IN CONVERSATION WITH OLIVIER LAFONT- AUTHOR OF 'WARRIOR'

I had reviewed 'WARRIOR' a few weeks ago on the 15 th of january and was fascinated by the phantasmogoric imagination.'WARRIOR' was recently shortlisted for the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize.I was curious to know more about Olivier Lafont,the author of Warrior and decided to ask him a few questions.

Olivier Sanjay Lafont is a French actor and writer living in Mumbai,India.He has acted in Hindi feature films such as the blockbuster hit '3 Idiots' and the critically acclaimed 'Guzaarish',as well as over seventy television commercials for top Indian brands.Besides being a film and television actor he is also a screenplay writer,model,voice over artist,director,producer and as we all know now an Author.You can read all about him here.

1. Why mythological fiction? Would you like to share a synopsis of your book?

         My interest in mythology has been there since childhood. I got my initial interest in mythology from my father, who is a historian and archaeologist. As a kid I was naturally interested in heroes and their adventures, and mythology fit perfectly into that. Later I grew into a fantasy reader and writer. For me fantasy is a kind of fictional mythology. Writing a book that used Indian mythology and stories was something that happened naturally since a major part of my childhood was spent in India.

         ‘Warrior’ is the story of Saam, the demigod son of Shiva. Saam has turned his back on his divine origin and powers, scarred by a long lifetime of war and killing. He now lives in today’s Mumbai, hoping to lose himself in a small, simple life. His past, however, comes back and forces him to take up the sword again. When the book opens India is torn apart by cataclysmic omens heralding the end of the world, which is within Shiva’s purview. Saam must confront his father and try to turn back the end of the world, or risk losing it all.

2. What was the most challenging part about writing this book?

         Writing the book didn’t feel like a challenge in that respect, it was a creatively flowing, organic experience.

3. Describe in brief your journey as an

author?

         I knew that I wanted to be a writer from a young age. After university in the USA I returned to India and moved to Mumbai to write my first feature film. I had earlier written the first incarnation of ‘Warrior’ as a film screenplay. I eventually turned it into a novel, but it took some time since I was busy with several other things. I finally sent it to publishers, and here we are.

4. How easy/difficult is it to juggle multiple careers?

         It’s easy in that these are all careers which I’m passionate about, and that they’re modular. The difficulty is that it’s freelance, which is unstructured.

5. What do you have to say about the recent Charlie Hebdo attack?

         I’d rather not comment on it.

6. Who are your favourite authors?

         My favourite authors from the past, from when I started reading fantasy, were Lloyd Alexander, Brian Jacques, Terry Brooks, Tad Williams, Michael Moorcock. Recently I’ve liked George R.R. Martin, Susanna Clarke, Garth Nix. Lately I’ve just read Mark Lawrence’s ‘The Broken Empire’.

7. Which book are you currently reading?

         I’ve been reading Joe Abercrombie’s ‘The First Law’ books.

8. What is your favourite genre and why?

         Fantasy. To me it’s the biggest, most all-encompassing genre available to storytelling. If you read stories to dream, fantasy is the most natural place you will reach.

9. Who or what is your biggest inspiration?

         My wife is my biggest inspiration. She’s someone who lives her life with a great deal of heart, with her own spirit, with intelligence, and with unimpeachable honesty.

10. How easy/difficult was the publishing process?

         The publishing process was straightforward and fairly quick. I enjoyed every step, from the editing to working on the cover design.

11. What advice do you have for new authors?

         The idea I live and write by is to do what interests me, and to know exactly why I’m doing it. Passion and clarity, in short.


Thank you Olivier,for taking the time to answer these questions and wish you the best in all your future endeavours.Im looking forward to your next book.

