7 Days 7 Book Covers Challenge - Day 5

The Believers by Zoe Heller

This is one of those books that made me wonder why restrict ratings to just 5 stars.

The discussions on spirituality, religion, orthodoxy, above all Audrey and the reviews from friends was what prompted me to take up this book immediately. I was very much awed by Zoe Heller’s creepy and cold narration in her What Was She Thinking?  Notes on a Scandal and wanted to take up this book later, so that expectations don’t go awry.

Ideals are peaceful, history is violent. 

- Brad Pitt as Staff Sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier in “Fury”

Every belief system is built on the fundamental principle of being purposeful and instrumental in bringing peace to the world, but when believers blindly go by their belief system and are too rigid with a very myopic view that theirs is the only truth, ignoring the practical inconveniences caused to other people, and failing to correct their shortcomings, their actions lead to violence.

This book is basically an evaluation of the rigidity in the beliefs of the Litvinoff family. Joel believes in socialism, Audrey believes in Joel, Karla believes her parents’ ideas about her life and career are her limits, Rosa believes accepting orthodoxy and going back to her religion is her salvation, Lenny believes running away from family might be helpful.

If only they listened to other's viewpoint with an open mind, things could have turned up differently. But the stark irony is while they don't want to slacken their belief and hold on to it tightly when dealing with others, they don't mind compromising their ideals when it comes to their own selfish, personal gratifications. Heller brings out this hypocrisy, intricately crafted with myriad emotions with a true to life characterization, against a backdrop of Socialism and Judaism, in her own dark, witty narration spiced with sarcastic and acidulous tones.

The book was too personal to me, and I loved the character Audrey, her sharp tongue, her views, her beliefs. But what she does towards the end was a little unlike her to me, and though that was my first thought while reading the book, looking back I wonder if she could be typecast at all. Such strong female leads make me overwhelm, though I may not fully agree with her. 

7 Days 7 Book Covers Challenge - Day 4

A thousand splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

After reading the much acclaimed Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini and liking the differently set honest story, I chose to read this book from my library. The writing style was totally on a different level altogether, and smelt of the countryside, the smoldering heat of the kitchen, and the warm smell of the breads, narrated by the sweet little Mariam who is so much in love with her Dad, like most little girls are. More so since Naana, her mother is always punching, poking and prodding her with harsh words, their bitterness striking her then while the Truth hurts her later.

"Like a compass facing north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam."

A very relatable story for most girls, there is always a different view of the super hero Dad that only a mother knows and rants about. Truth dawns on Mariam after her mother's death, and before she comes to terms with it life has lots in store for her. Though the background is set in Afghanistan, the setting or part of it is there around us. While the reader almost gets into the prejudice that this is due to Mariam's background, We are introduced to Laila. A better household, parents who love their kids, and things going good if not perfect.

Laila was much better than Mariam, and the story takes to a better turn and as we wonder what was it about Mariam then, destiny has different plans and the two meet. Such an emotional roller coaster, while Rashid is such an opportunist, even he is not completely portrayed as negative.

“A man's heart is a wretched, wretched thing. It isn't like a mother's womb. It won't bleed. It won't stretch to make room for you.” 

The best part of the story is the relationship between the two women, sisterhood that we feminists keep crying about.The initial friction, the moment they understand the woes of the other, and the beautiful way they stand by each other not letting go of the other, was the most beautiful thing of the story. The style of Hosseini was so full of feelings and emotions that could possibly only be felt by another female. I so loved the man for the beautiful way he portrayed the women like only a woman can, like he knows what happens inside a woman's head and heart.

"She thought of her entry into this world, the harami child of a lowly villager, an unintended thing, a pitiable, regrettable accident. A weed. And yet she was leaving the world as a woman who had loved and been loved back. She was leaving it as a friend, a companion, a guardian. A mother. A person of consequence at last. No. It was not so bad, Miriam thought, that she should die this way. Not so bad. This was a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate belongings.” 

Such beautiful lines throughout the book, this was one of those books that I read and reread phrases for their beauty and their truth. The final part of the book feels like an add-on, probably to give women and people in general a hope, but nevertheless one of the best feminist fiction from a wonderful man. An all time favorite. Something I wish just remained as history to future women.

7 Days 7 Book covers challenge - Day 3

The Library of Unrequited Love. This was a recommended by a dear friend of our Book club as a cozy weekend read. We were choosing short books to read together, and I wasn't sure of what this one was exactly, hardly some 100 pages, I started this on a Friday night, after the kids were put to sleep, and I was done with my chores and my mood swings, and the last notification sound died away, and what a magical thing this book was? I was totally a different person as I read and reread each phrase, sentence, again and again tasting them, a mood lifter this was.

“I prefer the company of books. When I'm reading, I'm never alone, I have a conversation with the book. It can be very intimate. Perhaps you know this feeling yourself? The sense that you're having an intellectual exchange with the author, following his or her train of thought and you can accompany each other for weeks on end.” 

It was a great sense of oneness that came over me while reading this lovely monologue of a middle-aged (female) librarian. The setting is a library in France and the librarian starts a conversation, more a monologue, with a reader who had spent his previous night there.

"Book and reader, if they meet up at the right moment, it can make sparks fly, set you alight, change your life. It can, I promise you."

