tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79207915267715845462011-11-28T06:10:48.008+05:30... entering different worlds that lie between covers ...Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.comBlogger941100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-81371354857344274992011-03-16T13:27:00.000+05:302011-03-16T13:27:42.855+05:30

This is one of Mr Gale's more popular books.  Like I mentioned in my review of another book of his recently, I loved the title and the cover of the book, a major force in my decision to try the book out, so I borrowed it from the library even before I had read the other one, still sitting on my shelf. Rachel Kelly is prodigiously talented and views the world in a palette of colors.  But this

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-3103472598351605612011-03-14T20:36:00.001+05:302011-03-15T21:51:13.053+05:30

Norah Hoult was born two years before the twentieth century and went on to become a well known woman writer, having had some experience working for the Sheffire Daily Telegraph before moving to London to focus on a magazine.  By age 30 she had become a full-time writer with her first book Poor Women published in 1928.  She based this particular book -- There Were No Windows -- on her neighbor,

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-56533672273271967482011-03-12T16:13:00.001+05:302011-03-15T16:20:15.839+05:30

To tell you the truth, it is the beautiful cover illustrations and the lovely sound of the titles that have made me pick up Patrick Gale's books.  The short summary of his stories too reveal some complexity, the kind you don't really encounter so easily in fiction.  To date, I've read two of his books, the first being The Facts of Life. The story opens out in the years following the Second World

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-24207855575987005482011-03-10T12:35:00.000+05:302011-03-15T15:11:30.277+05:30

I did not know, at the time of taking this book up, that the story was loosely drawn on the personal life of England's celebrated author, Charles Dickens.  I had just chosen this book on a whim, but eventually the writing gave it away and upon some research in the internet I realized that my hunch was right. Girl in a Blue Dress, longlisted for the Man Booker in 2008,  is actually seen from the

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-31857865269029745352011-03-05T11:46:00.078+05:302011-03-15T12:24:16.696+05:30

I read this book around two months ago.  I could not quite make out what the story was about when I pick it at the library, but I decided to be adventurous and brought it home, where it lay untouched on my bookshelf while I glanced at it dubiously every now and then. The story is written as if it were an actual memoir.  The book has displayed the name of its author, William Heaney, who is

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-81681990999646360812011-03-02T11:19:00.000+05:302011-03-15T11:44:15.413+05:30

It's been a long long while since I last read a children's adventure story.  Pressed for time, I had had to rush through the library's collection as some books had been due that day.  The cover of this particular novel, and its first page which I had quickly scanned, interested me immensely and I took it up impulsively.  The Hidden World is actually the second book of the Tom Scatterhorn trilogy

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-48045118083342913622011-02-28T20:00:00.007+05:302011-03-15T10:18:33.605+05:30

This is Nuala O'Faolain's debut novel, published ten years ago, when she was in her late 50s.  The author died recently of cancer, after living a very restless and colorful life, traveling through the world, failing in love amongst other things.  This fiction is felt to have been drawn from her own difficult and painful life, although she had already written two memoirs in her younger years which

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-12366989469976828032011-02-25T17:24:00.010+05:302011-03-14T19:49:12.697+05:30

I had been disappointed with the last book I had read by Ms Oates, Middle-Age: A Romance.  The grotesque and weak characters she had introduced us to in that book had repelled me.  Yet, in spite of my decision to keep away from Ms Oates' books for a while at least, I could not help picking this particular book up - Mother, Missing.  It's theme of a young brash woman mourning over the mother she

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-26916219986011771812011-02-20T16:07:00.002+05:302011-03-14T17:07:29.502+05:30

I had read this book close to five months ago, having borrowed it from my library.  Some of the details may be hazy but I do remember being a bit hesitant in picking it up because it had that aura about it of those horror books that hardly have any content in them and merely seek to stimulate the animal part of readers.  But I read the first page there in the library and decided that it was

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-17285881640564938842011-02-12T15:50:00.002+05:302011-02-23T15:56:55.276+05:30

I got this book from the British Library.  It won the John Llewellyn Rhys prize last year, which does not surprise me.  For a debut novel, it is breathtaking in scope, with an admirable richness of language and imagery. The theme of the story is the vast cold space of the Arctic.  This is a many-layered story with two parallel lives running together, a hundred years apart, both lives

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-61272155634949424942011-02-09T13:31:00.000+05:302011-02-23T14:16:36.666+05:30

There are some jobs in this world that have a short expiry date, jobs that take out so much of you that at some point you just need to stop and change direction.  This is evident in Ms Howell's own life as a paramedic.  After a full career as a paramedic, by her own admission, she started penning down her own experiences in fictional format.  The Darkest Hour is the second book in a line of

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-407520215895582212011-02-07T20:19:00.001+05:302011-02-23T13:16:43.296+05:30