Links and other relevant details

ISBN-10: 0143423630

ISBN-13: 9780143423638

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books India

TWITTER HANDLE: https://mobile.twitter.com/OliLafont

FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Olivier-Lafont/625633327480645?ref=hl

GOODREADS AUTHOR PAGE LINK:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1050421.Olivier_Lafont

AMAZON LINK: http://www.amazon.in/Warrior-Olivier-Lafont/dp/0143423630/ref=sr_1_1_twi_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1417183321&sr=8-1&keywords=olivier+lafont+warrior

‘WARRIOR’ BOOK TRAILER LINK
http://youtu.be/qDLMISZAzME

BIG LITTLE LIES

This was a long-pending read.Seeing that it has been consistently on top on the New York times bestseller list,I finally decided to pick it up and I am so pleased I did.

The story takes place in an Australian sea-side town,when a chance meeting between three parents of kindergartners brings them closer as friends.

The three women have very different personalities,theres Madeline,who is a no-nonsense mom,who believes in calling a spade a spade,remembers everything and forgives noone but is still trying to grapple with the fact that her ex-husband and his wife have moved to the same town and even have a kid in the same class at the same school as hers and to top it all she also has to deal with a lot of drama from her older teenage daughter who seems to be choosing Madelines ex-husband over her.

Celeste is beautiful and wealthy and has the perfect husband,family and home but is somehow always flustered and trying to hide a secret and then theres Jane, a single mother who is new to the town and is trying to over come her past.

The story however begins with the knowledge that there is a death on Trivia Night in school but you dont know which parent died or which parent caused it.

My Views:This book was unputdownable and I read it compulsively through the night despite having to go to work the next morning.

The story was so intriguing,that there was never a dull moment.The characters are so real and relatable that you feel that you might really know them from somewhere in real life.I found myself actually rooting for them.

I loved Madeline the most.She was the perfect friend,kind and always ready to help even when she was facing a crisis.Besides, their distinctive personalities were very well portrayed,their reactions to the events being just as natural as can be.

There were many laugh out loud moments in the book and it was fast paced.Issues like bullying,domestic abuse are handled efficiently and weaved into the story.The problem of bullying is universal and aptly described,also the way parents are quick to judge other parents and their kids is something which does happen everywhere.

We were told in advance about the murder and we had to work it backward and that was new and made the story even more interesting.

We learn about the death through snippets of gossip interspersed throughout the book as comments made by parents and then the story as it actually unfolds is narrated.My brain went into over-drive trying to figure out how it would all end.

We are shown how judgements can be so flawed based on the superficiality of the way we percieve things.Dont we all go through it at some level or the other,readily believing whatever we see and judging things from the looks of it.How we readily judge other peoples lives based on their glossed over facebook updates.Sometimes there is much more than meets the eye.

We discover that people tell dangerous little lies just to be able to face the day or sometimes to disguise the big ones.
Everything leads up to the trivia night,the night of big revelations and disaster.

The end was perfect and the way the book is written is impressive.I loved it.

I rate it a 4 out of 5.

COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE

I usually refrain from reading a Murakami unless I feel really ready to take something on like that.However ever since this book was released,it managed to pique my interest.I got curiouser and curiouser until my curiosity got the better of me and I could no longer ignore it.I have only finished reading it today.

The story follows the life of Tsukuru Tazaki whose group of closely-knit high school friends suddenly alienate him and cut him off from their lives without any explanations.The five friends ,three boys and two girls have a color in their names:Red,Blue,White,Black except for Tsukuru.So he thinks of himself as colorless,with nothing to offer the rest of the group.He carries this rejection inside his soul for sixteen years until one day his girlfriend after sensing that he has unresolved issues asks him to visit them and clear things up.

My Views:These are purely my views and I know they count for nothing ,considering the millions of Murakami Fans out there.But this is my corner and here I write what I feel .
Everyone who reads Murakami knows what to expect.His books are disturbing.I however have some qualms with reading translations and always feel that perhaps the essence of a book is lost in translating it to another language.The feeling that the original might be worthier refuses to leave me and so I dont pick up these books.Of course Im speaking just generally,Im sure Philip Gabriel has done full justice in translating a book as complex as this one.

