book blog Tag

01 Nov

Posted at 07:17h in non fiction
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Rajaraja Chola or Arulmozhivarman was born to Sundara Chola in 947CE and that marked change of the entire Chola Empire. We see in this book the events that happened before the arrival of the great king Rajaraja Chola as well as his reign at the age of 38, his administration and his socio-political tactics. The victories and defeats of the chola empire have also been written and their sources have also been mentioned. The building of many Shiva temples including the famous Brihadeeshwara Temple at Tanjavur was a sign of Chola's legacy and they being ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. The book is not a smooth read as as a regular fiction reader I did find it quite tedious to attach the different kings and their conquests to the main focus of the book. (eventhough there is a map and a chronological chart). The author have done a tremendous job and I am quite impressed by the amount of work he has done gathering the information about a great king like Rajaraja Chola. It is quite difficult to find a complete genuine article of this king and there a few or none( if I can say that) about the king in detail. Do go in for the book if you are a history buff as the insights are quite marvelous. I have always been a lover of the Brihadeeshwara temple at Tanjavur and this book was a delight to read about the king who sanctioned the building of the 1011 year old temple!...

25 Jun

Posted at 14:41h in fiction
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Before we delve into the review I want to clear a few things. Number one, I have nothing against the author. This is one of the few books that I disliked but still, my opinion is not biased. I do like one or two books of the author which is remarkably good compared to other authors of the same genre. PLOT HIGHLIGHT: We have two stories going simultaneously with each other. One goes back to the era of 340BC and one of our present days. We see in the old times a young brahmin Chanakya decides to avenge his father who was beheaded as he decided to speak his mind to the then King of Maghada. But what no one saw coming was this Brahmin would end up uniting all the north of Bharat under the able rule of Chandragupta Maurya who is the grandfather of the legendary king Ashoka, The Great. In the present time, we see an equally brilliant Gangasagar Mishra who decides to take the reins of dirty politics to unite the entire country to an able leader Chandini so that India has a good future! REVIEW: The author has managed to keep my attention only in the era of Alexander the Great invading India, the present time has been explained in too much detail that forget what is actually happening. The author has done a brilliant job in researching the lives and times of Chanakya and also how Indian politics work. The constant use of foul language in the book...

07 Jun

Posted at 07:41h in fiction
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The author has best-selling and prize-winning books in his bag such as The Shell Collector, About Grace, Four Seasons in Rome, and Memory Wall. He has also won the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Prize. PLOT HIGHLIGHT: The main character in this book is Marie Laurie who becomes blind after the age of six and Werner who is a German orphan who stays with his sister till he is taken to the Hitler regime. The story revolves from the years 1934 to 1945. Marie Laurie’s father teaches her how to go about the streets of Paris by creating a small miniature of the city so that she can reach home by herself. The small and happy life of her family completely changes when she has to move away because of the war. It is quite an interesting twist how the boy and the girl meet each other and that lies the entire story! REVIEW: The author has done a magnificent job in his book. The writing style is simple yet complicated but easy to read. Though it is a work of fiction, we can easily connect with the characters who are suffering emotional turmoil during the war times. The author has also done his research well as we can see that certain events mentioned in the book have actually happened. The book is actually a gem and I feel everyone should read it. It is truly a literary art and doesn’t go by my words. The truth is dive into the book...

07 Jun

Posted at 07:32h in fiction
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This book has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2004 and also shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2004. The book received the Hudson/Wright Legacy Award 2004. Quite an extraordinary effort for her first book! The author forbids herself to read reviews. It is not that she fears criticism but it may hinder her way of being true to herself in her books. PLOT HIGHLIGHT: The story is about a 15-year-old Kambili, her journey into two extreme worlds and finally finding her true self! Her father Eugene, an orthodox Christian, who has no clue about the difference between love and torture, doesn’t allow his daughter, her bother Jaja, and their mother to have a life of their own. The goal of this little Kambili is just to make him proud and impress him in every feat of her life. It is only after her aunt Ifeoma comes into her life with her cousins Chima, Amaka, and Obiora, she realizes that sometimes letting go also can also be called life! REVIEW: For the author’s first book this is really a good read! The writing style is quite impressive and it is also an easy read. The turmoil Kambili goes through in each chapter is easily connectable and we can also feel the intensity of the civil war that has been explained in the book that is going on in Nigeria. The author has justified totally the sensitivity of faith and religion that is in Kambili’s heart. The book is true to its...

07 Jun

Posted at 07:16h in fiction
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  Being an Agatha Christie book, we all know what to expect, yes you have guessed it right, it is a crime thriller! And this one of her Jane Marple series! The Hercule Poirot series is far more interesting than the Jane Marple series! So I would usually suggest that if you are a beginner in Agatha Christie's books, do take the Hercule Poirot series. PLOT HIGHLIGHT We have the main character Jane Marple, an old lady who loves or let's say gets involved in crime mysteries most of the time. She lives in a small town called St. Mary Mead. She gets a curious letter from the lawyers (Mr. Broadribb and Mr. Schuster) of one Mr. Rafiel who had recently passed away! When she visits them, there is a strange request from the late Mr. Rafiel of her going for a tour with Famous Houses and Gardens of Great Britain. It is at the tour she meets a few of her fellow passengers and as fate would have it one of them dies! Now Jane Marple gets into a fix as she realizes as one of them who is traveling with her could be the killer and then the investigation is on! REVIEW: Quite frankly if you miss out on this one, no hell will break loose! A typical crime thriller and most probably if you are a regular reader of Agatha Christie you may realize why the murder has been committed! The writing skill is to perfection as I have nothing to say there....

