Book Review on The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

There's something charming about the old English country and its customs. This book is about an English butler who reminisces about the old times while attempting to keep pace with the new. Back in the day, butlers were at the top of the staff heirarchy that catered to the needs of the aristocratic class. Lords, Ladies, Dukes, Duchess, Barons, etc would all be given top of the notch service by an army of staff who attended to their every need. The houses of ole were big mansions, almost palacial in size and thus needed several housemaids, under-butler, footmen, gardener, chauffeur, valet, cook etc to keep pace with the then life. One such princely house was Darlington Hall, where our butler Mr. Stevens used to serve Lord Darlington himself.

Then came the war years that changed the way of life of the aristocrats as well as those whom they employed. An American gentleman takes over Darlington Hall after the death of its previous owner, and the butler, loyal to his profession, decides to stay on with the house. He narrates the changes that the household undergoes, constantly comparing Then and Now. He is a man of ideals and succinctly discusses what he thinks are the attributes of a great butler.

At the heart of the book, it is about how Mr. Stevens comes to terms with the past and has to accept that he must make the most of whatever remains of the days of his life. I found it a very inspiring read, and can see what made Kazuo Ishiguro a Nobel Prize in Literature awardee. Very polished style of writing that one can only aspire to inculcate. I have definitely become a fan of the author and will be reading more of his works soon.

For fans of Downton Abbey, this book is a treat to read. One can just imagine Mr. Carson agreeing with the views of Mr. Stevens while sipping on some tea downstairs. The book has also been adapted into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins in the lead role. I can't say it's the best of adaptations but at least there is one.

Book Review on Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Dystopian literature shows us how life would be if things went really badly. For any bibliophile, the worst kind of situation is one in which books are destroyed. This book is based in one such dystopic universe where Firemen don’t extinguish fire but cause them. The protagonist is one Guy Montag, who conspicuously shares his first name with the famous pyromaniac from British history, Guy Fawkes. Like Fawkes, Montag too is a revolutionary.

In Montag’s world books are taboo. People are kept busy by always being made to watch the Telly. Entertainment has been made personalized. When you watch the Telly, the characters in the soaps and plays say your name to give the show an illusion of reality. This makes the experience more immersive. The minds of people can be easily controlled by controlling their entertainment feed. But books. Oh those can give people ideas, make them think outside the Idiot Box. So books are banned by the authorities. It is a tragic world to live in, where people do not, cannot think. And those who dare to question or be imaginative are eliminated.

The Firemen’s history has been revised. Where they were once known to put out fire and save lives, it is now their job to burn down houses where people have been known to harbor books. All of this is done at night-time when the fires burn the brightest, so that the fear of fire is more deeply ingrained in the citizens.

After years of service as a Fireman, Guy Montag one day meets a girl called Clarisse McClellan on his walk home from work. She is an unusual sort of girl. People in her family actually sit around and talk rather than watch the Telly. And she says things that Guy has never heard anyone say. He comes home to his wife Mildred, who has a severe addiction to the Telly. The people on the screens are more real to her that those next door. Day in and day out her eyes are on the three walls that make up the screen and her ears plugged with earphone like shells that help her to drown out the outside world. She is disconnected from reality, depressed and in denial. Compared to the lively Clarisse, Mildred is as good as dead as she is always ‘plugged in’. Montag and Mildred do not converse.

Montag undergoes a change that makes him question the way the world has come to run. He finds himself unable to do his job, which makes his boss Captain Beatty suspicious of him. He becomes a liability to his unit. In his desperation to make sense of the world, Montag makes contact with a man he had once met in a park, who he had suspected might be a possessor of books. This man, Faber, was once a Professor of English. But since it became illegal to teach Literature, History etc, he, and others of his kind, has to live on the down-low. Faber explains to Montag some of the qualities that books possess and why it is necessary to keep the written words alive.

Any reader would want to preach the message in this book, especially in times like these, when it is necessary to inculcate the ability to see the alternate reality, to question the system. Other forms of entertainment, most importantly, visual entertainment is easy to take in. One need only direct their gaze towards a screen. But books require your participation. The words develop meaning when you read, process, understand and envision that which is being said. Since most people find it so arduous to do the latter, books are a dying lot. As the author himself said,

“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.”

Ignorance happens to be a flaming torch

Book Review on Origin by Dan Brown

The adventures of Harvard Professor Robert Langdon continue in this one. Having read the previous four of the Langdon series, the plot was more or less predictable. Once again Langdon finds himself getting in the wrong books with the authorities, albeit momentarily. Once again he has a beautiful woman as his accomplice. Once again, there’s an accomplished killer after him. And knowing how fond Dan Brown is of his almost autobiographical creation, we know that no deathly harm can befall Professor Langdon.

With every book he writes, Brown brings together scientific advances and the historical significance of religion. This time, one of the central characters, Edmond Kirsch, leads an all out war against organized religion and its many dangers. Having read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins quite recently, I found it easier to agree with the viewpoints on Edmond Kirsch. Indeed, one can find Brown quoting Dawkins several times in the book.