That aside,when I finished reading this book ,the first thought that came to my mind was that it was so very similar to Norwegian Wood by the same author which I had read a few years back.There were recurring themes in both like unexplained depression,suicidal feelings,death,graphic dreams and general weirdness(a recurring theme in all novels).It didnt manage to evoke the same numbness which Norwegian Wood did but maybe that was because I was anticipating what was to come.

There was this story about a man who claims he has a month to live because someone he meets randomly tells him that and also that he can avoid death only by meeting someone else who's willing to die in his place.Theres more.As compensation for his imminent death,he is invested with the gift of seeing peoples colors,which are halos around their head.You get the drift?

There are unexplained situations and loose ends.Tsukuru gets a little irritating when he keeps reiterating about his feelings of worthlessness and how he is the only one without a color and feels very empty.However once I got past the weirdness,this book did manage to enagage me and I did get a grasp at what he was trying to say at the end of it all.I could relate to Tsukuru feeling alienated because even I would feel that way if people close to me had just cut me off without giving any reasons.However the way he reacts to it was beyond me,but then people react differntly in the same circumstances.A person has a dark side which might reside in our subconscious,where we are free to enact our most perverse fantasies is what Murakami always suggests.Also a very important point stressed in this book was about self-worth and how low self-esteem can mar a person for life,sometimes we might go on in life presuming that other people dont value us and in reality it might be something totally different.'You can hide memories,but you cant erase the history that produced them',says Tsukuru,when the past continues to haunt him and makes him who he is today.This book talks about friendship,loneliness,feelings of self-worth and finding closure.

A lot was said which made sense but the manner in which it was said,sometimes didnt.What this book leaves you with is important.I thought a few things were a little out of sync but when its a Murakami you learn to expect that.

I know nobody but Murakami will attempt a novel as bold as this one and for that

I rate it a 3 out of 5 .

THE DRESS SHOP OF DREAMS

After reading a nerve-wracking psychological thriller I often find myself yearning to read something happy,something with magic in it,something to take the edge off and sometimes when this happens,I let the book choose me.So when The Dress Shop Of Dreams came into my hands,I did not waste a minute and tumbled head-long into the magic it created.

Etta is an elderly lady who owns an ordinary seeming charming little store on a small street in Cambridge which sells  beautiful dresses in beaded silks,delicate laces and jewel-toned velvets.However there is more to it than meets the eye and we soon find that these gorgeous dresses choose their owners and have the power to free a womans deepest desires and find a lost piece of themselves that they are desperately searching for and Etta gently nudges this magic by stitching a tiny little star into each dress.
However Etta's granddaughter Cora is nothing like her and finds comfort in the plain and predictable.They are polar opposites.Coras parents were killed in a tragic fire on her fifth birthday and as a coping mechanism she has locked away her heart to any possibilities and refuses to acknowledge the love of the handsome but shy bookseller next door who has loved her for as long as he can remember.He however is unsure of himself,fears that he is not good enough for her and shies from declaring his love.This is when Etta takes matters into her hand and stitches a little star into his collar thus setting in motion a series of astonishing events that will transform all of their lives forever.

My Views:I hadnt read any book by this author before and didnt know what to expect.This book talks about true love,life,romance,soul-mates,second chances,BOOKS,gorgeous dresses,Cherry pies and Chelsea buns!!How can a woman not enjoy a book like this??!!I loved the setting and Etta's lovely little store with silk-lined walls that transform with the seasons and with changing music tracks for each customer which enters it.I loved Walts little bookstore and all the wonderful books that are talked about and which hold a special place in my heart.This novel has a few more characters in it and their lives intersect and overlap and propel the story forward.It is the sort of book where you cannot not like any character.I admit the characters are flawed but they are all so utterly oblivious and deeply regretful that you cant help but be charmed by them.We all need to be reminded of a little magic in our lives sometimes,of cherished bonds,of lasting relationships.Isn't that what life is all about?!When Etta says that 'Some people dont see the things right under their noses.They mistake the everyday for whats ordinary and unimportant.They dont know exactly what they're looking for,but they always imagine it'll be far away and hard to find.Those people need shaking up',I felt this could exactly sum up the way I felt most days.

