness from a very young age, and grows up to be a force to reckon. Turin is aptly supported by his sister, Nienor.

How Turin and Nienor come out as the heroes is something that cannot be described in any writeup. You have to read the book and experience it.

Eragon - Book Review (Mala)

Eragon is an enchanting, fantasy novel tickling your imagination.

One day, Eragon, a poor, young farm-boy finds a mysterious, blue stone, while he goes out hunting. Dazzled by the brilliance of the stone, Eragon goes to the colony market and tries to trade it for food for his family. However, nobody believes him or stone and Eragon is left with the stone to last him a lifetime. A lifetime, during which the blue stone hatches into a cute, little, adorable dragon. A dragon Eragon can communicate with – telepathically.

Eragon decides to name the little dragon as Saphira – because of its Saphire blue color. Eragon and Saphira bond – at a very different level.

But all good things must come to an end, or at least be disturbed.

The evil forces of Galbatorix, Razac, set out to find Eragon and his prized possession. Eragon and Saphira get away, but not without paying a prize – death of his uncle, his guardian.

Who is Galbatorix? Who is Razac? Where do they come from?

As disjoint as it may seem, Galbatorix is the last of the Dragon Riders (remember Sauron of the LOTR?) and it’s his destiny to find the dragon egg. His servants (deja vu: Dark Riders of the LOTR), including Razac, will help him find his destiny.

Not one to be defeated by evil, Eragon, accompanied by Saphira, decides to hunt down the killers of his guardian. Brom, the village storyteller (think Gandalf), joins them in their endeavor. The trio, on their journey, encounter humans, dwarves, elves and Urgals. Every day is a struggle with newer challenges facing them.

Whether Galbatorix is successful in finding his destiny, whether Eragon saves the world from evil, whether Saphira proves to be Eragon’s lucky charm is what the book, Eragon, is all about.


While reading Eragon, you will find a hundred overlaps with the Lord of the Rings. And like the LOTR trilogy, Eragon is Chris Paolini’s first novel of the Inheritance trilogy. The second book, Eldest, is out in the market, while work on the final book is underway.

Riding high on the success of LOTR, Eragon is all set to release as a film.

Go watch!

Personally though, the LOTR magic cannot be recreated. The book did not do it, the film won’t either.