Following is the list of books I have read in the year 2010:
- Selected Short Stories by Rabindranath Tagore
- The Splitting Storm by Rene Gutteridge
- To Cut a Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer
- Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay
- Aparajito (The Unvanquished) by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay
- The Temple Goers by Aatish Taseer
- The President is Coming by Anubhav Pal
- Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
- Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
- A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple
- And Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer
- Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler
- Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
- Theodore Boone by John Grisham
- The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh
- Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler
- It Rained All Night by Buddhadev Bose
- The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
- The Last Testament by Sam Bourne
- Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
- Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
- Absolute Khushwant (The low down on life, death and most things in-between) by Khushwant Singh & Humra Quraishi
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
- Just After Sunset by Stephen King
- Two Lives by Vikram Seth
Following is my personal take on each book I have read this year.
Selected Short Stories by Rabindranath Tagore:
Tagore is perhaps the greatest Indian writer ever.
His rich visual imagery and emotional colours reflect a profound sense of humanity that evokes the true essence of rural Bengal.
Tagore intermingled stark realism and poetic idealism in his short stories which reflected the contemporary life in rural and urban Bengal. These fascinating stories have been written in the 1890s.
Some of the unforgettable stories are Kaabuliaala (The Fruit Seller of Kabul), Hungry Stone (Kshudita Paashon), The Postman, Housewife, Exercise-Book, and many more.
To Cut a Long Story Short by Jeffrey Archer:
A collection of short stories from the British writer and astute politician Jeffrey Archer stables.
I saw many people buying this book from the book fair I visited last year; apart from the others such as Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, The Prodigal Daughter, and of course Kane and Abel.
Jeffrey Archer is no doubt a master storyteller and his stories are unforgettable and such a delight to read. Every story with its narrative twists and turns makes an absolute pleasure to read.
And more importantly, they are typically from the house of Jeffrey Archer story-telling, a hallmark that's well worth its repute.
Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay:
Pather Panchali is my favourite book. It is not a book; it is sustenance, it is life, it’s the air in my lungs. Pather Panchali changed my life forever.
For the entire period of my reading of the book, I could not eat, sleep or even lead my normal life. I know that's bluntly put. I became a recluse, a mendicant, a forlorn; not wanting to come out of the state of mind I was slowly finding myself into.
I was so deeply affected reading about Apu, Durga, and their little impoverished family living in their ancestral village of Nischindipur that I cried, yearned, and craved to see Apu and Durga in real life; to go back in time and lead a life in the rural Nichindipur became as though my sole purpose. Satyajit Ray’s critically-acclaimed film (first part of The Apu Trilogy) which is based on the book is another piece of marvel to behold – a timeless classic. God smiled upon those who read Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s exquisite novel.
Aparajito (The Unvanquished) by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay:
It is a sequel to the flawless and heart-breaking Pather Panchali. Needless to say, Aparajito is a close second to the first book - but a double treat.
Personally speaking, anyone who hasn’t read Aparajito and Pather Panchali books, doesn’t know what he/she is missing, and it becomes a pitiable fact that they die ignorant of a special blessing called reading. I can never forget these two books.
The book is not a tale of woes or about poverty, far from it. It is about Apu's triumph and hope and an unvanquished spirit that he has throughout his journeys in life. He remained till the end Unvanquished!
Originally Aparajito is in Bangla and the English translation has been flawlessly done by Gopa Majumdar.
Rajmohan’s Wife by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee:
Rajmohan's Wife is "India’s first English novel" which was originally planned to be a grand book but ended up being a lesser-known novella.
This is Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's only English novel.
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee wrote the novel in English back in the early 1900s but since not many people would understand or read it, he abandoned English as a medium and later began writing all other novels in his native Bangla language.
Widely regarded as a key literary renaissance figure, Bankim Chandra's other notable literary works include Durgeshnandini, Kapalkundala, Mrinalini, and Vishabriksha (The Poison Tree).