In addition to the wonderfully etched characters there was a mystery too which kept me intrigued when Etta tells Cora that her parents deaths might not be accidental and Cora decides to find her own answers.

My only regret was that I havent been to Oxford and Cambridge and felt I would have enjoyed it even more if I had been to these places and seen them for real.I wanted to be on the Bridge Of Sighs and have Chelsea buns at Fitzbillies,something I could only imagine at this point.Maybe someday,till then arm-chair travel more than makes up for it.Also after all these years I finally dicovered the molecular formula for love-One proton of faith,three electrons of humility,a neutron of compassion and a bond of honesty.This is something I will remember forever.

My verdict:-I gobbled this book like chocolate and am still savoring it slowly like soft caramels coating my tongue.If you like magical realism you will undoubtedly enjoy this one like I did.

I rate it a 3 out of  5.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

I had been waiting to read this book ever since I heard about it .Just finished reading it today.

Rachel a lonely,depressed young woman has resorted to drinking heavily while trying to come to terms with her divorce.She is miserable and failing to put herself back together,so despite losing her job,she continues her commute to London by train everyday just to keep up pretenses and not arouse suspicion in her friend/roommate who gives her a place to live in.She watches a certain couple from the train as it halts at the same red signal everyday and imagines the perfect life they lead, becomes obsessed with them and even gives them names calling them Jess and Jason.She takes comfort in feeling that she knows them and keeps imagining their perfect happy life.Incidentally they live very close from her old house where her ex-husband Tom,still resides with his new wife and baby.One day,while commuting,she witnesses Jess on her terrace ,being intimate with another man.Rachel takes this personally and is outraged at finding that this does not fit with the image she had conjured up in her mind.Shortly after this episode,she learns that Jess who is actually named Megan,has disappeared.Rachel ,being an alcoholic ,is always intoxicated and being in an alcoholic stupor, cannot remember much about the same night that Megan goes missing.Images of blood,an underpass,a red haired man and a blue dress keep coming to her in flashes.She cannot rest until she finds out what has happened and involves herself in the investigation by meeting with the police and Megan's husband,named Scott.

My views:When I picked up this book,I had anticipated it to be fast paced.It is narrated by three characters Rachel,Megan and Tom's new wife Anna,each telling their perspective.I realised early that they are unreliable narrators but the story had a very promising start and I continued on.It is told in time frames taking the help of dates set in 2012 and 2013 ,jumping back and forth in time and it was a bit difficult to keep track of that.It is a well written thriller and was paced fast initially but it got a bit repetitive towards the end.I couldn't relate to any of the characters because they were all at the extreme end of the spectrum.They sounded whiny,clingy,self-pitying and unable to stand up for themselves.'Lets be honest:women are still only really valued for two things-their looks and their role as mothers',says Rachel.This statement irked me when it set the undertone for the book.

It was not too difficult to guess the conclusion.Apart from this the story was interesting even though I was unable to sympathize with anyone.Everything looks fine on the surface but when you dig deeper things are never what they seem.I was expecting a more startling climax and this one didnt manage to impress or convince me as much.The ending felt like I was watching just another pot-boiler.

However,it does have all the ingredients of a psychological thriller,dark elements and all.Maybe  someone who is reading this kind of a book for the first time will enjoy it.I found it a bit predictable.

Its about time I read something happy.This did manage to mess up my head a bit.

I rate it a 3 out of  5.

WARRIOR

Hello Earthlings!Have I been missed?Apologies as I had been aboard the Quantenspalteschiff and had no idea about elapsed time but now realize that it might have been a few days since I last posted here.

Of course I was reading 'Warrior'.A mythological science-fiction set in modern day world.

