Jane Austen - Pride and Prejudice

This novel was only good enough back in ninth grade. At the time I was a kid newly acclimating to the idea of pseudo Byronic heroes - Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy. I believe this is where I like the movie better - only the movie mind you, the other adaptations I'd rather not talk about.

The amount of criticism I've read on Austen can fill up a whole cupboard. The thing is, we dragged this story and at this point it's become so ordinary that it no longer holds any appeal for me. Mostly because for some unfathomable reason I can not bring myself to wholly like Elizabeth Bennet.

While reading the novel I realized I started getting irritated by almost every other character. And that is bad news because then how do you expect to stick with the story? Mr. Bennet is amusing only in the first few chapters, after that I want to ship him to Boston (but knowing him that will only be a blessing in disguise). I'll say my opinion of some characters sort of improved. Mrs. Bennet is surprisingly one of them. And Mary Bennet. Lydia and Kitty are as cardboard barbies as ever and I'd rather not talk about them.

Mr. Darcy, hmm, well he is not the same I imagined him to be' he appears more human now, with his faults. He makes mistakes. He admits them. He is pigheaded at times. But he is gentle of heart. All right Austen, I'll buy into that.

Anyway so the point is, within all that dissection of Pride and Prejudice I did learn to appreciate (if you can call it that) new characters and admit the limitations of others. Rest, I do not want to hear any Pride and Prejudice references for some while in the near future thankyouverymuch.

Carlos Ruiz Zafon - The Shadow of the Wind

I looked at that man whom I had once imagined almost invincible; he now seemed fragile, defeated without knowing it. Perhaps we were both defeated. I leaned over to cover him with the blanket he had been promising to give away to charity for years, and I kissed his forehead, as if by doing so I could protect him from the invisible threads that kept him away from me, from that tiny apartment, and from my memories. As if I believed that with that kiss I could deceive time and convince it to pass us by, to return some other day, some other life.

I think I may have found a new favourite literary character. And that's saying a lot.

This was a chance buy, and I don't regret a single moment of my splurge on this book, even when I was broke.

This is actually a translation, since Zafon writes in Spanish. I feel the words "beautiful" and "gorgeous" don't do justice to this book. There were passages where I would stop for hours going over and over again; they broke my heart so. And for some reason, I like getting my heart broken over a book. I believe there is nothing better than that.

The Shadow of the Wind encompasses a lot of genres, it's basically hard to categorize it. It's a mix of mystery/thriller/period drama/romance/historical and within this the comic element never fails. My new favourite literary character is the larger-than-life Fermin Romero de Torres. I can't even begin to describe him. And I like him better than Julian, the supposed bad-ass, and Daniel, the protagonist. With Fermin it sort of goes like this: you either hate him or you love him. There is no in-between. Fermin makes you want to scratch your hair out but mostly her proves to be the best source of laughter (even in his pathetic state). He has opposing views to almost every universally acknowledged idea or notion and he sticks to that; "what the world really needs are more thoroughly evil people and less borderline pigheads". I could write a whole dissertation on this man.

At times it gets a little over-the-top but that is the fun element of this book. Amidst all the gruesome murders and parallel stories, you are still drawn into the life of the characters. And I can never not fall in love with the idea of a "Cemetery of Lost Books".

Alison Weir - Innocent Traitor

For some reason I am fascinated by Tudor England. Maybe it is the appeal of Henry VIII, or the customs and traditions of the time, or perhaps the Showtime series that is visually stunning. Whatever the case may be, Tudor history has been of great interest to me over the years. I picked this book up for the reason that it was historical fiction and I am as yet adapting to that genre.

Innocent Traitor is a novel about Lady Jane Grey, more commonly known as 'The Nine Day Queen'. The prologue along with the historical details alerts you to the fact that this is not going to be a happy ending. I felt Weir could've utilized less space to account for what happened, since at times the story seemed stagnant. However the various character voices lent to this narrative made it possible to provide a back story as well as create a wholesome image. It is interesting to read about the Tudor period, King Henry VIII at a time when he isn't the self-assured handsome man he is reported to have been, the various connections drawn between the characters, the etiquettes and the customs and the tyranny of that age; everything worked together to bring the world alive. At times I felt I was there at court.

It's an amazing world where you realize Lady Jane being treated as a pawn. By her own father for social advancement. Here mothers have forsaken daughters, and the daughters have to look elsewhere for motherly affection. In a way it is a very contemporary issue. But then the universal issues never change. They might take on new names but they never change.

The only hindrance I felt in really getting into the book was my inability to empathize with the lead character, Lady Jane. Her sense of righteousness got to me at times but then I had to discount the fact the she wasn't an adult, only a child. Her life was far from easy.

Excited about reading more from this author.

Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident

"Also people think they’re not computers because they have feelings and computers don’t have feelings. But feelings are just having a picture on the screen in your head of what is going to happen tomorrow or next year, or what might have happened instead of what did happen, and if it is a happy picture they smile, and if it is a sad picture they cry.”

This is an amazing amazing book. A definite must read. its sad and funny and ironic at the same time.

it made me cry and laugh and at times just put down the book so i could sigh.

Christopher is an autistic boy determined to solve the mystery of his neighbour's dead dog. he has to do that and write a book keeping in mind that he numbers his chapters using prime numbers. he doesnt like talking to strangers. he cant stand the colour brown or yellow. and his father doesnt want him to snoop around.

its such a piognant story and at the end of it i just did not want to put it down.

Alice McDermott - Child Of My Heart

I curled around her little body and promised her a summer visit, all by herself, a week or two or three or four - as many as her father would allow. just the two of us, i whispered. would she be brave enough to take the train by herself? In the darkness she nodded. She would.

My mom bought this book for its title. There is nothing brilliant or amazing about this book yet it tugs at you.

Its just set over one summer...the summer Theresa takes care of Daisy Mae.

Like i said nothing crazy happens in this story...its just a simple narrative; a lazy read that somehow leaves you introspective.

Jane Smiley - A Thousand Acres

I kept saying "where are we going?" "where are we going?" certain there was somewhere to go. But we went straight home, as if there was no escape, as if the play we'd begun could not end. Since then, I've often thought we could have taken our own advice, driven to the Twin Cities and found jobs as waitresses, measured out our days together in a garden apartment, the girls in one bedroom, Rose and I in the other, anonymous, ducking forever a destiny that we never asked for, that was our father's gift to us.

I read this book just before i read Lear. almost side by side really...it ensured my instant and absolute love for both this book and Lear. now they're both two of my favourite tragedies.

this is a contemporary Lear....from the eyes of Ginny (Goneril) and shows the other side of the story. the one in which Lear was not a victim "more sinned against" and has plenty of his own vices....surely he got what he deserved.

this book made me cry in so many places....I've quoted it so many times in my literature papers. even based the majority of final on an analysis between this and Lear.

read it...it makes you asks so many questions on ideas we simply take for granted in Lear. Not saying that its not a completely brilliant novel in itself but its certainly intriguing if compared to Lear.

A.S.Byatt - Possession

They took to silence. They touched each other without comment and without progression. A hand on a hand, a clothed arm, resting on an arm. An ankle overlapping an ankle, as they sat on a beach, and not removed.

Its so rare to find a book that fullfills your love of poetry along satisfying your need of a great book. Possession was one such novel.

shifting between historical and contemprary romance it unfolds an intricate plot of suspense, drama and well...life. Her vision was so detailed that for a moment i actually thought her characters were real. both her historical poets had a voice which was distinctly their own.

In a sense i would call her story "unapologetic". her characters journey whether successful or not makes no excuse for the romance. its existance is not to be challenged or to be justified. it just is. whether they find happiness with each other or not is insignificant as moment seeps into moment. they just...are.

there are so many passages and poems i feel like i should put up here. but it was one of those books you simply curl up with. i read it my first week of college. needless to say that the experience has forever made that on e week an important and poignant cornerstone in my life.

any bookshelf would be incomplete without this.

Carole Cadwalladr - The Family Tree

Ive become one of them. A breeder. It feels as if I'm being overtaken by something else. Everyone keeps congratulating me. "You must be so happy," they say. I nod. I must be. I just don't understand how.

I'm reading contemporary fiction these days. which is why as much as i am loving N&S I'm having a hard time getting through it.

This is one of those bittersweet ironic books that are supposed to make you laugh but you see
just how sad life really is.

It is the story of a young girl Rebecca who's life did not turn out how she expected. Infact no ones life had the ending she wanted. I get that. I get the frustration you feel after all the anticipation of a happiness that continues to elude.

Perhaps it's wrong of me to judge the characters in this book. But in every corner i see a chance to make things better....a chance no one avails. Are we this blind to our own paths? Do we have any control over how our lives turn out? or are we as Alistair says preconceived to live as our genes would have us be.

Nadeem Aslam - The Wasted Vigil

Tell the earth-thieves

To plant no more orchards of death

Beneath this star of ours

Or the fruit will eat them up.

The preceding lines from Vasko Popa’s Note on the Terazije Gallows, 1941 are just a fragment of the “pretty, striking words” you will come across in Nadeem Aslam’s ambitious third novel The Wasted Vigil. Aslam is a gifted author who pens down his story in a perfect rhythm; every pause, drift and emotion is measured. It really appears too perfect at times one would say. Nonetheless it is not Aslam’s penmanship, rather his resorting to stereotypical images that both annoyed and disturbed me.

The Wasted Vigil is certainly not an easy book. You can’t take it up and put it down during a dentist’s appointment. It is rather brutal in its exploration of Afghanistan; the past, present and the future.