A small novel, I got this from the British Library.  I read it a couple of months ago, but didn't quite get round to posting anything about it.  To be honest, I'm still unsure of my reactions to it; in retrospect, I guess I'd settle for wry amusement. Martin Clay and his wife are both learned in art - their exact designations are a topic of debate in the beginning of the book.  He claims to be

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-74113197296691529072011-02-02T19:36:00.000+05:302011-02-21T20:14:47.470+05:30

It had been a while since I picked up a book authored by John Grisham.  He had been a favorite of mine some ten years ago, when I first discovered him, and I read this particular novel during vacation time last November when I was visiting family.  I missed some of his books in between - seven of them to be exact, since the last one I read was The Summons so many years ago.  It was interesting to

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-10137053579848042272010-10-25T21:21:00.004+05:302010-10-27T14:47:50.611+05:30

During a day-long planned visit to the library yesterday, I picked up this book and read it over the course of a couple of hours.  Its small size promised a quick read and the fact that it won the 2007 John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize piqued my interest.  It did have a rather military feel about it, from the back description, but I decided to try it out anyway. The tone of the book surprised

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-29438154176406588222010-10-21T18:00:00.089+05:302010-10-27T14:48:36.267+05:30

This book contains the complete cycle of Paradys, an alternate world fiction by Tanith Lee.  There are four books here:  The Book of the Damned, The Book of the Beast, The Book of the Dead and The Book of the Mad.  They've now been published in one single volume. Paradys is a city where morals have disintegrated to depravity, where citizens prey upon each other, where killings and maimings are

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-3518382152732520422010-10-18T16:18:00.005+05:302010-10-26T16:34:55.162+05:30

Mr Ingram seems to have had a rather colourful working life -- a debt collector, a hospital nurse -- before settling down to the unpredictable life of a novelist.  The Stone Gallows is his debut novel.  I had picked it up from the table display of the British Library where newly bought titles had been put up.  The story is in the first person POV, that of Cameron Stone, a former cop.  A tragedy

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-68470876205196763532010-10-14T15:06:00.161+05:302010-10-25T16:17:55.523+05:30

This is a comical piece of historical fiction that I read one afternoon at the British Library, where I was waiting for unexpected October rainshowers to subside.  The book description was intriguing and the mere 200-odd pages made it easy to tackle in one sitting.  So I went ahead and opened the pages, and was soon enough completely engrossed in it. The story revolves around an old Anglo-Saxon

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-60865859752526791782010-10-10T21:13:00.006+05:302010-10-15T11:56:06.859+05:30

This is a quiet and serious piece of fiction set partly in the Greek island of Corfu and partly in Nimes, "the hottest town in France".  In the author's own words: "The inspiration for this book came one gloomy winter afternoon when I rediscovered Prospero's Cell ... a richly evocative account of Lawrence Durrell's life in Corfu in the 1930s ... a diary in which he is a serious young writer ...

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-36618857956485167342010-09-30T16:27:00.004+05:302010-10-01T11:42:26.237+05:30

This is Lissa Evans' third novel and the first of hers that I've read.  In fact, I hadn't even heard of her though I did sporadically (hardly actually) watch the series she directed, The Kumars at No. 42.  She's briefly been a doctor, a stand-up comedian, has done radio programs, has been a director and then recently turned her hand to writing novels. Their Finest Hour and a Half spans seventeen

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-88727507529822246992010-09-24T21:57:00.002+05:302010-10-19T17:10:54.072+05:30

This is the first novel I've read that has been written by a Maori.  Witi Ihimaera is an accomplished writer and is considered the most prominent Maori novelist alive, winning an award for his novel Tangi.  Maoris and their culture have ignored for a long while now and it has been the author's aim to bring it to the notice of the outside world.  His passion for his culture is evident in his

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-37385850523934624222010-09-20T21:11:00.003+05:302010-09-27T18:30:04.076+05:30

Another debut novel that I liked very much.  This book is full of suspense and has dark undertones to it.  The back cover description was what garnered my attention when I browsed through the library some weeks ago and I decided to try it out. Kit (aka Katie) Parry is the heroine of the tale and we get the story through her own mouth.  The narrative spans two times periods -- events that occur

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-6459305738455459042010-09-14T14:33:00.148+05:302010-09-16T13:01:00.866+05:30

I fell in love with Judith Lennox's writing when I first read her novel Before the Storm some five months ago.  She portrayed her characters so vividly in that book that had the effect of tugging at my heart.  All My Sisters too is no exception.  It is a lovely warm-hearted novel that I know I will read all over again and still love in the years ahead. The story, as the title suggests, revolves

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-87390848621441788152010-09-08T13:39:00.001+05:302010-09-14T16:24:17.748+05:30

This is a rather hefty and daunting book.  I'd seen it at the British Library last year but only got the courage to handle it this year in July because I could not restrain my curiosity any longer.  Even so, I spent six weeks reading through it, so dense is its material.  The author himself took 34 years to finally complete this book and since its publication the book has borne the brunt of much