The process used in the classification of the books, the manual discretion that is used in certain cases, the drastic misuse of this discretion in certain cases by certain authorities, political subjects before and after the (French) Revolution, prominent writers of France and their (devious) other side, there are many subjects she touches that basically draw up the feelings and emotions of Readers in general.

How often we find solace in discussing our favorite book or author. How often we laugh hilariously with a I knew that was coming or shocked immensely with a I didn't expect you of all people to do that, how could you? while reading our favorite authors. How often some friendly discussions become steamy because your friend's perspective was different from yours? In fact I rarely recommend a book that touched me emotionally because ... because ... let me say it aloud, I can't take a negative word about a book I love, but sometimes I don't exhibit it, and just be mute, but she punches me for this too with a,

“People apologize too much, everyone's afraid of giving offence and it leads to literature being written for babies. Low-brow rubbish. That's not the way to become an adult.” 

Well... It's a thug/tough life being a Reader... :D
 

7 Days 7 Book covers challenge - Day 2

The Great Gatsby. I know of many friends and fellow readers who hate the book, the characters and possibly everything about it. But I can't think beyond Gatsby, nothing beyond him. Gatsby is that person I normally wouldn't want to think about, given all my ideologies, thoughts and whatnots. But I am so captivated by him that all my reasons go futile.

It's a delicate thing to admit but admit I will, honestly. Vociferously going to the extent of crying, shouting, quoting to establish the validity of my argument and finally when the stubborn listener accepts halfheartedly or succumb to my argument, a part of my mind arises in rebellion to my own ideas and asks a formidable so-what's-wrong-in-that question. That was how I felt while reading Gatsby and precisely what I feel about the book and the characters too.

I have written a detailed review on this book too, and so I wouldn't go into the plot and what it did to me in detail. But I wouldn't mind fangirling De Caprio the soul reason behind my reading this book. Those were days when I was member of an online library. And those were also days when I could sit down to watch only a passing few moments of any movie that didn't show robots, dinosaurs, self-proclaimed guardians and super heroes, and in those few minutes did I catch the glimpse of the pool scene, his eyes, they were a pool themselves, like the narcissistic pool of Oscar Wilde.

I doubt if everyone or anyone would feel the same. But that is what I feel even this very moment writing. This is one book that is more about the sensual impact it had on me. Fitzgerald's prose was scintillating, honest and just blowing me apart, though I haven't read his other works, that I am looking forward to doing sooner. 

Had I been a man I wouldn't have been Gatsby. As this (over)thinking woman that I have grown up to, I wouldn't desire Gatsby, but Gatsby... would be my buddy, the friend I could talk to, and give a thumbs up to, who would understand me. Probably it's not Daisy's character I would have done, but Nick Carraway's. I would have admired Gatsby even better and more than him.

If I ever get tattooed, now that depends on the pain that I can bear, and so if at all I get it done, it would be J or Jay Gatsby or the closing line - 

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

And as I am reminiscing those wonderful moments of reading this book, The cover forms a character in the story, and there is lots to it than it really is :-)

7 Days 7 Book Covers Challenge - Day 1

This was a FB challenge that I couldn’t resist. While watching people tag friends what worried me more was choosing only 7 book covers and worse still tagging 7 bookish friends. So I started 2 days after I was challenged. How did I choose my book covers? I just left it to my senses and every morning it was a meditation of sorts, closing my eyes to think of books that meant something to me, those that beat me black and blue or hit me hard or identify with and wait for something to stand out of the shelves.

The first one was Book Thief. Since I have already reviewed Book Thief in my blog, I am just keeping it to the Cover here. Book Thief was a life changing book for me. The first time I saw the book review by a Goodreads acquaintance who totally rubbished it taking a dig at the Narrator, I couldn’t help laughing and thought that is the end of this book for me. But then like I always believe, books come to me soulfully. So happens I go to my cousin’s place and she stacks up some books for me to read. I check the titles only on reaching home and there I find Book Thief again.

The image of Death hand in hand with a little girl really gave me the chills. Should I read this I wondered. Maybe just return it without reading, I tell myself. I am paranoid to take it with me to read while commuting, on my way to an official trip, after all Death was on the cover! At last after giving me a thousand reasons to not read and on my way to return the book, this book gets chosen as the Book of the Month of my Book Club. Those were days when I was seriously reading Books chosen in the Book Club, and so I decide to read.

Now there is another reason I didn’t want to read this book, a prejudice by the name Hitler, I admired him during my school life. He was a Hero to me, the connection being Subhash ChandraBose, Indian Independence, World War etc.,.  I read about all this in school history, and now I wonder why was the holocaust not touched in History lessons in detail, the way it should have been? Why much needed lessons are never dealt in History classes? Why is it that as kids we were not shown this brutal side?

So it struck me I should read Mein Kampf before Book Thief so that I get the balance. But Mein Kampf was a rude shocker. Hitler’s antisemitism and his writing really made me puke and feel ashamed. It was a metamorphosis to me, to understand what a madman’s ideology can do to people. I started searching and reading articles on the excesses, the programs, and world war still remains the topic to me, though in a different perspective.

Of what use is all this pride of Nationalism, culture, ethnicity, religion, language and so on, I wondered after completing this awesome book. Isn’t the survival of an individual more important than any of this? And if even one person has to be sacrificed for these, are they even worth sacrificing for?