Mumbai is on the brink of destruction which begins with an unexpected blizzard followed by blood rain, panic and merciless killings by people losing their minds.The situation continues to worsen heralding an apocalypse,when Saam,a superhero demigod(Son of Shiva) in the guise of a simple watch-mender realizes that something bigger is at play and finds out soon enough that it is upto him to save everyone from the End Of Days.Turns out there is a group of demigods called the Peerless who abide by a Covenant and never reveal or publicly display their superpowers so that human life is not disturbed.They are bound by an oath of secrecy.When they gather together to find a solution ,they are confronted by a message from a faceless enemy who asks them to either try and stop the end in three days or subjugate and join his side.While most of them are ready to cross over,there are a few who are ready to accept the challenge and amongst them is Saam's estranged half-brother Ara.Saam is forced to join hands with Ara and soon enough there is a motley group of six members ready to accompany him in this quest ,one of them being his mortal beloved Maya.However Saam does not know who the enemy is and to find that and end this catclysmic catastrophe is no mean feat.He has to travel across India and to places unknown,face the perils strewn across his path with death looming large and in the midst of all this try to come to terms with love,loss,betrayal and his past.

My Views :I read lived this book over three days.I travelled with Saam as his seventh companion to save the burning city of Mumbai from destuction.Let me be honest and say that I have occasionally imagined snow in India sometimes but always as the beginning to something good-better times, a better place and my imagination stops right there.However the blizzard in Mumbai and the ensuing calamity,found me reading page after page to find out what happens next.I liked the fact that though Saam is a demi-God, he is as real as any one of us and has a past to come to terms with.The descriptions are vivid and stomach roiling but it's not all gory blood bath.Ara managed to diffuse the tension just at the right moments,making me laugh at his quips.It was fun to imagine the Snake world and then just as I was getting comfortable with doing that,I was taken to a tea-party with sandwiches and cookies.What a ride!

I travelled on the Ship of Worlds and didnt want to come back.Moreover I could relate to the shadow prince and what he was fleeing from.I wanted to get the pure glass home.What fun it would have been to be able to do that.I admit I got a bit impatient towards the end and I faced a lag in the last part because all I wanted to know about was the final encounter,but then it was important not to leave any loose ends in the story.

Things keep happening in the book when you least expect them and I loved the mind-boggling imagination which did get a bit murky at times but then what the heck!It was an escape from reality.Science and Technology and a different take on mythology.Different but good.Sometimes I felt I was Alice in wonderland,at other times I felt I was in Narnia and Lord of the Rings.At the heart of the story was a good message that the world is full of incongruities which can easily co-exist.There is noone or nothing which is completely bad or completely good and in the face of adversity,sometimes you should just trust your instincts.

And maybe if we are not careful enough the End Of Days might soon be a reality.Now that's a scary thought and let me not get too ahead of myself.

I rate it a 4 out of 5

WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE

I wanted to read this book,ever since I first saw it featured a few weeks ago in my local newspapers'Book Corner'listed under must-read.

I received it just a couple of days ago and have finished reading it today.

This book is a collection of stories from the column in 'O',Oprah Winfrey's magazine.Oprah speaks in the beginning about what led her to think about compiling all these together.She recalls a 1998 interview during which ,the great film critic Gene Siskel asked her,"What do you know for sure?"and this question just left her stumped.So in the years following this interview,she took to writing monthly columns called "What I know for Sure' in her magazine.Her reply to what she knows for sure involved the things that mattered to her and so the book is organized into eight parts and each part has small snippets from Winfreys life covering a wide variety of themes of what really matters like joy,resilience,connection,gratitude,possibility,awe,clarity and power.

My Views: Ask yourself what you know for sure,says Oprah and what you'll find along the way will be fantastic,because what you'll find will be yourself.When I asked myself this question it left me contemplating and thinking about it for more than just a moment and I could not come up with a satisfactory answer.I needed this book and it came to me at the right time is what I have to say.I found a friend in this book ,someone who gently nudged me to think clearly again.This book offered me an insight into her life and how she chose to deal with it and be the woman she is today.This book made me stop and think about where I am headed and what I am doing.It inspired me to re-evaluate my life and make the changes I need to.To live in the present moment.To endeavour to eat healthfully.I think this book has something in it for everyone,no matter where you stand at any point in life.I will need some more years to formulate my own list of what I know for sure but right at this moment what I know for sure is that I will be going to this book time and again for the much needed reassurance and advice that this little gem has to offer and 
(in Oprah's own words)What I know for sure in that reading opens you up.It exposes you and gives you access to anything your mind can hold.What I love most about reading:It gives you the ability to reach higher ground.And keep climbing.