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-19217275563037120672010-09-04T19:09:00.008+05:302010-09-16T16:28:32.931+05:30

I first came across Kazuo Ishiguro's work last year, when I read his not-so-popular work The Unconsoled.  I had been endlessly amused by this particular novel and wished to read more works of his in future.  So it was without any hesitation that I picked When We Were Orphans off the library shelf a few weeks ago. The narrative revolves around a London-based detective of some fame, Christopher

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-90232353736048120372010-08-30T19:05:00.002+05:302010-09-04T19:10:37.283+05:30

I had actually read this book sometime last month but it was only now that I got down to posting something on it.  I've been reading a whole lot of new authors lately and loving it.  The description on the cover flap of this particular book made it sound rather darkly intriguing, and the modesty of just 300 pages seemed inviting and easy to handle, since I'd been rather busy during that time.

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-10598981047681123862010-08-24T16:59:00.000+05:302010-09-04T17:18:53.733+05:30

This was a simple book I had picked off from the bookshelf at the British Library ... small and unassuming which I knew I could finish off in half an hour or so in order to while away the time some weeks ago.  She garnered some praise for this debut novel, or so it seemed from the blurb on this book. In my opinion it's a rather forgettable story, set in the Indian hinterlands.  One has come

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-59015154282822214732010-08-13T19:18:00.041+05:302010-08-19T19:58:41.158+05:30

I read this book rather carelessly (pun intended).  It so happened that I had to flee from my house yesterday in order to escape the terrible racket outside, a consequence of the booming housing market out here (a high rise is being built just across the way).  I had picked this deceptively small book one afternoon from the library to read right there before I returned home in the evening to

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-14854287996182802622010-07-15T00:00:00.162+05:302010-07-15T16:27:50.226+05:30

The last Russian book I had read (and re-read) was Tolstoy's War and Peace.   In fact, he is the only Russian author I've read in my life, though for the record I do have The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky lying on my bookshelf for a couple of years now, for which I've been awaiting the right frame of mind to pick up.  I've read Anna Karenina too when a teenager, and though it is Tolstoy's most

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-61212437106712897762010-07-12T00:00:00.153+05:302010-09-21T22:29:20.674+05:30

I had picked up this book around the same time that I had picked up the author's other novel  Astonishing Splashes of Colour.  I have to say, whatever her writing style, her book titles are intriguing and well chosen to capture attention.  This is her third published novel.  To be truthful, I actually found this book better than the other.  This book too is about dealing with the cards that life

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-15638395315680506622010-07-09T14:00:00.005+05:302010-07-09T16:35:18.650+05:30

My reading over the past weeks seems to have speeded up ahead of my blogging.  I had read this particular book over a month ago and just did not get around to posting anything on it.  Some of the details are rusty as the book had not been particularly memorable to me. I had liked the title of this book ... Astonishing Splashes of Colour.  This phrase has been taken from JM Barrie's Peter Pan

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-42878445301450169892010-06-24T19:28:00.001+05:302010-06-24T19:31:01.026+05:30

This book was an impulsive pick.  I'd been in a hurry that day and only stopped at the library to return some books and pick up some more.  This book intrigued me with its blurbs and its backcover contents.  Only after I returned home did I notice that the first eight pages were missing, so I never did get to read the opening of the book. This is a beautiful piece of work.  The story is pretty

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-35144778871918955512010-06-20T17:52:00.006+05:302010-09-21T22:28:28.266+05:30

I had lingered over this book during many visits to the library, hesitating to take it and yet curious enough to browse through it.  The blurbs are at fault - they describe the book as funny and irreverent and garrulous, a deliciously irresistible combination to an avid reader.  I finally succumbed and took it home with me. The sheer bulk of it can be daunting.  The character, Herbert Badgery,

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-32774027021069333202010-06-18T13:23:00.009+05:302010-09-21T22:27:51.894+05:30

This is a truly original and refreshing piece of work.  I was surprised by the depth of it.  In fact, I only picked it up on impulse from the British Library because it had been a new arrival, pristine and untouched by anyone else and I had recently read something about the author in the newspaper, his comments on creative writing in general.  In that article, he had mentioned working on a book

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-71287610697245745752010-05-21T19:10:00.005+05:302010-09-16T19:32:27.113+05:30

This is one hefty book, sprawling to almost 700 pages of sheer literary weight.  I've read many books of this size and yet the effort needed to wade through this particular one is enormous.  This is the first book authored by Ms. Byatt that I've read so far, and the first book I've read in the Frederica Potter series, though there are two novels preceding this one. It often happens that one does

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-5971175818817621232010-04-30T10:14:00.129+05:302010-05-03T20:06:16.408+05:30

This is an incredible piece of fiction.  I had my doubts when I picked the book, because it deals a lot with the First World War, there's a lot of war details and often books that don't handle the subject well can turn the reading rather tedious.  However, here the book grew on me.  I had gotten it on an impulse from the British Library, which is a good thing as I feel I'd never get this sort of

