Book Review : Love is Vodka - A Shot ain't Enough

Title : Love is Vodka - A Shot ain't Enough
Author : Amit Shankar

Publisher : Vitasta

Genre : Fiction

Pages : 203

Price : Rs. 195 

My Take 

A fight with my boyfriend gifted me with a good three-hour "please-don't-talk-to-me" time, and that is when I picked up, started and finished this book. Yes, it is a quick and breezy read.

The protagonist, Moon, is a nineteen year old, confused teenager, born to an Indian mother and a French biological father, who never married her mother or gave Moon the status of a 'daughter', but send expensive gifts to Moon, every now and then. Moon being a love child, was raised by her news anchor mother amidst all glam and glitter. By nineteen, Moon had tasted her share of stardom via modelling assignments. By nineteen, Moon had been in and out of numerous so-called relationships.

Riding a three-hour roller-coaster ride with this extremely confused teenager was indeed a tedious job for me. Her innumerable flings or so-called relations with multiple men before she apparently 'found her true love' is a bit too much to digest. I agree that girls of this age have a rush of hormones which make them go crazy once in awhile, but in Moon's case, the rush was a bit too abnormal. 

In spite of having a boyfriend, falling in love with her mother's boyfriend Ashwin, getting slapped after her mother discovers about it, packing off and landing up at Ashwin's doorstep, only to get dumped by him - turned out to be a bit too melodramatic for my palate. And not to forget Moon's romantic encounters with Nikhil, Aditya and Gautam, whose presence acts as garnishings to the story. It seemed like the poor protagonist had a life like a maze - you enter, spend some time and then leave. 

Moon's actions and tantrums are flabbergasting at times. She leaves you wondering about her motives throughout the book. The concoction of romance and politics towards the end of the book is very comparable to a cocktail of oil and water. The climax could have been weaved better to create a smoother ending. 

The only interesting part of this book is its fast paced writing and the author's ability to write from the POV of a nineteen year old girl. 

Rating : 2/5

Verdict  : The book is a classic example of stereotyping teenage girls. The author might have come across a character as fascinating to him as the protagonist, but in real life, I wonder how many of us actually know some teenager with characteristics similar to Moon. Her character fails to show any depth, values or growth. This book might provide an excellent script for a Bollywood flick.

While the author was working too hard on building the plot, he missed out on a very crucial task of proof reading and editing his book. It is evident from the scattered spelling errors. 

Tailpiece : Consumption of vodka leaves you with a hangover, this book fails miserably. 

About the Author : Amit Shankar hails from the advertising industry and has authored two titles before this venture - Flight of the Hilsa and Chapter 11. You can learn more about him here.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

The Time Keeper - A Review

 THE ULTIMATE BLOG CHALLENGE DAY 23

 

"All around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. 

A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. 

Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, 

man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. 

A fear of time running out"

- Mitch Albom, The Time Keeper 

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom, is a parable about what Time means to each of us, and depending on our perception, how it either flies or drags. This artistically woven fiction has three parallel running plots which get sutured together at the end. There is Dor, who invented world's first clock, and thus, became Father Time. There is Sarah Lemon, a present day plain-Jane who had experienced her first teenage heart-break. And there is an octogenarian Victor Delamonte, a rich and power-loving business man who is counting his last days.  

The story starts with Dor and his love Alli growing up in a quaint little village at a time when there  was no concept of Time. But Dor was special. Unlike his other friends around him, he was not power-hungry. All he did was count time. Till he discovered world's first sundial, first clock and first calendar. This obviously made Dor remain ahead of Time. But this came along as a bane to Dor. He was exiled in a cave for six thousand years for teaching Man how to count time. Dor is left alone in the cave, with the company of voices of people from Earth who complained about time running out and how they wished they had more and more time.

Finally, Dor is freed after six thousand years, but with a mission. He has to make two people on earth realize the value of time. And these two characters perceive time in an absolutely antagonistic manner. Young Sarah Lemon had been dumped by the boy she loved and life held no meaning for her. She was prepared to end her life when her case is handed over to Dor. In another part of the world, an ailing business man Victor, is fighting against life to buy some more time to earn some more money. He decides to cheat death when Dor intervenes. A series of intertwined events, leaves all the happy at the end.

Albom's writing style is fluent, lucid and definitely strikes a chord with the heart. The Time Keeper is a compelling tale, cleverly handled parallel plots and a feel good factor, cover to cover. This one is a not-to-miss for all.

Title: The Time Keeper

Author:  Mitch Albom

Publisher:  Little, Brown Book Group
Genre : Fiction

Price: Rs.499 (Hardcover)

Pages: 240

 

My Rating : ***** 

 

This post is written for Write Tribe - The Ultimate Blog Challenge - Day 23

Review : My Lawfully Wedded Husband and other Stories

Title: My Lawfully Wedded Husband and Other Stories

Author:  Madhulika Liddle

Publisher:  Westland Limited (2012)
Genre : Fiction
Date:  2012

Price: Rs. 250

Pages: 215

The First Impression

Madhulika Liddle, best known for her Muzaffar Jang Series, exhibits her exceptional story weaving capability in this delightful and thrilling short story collection, "My Lawfully Wedded Husband and other stories". Each of the stories are shaded with a coat of dark humour and the readers are thrown a red herring at the end of each one. It is a thrilling package, cover-to-cover!