This is an excellent read.

I rate it a 3 out of 5.

WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES

I  had no idea that this book had been short-listed for the Man Booker prize for fiction when I picked it up.I was also equally clueless about what it was about.Sometimes this is the best way to read something new.Often times it is not.

This story is narrated by Rosemary Cooke and she tells us in the beginning of the story that she is going to start talking about it from the middle.She then goes on to tell us about her dysfunctional family comprising of her Psychologist father,a depressed mother and how she does not like to talk about them to anyone.We learn early on that she is one of three siblings and that for some reason she hasn't seen her brother,Lowell in eleven years and that her sister,Fern diappeared when she was five.She has vague recollections and cannot rely on her memory to explain what happened.However she is about to figure all that out.There are other characters in the book chief amongst them being Harlow,a wild girl with issues of her own(who Rosemary befriends) and her boyfriend Reg,Todd ,Rosemary's roommate and Ezra a wannabe CIA who is the manager of Rosies apartment.Each character has some role to play as the story builds up.

My Views:I do not have a very good record with Booker award winners or nominees.I have never liked them all that much.I didnt even know that it was going to be about a dysfunctional family when I picked it up.So if you see a pattern in my reading it is clearly unintentional.I liked the fact that Rosemary talks directly to the reader.The book started off well and I even chuckled at the dry wit in the first few chapters.It wasnt too difficult to realise that Rosemary was a bit odd right at the start but the way she narrated the story from the middle was something new to me and it got me interested.The story went on and when I realised that Fern,the sister she talks about was a Chimp,it caught me offguard.Turns out they were a part of a scientific animal-human behaviour experiment in which humans and chimps are raised together.However I couldnt understand why Rosemary kept blaming herself for Fern going missing and so kept reading on.That was the time the story really took its toll on me because it skipped from the middle to the past to the present again and it was difficult to keep up.Then came the part about animal-rights and the politics of scientific research and it started to feel like non-fiction research matter but I was determined to not give up on it and prodded on thinking that there must be a stupendous climax which would make it all worthwhile.I thought her brother Lowell committing several crimes in the name of Animal rights and becoming a fugitive from the FBI was too far-fetched.There were several references to soaps (the rockford files?lancelot link?)movies,music(warren zevon?) which I could not relate to because I had not heard of them before.Of course I dont mean Star Wars and Its a wonderful life(that's when I realised that the book might not have been meant for an Indian)There was a lot of research involved in writing a story like this and I totally respect that but I felt that it was long drawn out.A few parts were thought provoking like what she says about memory,that sometimes what we think happened may in reality be a muddled account and about how family relationships affect us and shape our lives the most and how we need to forgive when there is a chance to do so.On the flip side,I had to look up the meaning of a lot of words because turns out Rosemary has this habit of learning new words and using them whenever she can.That got a bit tedious after a point.Just when I thought I could now begin to get a hang of the story she threw a Madame Defarge at me.I am not even going to try to explain what that means.I am just completely beside myself.

I rate it a 2 and a half out of 5.

FAMILY LIFE

I only recently got to know that this book made it to the New York Times top 10.Also it is written by an Indian,so naturally I was intrigued and picked it up.

This book is an autobiographical story of a family's emigration from India to the US in the late 1970's,and how an accident that left the elder son severly brain damaged brought them close to collapse.The narrator of Family Life is eight years old when the story begins and tells us briefly about the family of four comprising of the parents and two brothers,Birju and Ajay.How their father decides to move to America in search of a better life.Birju adjust more quickly,makes friends easily,gets excellent grades and fulfils his families dreams by being accepted into the Bronx High School of Science.But shortly after ,tragedy strikes as he dives into a pool striking his head and being deprived of oxygen for three minutes which leaves him brain-damaged thus spiralling their family into a dark hole of despair from which they never manage to come out.The family remains devoted to him giving up their lives to take care of him.Ajays father becomes an alcoholic and his mother becomes increasingly angry with the world.Ajay is left lost and fending for himself in the middle of all this and he can never come to terms with all that has happened to his family.