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-26344601856966722802010-04-24T16:39:00.084+05:302010-04-30T18:26:29.763+05:30

I feel like this book is an extension of my personal growth education that started with Bear Hunt.  In fact, it follows along the same principles, but is specific to creativity and getting ideas.  I had bought this book some three years ago, around the same time as Bear Hunt, at the behest of my husband, who felt I needed to embark on my own special path.  A tiny book, humorously illustrated by

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-18897163670331715722010-04-18T10:23:00.056+05:302010-04-30T17:01:01.397+05:30

I had bought this book some three years ago, at a time when I felt like nothing was working out for me in my life.  Everything important to me turned out to be a dead end and I did not know which way to turn.  This book caught my eye at the time adn I felt there would be some sort of answer for me in it, something which would point out a direction for me, something that would pull me out of this

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-37563286957869265782010-04-14T12:22:00.002+05:302010-04-14T12:25:39.789+05:30

This is my first Judith Lennox novel.  I can see why she is popular.  I've always had a weakness for family sagas that span two to three generations because it introduces greater complexity than a regular romance novel.  There are always those tugs of war caused by generational gaps, the friction between two people who eventually find their way back to each, and always in the background the

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-79684388218421385232010-04-07T22:38:00.006+05:302010-04-14T10:12:53.874+05:30

I've not been much into self-help books.  I've been pretty good at looking after myself, no matter what the ups and downs, and I didn't quite feel the need for the expertise of other people to tell me what to do or how to feel.  Still, there have been some books that can give me goosebumps; I get this strange feeling when I lift their covers and glance through their pages, as if I've come across

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-86759887244156556122010-03-30T18:23:00.009+05:302010-03-30T20:29:40.523+05:30

This book surprised and delighted me.  I picked the book up from the British Library on a whim, as I seem to remember reading as a youngster some book of his on India which I hadn't liked as it fell into the character of Indian fiction written in English that generally have a dark fatalistic tone to them, something I cannot subscribe to (at least I think it was a book of his, though I could be

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-50383313975450827462010-03-22T14:58:00.004+05:302010-03-22T19:04:26.420+05:30

It's been a long time since I was last so fascinated about a book, or about anything for that matter.  Medicine intrigues me, and when it has to do with the brain, well, my interest goes up many notches over.  This was certainly an impulse buy, but I had to have this book on my shelf.  And no regrets whatsoever. The edition that I bought is actually a reprint, the original book having been

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-19783588251005902922010-03-17T16:13:00.009+05:302010-03-17T18:43:12.845+05:30

I've always been drawn towards stories that have animals in them.  (My favorite to date is 'The Yearling' by Marjorie Rawlings; the boy's turmoil on having to kill his own pet struck me to the depths of my heart.)  I bought this book as it had a promising story of a relationship between a young boy and his dogs.  Tragedy was hinted at. It was also Mr. Wroblewski's debut novel, and I've been

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-58826978157147175982010-03-08T15:27:00.022+05:302010-03-09T11:09:55.758+05:30

Well firstly, this book was purchased by my husband a few months ago.  He'd been intensely curious about this author who'd been in the center of much hype about Indian writers in English.  I've steered clear of this sort of light reading, because often there is nothing much one can take away from the book except a sense of depression at the Bollywood-like drama, into which category this

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-82830060667382203662010-03-05T23:28:00.006+05:302010-03-19T16:41:16.388+05:30

I picked out this book on an impulse on one of my library sorties.  I sort of had an idea already about how it would go, having read a few biographies on important women.  But the cover of the book, depicting this simple and thoughtful young woman riding a bicycle and looking back as if contemplating the distance she has travelled (talk about not judging the book by its cover), was intriguing

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-89764966261717054772010-02-11T22:39:00.002+05:302010-09-16T16:31:33.849+05:30

This is a simple fiction, very basic in its narrative, containing elements of war, romance, and vengeance.  The language is smooth and the storyline well put together so that the narrative flows smoothly from beginning to end, though two timelines run parallel to each other before the climax and conclusion. In essence, it is a story of revenge undertaken by the notorious Dog of the North,

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-83802032142484045192010-02-04T18:36:00.001+05:302010-02-11T20:03:29.578+05:30

I came across J.C. Oates when I picked up her novel 'The Falls', some months ago and the book had intrigued me.  Her meandering style of writing had an ethereal beauty to it and I delighted in slowly reading through it, drowning into her prose as it were.  That book had given me a lot to assimilate though the ending seemed rather detached after the passion of the first two-thirds.  But I can't

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-32290025155531218452010-01-13T17:35:00.005+05:302010-01-13T18:58:23.612+05:30