A dozen stories, each of a different shade. Be it the office ghost in Silent Fear, the inquisitive and concerned young couple neighbours to Number 63, the artfully crafty government clerk Mr.George in St.George and the Dragon or Helen the prostitute in Hourie, all these characters have been carefully painted and detailed to perfection. The imagery created in each of the narratives is so vivid, that you feel it rolling in front of your eyes. This collection is a perfect example of how simple words can be used to weave magic.

Digging Deeper

The book opens with the story Sum Total, which is about a young lady who feels the best way to get rid of people she dislikes or finds a nuisance in her life, is to murder them. Though it ends in a slightly predictable fashion, it grips the reader till the end, undoubtedly. 

The second story, A Tale of a Summer Vacation is the narration of a young girl who is visiting her grandmother in a picturesque town of Goa, and befriends two sisters, around whom the story revolves. Smartly narrated plot with a equally smart ending. 

A Brief Lesson in Trust, the third story in the book, is where Geeti realizes that trusting the most reliable and practical girl from her school days, is a lost gamble she made. It leaves the readers pondering over "Whom should I trust".

Feet of Clay, the story next in line describes beautifully how a little girl hero-worshiped the bakery man who used to come to her gates each afternoon with his wares. Totally unexpected ending, which might leave the readers thoughtful for a while.

The next story, My Lawfully Wedded Husband, from which the book gets its title, is strategically placed as the fifth story and one of the best in the collection. Delightful writing style with a perfectly twisted ending. 

Story number six is Number 63 which is about a inquisitive young couple trying to search for mystery in their neighbours' house. The story ends with its signature twist, but it came and ended a bit too abruptly. It might be a writers strategy to create the impact of the ending on readers, but I would have preferred a smoother impact curve rather than such a steep one!

On the Night Train is a witty tale about a young boy's night journey in an almost empty rail coach and it leaves you all in smiles. Another one in the must-reads list.

Hourie is one of the longest stories, but the narration about a girl called Hourie and her friends in a brothel is interesting enough to keep you glued till the end. This is one of those stories which was highly predictable despite the writer's efforts to keep the suspense unraveled till the end.

Silent Fear featuring the office ghost is another short and smart story with the theme of paranormal activity.

The tenth story, St.George and the Dragon is an interesting read where a government clerk who initially portrays the good man character, later using his cunning ways overpowers his corrupt boss. 

The Crusader and The Howling Waves of Tranquebar are the last two of the collection and are completely opposite to each other. While the former one is slightly amateurish and highly predictable, the latter provides a perfect end to the collection with its vivid descriptions and mysterious aura.

Passing the Verdict

A crisp and interesting read for all short story lovers and aspiring short story writers. It definitely grabs a 3.5/5 from me.

About the Author

Madhulika Liddle is an Indian writer who writes in English. She is best known for her books featuring the 17th century Mughal detective Muzaffar Jang, although she is also a prolific writer of short fiction, travel writing, and writing related to classic cinema.

To read more about her and her works, you can refer here.

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

growing up with books

I can identify the sharp transitions that I have had in my literary life. I don't think i could put it very well. What I mean is, how I have grown up reading books of different flavours.

I don't remember the first book I owned. Must be something which had colorful pictures in every page with little or no writing. I remember a particular series of books which i used to borrow from my Kindergarten library. It was called Peter and Jane. Ma used to sit and make me practice reading. Also there was The Enormous Turnip, Henny Penny, The Shoemaker and the Elves. All these had lots of pictures. Attractive ones!!

As  I graduated from Kindergarten, I was introduced to the Magical world of Enid Blyton. The Faraway Tree, The Barney Series, The Adventure Series.... they became my bible! I was a voracious reader! I gradually imagined myself as one of the Secret Seven or The Famous Five or The Five Find-Outers. I fell in love with Fatty (leader of the Five Find-outers). I tried writing letters with invisible ink. I tried having a secret society where you had to give a  password to enter the meetings! I wished I was in a boarding school like St. Clare's or Malory Towers!

Apart from the Enid Blytons, I read Sweet Valley kids! As I grew up to a permissible age to read Sweet Valley High or Sweet Valley University, I realized that Sweet Valleys are Sh!T...!!! I was never a Sweet Valley fan! Girls in my school were crazy about that series!! Ugghhh!!!

And gradually, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple became my bedtime stories. At times I used to stay up late and finish a book and then go to bed. Ma used to get angry at times. But the urge  to reach the last page of the book was too strong to listen to anything she said.

As I gained age and wisdom, the Secret Sevens and Rip van Winkles took their place in the top most rack of my book shelf, where you need to stand on a stool to reach out. The middle rack (the most accessible one) was furnished with The Sister of my Heart, The Glass Palace, A Princess Remembers, classics like Gone with the Wind, Emma, David Copperfield. I rearranged the books of the middle shelf and made space for The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I was not confined only to books in English language. I ventured a lot into the world of Bengali literature too. Feluda,  Professor Shonku, Tarini Khuro and every short story that came out of the pens of Satyajit Ray was and still is my favorite. Pother Panchali, Parineeta, Ramer Shumoti, Chuti, Rajarshi... the list is endless. Books were my Best friend. In fact, my bestest friend (if that term existed)!

And today, I find myself so drained out after the day's work, that I don't get time to read. And I regret it. Always. The days when going to the Book Fair was like an annual ritual. The smell of new books was intoxicating. I miss those endless idle hours which I could spend behind those black and white letters.

Alas...!!

P.S : There are tons of other books and writers who have been a part of  the "growing-me". So many, that I cant possible fit them all here!