Following is my personal take (not reviews) on the books I have read recently:
The Lives of Others:
Just finished reading "The Lives of Others" by Neel Mukherjee. The book is a work of a genius. The Lives of Others is beautifully composed and I can’t help but say that it reads like a great Bengali novel.
With so many unforgettable characters the book had to be complex in its storyline, and, especially, the characters Supratik and Som of this endearingly grossing family saga have moved me to the core. Strongly recommend it. Sadly, it missed out on the Bookers. What a novel! I would very much like a sequel to this book, please.
Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills:
Books based on ghost stories fascinate me a lot. Even crime/horror fiction. I don’t know why every time I think about reading a book I find myself levitating towards picking up a horror book or a crime thriller.
“Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills” by Minakshi Chaudhry is a good read. The book is a collection of real ghost stories of Shimla hills; about bhoots (ghosts) and churails (witches) and so on. Don’t expect spine-chilling stories here, but you’ll be treated to some nice real stories about ghosts who wander in the Shimla hills on dark moonless nights and lonely stretches of one of the most visited hill towns of India, Shimla or Simla.
Some stories are scary and some are really fun to read about the living and the dead.
More Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills:
Well, ghosts exist everywhere, but I never knew Shimla, the famous hill station of our country, has so many ghosts. It was really exciting to know that it does have its share of ghosts and churails!
"Spine-chilling" is not the word I’d use to describe these stories however, they are nice to read, and know many things about the cool Shimla hills.
Maybe one or two stories did spook me up a bit, the rest seemed good and readable, not very spooky. I loved reading "More Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills", which is a sequel to the previous one I read: "Ghost Stories of Shimla Hills".
Cell:
The book “Cell” by Stephen King is not bad at all, but certainly not one of his better works… but it is worth digging in though. His mastery of overwriting, and creating believable plots really wonder me and the King of Horror is a little backslid here.
But make no mistake he is at his best writing about the apocalyptic world that has gone totally crazy!
Although there are some of his trademark horror elements infused into it, it is not entirely about horror for the sake of it; it is entirely about some very lucky people surviving a world we once knew: the world that has changed dramatically after the "pulse". It’s a zombie novel for sure. I am not shameless to ask - Mr. King, will there be a sequel to this one anytime soon? Please? Please?
Chowringhee:
I have just finished reading “Chowringhee” by Mani Shankar Mukherjee or Sankar as he is known as.
The book (originally written in 1962 in Bengali) is an incredible read. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading it and wanted it not to end. But of course, good things do come to an end!
The story is about a young out-of-work protagonist finding a good job at Calcutta's greatest hotel, the Shahjahan. The story is about life in the hotel.
I can’t forget the delightful characters like the central character of Shankar (the main narrator or the principal storyteller), Sata Bose (the chief receptionist), Marco Polo (the Manager), and of course Byron, the mysterious Karabi Guha, inebriated and flashy Phokla Chatterjee, and others. Chowringhee is a tribute to the City of Joy. If you want to know about the charming forgotten tales about the 1950s and 1960s Calcutta, you have to read this book. I adored this book.
The Ritual:
My Horror Book of the Year 2016:
I’d just finished reading the book “The Ritual” by Adam Nevill. I am still shuddering all through with mortal fear and I think I’ve gone crazy! Trust me when I say that I had my worst nightmare coming true leaping out of the pages of this book to devour me whole in one BIG GULP!!! I somehow survived, I don’t know how!
If my mortal existence was not entirely dependent upon the love and belonging of the members of my family I would have gone, quite literally gone! Thanks to them I had been spared from a certain extinction that I knew was well near! It was THAT BAD for me. Oh, Dude! I know…Ha ha ha ha! If this is not HORROR, then what is? I mean, you have read your horror king Stephen King books, but BEWARE of this book by Adam Nevill: it may spell doom on your happy-go-lucky human existence! HORROR PURE HORROR! That’s what it is.
It’s about four old friends going for a “hiking trip in the Scandinavian wilderness of the Arctic Circle”. Right from the first line, you’ll be hooked to the story and you can’t put it down until you’ve finished reading the last page. That is the power of this book.
I challenge you can’t read this book at night, which I did and survived. Now you’ll have no chance to say that I didn’t warn you enough beforehand. Read this damn exciting book, if you haven’t read it, and live to tell the tale. I guarantee that it will scare the living daylights out of you! This is my Horror Book of the Year 2016.
Scion of Ikshvaku:
“Scion of Ikshvaku” by Amish is a great read – fast-paced and excellent writing. One of the best books to have come out this year from the pen of one of India's most popular writers writing popular fiction - particularly on the complex subject of Indian mythology.
To be sure, till the late last decade, Indian mythology involving holy books such as Ramayana and Mahabharata (and the Gita included) has only been restricted to Indian television screens. We never read about them except maybe in some comic book format, (or if anyone reading these books in the original) but never in a full-length mythological fiction format.
Although, we loved watching the serials (of the great mythological stories) in every detail on TV, reading about them now has been a kind of a dream come true for passionate readers like us. To be fair, Amish can really tell a story in a way that is at once appealing and endearing. That's why perhaps his books have sold millions.
Amish's popular fiction appeals to my kind of reading experience. One of the other things I like about writers like him is that he is committed, accessible, and even charming to all his fans. To me, these are the intrinsic qualities readers look out for in writers like Amish Tripathi besides buying his books and reading them like crazy! I had already bought the book and was halfway through reading it before attending his book launch at a city bookstore recently. I really recommend the book for great reading.
By Arindam Moulick
Image source: Internet, except the images of 'Chowringhee' and 'The Ritual'.