The setting is an unsettling Afghanistan ravaged by world forces; the Soviets, Talibaan and now the United States. Marcus Caldwell is an English widower, owner of an old perfume factory who has lost his family in the war torn Afghanistan. The perfume factory serves as an asylum throughout the novel’s narrative. There is the Russian widow Lara, on a quest to find her missing conscripted brother. David, an ex- CIA operative. Casa, the stereotypical young jihaadi, who only seems to spew hatred. And Dunia, Aslam’s definition of a “moderate Muslim”. All of these characters are linked together by the war motif.

My objection towards The Wasted Vigil stems from the fact that in an age where every misdemeanour is attributed to the Muslims we hardly need a Pakistani writer to come up and point more accusatory fingers. It is always good to understand the point of view of both sides and yes there are many issues on which we need to correct ourselves. However what I felt lacking in this book was the development of the “moderate Muslim” whereas the jihaadi’s ideas were given more space. Coupled with this were the frequent misquotations from the Quran, taken out of context and employed as the jihaadi’s wrongful justifications.

The Wasted Vigil is a novel of great ambition no doubt, a misguided ambition.

Patrick Suskind - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

But the hate he felt for people remained without an echo. The more he hated them at this moment, the more they worshiped him, for they perceived only his counterfeit aura, his fragrant disguise, his stolen perfume, and it was indeed a scent to be worshiped.

Originally known as Das Parfum.

I came across this gem of a book while browsing through the minefield that is German literature and I’ll admit, what attracted me towards picking it up was the name itself, even though I profess to not being a fan of Murder/Mystery novels. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is far more than being a mere exploration into the life of a murderer who kills for scent. He has no scent of his own thus he embarks upon a mission to procure the ultimate scent, one that will bestow upon him an identity of his own. The protagonist Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is at odds with the world from the moment he enters it to the time he waves it goodbye forever. Patrick Suskind’s narrative is arresting and guarantees the book to be a page turner with its eye for detail and exploration of the olfactory sense. At first glance one may not be able to relate to Jean-Baptiste. After all he is a murderer, almost an evil genius who puts twenty-five girls to death to steal their scent in his obsession to create the perfect scent that is able to manipulate human emotions. But as you’ll read on, you’ll realize that this story is a quest for identity, interaction and the ethics of human spirit. With its blend of magic realism, horror and mystery, this story will stay with you forever and is definitely worth your time and money.

Melissa Nathan - Pride, Prejudice and Jasmin Field

The television was on.

'ooh, look - it's whatsisname.'
'who?'
'you know . . .'
'which one?'
'the one with the hair.'
'oh yeah - God, haven't seen him for years. What was he in? Years ago now?'
'he was in that detective programme - what was it called?'
'oh I know, with that woman.'
'what woman?'
'you know the one with the um — oh - married to that actor.'
'what actor?'
'big guy, funny eyes - oh god what was he in? That's going to really annoy me now'
'I never knew they were married.'
'yeah (belch), pardon.'
'I wish I could remember the name of that programme'
'what programme?'
'the one that bloke was in.'
'what bloke?'
'you know, whatsisname.'
'who?
'DO YOU TWO MIND IF WE ACTUALLY HEAR THE PROGRAMME AS WELL AS WATCH IT?'
'Sorry.'
'Sorry.'

Haha. So I actually read this book for its dialouge. That and well the title. I heard that some author had written a modern version of Austen's well-loved Pride and Prejudice and was curious.

This book is a fun read. I usually don't immerse in "fun read"(s) as such. But this is a good light hearted book that you can quickly delve into. I think the best part was being able to see the compariosns being drawn between the original P&P characters and the contemporary parallels. The portrayal of Elizabeth and Darcy was spot on. Even though, as was expected, Elizabeth started to annoy me after a while. I wonder why that happens?

Elizabeth Gaskell - Cranford

How he did his tricks I could not imagine; no, not even when Miss Pole pulled out her pieces of paper and began reading aloud - or at least in a very audible whisper - the separate 'receipts' for the most common of his tricks. If ever I saw a man frown and look enraged, I saw the Grand Turk frown at Miss Pole; but, as she said, what could be expected but unchristian looks from a a Mussalman?

Gaskell's Cranford is short, witty and feels like an old lady's account journal at times. I read this after reading North and South (loved it) and it really doesn't measure up to N&S. But that isn't Cranford's fault; it was meant to be read in a different way than N&S. Cranford is about CRANFORD a sleepy village-town that houses females only who are mostly either widows or spinsters. It is basically just an account of the happenings of this place told through the eyes of an unnamed narrator. (I found this very interesting).

I won't say I loved it, because I don't. But it certainly is a good lazy read.