02 Sep

Posted at 08:49h in fiction
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'Hercule Poirot delves back into the past and discovers that old sins leave long shadows.' Welcome to yet another review of Hercule Poirot's decoding of crime. As you already know the author of the book is none other than my favorite Agatha Christie. Now without further adieu let's jump directly into the review. As the title suggests let me break the bubble that this book has no elephants in it but an old memory surfaces and just like an elephant, certain memories stay etched in our minds. When Mrs. Oliver( a writer I presume) goes to a luncheon that had invited all the great literary artists of the time, she meets with one Mrs. Burton Cox. This lady approaches Mrs. Oliver with no particular warning and starts bombarding questions about her goddaughter Celia Ravenscroft who is going to marry her son. The talks about her Goddaughter brought her a special warmth but all that vanished when Mrs. Burton Cox asked if Celia's mother killed her father or vice versa! This left Mrs. Oliver completely speechless and said she has no clue about this matter whatsoever. But even after the luncheon, this did not leave her mind and at once she went to visit her dear friend, our Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The events that follow after this is so twisted as it's quite impossible to believe how can true love be a reason for a horrible crime.The book is good but not good enough compared to other Hercule Poirot books. With that said I would like to add that...

14 May

Posted at 07:13h in fiction
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This is the second book in the series of the Pataala Prophecy. Well without further introductions lets get directly involved in the review of the book. So the synopsis is the same as the previous one, whether Maya and Arjun can save the world from the wrath of the Sage Shukracharya. Will the end of Kalyug prove the end of the world? I have mentioned in the earlier post today that the plot seems to have a similarity with Harry potter. I could say its not done on purpose but once we are Harry Potter fans we tend to co-relate all the other fantasies with this. Few of them are as follows: starting with the main characters Arjun and Maya is the Hermoine and Harry. We have Kanakpratap who is the uncle of Arjun who is like Sirius Black. Then we have the Guru Satyavachana who trains Maya who is like a cute version of Dumbledore. We have the Agastya who is like Ron. The Gurukul is like Hogwarts, Shukracharya who is like Voldemort but the ultimate one is the Prophecy of how the one will end the villain of the plot! Just because there are a few similarities you shouldn't abandon the book. Though its a fictional creation there are many such incidents in the book that makes you think if these are true or not. Most of the mantras as a Hindu born I have recited in my childhood days with my mother and grandmother. The weight and the...

14 May

Posted at 06:23h in fiction
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Before we get into the review of the book, I would want you to know who is Bhrigu and who is his son! So first and foremost, the whole series is based on Hindu Mythology. Sage Bhrigu is one of the Saptarishis or the seven sages created by Lord Brahma to facilitate creation. Bhrigu was the Manasa Putra( son born out of mind) of Lord Brahma. It is believed that he was the compiler of predictive astrology and it is called Bhrigu Samhita. Shukracharya is one of his sons. Shukra was not only a great sage but also the Guru of the Asuras(demons). He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and has been blessed with the famous Sanjeevani Vidhya which brings the dead back to life. Now let us get into the review of the book; starting with its plot. The book begins with an event that involves Napolean Bonaparte and his general Louis Alexander Berthier in Giza, September 1799. Then the book jumps to the present day where we meet two best friends who are just fifteen years old, Arjun and Maya. Their families are equally close to each other. Arjun’s uncle Virendra Singh and Maya’s father Naresh Upadhyay are thick friends. Their history teacher Dhananjay Trivedi dies in a most extraordinary circumstance and this event changes their life forever. When Superintendent of Police Raman Kapoor gets the case to solve, he is equally shocked at the weirdness of murder, he discovers that the last people that the history teacher...

20 Mar

Posted at 05:38h in fiction
1 Like

An unforeseen death of a young Lord brings immense wealth to his younger brother Maxim Trevelyan. His life is something that people dream of! No responsibilities, good looks that makes him so appealing to any girl he wants to sleep with and also money. But with sudden responsibility, his family's title and estates, he feels he is burdened and curses his brother for the accident. To top it all he meets Alexia Demachi, an alluring mysterious woman who is equally beautiful as she is gifted in music. His need for her is beyond words and what we read in the book is a breathless ride of desire! Being EL James, the book does have many erotic moments that tingle your own desire but it is indeed a well written book! I am not a fan of romantic novels and this one I wouldnt have picked up of I knew the background. Actually not because its a romantic one but it a book that gives you a non existent love story. Can we have love stories nowdays where a man can fall head over heels in love with a woman and vice versa! A few generations back I would have believed the story. If you liked Fifty Shaded of Grey then definetly go ahead for this one! ....