THE SECRET OF THE NAGAS

I finished reading this book in the last week of december 2011.It was a sequel to The Immortals of Meluha and the second book in the Shiva trilogy.I had written a review of the first book and was waiting to read this one.It did not disappoint in terms of the action on every page,but the language is too ordinary.The characters speak in modern everyday english.However that can be ignored because the story is quite riveting but not as much as the first book.

This is not going to be a review because I don't want to reveal much about the story.It is the kind of book you have to read yourself to enjoy.I don't feel it can be read as an independent book as it starts off exactly where the first book ends.Also the progression of the story is such that there are many characters who are properly introduced in the first book and are also a part of the continuous story in the second.

Shiva continues his search for the elusive Nagas because he wants to avenge the death of his friend Brahaspati.It is a long journey and many things are revealed along the way.The journey takes him across the length and breadth of Swadweep, to the land of the Brangas and further south, deep into the Dandak forest. Shiva searches for the truth in a land of deadly mysteries – only to find that nothing is what it seems. The difference between evil and good is talked about.Also it is told that many things might not really be the way one perceives them.Lots of surprises and action on every page is how I would describe it.I had to know whats in the next chapter and so forth until I came to the last page of the last chapter :)The Secret is revealed at the very end and that keeps you guessing for a long time.The identity of the secret Naga in the first book is revealed :) (for those who have read the first book).

All in all, it is a page-turner but the immortals.......was better than the secret.However that wont stop me from reading the last book in the series ...The Oath of the Vayuputras.

THE IMMORTALS OF MELUHA

When I picked up this book,I was very hesitant.In fact,when I was browsing for books in the book store the owner waved it in my face and said it was a new arrival and selling fast. It was fresh in the store at that time.I looked at it skeptically.I'm always wary when someone tries to sell me something and according to principle never buy it.So I went home with something else that day.



A few months later a friend told me that she loved this book and I was somehow compelled to give it another look.This time I picked it up and bought it home.However I didn't read it instantly.After all it was mythology and I did not anticipate it would go down that well with me.The only reason apart from the friend luring me to pick up the book was that I had liked Chitra Divakaruni's 'The palace of illusions' which was the story of Mahabharata retold from Draupadi's viewpoint.That had changed my perception of mythological books a little so I went ahead with this one.



So after lying on my shelf for a couple of months I picked it up ,read a few pages and put it down.Then time went by and one day It caught my eye again gathering dust on my bedside and this time I decided to give it another shot and was I surprised to find myself engrossed in it after the initial chapters?!



I liked this book because it is very simple in its content.It kind of simplifies everything we had read about Lord Shiva and accepted unquestioningly.The premise is based on the simple point that Shiva is a tibetan ,a mortal like everyone else and achieves God like status because of his extraordinary qualities.He is immortalized because he shows us how good can triumph over evil.There is a host of wonderful characters as the story builds its pace.It takes us back to the era of the Indus Valley Civilization and the reading is totally believable.At one point you begin to think that this might actually be true.It subtly tells us that good and evil are present in everyone and its just a matter of perception.It speaks from the point of both the Suryavanshis, supposedly people from Meluha and the Chandravanshis.It tells us about how Shiva is invited to the land of Meluha by Daksha the king who has deep faith that he will save them from all that is evil.It tells us about Sati,a strong charactered woman who is the kings daughter and later as we all know Shiva's consort.It tells us about Shivas predicament after the great war is over.It is a well weaved story and I was glad I had finally read it.It wasn't one of those I was going to forget.A good read.



This book is the first in a trilogy.The sequel is out already and is called The Secret of the Nagas!

NOTE:This book was read and reviewed just after its release and posted on this blog on a later date.

THE SENSE OF AN ENDING

Title: The Sense of an Ending

Author:Julian Barnes

Price:Rs 299

The winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize ,need I say more :)

It is a short book,a mere 150 pages, divided into two equally short parts.But when you begin to read this one,you realize that it is much more than just a short story.It left me really thinking.One needs to be really attentive while reading this book.

The narrator Tony Webster is a retired,amicably divorced man,well into his 60's,who is revisiting some events from his past.This has been precipitated by the fact that he suddenly receives 500 pounds and the diary of an old school chum Adrian,from an ex-flames mother.He remembers his school days when he,Alex and Colin welcomes a fourth person named Adrian Finn into their close-knit group.Tony remembers Adrian as being a gifted and philosophical young man.As they grow up and go on to university,Tony gets involved with a girl named Veronica.Soon after he breaks up with her and finds out that his friend Adrian is dating her.They grow apart and one day Adrian commits suicide.Tony now recounts the events that he think led to his suicide.

We soon come to know that Tony is not a reliable narrator and has misconstrued some details about his past."What you end up remembering isn't always the same as what you have witnessed"is what the narrator tells us early on.This book tells us that some instinct of self-preservation always prevents us from recounting what exactly happens in the past and so we end up changing those facts to the point that we believe that what happened is exactly the way we recall it to be.

The end ,left me shocked and speechless.How the narrator ,tries to justify his behavior and seek redemption is what the book is all about.

Do not read it on a particularly bad day is all I can say.I ended up getting involved in the story and being numbed by it.It was very hard to stop thinking about it even after it was over.It reveals the stark truth in the lines Tony says "When we are young, we invent different futures for ourselves,when we are old,we invent different pasts for others."

I rate it a 4 out of 5

ICE CANDY MAN

Before I get about giving my views about this book,a little bit about how I got about this book in the first place.An old professor of english literature told me about this book way back in 2003.I took his advice and the book from him to read.However after skimming through the first few pages,I gave up on it.Thinking back,I can only say that maybe I was too young to appreciate it then.A few years later I got to know that the movie '1947 EARTH' was based on the book.However I did not get to watch the movie despite the fact that it was screened several times on television.I went out and got a copy of the book for myself.It lay on my shelf unread for an indeterminate length of time until I finally decided to read it at the beginning of this year and....I m so glad I did .

Bapsi Sidhwa tells us a compelling story.It is set in Lahore in the 1940's.The story is told by a 7 year old girl Lenny .The backdrop is pre-partitioned India and the horror of partition is so vividly described that I could relate it to the holocaust. Lenny though young,sees a lot and the harsh reality of the world is brought before her eyes at a very early age.Emotions of love, trust and mutual respect between two human beings have very intricately been woven by Lenny and Ayah, her maid servant, the central characters of the novel.All the characters are so rich and the story so intricately woven.The book is a bit pro-pakistan but I dont hold that against Sidhwa.It is a story about people and how they react to the unexpected events unfolding.Besides Lenny and Ayah are a lot of her admirers,men from different religions who vie for Ayahs affections and amongst them is the Ice-candy man.How the events unfold and the trusted turn into untrustworthy is what the book is all about.It talks of betrayal and defeat and ultimately redemption.

However I did not once want to put down the book,once I began reading it and put it down only after finishing it a 2 am last night.That should say a lot,I think ;)