The book starts off with Langdon visiting a conference in Barcelona, where his former student Edmond Kirsch, has promised to reveal a discovery so profound that it would put all religious faiths in the world in jeopardy. And as was expected, Langdon finds himself at the centre of a cat and mouse chase, in an attempt to reveal some knowledge that the whole world is waiting to know. Tech genius Edmond Kirsch and his discovery become an overnight trend on the internet, hashtags and all. The tech trends have been well captured with mentions of leading apps such as Uber as well as the dark depths of the Deep Web. I think conspiracy theorists will have a gala time reading the book, or watching the movie that will inevitably come. Among the characters in the book, the one I liked best was the AI developed by Edmond, Winston.

In spite of the plot, I believe the story and the varied perspectives of the characters will help readers who have not read discourses on atheism to put together some of the principles behind the philosophy, and then think for themselves what they would like to believe. Religion vs. Atheism is a debate that goes way back. And while this book doesn’t add anything new to either of the sides, it does show us that Langdon, and by extension Brown, are both inclined to favour religion over atheism.

‘Where do we come from?’ and ‘Where are we going?’ are the primary questions that Edmond Kirsch was going after. The former of the two questions is summarised in the word ‘Origin’, while the latter in ‘Destiny.’ So if this were a two-part tale, the second would probably be called ‘Destiny’. But with the big reveal at the end (which wasn’t that big of a deal, by the way), I believe the story ends here. And knowing Brown, this novel won’t have any bearing on his subsequent works.

That is another thing that bothers me and fellow readers about the Langdon books. They don’t seem to have much of a continuum. Not in the sense that it has to be like other series where one book leads up to the next. But the discoveries and findings should at least be referred to in the next book, in however small a manner. There must be certain consequences to Langdon’s earth-shattering experiences (such as half the population becoming sterile after Inferno) considering they’re all happening in the same universe. But Brown’s disregard to these happenings deems them as not-so-important after all.

Long story short, not a bad book. Would recommend to thrill-seeking readers. 

Book Review on Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory by Aanchal Malhotra

A debut novel can say a lot about a writer. It tells us what the writer believes in, whether they are willing to go the extra mile to bring life to their storytelling, and how well read they are themselves. As a reader, I believe in continuously seeking out new authors, searching for such gems that can satiate my appetite for reading. One such search led me to the Instagram handle @aanch_m

Her posts on Instagram are beautiful photos complimented by beautiful captions. For a while now, I have maintained that captioning is an art that most people overlook. Of course, one cannot expect people to add unique captions to the same redundant selfies that they take all the time. But when it comes to photography with a message, the caption does matter immensely. Her writings on Instagram so captivated me that I instantly became an ardent follower. Every day she would upload an anecdote, a memory; sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hopeful. I found myself suggesting friends to check out her account and see how important is the work that she has been doing. I added her to my ‘Writers to Keep a Watch out for’ List (the list also includes Kaushik Barua of Windhorse fame).

Early this year, Aanchal hinted that she was in talks with Harper Collins. The news got me ecstatic because it meant her book was on the way. Her years of research into the relics of material memory was soon going to be published in material form. I knew I had to get a copy for myself, there was no question about it. True to the theme of her stories, the book came out in August, the month of Independence and Separation.

Following someone online is one thing, and having a real, physical copy of their work in one’s hand is quite another. After more than a year of adoring her writing, I finally had a compilation of her work sitting between the palms of my hands. Word by word, page after page, I went on a journey with Aanchal that transcended the borders of the human mind. Her graceful writing expertly navigated the murky waters of the Partition to shed light on the “things that matter”.

I realize that so far I have only been praising her and haven’t yet divulged what it is that she has done to garner such praise. Her work is about archiving the memories that people brought and took across the border at the time of the great migration. Through the meagre material possessions that people carried, she retells the stories of entire families; their life as it was before the partition, their journey across and life afterwards. All that remained with these people after the move, the remnants, are what this book is about.

My favourite chapter from the book is the one about her grandfather and his family utensils. One can tell how fervently she believes in collecting and storing memories. In the course of creating this book, she has become a pensieve (#hpreference). Reading her has been a pleasure. She has converted me from a mere follower into an enchanted fan. An inspiration to the writers of her generation and the generations to come, Aanchal Malhotra has revived the pain of separation and left us with a longing for the past.

Book review on ‘Kafka on the Shore’ by Haruki Murakami

Murakami is a surrealist. His books transcend the boundaries of plot, character and the logic of reality. One of his most endearing qualities is the smoothness with which he builds the story. This was the third Murakami that I read. And after each one I feel like I need to take a break from his world, let normality be restored. Or else I shall be whisked off by the cats into some unmapped town and be forever lost.

The story is about a young boy who runs away from home and an older man who has a mission to fulfill. Both the characters lead independent lives that intersperse in a small town library. Although the central characters never actually get to know each other, their story progresses by the unbeknownst help that each provides the other.

A young teen, Kafka escapes his house to get away from his father and maybe find his mother and sister, who had abandoned him as a child. Young Kafka experiences a longing for maternal love as well as the love of a sister. Because of the premonitions of his father, Kafka develops a condition that is close to Oedipus syndrome. He believes his feelings to be a part of his fate.

