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The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - book review

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This is a huge book - over 800 pages in paperback. And it is not a page-turner. So, be warned that you might struggle finishing it. If tags impress you, let me share that it is 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner and winner of / nominated entry for many other prizes. This is the story that revolves around the life of Theo from his 13th year to beyond the teens. Deeply attached to his mother, he loses her in an explosion in a museum. He happens to survive, and takes away with him a prized painting by the name The Goldfinch when a dying man prods him to do so. He tries to keep the painting safe - despite the threat of being booked for stealing it, and later of criminals being after him. His own life is in tatters and so he finds it difficult to keep it safe, but when he is sure of its safety, he learns that the painting has been stolen without his knowledge by a childhood friend Boris. The painting goes through illegal channels and finally, the two friends manage to rescue the painting. They get ...
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Illusion - a paranormal fantasy book by Manoj Pandey

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Hi dear friends. My third fiction book,  ' Illusion ' has come out. It is available on Amazon as an ebook, and is presently enrolled in Amazon Select. So, if you are a Kindle subscriber, you can read it free. Otherwise too, it is moderately priced. Illusion is in the genre of paranormal fantasy. It is light read, with a rather simple plot. What makes it interesting is the hypothesis that humans can be present in different 'layers' and their actions on earth and in other layers reflect the same reality in different ways.   
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Sidhartha - a book review

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In the classic novel Sidhartha, Hermann Hesse, explores the real meaning of life through the journey of Sidhartha, an upper caste Hindu living in the times of Budha. By the way, Hermann Hesse is a Nobel laureate.  The author has chosen the name and time aptly because these allow the author to critique the teachings of Budha as well as his Brahmanical roots from the point of view of one who is not satisfied with answers given by others - the way Budha himself sought to explore the truth.  Cover: Sidhartha 1st ed in German The boy Sidhartha, the heir to a Brahman (upper caste) lineage and assured of all comforts, riches and fame in life, leaves home in search of answers to his questions about life. He puts himself to all types of penance and even manages to meet Budha. He swings between total renunciation and falling to lust, and finally finds solace in the river that he had crossed first in his journey.  Though the book is written in a lucid style, and the story flows well...
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Revenge- a character-based novel by Manoj Pandey

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  Gobar, a boy in a Himalayan village, has to fulfill his martyred father's dream of making him an army officer. But his mother dies, he suffers at the hands of village bullies, and flees to Delhi. After many ups and downs, Gobar is adopted by an underworld don. He starts a flourishing estate business. As Gobar's dream project is about to complete, an honest officer in the city planning office orders demolition of its top floors. That makes Gobar [now a mighty Dhan-saab] extremely revengeful, and he plots to bring a painful end to the officer's life. The final action against the officer takes place, but does it fulfill Gobar’s childhood dream? The book is available in ebook format on Amazon. Though it is modestly priced, you can read it free if you are a Kindle subscriber. Revenge- a novel by Manoj Pandey
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For Whom the Bell Tolls - a book review

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For Whom the Bell Tolls is a war novel by Ernest Hemingway, and is considered an all-time classic.  I read the novel a long time ago and re-read it recently. I was mesmerized by its prose, plot and intensity of emotions then, but now I found a different feel but overall it felt satisfying. Image taken from Wikipedia First the context. Hemingway was an American who was an army reject, then a writer and journalist. He suffered a serious injuriy during WW I. He covered the Spanish Civil War (one that is sometimes called dress rehearsal for the Second World War), which is the setting of the novel. He had earlier written extensively on wars, as a reporter and a story-writer/ novelist. So, he had a deep insight into the way soldiers think and act - when they are on a mission and are conscious that they might never return. So, his characters as well as description of the scenes is very authentic, real. Through their eyes, one can sense and smell the ravages of a war. The hero is a dynamit...
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The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi- a book review

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Amish became a literary figure in Indian English fiction thanks to this book, the first on in 'Shiva trilogy'. Amish has invested a lot in marketing the books and he has succeed in carving out a niche for himself. Youth, especially youth who devour all types of easy reading (including chick lit) English fiction, are his fans of his type of writing. The story takes a leaf out of a Hindu God, Shiva, who is highly intriguing as a character. He then weaves some myth and mythology to make it a believable story for readers of Indian origin - a huge market spread over the world. But it might raise the hair of some Hindu believers for depiction of a highly revered figure as an ordinary man with some extra-ordinary powers and skills. As a fantasy and story, the book gets good marks. Amish has made his characters with effort; he has tried to make them 'rounded', believable. He has succeeded in that if you are not biased by your religious (Hindu) beliefs - because as a Hindu, your...
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कल्प-नाद Kalp-naad- a book of poems by Manoj Pandey

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Manoj Pandey's collection of poems is unique in many respects. A small book of just 51 poems, it is divided into three segments:       -Aahat-naad- poems based on observations of the physical world; -Anhad-naad- poems exploring the reality; and -Anu-naad- poems expressing pure love and bliss. This is what the author says about his poems:  कल्प-नाद: क्या कहता है यह शब्द? इसका इशारा है उन स्वरों-शब्दों की ओर जो उत्पन्न होते हैं समयातीत कंपन से. यह मेरी विशेष प्रतिभा या उपलब्धि नहीं, हर इंसान – क्या पता, सृष्टि के हर कण – की चेतना का बिम्ब है. उस कल्प-नाद का एक क्षुद्र अंश है यह संकलन. कोशिश है प्रस्तुत करने की कुछ ऐसे कंपन, ऐसे स्वर, जो सांसारिक टकरावों – अनुभवों और भावों – से उपजे हैं, कुछ ऐसे जो तनी हुई डोरियों – मान्यताओं – को कंपाने से उपजे हैं, और कुछ ऐसे जो अन्त: से पैदा हुए हैं – जो बस कंपन हैं, ध्वनि नहीं. जब लगा कि दूसरों के दिल-दिमाग में उपज रहे नाद इन नादों से मेल खा सकते हैं तो इन्हें साझा करने का मन बना लिया. भावों को कविता की आकृति में ढालने की कोशिश...
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