My Views:This book is very dark.It sends the reader spiralling along with the family into that gloom.I read it today and it has left me with a strange feeling.So if you are already in the doldrums I would suggest you save this one for another time because there is not a single happy moment in this book.The narrator is young and the story is told from his point of view and it focuses on the mothers non-stop care for their helpless dependent older son and about his father battling with alcoholism,he speaks about tragedy in a matter of fact manner which at that point evoked no sympathy in me,but I think that was the whole point.He probably wanted the readers to read it with a detached perspective .He speaks about how immigrants are percieved in a foreign land due to which their difficulties are made harder.It speaks about how a normal family can become completely dysfunctional in the face of tragedy and I could understand that.I have lived outside India and I know of the problems faced by people in a foreign land.The narrator makes everything seem so hollow,right from the Indian community coming over and giving them godly status to the miracle-workers who come to their house claiming to cure his brother.There are no pretenses in telling this story.There was no sugar-coating and that is why it was hard to swallow.I felt weird reading about it this way but it made sense in the end and it just overwhelmed me completely.I was left with an empty feeling.This book succeeded in evoking that response from me.I dont think I should rate this one as it is life as it happened to someone somewhere.

THE BOSTON GIRL

My first read of the new year.There was something about this black and white cover which was alluring.I had not read much about this book before deciding to read it.I had not read anything by Anita Diamante before to give me an idea of what I was in for.I let the book choose me this time around.

In this book eighty-five year old Addie Baum tells the story of her life to her twenty-two year old grand daughter who has asked her how she got to be the woman she is today.The story is divided into years and begins in the early 1900's when Addies parents come to the North end of Boston from Russia.Addie is the only one amongst her siblings to be born in the US and is a true Boston girl .Being Jewish and trying to settle in a foreign country is full of difficulties for her family.Her mother can never get over the fact of coming to live in a foreign place.The story moves from the one room tenement she shares with her parents and sisters to the library group for girls she joins at the neighbourhood settlement home ,to her first disastrous love affair,to the precious life-long friendships forged during those years,to family tragedies,to marriage,kids and grand-kids.Addie recalls all her adventures and this makes it a vibrantly spontaneous memoir.

My Views:This book makes me believe in fate.That things happen because it is all pre-destined sometimes.The book got really interesting mid-way and then it was unputdownable till the end.It got me emotional reading it and very few books manage to do that.I loved Addie for her fiesty spirit and never give up attitude.This story weaves together a beautiful quilt of friendship,loyalty,familyties,integrity,love,loss and honour.Despite having very difficult parents who constantly bicker,Addie finds a way to escape by joining a reading club for girls.There she meets a different class of people who introduce her to games and books and life beyond what she knows.However life is not all sweet and rosy and Addie has her fair share of heartbreaks but what I liked about her is that she chooses not to dwell on the bitter parts and always sees that ray of hope and counts her blessings.How many of us are able to do that?How many eighty-five year old's can look back at life without having too many regrets?I loved Addie for being able to do that and admired her for the kind of person she is.

This book really spoke about a lot of issues of that time like the flu epidemic,orphan trains,voting rights for women,women against lynching,child labour,prohibition,illegal abortion,WW1 but at its heart it is a simple story about the life of  Addie Baum, a boston girl and does not have any sensational plot or twist but it talks about a life well lived.It is also narrated in a matter-of -fact tone without a lot of drama and I liked that.I got to know about immigrant jews,the problems they faced,their customs,the difficulties of the times gone by.The story did take time to pick pace and engage me but by the end of it I really got to know the spry Addie Baum and liked her.This is a book I wont forget!

I rate it a 4 out of 5.