At the small town library, he makes friends and finds a place for himself. It is almost as if the place had been waiting for his arrival for a very long time. Kafka, although confused, is unlike the kids of his age. He is driven by a discipline that keeps his body and mind ready for the bizzarest of things. He comes off as a cool, detached, dispassionate individual. In spite of being in situations that would make most adults lose their cool, Kafka sails out of the storm and docks safely onto shore.

The storm is when the stories of the young boy and the old man cross paths. In terms of character complexity, the old man is simpler and yet more enigmatic. His thoughts aren’t complicated by the intricacies of standard life. He does things as they come. On his journey across small towns to the library in question, he finds help from several strangers who do so because of his simple nature and confounding mission. He appears to be on a different plane of thought entirely.

The story has many other interesting characters, each of whom contributes in the progression of the tale in their own unique and indispensable ways. At the heart of it, Kafka on the Shore is about the very personal stories that each of these characters take, their lives leading up to this tumultuous whirlwind of an affair since a very long time. At the end of it all, they each got their separate ways, entering and exiting like actors in a play. The brilliance of the book manifests in Murakami’s style of storytelling. Yet I find some of his themes to be recurrent. For instance: parallel worlds, out-worldly creatures, incest and inter-dimensional beings. His stories take some time to be absorbed entirely, for which reason one cannot dive from one  Murakami to the next without pausing to awe at his marvels.

Book Review on Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald

This 1934 novel had its beginnings much earlier in the life of the controversial author and his wife, Zelda Sayre. While This Side of Paradise, his first novel, captured the young love and longing of protagonist Amory Blaine, the story reaches its tumultuous end in the pages of Tender is the Night. It has been said over and over that Scott Fitzgerald’s writings were based on his own life, that he was the Amory and the Dick of his novels. He wrote about his crisis filled personal life, making it more crazed and unhappy. In capturing the sadness of his own life, he left readers with a bittersweet longing for the age that he had lived in and embodied in spirit.

Tender is the Night was the last published novel of the author. And it was written after a considerably long bout of un-productivity in his career. It tells the story of a couple, the Diver’s, falling out of love after years of being regarded as “two bodies, one soul”. It is a sad, sometimes infuriating tale. One can see that Dick needs Nicole quite as much as Nicole needs him. In the years since their extraordinary courtship, they have developed a joint personality that people outside of their marriage almost revere.

But, as is the case with most marriages, the outsiders find a way in. Just as simply as guests were invited into their reverie on the French Riviera. It was, alas, a paradise that got trampled upon. There are a string of uninteresting characters who like to bask in the glamour of the Divers, one among them being a misguided, passionate young actress. She was awed by the Divers, perhaps more by Dick than by Nicole. Nicole’s character development shows a stark dissimilarity between her condition before and after their marriage. Her mental disposition and the reason behind it shock the reader.

The story ends depressingly, with the duo being separated by their own volition. It was an inevitable end. I can’t say I enjoyed the story, or the writing. In spite of his fame and the posthumous hype about him, I find F. Scott Fitzgerald lacking in originality and sometimes frivolous. Of the three works of his that I have read, I must say that I admire The Great Gatsby the best. Tender is the Night will, unfortunately, not hold a tender place in my heart.

Book Review on ‘A Strange and Sublime Address’ by Amit Chaudhuri

With every book that I read and review, I add a degree of significance to how I came across it. They are mostly bought or ordered, gifted by the family, sometimes borrowed from the library and rarely lent by a friend. I found this book in the most unlikely of places; my hostel room. Granted there are always piles of books on my side of the room, but to find one at my room-mates desk is once in a blue moon rare. After weeks of noticing it through the periphery of my vision, I borrowed it to read.

It is a hardcover edition celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the book. It fits snugly in my hands and the size, the paper quality, the font all come together to provide the perfect reading experience. For all the pros of a Kindle, it simply cannot give you this glorious sensation of holding, sniffing, snuggling a good book.

Getting to the matter of the book, it is a story of a young Indian boy who lives in Mumbai with his parents, but travels to Calcutta to spend his holidays with his maternal family. The events described in the book are in no particular chronological order. They simply narrate the experiences of the young protagonist, while capturing all the old world charm of Calcutta. The writing is absolutely brilliant, not a word wasted and not an emotion left untouched.

For someone who has been getting to know Kolkata first hand over the past year, this book was a joy to read. The habits and way of life of the quintessential Bengali household are depicted here gracefully. To anyone who lives in Kolkata and fails to feel a “connection” with the city, this book could be your “operator”.

Several times I felt the urge to underline parts of the prose because they were so beautifully framed, simple scenes so artfully captured. But as I did not own the copy, I did not put pencil to paper. Some day I shall buy a copy of it for my personal library and file it under the section called “personal connection”. The author is one of unmatched literary talent. I shall keep him closely after Vikram Seth and Amitav Ghosh on my list of of Favorite Authors of Indian Origin. Thank you Amit Chaudhuri for a beautiful read.