A look at the book
A quick review of the books I have read over the last one month
Short stories by Satyajit Ray
The reason I picked up this book was the sheer brand value of the author. And moreover, I have rarely been disappointed with the collection of short stories. They are just long enough for the details to stick to your memory and for the plot to capture your attention span. There's always this additional advantage that you don't have to finish it in one sitting; You resume it after a week or two, they would still make sense.
The stories weren't spectacular - they don't blow you out of your mind. But they are lucid, don't waste time in unnecessary trivialities, have an engaging narration and are suffused with characters we get to see in our neighbourhood. The similarities among the characters in the different stories - like for example, fascination towards extra-terrestrial wonders, interest in traveling and taking solitary vacations to unknown places, smoking habits - are so strong that one is so sure, they are the traits of the author that he is left as a mark of himself in every character he etched. There are more than 30 stories as a part of the collection and what makes each of them interesting is the central character and his quirky habits, fascinations or his straight-out-of-a-fairy-tale experiences.
Erratica
Disclaimer: Depsite allegations from everyone, I did NOT buy this book because I misread the title to be something else. Of course, the reasons this book got my attention can be ... well .. debatable. Anyway, what I didn't know was, "Erratica" is the name of the column that the author, Bachi Karkaria writes for Times of India. When I took a cursory look, it looked like a compilation of blogs on various interesting issues. And plus, the foreword by Amitabh Bachchan had a lot of nice things to say about the book and the author (Did I EVER believe in brand advertisting!).
Turned out to be a nice companion during my daily trips to office in the Shuttle. Unlike works of fiction, every chapter had a different style of narrative based on the topic addressed (something I love about blogs too. You never get tired of some blogs because they have so many things to write about). The way she plays around with words, divides, joins and mashes them together makes for a really amusing read. But yeah, after the first 80-90 pieces, it does start getting boring. But the good thing is, you can leave it like that and pick it up during another boring journey, or at another airport lounge and start chuckling again.
One Hundred years of Solitude
They told me it's a fantastic book, they still tell me it's a fantastic book. Some tell everyone that it's a fantastic book. But just that it's too much of a fantastic book. I was so glued to the first 100 pages of the book that I finished it in one sitting in a matter of an hour - that was the first lap and I have been running around in the same track over and over again. Like Ursula, the mother of everyone in the book, says, "It's like the world is starting all over again" - I wouldn't blame her for what she's saying because the book is about 4 generations of the Buendia family and every generation has the same name, same traits and end up doing the same thing. In a whole maze of characters that surround you, only a few ones stick in your mind and soon they disappear too until you are caught amidst a hundred Auerialinos and Jose Arcadios.
But I did love the first hundred pages - Like Isaac Asimov or RK Narayan, the narration of these people is very close to the world they belong to. Their characters and choice of metaphors have visible cultural traits and references. I am sure the whole world of Macondo, the civil war, the professions and prejudices had links to the latin american world that Gabriel Garcia Marquez belonged to. Also, the way the realities of life (like death, war and jealousy) are weaved with fantasies and dreams is truly surrealistic. It's good - just too long of a good thing!
As of now I am reading "The Alchemy of Desire" - let me finish the whole book before making a judgement :)
Short stories by Satyajit Ray
The reason I picked up this book was the sheer brand value of the author. And moreover, I have rarely been disappointed with the collection of short stories. They are just long enough for the details to stick to your memory and for the plot to capture your attention span. There's always this additional advantage that you don't have to finish it in one sitting; You resume it after a week or two, they would still make sense.
The stories weren't spectacular - they don't blow you out of your mind. But they are lucid, don't waste time in unnecessary trivialities, have an engaging narration and are suffused with characters we get to see in our neighbourhood. The similarities among the characters in the different stories - like for example, fascination towards extra-terrestrial wonders, interest in traveling and taking solitary vacations to unknown places, smoking habits - are so strong that one is so sure, they are the traits of the author that he is left as a mark of himself in every character he etched. There are more than 30 stories as a part of the collection and what makes each of them interesting is the central character and his quirky habits, fascinations or his straight-out-of-a-fairy-tale experiences.
Erratica
Disclaimer: Depsite allegations from everyone, I did NOT buy this book because I misread the title to be something else. Of course, the reasons this book got my attention can be ... well .. debatable. Anyway, what I didn't know was, "Erratica" is the name of the column that the author, Bachi Karkaria writes for Times of India. When I took a cursory look, it looked like a compilation of blogs on various interesting issues. And plus, the foreword by Amitabh Bachchan had a lot of nice things to say about the book and the author (Did I EVER believe in brand advertisting!).
Turned out to be a nice companion during my daily trips to office in the Shuttle. Unlike works of fiction, every chapter had a different style of narrative based on the topic addressed (something I love about blogs too. You never get tired of some blogs because they have so many things to write about). The way she plays around with words, divides, joins and mashes them together makes for a really amusing read. But yeah, after the first 80-90 pieces, it does start getting boring. But the good thing is, you can leave it like that and pick it up during another boring journey, or at another airport lounge and start chuckling again.
One Hundred years of Solitude
They told me it's a fantastic book, they still tell me it's a fantastic book. Some tell everyone that it's a fantastic book. But just that it's too much of a fantastic book. I was so glued to the first 100 pages of the book that I finished it in one sitting in a matter of an hour - that was the first lap and I have been running around in the same track over and over again. Like Ursula, the mother of everyone in the book, says, "It's like the world is starting all over again" - I wouldn't blame her for what she's saying because the book is about 4 generations of the Buendia family and every generation has the same name, same traits and end up doing the same thing. In a whole maze of characters that surround you, only a few ones stick in your mind and soon they disappear too until you are caught amidst a hundred Auerialinos and Jose Arcadios.
But I did love the first hundred pages - Like Isaac Asimov or RK Narayan, the narration of these people is very close to the world they belong to. Their characters and choice of metaphors have visible cultural traits and references. I am sure the whole world of Macondo, the civil war, the professions and prejudices had links to the latin american world that Gabriel Garcia Marquez belonged to. Also, the way the realities of life (like death, war and jealousy) are weaved with fantasies and dreams is truly surrealistic. It's good - just too long of a good thing!
As of now I am reading "The Alchemy of Desire" - let me finish the whole book before making a judgement :)
posted by Rathish at 11:12 AM
5 Comments:
Hey Rathish,
Which collection of Ray's stories are you reading? Do they by any chance revolve around a certain Prof Shanku? Just curious :)
No indro, these are mostly stories about extra-terrestrial experiences. Is Prof. shanku the detective?
No, the detective is Feluda, (as in Felu - anna), his 'good name' being Pradosh Mitter. Professor Shanku is this genius scientist who have made amazing inventions and there is a series of stories about how he uses these inventions to save humanity.
Oh ... I have heard of feluda (and indro, you didn't have to explain me the "da" funda man! bengali "da" and "dada" is as famous as chennai machan!). But Professor shanku is new to me.
Hey Rathish,
Have been a regular reader of your blog for a while now. Your writing is amazing, as always!
If you like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's narrative, you simply must read 'Love in the Time of Cholera'.
-Chaitanya
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