Gabrielle Zevin - Elsewhere

The waves cradle the babies and rock them to sleep. And be­fore long, this one succumbs, too.

She sleeps; she sleeps.

And when she sleeps, she dreams.

And when she dreams, she dreams of a girl who was lost at sea but one day found the shore.

This book is so simple and yet so intricate; I am baffled. I fell in love with Zevin's prose. There are so many passages I wish I could quote here, she writes so well. It isn't a literary style at all but it’s so well managed and it made me so nostalgic, even though I am not dead (or so I think).

Elsewhere is an amusing, fast paced and absorbing read. It is the story of Liz’s life and death as she comes to terms with the idea of her dying in a hit and run. Elsewhere is “The Great Beyond”, “Paradise”, “The Kingdom of Joy and Light”, “The Big Sleep” – whatever you may want to call it. This is the place where people are transported to after their death. Here everyone under goes reverse aging; from the day of their death until they become a baby again and are taken back to Earth.

Liz (Elizabeth Hall) is a fifteen year old girl who dies and upon waking again finds herself in a ship being transported to Elsewhere. There she meets her dead grandmother Betty for the first time and tries to adjust in a place which looks like Earth and is yet so different. There are no jobs but “avocations”, people don’t have to go to school and the currency in use is “enterim”. Liz has a hard time forgetting her life on Earth but as she realizes in death there is life as well, and instead of pining after what cannot be she decides to throw herself into the time she has left in Elsewhere.

Elsewhere is a story about love, forgiveness and compassion. I particularly like the way Zevin has dealt with such a plot – it is highly bizarre but the emotions described are so lifelike and credible that one can’t help drawing parallels to one’s own situation. The style is poetically beautiful and simple; Zevin has a knack for entwining humour and pathos in such a way as to make Elsewhere a memorable novel.

Sylvia Plath - The Bell Jar

I guess I should have been excited the way most of the other girls were, but I couldn't get myself to react. I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.

This has been a year for depressing books. i dont know why i am so perverse that i actually enjoy the heaviness and the sad phase that comes upon me after reading a good depressing book. this one definitely gets top marks.

i appreciate the sentiment in the above quote. that is mostly how i am. i know the right thing to say and to do but when the time gets to be excited usually i feel like i am in a bad parody. there was no real reason for this girl to be depressed. she just...was.

somewhere in the middle she describes herself as tired. i think thats worse than being sad or depressed. when you just feel so tired that you wish the world would just leave you behind. youre too tired to catch up and its all you can do to breathe.

im not going to buy this book. even though i think it will be one of my favourites for a long time. i leave it as a touchstone...like a stranger passing through...and keep the memories.

i would never want to re read this book...its silence is enough.

Jennifer Donnelly - A Northern Light

Its not pride Im feeling. Its another sin. worse than all the other ones which are immediate violent and hot. This one sits inside you quietly and eats you from the inside out like the trichina worms the pigs get. Its the Eighth Deadly Sin. The one that God left out.
Hope.

sometimes finding a book is like finding an old friend. finally finally you feel something inside you ready to burst with triumph. you understand exactly. you find someone who truly gets it. and for a moment...just a moment the world doesnt seem so lonely anymore.

i read this book two years ago by borrowing it from a friend. have been looking for my own copy ever since. i found it two days ago and it was worth every disappointed moment i had when fruitlessly searching for it.

a story of a young girl inspired by a true tragedy and how it shapes her future. i read this and wondered how much courage we have and yet we bury it.

how many times we see tragedy strike and take away lives of innocent poeple just on the brink of fullfilling their dreams. and still we wait for tommorow...we wait and sometimes we die waiting.

Mattie Gokey...Grace Brown. Two very inspiring women you meet in this story. i wonder how far will their voice take me to my own dreams.

Yaan Martel - The Facts Behind The Helsinki Roccamatios

What else is there to talk about when you've stayed up all night till sunrise? Or when you've just read Descartes or Berkeley or T.S. Eliot for the first time? And anyway, Paul was 19. What are you at 19? You're a blank page. you're all hopes and dreams and uncertainties. You're all future and little philosophy. what i meant was that between the two of us we had to do something constructive, something that would make something out of nothing, sense out of nonsense, something that would go beyond talking about life, death, God, the universe and the meaning of it all and actually be those things.

Life of Pi was brilliant. This story doesn't quite reach Pi standard but on its own merit it is absolutely amazing. it made me cry.

books rarely move to the point of tears but this story touched upon one of my worst fears. what if your best friend dies in front of you? How would you handle it? Would you stick by her? Or will you protect yourself the hurt and just walk away?

Its hard for me to open up to people. and to care for them. but the few people i do care about its almost obsessive how protective i am of them. God tends to test you with what is most important to you. and this is something i don't think Ill be able to handle.

Vivid and honest and real. this story is definitely on my list.

have yet to read the rest.