Book Review - Page 8

Agreed with Karthkaa... the book was really good. Usually, as much as I love reading, I usually take my own sweet time to read, sometimes going back few pages to grasp the scenario.

But with Kite Runner, I did not want to put down the book. 😳

Glad you all liked Kite Runner. I am nervous about the movie. I doubt it would do justice to the poignancy of the book, as is usually the case with any picturisation.

As for the rape scene, I guess it was integral to the plot and I am pretty sure the producers didn't present an explicit scene. But then this is a traditional society, hence the boy's need to leave the country. Btw, I am given to understand that sodomy is very prevalent in traditional societies like Afghanistan where men are not allowed to freely mingle with women.

Karthika, Cause Celebre was very disappointing after Bridget Jones I. If you liked BJ, suggest you read the Nanny Diaries. Same genre though a bit more erudite.

I have read Nanny Diaries, Bon, the thing is, you begin to identify the common threads that run through this genre of books. I read Palace Diaries as well, but that was a horrific experience.

Cause Celeb was actually Helen Fielding's first book and to be honest, I really enjoyed it. BJD was more flippant and humorous. CC had its sad and black moments.

I have started the Confession of Shopaholics series. The thing is I got fooled at Changi Airport because the bookshop was selling the same book with different titles. I felt so cheated when after finishing the first book, I went to get the second one, only to see that it was the same. 😡

Kite Runner - The movie

Hi guys,

Got to see the kite runner over the weekend. For those who have not read the book it might look like it is dragging, but for those who read it ....very good. FOr those of who read the book the story captures the true essence of personal redemption and they have shown it well. Khalid who acted as Amir has done a good job, but the the one who stole my heart is the young Hassan. There were two places i actually cried
1. When Hassan gives the kite after attacked by the Pashtuns.
2. When Amir cried outside the hospital room and Soraya comforts him.

The good thing though they is they downplayed the scenes where Hassan is attacked by Pashtuns, it did not look very bad. The film doesnt show many things that are in the book, but i guess thats expected considering its a 2 hour movie. But otherwise...the movie is great!

Madhu

Shantaram

Thanks to my sprains and pains during a ski trip, I got the time to finish up Shantaram admist the view of the snow white mountains while my friends went for skiing. Man the book is quite voluminous and I have been sitting on it for quite a while.


The book is written by a man who has literally walked through hell and back. Gregory David Roberts is an Australian who as he says "in his past life" was a revolutionary and philosopher who lost his ideals and integrity in crime and
Through the craving for heroin. . The guy's deep hearted character or his reformed attitude or his writing skill or his kindness .whatever it is....I really like this guy!!!He escapes a maximum security prison in Australia and ends up in Bombay in india. This book is primarily based on his experiences he had in india in hiding, working as a gunrunner, a smuggler and a counterfeiter for the Bombay mafia. The novel talks about the his encounters with love, friendship, brotherhood and even a father he found. The author finally served his sentence where he wrote this book

It provided a rare outlook of a india through a foreigner's eyes, it sees india through its heart. He talks about ordinary slum dwellers and also about the biggie mafia dons. It tells a story of the times when gangsters of Bombay had honour and did "the wrong things for the right reasons" and were more popular among the common people.
Greg's writing style is simple and warm and he has an awesome capability of portraying complex emotions , actions without affecting the momentum and rythym of the story.

Being an Indian though. I take it personally when a foreigner writes about Indian abuses and other things ....well but I guess it does exist and when we hear good things from foreigner , we must be mature to hear bad things as well. There are pages though that I just skimmed due to some detailed ordeal with guns and weapons...

The book covers heart felt philosophy every 3 or 4 pagesa and believe me it is heart wrenching. One favorite is here.

"our heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, and your respect and your independence. After a while you start throwing people out - your friends, everyone you used to know.And it's still not enough.The lifeboat is still sinking, and you know its going to take you down with it."

It's a Must read! Don't get scared looking at the size....

Looks like I am the first one to talk about tamil books. Anyone has read books by author Devan (Mahadevan)?

i have never read a single tamil author....at least not in tamil. i have read a lot of transliterated works of writers like Ambai, Puthumai Pithan,Indira Parthasarathy, etc. i know the nuances are lost in translations but that is the best i have been able to do. maybe you could teach me enough tamil which will give me the courage to pick up a book written in tamil!!

Oh and i have a friend who also reads out stories to me from tamil... like that i have heard pooniyin selvan and many other short stories by shivshankar, jayakanthan etc.

That is really nice Jas. Your friend read out the entire 5 volumes of Ponniyin Selvan? Vandhiyadevan was my favourite character in that. I can also read out to you if you like 😃. Coming back to Devan, 'Thuppariyum Sambu' was created by him, so was 'CID Chandru'. Comedy King- Mythili, Miss.Janaki.. At the same time he had also penned more serious stories. One was made into a serial Mister Vedantham.

Sujatha is another intelligent writer. Ganesh-Vasanth characters created by him - excellent. I think Vinu/Eljay mentioned about them in some other thread. Shivashankari writes well about social issues.

Will come back with more books and authors 😊 .

hmmm finished Kite Runner - mixed feelings -
at the end of it, Hassan.... who are u??
personification of sacrificial love????

Daughters Of Arabia is staring at me - not sure
if I have the guts to assimilate -

Yes Giri, I read a lot of Tamil novels as well -
In fact I improved my vocabulary only with the
novels - Kurinji Malar by N.Parthasarathy is my
all time favourite - the language, theme, presentation
every thing was excellent. Like Lakshmi's novels also.
When u read a "Srimathi Mythili" u are taken back in the
time machine - a background which I never got to see,
feel or experience but can visualize , thanks to the
detailed descriptions of the author!!! Sivashanakari,
Indhumathi, Usha Subramanyam, Vaasanthi, Sujatha.....
to name a few of my favourites.