This book comes three years after the last Inspector Lynley book (With No-one as Witness) where we were stunned, as Lynley was, by the gruesome and pointless deaths of Lady Helen Clyde and her unborn child.  Up until then, I had devoured almost all of Ms. George's Inspector Lynley books (and for the record, over the last year so did my husband, who usually steers clear of my collection of fiction

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-77245029518170835762010-01-07T13:44:00.003+05:302010-01-13T18:13:27.191+05:30

I read this book, borrowed from the library, well over a month ago, but just didn't get round to writing about it.  The back cover description piqued me with its dark haunting undertones and I felt I should try it out.  The storyline seemed interesting enough at the time I chose it.  Because I read it a while back, the sharper details of the book have faded away, though my impression of the book

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-33400260012917059892009-12-03T18:09:00.006+05:302010-01-13T18:14:07.690+05:30

Breathtaking in scope, reading this book made me feel as if I were watching these people through the haze created by the mists of the falling water in this semi-fictitious world -- seeing them but in no way connected to them except that I experience their lives in some secondhand fashion, emotionally entangled in all that they feel.  Of course, using the word 'they' and 'them' is probably not

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-22965849025574270082009-11-30T17:55:00.006+05:302010-01-13T18:14:50.316+05:30

I found this book to be very original and entertaining.  A small piece of history that this author came across one day (that of the Cheshire cheese gifted to Jefferson) has been used to spin a rather engrossing novel.  The very name and back description of the book piqued my curiosity as I was browsing through the library.  Ah, cheese ... I've always been fascinated by it and anything to do with

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-90120735653202335812009-11-10T17:56:00.009+05:302010-01-13T18:15:30.375+05:30

With this book, I once again enter the world of Africa, filled with its lustrous but brutal beauty that Captain Gideon Schoon in the novel explains to Marit grows from the blood shed on its soil.  A world of magnificent splendor and grave social divides, a land where the word kaffir is only as natural as the violence it has engendered. The story is rather like a mirror comparison of the lives

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-79662061651977696492009-09-18T11:22:00.011+05:302010-01-13T18:16:29.205+05:30

I have to thank my in-laws for lending me this inspiring novel. Both my father-in-law and brother-in-law are avid readers. They got this book from some secondhand store and were pretty impressed by it. It's been made into a movie too, though I've not yet seen it. As the name suggests, the story is about a personal struggle in the face of injustice and abuse. It portrays how an

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-40674439853329841372009-08-19T17:11:00.009+05:302010-01-13T18:17:45.712+05:30

The title of this book was rather intriguing. So was the backcover summary of the book, when I picked it up at the library. Well, I read it and it started off with a strong storyline, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of some disappointment as I neared the end of the book. It felt like the end of the story fizzled out a bit. While the storyline was strong enough at the beginning and

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-5170161134458590222009-08-08T15:04:00.013+05:302010-01-13T18:18:12.442+05:30

Sepulchre means a burial vault or tomb. That sure sounds spooky. Indeed, the book dabbles in past life replete with unresolved issues, nightmares and weird flashbacks, tarot cards, a torn piece of music sheet, a crumbling mansion, duels, ghosts and finally the dead put to rest. But don't let that stop you from picking it up. I found this a thoroughly enjoyable book. It may sound rather heavy

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-64261670866361519292009-07-29T20:21:00.011+05:302010-01-13T18:18:42.844+05:30

This is the first book I've read of this author. I can't say I was much impressed by it. It seemed more movie material than an interesting read, in my opinion. The book opens with a small group hostages, imprisoned and bandied about for five years in the hands of Spanish rebels, and who are finally rescued. They come out into a world that has literally dissolved into something totally

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-34924573142281907942009-07-27T19:13:00.004+05:302010-01-13T18:19:08.004+05:30

I had bought this book couple of years ago and it didn't really make much of an impression on me at the time. It seemed to be like another book on the Holy Grail, following on the heels of Dan Brown's books, but with the difference of there being a lot of religious details and history with which the author seemed familiar. I came across her next book, Sepulchre, recently and learnt that two

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-6886290897195748512009-07-10T11:43:00.012+05:302010-01-13T18:19:36.276+05:30

I had come across a review of his recent short story collection and this piqued my interest in his writing. I found this particular book at the British Library and took it home with me. It took me sometime to get the hang of it and I found it amusing in a wry sort of way. You can't help but get drawn into the whole scenario as the narrative unfolds. There is no better verb for this ... it

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-44696806022782973702009-06-19T13:08:00.011+05:302010-01-13T18:23:49.975+05:30

Richard Russo is an acclaimed author, winning a Pulitzer Prize for the novel Empire Falls seven years ago. I learnt this later, of course, after buying this particular novel. Bridge of Sighs sort of grows on you. It is a small-town story; it feels like nothing can ever change and yet there is a promise that a lot of things might happen in the book so subtly as to escape your eye. I'm still

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-52333409954302270182009-06-13T13:00:00.002+05:302010-01-13T18:24:28.576+05:30