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie:
People would have cursed me all right if I had said that I hadn’t read Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children. I cursed myself too for having delayed reading one of the most profound books of our generation. The book changed the entire course of Indian writing in English. I read his other books like Fury, The Ground Beneath Her Feet & The Enchantress of Florence.
After the publication of Midnight’s Children, Indian writing became what it is known today: a world to watch out for. Maybe, this is an incorrect viewpoint, but it did wonders all the same. We always produced great works of grandeur but one has to give it to Sir Salman for having changed the course of the river of English writing in India. This book is a work of a genius - truly remarkable and outstanding to the core. The Booker among Bookers!
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini:
A sequel to the book The Kite Runner; only this time the protagonist is a girl. Same on the lines of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is a work of great repute.
I read both the books and am really happy that I bought them and read them from cover to cover. I strongly recommend these books to anyone passionate about reading great stories.
A Thousand Splendid Suns are about the relationship of two Afghan women or a mother-daughter story and their roles in the brutal, tragic Afghan society. The daily tragedies the people endure, the immense difficulties they face, and the ever-present gender-based inequalities and harsh mindless violence that the women and especially children face, not to mention the kind of unheard-of discrimination and the general people barred from decent living in the Taliban regime are really heart-breaking to imagine.
The Age of Kali by William Dalrymple:
It is a travel book: a compilation of essays of remarkable quality. Dalrymple is a hugely talented writer. One of the best the world has seen.
William Dalrymple, an Indophile Scotsman, is an erudite chronicler of stories of places and people he encounters during his extensive travels in India.
The book gives you a first-hand account of what is to come in the age of Kali or Kali Yuga.
Kali Yuga, according to the Hindu belief system, is a time period when many problems will come to roost in the world and mankind will have to come face to face with them almost daily.
And Thereby Hangs a Tale by Jeffrey Archer:
Not much to talk about. Again a collection of short stories. I am a fan of Jeffrey Archer but I have mixed feelings about this book.
If you want to read more accomplished stories by the author, then there are other books to read. Try To Cut a Long Story Short, etc.
And Thereby Hangs a Tale is a collection of stories and there are 15 of them. Not all are great but most of them are good. One of the stories from this collection is an Indian story.
It needn't be said again and again that Jeffrey Archer is, without a doubt, a master storyteller. One cannot possibly miss reading his books ever. If you are not reading books by Jeffrey Archer then you are missing something, mind you!
Arctic Drift by Clive Cussler & Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler:
Clive Cussler is an American author. He writes maritime thrillers.
His books are widely read in America and I have come to know that Clive Cussler has always been a popular novelist amongst bookworms in India too.
Almost all of his books are about beautiful women, icebergs, secret maritime research being carried out far out in the Sea, shipwrecks, lost ships, and sunken treasure.
One of his other novels I read was Skeleton Coast, which was hugely entertaining. If you have not read Clive Cussler then I suggest you read Arctic Drift and Skeleton Cost. These books are filled with breathtaking suspense.
Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks:
Hollywood guys make excellent love stories adapted from such books. This is one of those tragic love stories that has been made into a film starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. Almost all of Nicholas Sparks’ books are hugely popular and have reached the pinnacles of The New York Times best-seller list.
A little bit of my research tells me that the author was inspired to write this book after reading a no. 1 best-selling novel The Bridges of Madison County (by Robert James Waller), which I am glad to report that I have read it.
I can’t resist the temptation to mention that there are other equally good books written by the same author which I have read with great taste and pleasure and they are The Notebook, Message in a Bottle, A Walk to Remember, etc. Of course, all this has also been made into successful movies.
Theodore Boone by John Grisham:
Who has it better than the great John Grisham? He is the father of legal thrillers. I confess I have read quite a few of John Grisham's books and I hardly can say that I have been left disappointed in any way.
John Grisham is a master of his game; the world never forgets to read his books. His books such as Ford County, A Painted House, etc. have been sold to millions all over the world.
Theodore Boone, aged 13, a young very young aspiring lawyer spends most of his time in courtrooms than anywhere else. That is his specialty. The young man is so precocious that he feels able to dispense effective advice to his friends and other members of the legal community. He has an eagle eye for legal matters, just like lawyers. Again John Grisham at his best.
