Tuesday, August 18, 2020

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

 



Fairness doesn't govern life and death, if it did, no good person would have died young.

For every individual who thinks of him as waste, lonely and insignificant should read this book. There is no life insignificant, not even the miniscule of the species. All life intersects and leaves an impact on others. Death doesn’t just take someone it misses someone else and in the small distance between being taken and being missed lives are changed. Threw out life, have there been any situation where you have no idea why a certain result occurred?  Do you think there are any events from your past that didn’t have a big impact on your life, that potentially had a big impact on other person’s life? We normally tend to see and live life in our own perspective yet our decision directly or indirectly shapes the future of a few individuals. This book has the crux of life and teaches the idea of death, life and life’s unanswered questions. Mitch Albom writes a fantastic story that will change everything you have ever thought about life, death and the meaning of life when we were alive.

Plot: Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who lives an average life in solitude. His job is fixing rides in an amusement park. On his 83rd birthday a tragic incident takes place when he is killed trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife and has to meet five different people explaining his life. With these five different people we dig deep into Eddie’s life from childhood to his end and learn the significance of each person and their impact on his life. These vivid individuals teach Eddie 5 important life lessons and how it shaped Eddie’s life. This is a classic Mitch Albom story, when Important life lessons are taught in an unconventional yet entertaining manner. The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a beautiful story and its effect on me is heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measures.


Thursday, August 13, 2020

Sea Prayer

 



Sea Prayer -Khaled Hosseini

“My dear Martin, in the long summer of childhood, when I was a boy the age you are now, your uncles and I spread our mattress on the roof of your grandfather’s farmhouse outside of Homs.”
― Khaled Hosseini, Sea Prayer

Sea Prayer is about the plight of a refugee family seeking refuge and is left to fend on the mercy of sea and gods for survival. This is a beautifully written book and the illustrations are exemplary and increases the reading experience. Sea Prayer is about everything that can go wrong in society. How millions suffer because of the chosen few. Sea Prayer tells us how humanity and human existence is going to cease because of our sheer foolishness. The ordeal of millions is a pleasure of few. The fight for Religious and Racial supremacy is leading us all towards an infinite abyss. The war for territorial gain and natural resources have left the citizen broken bleeding and empty handed without an iota of mercy is saddening. Khaled Hosseini is a mastery story teller when it comes to migration and its pain. His verses describe the pain of a father beautifully where he is uncertain of the future ahead yet he assures and entrust his son of the better days ahead. Though the book tells us about the Syrian refuge but half of Middle East and Africa is under civil war.

Impelled to write this story by the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed upon the beach in Turkey in September 2015, Hosseini hopes to pay tribute to the millions of families, like Kurdi's, who have been splintered and forced from home by war and persecution.


Tuesday, August 11, 2020

8 pm- An apolitical love story by Fazle Karim

 


8 pm An Apolitical Love Story is a political satire narrated in accordance with Rahul’s ordeal. The book briefly conveys all the major political developments happening in Indian political and social establishment, the policies and events that have made news and left an impact on citizens directly or indirectly. Rahul’s life tragedies and incidents are largely based around government policies. At majority of instances these subtle nuances is utterly humorous while a few are repetitive. Fazle Karim blends fact fiction and humor to create a humorous read.

8 pm is an odd love story, odd in the sense of its narration and its final outcome. The book is about Rahul’s insecurities in life. It is about how Rahul is beaten in love twice and that to by the same person- irony but true. The betrayal he faced in love and then a failed marriage made him insecure and less reliant on people even if they were true and genuine. This book has some great moments from college life and first kiss and heartbreak. Rahul’s character is beautifully portrayed his arrogance and his attributes all seems genuine. 8 pm is an entertaining read and the side characters leave a remarkable impact on the story. The story lacked closure for me and there a few unanswered questions, guess writer wants us to assume the fate of other characters. I would have love to read more of Rasna …..


Monday, August 10, 2020

DIVYASTRA

 


Quote: - The single greatest cause of happiness is gratitude

Divyastra is a different kind of storytelling, a read that is not going to leave you exhausted will rather leave you elated. The book starts with a promising note, A hall full of listeners spectators comprising of students, professors, delegates, scientists, military personals all eager to listen Dr. Vyas a physics Nobel Laurate speaking of “Future of Weaponry”. Dr. Vyas’s lecture is entertaining and enlightening and gives a different perspective and approach to Indian Mythology and Vedic science. His lecture resembles a class of theology and ancient war craft. The book parallelly narrates the story of Shankar who is disappointed with his life and its outcome. He lives a mediocre life working in BPO and still in pursuit of finding his identity. A sudden news of his father’s accident and his visit to Gopalpur turns his life around for good. Though he ends up loosing his father to discover himself. For me the highlight of Divyastra is the stories narrated by his grandfather, they are captivating and gives us a closure to Dr. Vyas’s lecture and takes us towards the real story. Namish tactfully converges both the parallel plots to one and the convergence is excruciating and enticing. The book Divyastra is an intriguing read crafted by Namish Tanna. The book is divided in smaller chapters which makes it a convenient read and shows its relevance with the storyline. This was a fast yet fulfilling read.