I disliked this book immensely. I found it hard to just wade through the story and couldn't really read it through. The writing is amateurish and the characters lacked ... well, character. In addition, the plot of the book seemed distasteful to me. The violence and lack of morals that the characters show, their way of thinking and acting seemed like a B-grade romance novel, something just put

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-48337726409100587482009-06-03T16:35:00.010+05:302010-01-13T18:25:06.629+05:30

I loved this book. It was so earthy and real, and I have a weakness for family saga fiction (usually about strong women, but this time round the focus is on the menfolk). I like to see how the protagonists came to be who they were and each generation has its own hardships and good times. And Melwyn Bragg doesn't disappoint with this trilogy of his, encompassing three generations of the

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-75757161623192147592009-05-25T15:35:00.007+05:302010-01-13T18:25:36.292+05:30

We went on an impromptu visit to one of my favorite bookstores yesterday. Of late, I've been taking books off the library shelves as I've not found any of the recently released books interesting enough to spend money on. I came across this particular book quite by accident; it had made its way to the discount basket of the bookstore. They were actually selling this wonderful book at one-third

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-66092164083513940232009-05-13T10:41:00.011+05:302010-01-13T18:26:13.059+05:30

I'm not quite sure of my feelings after reading this book. At times I felt as if it was a tedious occupation, wading through her metaphors and the cloudiness of her characters; sometimes I did enjoy the rather poetic tone of her prose. Her work here seems to just hover in and out of the very thin boundary that separates the narrative's slowness from boredom. The story revolves around a large

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-88198691482654417072009-04-17T13:57:00.008+05:302010-01-13T18:27:19.957+05:30

I chose this book randomly when browsing at the library. I just felt like trying out short stories and this book looked rather interesting. A lot of the ideas through which he narrates stories are rather creative. They were apparently written over a span of thirty years before being collected under this title, twenty two stories in all. They rather remind me of a couple of science fiction

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-10472505921085236442009-04-02T16:17:00.016+05:302010-09-16T16:36:40.281+05:30

This shall remain one of my all-time favorite books. My adoration of it is along the lines of my deep fondness for Charles Dickens' novels. The writing style is quite similar and the characters are so very much memorable and distinctive, quite like a lot of Dickens' imaginative people. Indeed, I've not come across such classic writing from authors since the turn of the century. This is

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-74064237936764220362009-03-20T21:58:00.015+05:302010-01-13T18:28:27.739+05:30

Clive Barker seems to be more into the horror genre of books, if you go by many of the reviews available on him. This particular book, however, is a classic fantasy novel. It is very much in the lines of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. I enjoyed it, just as I've enjoyed Tolkien's works. The theme of the story is essentially that of a quest unfolded into a magical world, fraught with all the

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-76957920360274449952009-03-13T11:13:00.010+05:302010-01-13T18:28:54.855+05:30

And so the parts of the machinery engineered by the Mezentine abominator, Ziani Vaatzes, finally come together in this last book of the Engineer Trilogy. War that was threatening to make its presence felt towards the end of Book Two is now a foregone conclusion in The Escapement, as Vaatzes secretly plots to make his way back home to Mezentia from where he had escaped execution, in Book One, for

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-54884026264157757562009-02-25T16:47:00.019+05:302010-01-13T18:38:59.870+05:30

This is one of the most utterly droll and hilarious books I've ever laid hands on, written by an Indian. I've found myself amused with R K Naryanan's Malgudi stories for their simple and insightful outlook on the general Indian population, but The Trotter-Nama by Allan Sealy takes the cake. I thoroughly enjoyed the droll humor and wit ingrained throughout the book. Trotter-Nama is actually

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-43827394342898883492009-02-17T11:20:00.011+05:302010-01-13T18:39:29.282+05:30

I liked this book; I found it entertaining though it did seem rather exhaustive in details at times. I got this off a second-hand book shop some months ago while in Bangalore and it hasn't disappointed me, being light and entertaining. Margaret Ball seems to have tried her hand at various genres of writing including science fiction, fantasy and historical novels. She is well educated, in

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-24441380662309007312009-01-27T11:37:00.008+05:302010-01-13T18:39:57.927+05:30

I borrowed this book from the British Library some days ago. The British library has exposed me to authors from the UK which I like because my reading has been concentrated on the works of too many American authors over the years. The book is not pacy or fast and that, I feel, is its strength. The narrative is thoughtful, quiet, and crammed with so much information and pieces of wisdom that I

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-33276092476230487612009-01-24T17:54:00.004+05:302010-01-13T18:40:21.964+05:30

This is a collection of eleven short stories by Welsh author Rachel Trezise. She's won the Dylan Thomas Prize in Great Britain for this book. I borrowed this book from my library because the book title seemed rather lively and the blurbs seemed to indicate it to be humorous. However, it turned out different from what I expected and I was sorely disappointed. The stories were focused on