The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh:
A moving account of a Bengali family visiting Dhaka in Bangladesh during the times of India’s partition with Bangladesh, Second World War events, and the communal riots in the early 1960s.
A thoroughly researched book by one of the greatest of greats I always read.
The Shadow Line won the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Ananda Puraskar Award for its portrayal of the great historical events of the tumultuous time during the partition in Calcutta, India, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Ghosh discusses extremist nationalism with deep currents of vengeful racism on non-existing borders that divide people, nations, and families forever.
It Rained All Night by Buddhadev Bose:
The book was banned and the author was convicted in court in the early 1970s for alleged obscenity in his book. That fact apart, the book went on to grab headlines and became a best-seller.
This is a literary piece of a novel with its first-half steeped in well-written restrained erotica.
Buddadeva Bose was a major literary figure of the 20th century. He was also an influential critic and editor.
It Rained All Night is a translated work from Bengali Raat Bhor Brishti. In this novel, Bose's writing is crisp, racy, and to the point. I enjoyed reading this book and I am happy that I chose to read it. I wanted to know the perspective of the author. I heartily recommend it.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens:
The novel remained unfinished. Dickens died before he finished writing it. The ending of The Mystery of Edwin Drood remains unknown because Dickens couldn't finish it before he died in 1870.
Anyone who hasn’t read Charles Dickens before or is planning to read one shall do good to read his other works like Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, and other great novels. One can leave The Mystery of Edwin Drood for later if you wish.
Charles Dickens's novels were mostly published in monthly and weekly installments in London's magazines and popular periodicals of the time. He pioneered the serialization of his novels which was the dominant mode of novel publication in those days.
The Last Testament by Sam Bourne:
One of the treats I enjoyed this year is this book; totally engaging and quite a racy read. I strongly recommend this book.
Sam Bourne is a pen-name of the London-based columnists writing for The Guardian newspaper. His name is Jonathan Freedland - a promising writer to watch out for.
If you like to read a good geopolitical thriller, then The Last Testament is just the right book for you. It won't disappoint you.
The novel is tightly written, setting the pace and all, with lots of slicker information on the Israel and Palestine middle-east conflict and Jewish Kabbalah thrown in, the thriller becomes a compelling read. The Last Testament is what I call a good thriller.
Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel:
One of those books I could have avoided and left on the rack at the bookstore. I couldn't do that.
I picked this up with a lot of expectation after what I had heard of his earlier hugely successful novel Life of Pi. Must say only the last half of the book was slightly absorbing but the first half was indeed boring.
Life of Pi will always remain the best of the best though. It won the Booker Prize for the novel, a well-deserving one. On the other hand, Beatrice and Virgil is a disappointing novel in every way.
Nothing can take away from his earlier work Life of Pi; the novel is truly outstanding! While I don't recommend this book to anyone, Life of Pi would most certainly enthrall you, take your breath away! A work of a genius!
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown:
Those of you who have read The Da Vinci Code will love reading Angels & Demons. Angels & Demons was published 3 years before The Da Vinci Code came out.
His latest worldwide best-seller The Lost Symbol which sold millions is a treat to read. As for Angels & Demons, it is not to be missed. Ignore this book at your own peril.
American author Dan Brown is a storyteller par excellence. World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, Illuminati, Catholic Church, Vatican City, mysterious symbols, and the big hunt - Angels & Demons has it all. An explosive international thriller.
Absolute Khushwant (The low down on life, death and most things in-between) by Khushwant Singh & Humra Quraishi:
Typical Khushwant Singh saga.
The book is about his thoughts, his way of life, his subjects, his pets, his family, his books, and “most things in-between” as the blurb of the book says. An enjoyable book.
Khushwant Singh is a grand old man of letters. In this book, he writes about sex, marriage, old haunts, god, people who mattered to him, and people who he detested. The book is replete with his infectious anecdotes.