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-737911104286834212009-01-08T14:53:00.006+05:302010-01-13T18:40:47.199+05:30

I picked up this book at a secondhand stall during my last trip to Bangalore. I have a partiality for family sagas, especially if they contain strong women characters in them. It's not been particularly easy for women to pave their way through a male-dominated world and yet many have left their mark despite the odds against them. Beside the Still Waters is actually a sequel to another book,

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-47967443731267160612008-11-24T18:03:00.018+05:302010-01-13T19:03:33.229+05:30

I don't think I would ever call myself a fan of Irving's writing and yet there is always something that has compelled me to pick up his books. He puts in a lot of sleaziness into his writing which, though in small doses in his earlier books, has been a bit on the overdose side with this novel. Thus it is, when I start one of his books I wonder why I picked it up in the first place. As I delve

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-21633198296751144742008-11-22T16:00:00.007+05:302010-01-13T19:04:05.436+05:30

This book has been lying around on my shelf for quite a while now. It belonged to my husband's collection, really, probably borrowed from his uncle once upon a time. I picked it up during one of my spare moments when I wanted to read something light, something not too intense that required a lot of effort and concentration. I've been familiar with R K Narayan's writing, particularly in school

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-68007724963228876382008-11-14T15:35:00.011+05:302010-01-13T19:04:38.833+05:30

I had bought this book about a year ago. It is a rather nondescript book to look at and was buried among some old management books that were stacked up in one of our local bookstores. The title caught my eye, however; I glanced at the short description written on the back cover of the book and was intrigued by its references to evolution and complex adaptive systems. Being a student of biology

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-8249851895151447612008-11-12T17:12:00.010+05:302010-09-21T21:20:03.284+05:30

This book is Elizabeth George's debut novel in which she introduces the famous Inspector Lynley and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, but as always happens I came across this book recently after reading almost all her books on the Inspector Lynley series. Ms. George remains one of my favorite authors, and the two detectives -- Lynley and Havers -- and all those associated with them, both

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-4928975312111004292008-10-15T17:53:00.017+05:302010-01-13T19:05:45.730+05:30

I liked this book. It is filled with a lot of facts about money, starting from its origin and ending with the newer technologies that have pervaded our modern world. I've been looking for just such a book for a while now and was immensely pleased to come across it in a library I've been frequenting. No matter that philosophical people say money isn't everything, it still forms an important and

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-57040118945593248772008-09-29T14:46:00.021+05:302010-01-13T19:06:14.664+05:30

This heavy volume contains the unabridged collections of most of Jack London's works -- short stories and novels. It is divided into two parts: the first part, The Yukon, contains major portion of his Klondike stories, inspired by the gold rush in Alaska; the second part, The Sea, contains the few stories he had written on his early adventures on sea when still a teenager. This is a breathtaking

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-63888861680025368422008-09-01T11:46:00.006+05:302010-01-13T19:06:37.270+05:30

The Plague is considered by a lot of people to be Camus' finest work; he received the Prix des Critiques for this book in 1947. It has been described as a metaphysical novel, and, at the time, the plague described in the book was thought to represent the German occupation of France, amongst readers fresh out of the ravages of the Second World War. The book is small but it is magnificent in its

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-22120336544809670372008-08-29T13:53:00.005+05:302010-01-13T19:07:01.684+05:30

This is Anjum Hasan's debut novel and describes small-town life of three unconnected people in Shillong whose lives nevertheless intertwine in the normal web of life in the city. I bought this book rather impulsively two weeks ago, because the description on the back cover of the book seemed to click with some ideas that had been whirling in my own head but which subsequently turned out

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-51720570983695764262008-08-25T16:05:00.002+05:302010-01-13T19:07:33.048+05:30

My husband is extremely fond of western novels, especially of of the Louis L'Amour genre of books. They are short enough to read through in a day or two (and my hubby has never been able to attend to any other work with a half read novel craving his attention), filled with action, and contain minimal flowery language and descriptions. So there are several books lying around the house on

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-80586557220657357482008-08-20T14:25:00.016+05:302010-01-13T19:08:01.284+05:30

This book shall forever remain one of my utmost favorites among all classic literature. I had bought this book three years ago, partly because I love animals and partly because I loved the cover picture of the book depicting a little fawn lying amidst fallen leaves. I read the book two years ago and fell in love with it instantly. Having forgotten most of the story, I picked the book up from

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-50325656917981661522008-08-12T12:47:00.019+05:302010-01-13T19:22:09.751+05:30

This is the second part of Parker's Engineer Trilogy. In my review of Part One, Devices and Desires, I had not been quite sure whether I liked this series or not. However, I must say that a sort of slow admiration has grown within me for this author. The fiction is not fast-paced, but the writing is extremely consistent and steady and I've gotten to know each character. There is humor at

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-36772699118269973662008-07-29T12:23:00.014+05:302010-01-13T19:08:56.261+05:30