Absolute Khushwant is a straight-from-the-heart personal account from one of India's best-loved writers. Ignore Khuswant Singh, you ignore a major chunk of India's literary history.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel:
By far, this is the most boring book I have ever read in my life. After it won the Man Booker Prize in 2009, I couldn’t hold myself up and went straight to a bookstore and bought it pronto.
I had great expectations from it, but I am sorry to say that the misery of having to read through this tome was unbearable.
Wolf Hall is a historical novel set in Tudor England. It is a fictional account of the rapid rise of Thomas Cromwell. I am sorry that I didn't get the head or tail of this huge book that won the Booker. Bring Up the Bodies is the sequel and I haven't read it yet. I am not sure if I will pick it up anytime in the future. Yes, I would like to move on to her other exemplary works.
Just After Sunset by Stephen King:
The master of horror Stephen King returns with a collection of short stories. Especially the first few stories were spooky enough to give me the heebie-jeebies.
I was first introduced to Stephen King's books back in the day in the year 2000 when I was deep into reading his book Black House. Though Black House is a lesser-known work of Mr. King's, later I picked up his other books written by him. Just After the Sunset is one such. The book is a collection of short (longer) stories.
Some of the stories written over a period of time and published in several publications are collected here. Some of them are The Gingerbread Girl, The Cat from Hell, N, Rest Shop, Mute, etc.
Two Lives by Vikram Seth:
This is a memoir at its best. Vikram Seth has weaved a masterful tale of his great-uncle and great-aunt – Uncle Shanti, an Indian Doctor, and Aunty Henny, a lovable German-Jewish lady.
They met in Berlin in the early 1930s and later got married against all odds in the backdrop of the historic times that they lived in; their lives intertwined in Hitler’s Germany.
The book is interspersed with sepia-tinted photos, and letters from different sources, mainly from the author's personal collection.
Vikram Seth is one of the greatest living writers this world has ever known. Truly, a remarkable book Two Lives.
The other books I have read this year are:
The Splitting Storm by Rene Gutteridge:
I picked this up at a Christian book fair that was being conducted at a church. The story is about an FBI agent who is also a storm chaser embarking on a journey to discover the truth behind his brother's killing. He wants to take revenge but at the same time, his Christian faith stops him from doing so.
The characterization is just about okay. Nothing great about it. There's nothing about storm chasing here, which disappoints.
The book is actually for the inspirational market, not your usual racy fiction fare which I wrongly thought it would be. An average read.
The President is Coming by Anubhav Pal:
The book is meant to tickle the funny bone. It did tickle mine, but I was bored reading it. What Anubhav Pal, the author of this book, tried to create is something of a Woody Allen type of humour, albeit in the book format. He (Pal) succeeds in doing so, but only so much.
The book is about the American President George Bush coming to India and expressing his desire to shake hands with someone smart, who can speak English. Sounds preposterous? Yes, it does to me! The assigned PR agency (here in India that is) gets into a tizzy to select one person to merit such attention and do the job of shaking hands with none other than Bush!
Well, there are sentences in this book laced with humour and it will make you laugh, sometimes you will burst out laughing reading about the funny ways of the guys and girls at the PR agency. Altogether, it is a fun read. The book was supposed to be a short satirical skit/play or something.
The Temple-Goers by Aatish Taseer:
A young guy returns home to Delhi after spending many years abroad. He finds that Delhi of current times has changed dramatically to a scrambling, teeming morass of a metropolis. He makes friends with another guy; together they visit temples, go around the sprawling city, get drunk, and generally take it easy.
But I am disappointed with the book's basic premise, I expected a lot more from it. Is it not supposed to give us a fair chunk of life in Delhi? It doesn't at all provide any such storytelling. I know the book is not about the city of Delhi, but it should have been really. Instead, what it offers is a shallow representation of the city that provides nothing except the protagonist's useless emotional turmoil. As a lover of good literary fiction, it didn't appeal to me. The book is hugely disappointing.
By Arindam Moulick
Pix courtesy: Internet