I bought this book last October on a whim. Jim Rogers appears sporadically on Indian business channels, so I knew who he was when I spotted this book. Knowing that he was well versed in investments in general and commodities in particular, a book on his round-the-world tour via a custom car, visiting over a hundred nations really intrigued me. (This is, of course, his second trip around the

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-44211344414886813372008-07-17T18:53:00.006+05:302010-01-13T19:09:16.706+05:30

This is just the sort of book I would pick up at the local library for a quick quiet read over the weekend. My husband actually picked up this book at the airport to while away the time as he sat waiting for his delayed flight back home when on a business trip. Quite appropriate, I must say. The story is based on the classic fiction of The Count of Monte Cristo. I read the abridged version of

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-24111535501476106482008-07-02T20:01:00.009+05:302010-01-13T19:09:50.989+05:30

I really have not been one for self help books. In my younger years I never looked far from the fiction section of the bookstore. But something about this particular book made me buy it some four years ago; I simply cannot recall what it was. It was a year later that I actually read it, after it collected dust on my bookshelf. I was instantly hooked to it; so much so that I recommended this

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-32498641588129266842008-06-17T14:22:00.009+05:302010-01-13T19:10:26.407+05:30

This was a refreshing book, different. To be honest, this book caught my husband's eye first and he insisted on buying it. For a lot of people, just the thought of mathematics seems to involve enormous effort of engaging the brain. I have been one of those people, much to my shame. The authors make it their objective to show the reader that mathematics is indeed beautiful, that it is closely

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-39718131936736677282008-05-27T16:22:00.013+05:302010-01-13T19:10:50.046+05:30

This is my first foray into the fantasy array of books, not including The Lord of the Rings which I had read after the first of the three movies was out. Most fantasies put me off, one reason being that they usually consist of mythical creatures and other-worldliness, with tedious descriptions which right now I don’t have time for but which I would have enjoyed a decade ago. The other reason is

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-67676795502816000602008-04-23T16:23:00.012+05:302010-01-13T19:11:12.438+05:30

I've read this book once before; I found myself reading it one more time. The strong women characters appealed to me somehow. I seem to have a partiality for books that go on for generations, the so-called sagas. Well, anyway, I like this book. The tale is very smoothly told, from beginning to end, with no bumpy rides. The characters are strong. Though initially they seem to be fortune's

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-19004673445460097312008-04-08T22:12:00.019+05:302010-01-13T19:12:04.482+05:30

This book focuses on two proud Cherokee warriors, Ezekiel Proctor and Edward Christie, based west of Arkansas in the Indian territory of Going Snake District. This is a departure from McMurtry's other Western novels which have mainly focused on the white man's war against the Indians from the perspective of the white man (his Pulitzer Prize winning Lonesome Dove series). His style of writing

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-79914108029881597122008-04-03T18:41:00.007+05:302010-01-13T19:12:28.636+05:30

I must say, this is a must-have on the bookshelves of every investor. I liked this book. Peter Lynch's wry humor creeps in on and off and his narrative style is quite simple. Even a person like me, who has no financial background whatsoever, was able to take in all that the author had to say without any difficulty. A lot of the material of course might seem repetitive. It must be remembered

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-49511117988340606252008-03-17T18:51:00.008+05:302010-01-13T19:12:55.078+05:30

This is a real old-time classic, written 70 years ago. Nobody writes this way anymore, more's the pity. I'm sure most people would be more familiar with the movie made based on this book rather than the book itself. For myself, I've read the book first (which is the way I prefer it as most movies cannot capture the essence of the book they're based on). It is a poetic novel, full of pretty

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-15453115142453185692008-02-15T18:45:00.009+05:302010-01-13T19:13:41.113+05:30

This is rather light and smoothly written book, considering that it is a book on trading. As the author promises, there are no financial jargons or heavy mathematical calculations to spin your head. He throws in colorful bits of his experiences and of history on commodity trading and enlivens the otherwise serious subject. I've read several finance books and most of the material is not new to

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-32822230215105717472008-01-31T12:55:00.007+05:302010-05-01T09:50:14.158+05:30

Just imagine yourself wandering in wide open spaces with the corn fields waving their golden heads at you, the stark blue sky overhead, orchard trees bowed down with the weight of their fruits, sending a heady citrus scent into the air as you walk between them. This is the homey and comforting feeling that this book provides you. The characters, especially the women are down-to-earth, strong

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920791526771584546.post-85988720092636162232008-01-24T10:52:00.006+05:302010-01-13T19:14:46.445+05:30

Naval power struggles between countries were peaking during the 17th century. This novel is set during that time and is the beginning of Wilbur Smith's Courtney saga. It starts with Courtney's meager fleet lying in wait to plunder an expected Dutchman ship bearing rich goodies to Africa's Cape of Good Hope where European colonizations had begun. Times change and, unlike the present world's

Deepikahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10687853014757955157noreply@blogger.com0