October Reads!

Hello Readers! Another month gone by! I READ 5 BOOKS IN OCTOBER & I’m so happy that I loved 3 of those 5 books! I have already written reviews for 4 of the books, so this is going to be a short post.

 

~~THE INIMITABLE JEEVES by P.G. WODEHOUSE~~

This is the last book that I read this month mainly because I wanted some light reading. Unlike some of the Wodehouse novels that I have read, I wasn’t much of a fan about this one. The theme is similar in most of them, but Jeeves always adds that hilarious touch. But, in ‘The Inimitable Jeeves’, the highlight is more on Bertie Wooster. After the whole disaster is averted, then Jeeves explains how he handled everything in the background. That bit was not much enjoyable to my taste. But anyway, in terms of light reading, it marked a good end to this month’s reading. I have rated The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse at 3/5 stars on Goodreads!

 

~~THE WHISPER MAN by ALEX NORTH~~

I think for the first time it must have taken me 10+ days to finish a thriller novel! I wish I could say it was anticlimactic, but it disappointed right from the beginning. Nothing in the story was grasping enough to make me keep reading it. I have rated The Whisper Man by Alex North at 2/5 stars on Goodreads!

Check out the full review here!

 

~~REDHEAD BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD by ANNE TYLER~~

Redhead by the Side of the Road is one of the many books written by Anne Tyler. It was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2020 which mainly piqued my interest in it. Basically, this is the most simplistic story of a man named Micah Mortimer who lives a predictable life in Baltimore. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Redhead by the Side of the Road. And, I think every person who will read it will have their own customized takeaways from it. In a much basic sense, this book has achieved to be something beyond amazing. Usually I’m not a fan of such books, but this one is the clear differentiator. It’s a definite recommendation from me! I have rated ‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’ by Anne Tyler at 4/5 stars on Goodreads!

Check out the full review here!

 

~~ANXIOUS PEOPLE by FREDRIK BACKMAN~~

Anxious People is essentially a story about idiots, as you will often read it in the book itself. An idiot bank robber tries to rob a cashless bank & when that goes to shit, he takes a few other idiots hostage who are at an apartment viewing in the same building. This is then continued when idiot policemen enter the scenario. Anxious People is a much comical thriller with a lot of wisdom in it. You can never find another book written in this manner. This book is unlike anything Fredrik Backman has ever written but still as usual, he has won over the readers with this book as well! If you love CHARACTER-DRIVEN stories with a LOT OF TWISTS & also some LIFE LESSONS along the way which are truly relatable in the basic sense of HOW HUMAN WE ARE, then you will surely LOVE this book! I have rated it ‘Anxious People’ by Fredrik Backman at 4.5/5 stars on Goodreads!

Check out the full review here!

 

~~COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE by HARUKI MURAKAMI~~

Though the story is a simple one, it has A LOT OF LAYERS to it. There are a lot of things happening which make the reader think about their own life. I think the importance of a chain reaction or a sequence of things is very well explored in this novel. I think my key takeaway from this book is that one decision can change your entire life, which is why we need to dig deeper & ask ourselves the right questions. I have rated Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years Of Pilgrimage By Haruki Murakami at 3.5/5 stars on Goodreads!

Check out the full review here!

 

So, these are the books that I read in October! I am glad that it included the best fiction books of 2020. I am currently reading Circe by Madeline Miller which is a mythological fiction novel. I am quite intrigued with the concept & will probably finish reading it soon! Happy weekend!!

Until next time,

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage Book Review!

Hi Readers! I have finished another Murakami book & I was so glad that I liked this one. Usually, people either like all his books or hate all his books. But, for me, I like some while dislike the others.

Check out all the Murakami books I have read so far:

A Wild Sheep Chase

Norwegian Wood

Kafka on the Shore

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

After Dark

And finally, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage which I have rated at 3.5/5!!

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the remarkable story of a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. Here Haruki Murakami—one of the most revered voices in literature today—gives us a story of love, friend­ship, and heartbreak for the ages.

 

~~CHARACTERS~~

TSUKURU TAZAKI is the protagonist of the story. We see Tsukuru’s personality when he was 20 years old in high school as a part of a sacred group of 5 friends. And later on, we see his personality when he is 36 years old forming a new relationship with Sara, doing a job he loves but with no friends in his life. We see many emotional forms go through Tsukuru in this period. I saw his kindness, his ability to cope a shock, his depression, his loneliness, his hope & his trust issues.

Some of the other characters are his 4 other friends from high school - AO, AKA, SHIRO & KURO. There’s also another friend named HAIDA who Tsukuru meets in college. And then, we have SARA who pushes him to find himself.

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~

~~STRUCTURE OF THE STORY~~

I have a good experience of reading Murakami’s books. This being my 6^TH BOOK, I now know what to expect. In most of his books, I have found the parts about magical realism consuming most of the story. However, in this book, the real story takes most of the credit, which is why I found a strong structure to the novel. There were actual events happening which were quite relatable & I could foresee something normal happening as well. This part stood out the most for me. While the foundation of the story was basic, in a Murakami world it became something more than that. The basic story was how Tsukuru’s 4 friends banned him from their group & then after 16 years, he wanted to know the reason behind it. If any average author had written this, it would have turned out something I’d never have read because it sounds so simplistic. But, with the Murakami touch, it becomes a lot better!

~~MAGICAL REALISM~~

Now, I know I mentioned above that I liked the structure of the story, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t MISS ON THE MAGICAL REALISM ASPECTS in his usual books. Especially in this one, there was a lot of scope for that. There were a few pieces which were focused on this area, but they felt a bit forced into the story. Such as the story Haida tells Tsukuru Midorikawa’s death story up in the hills. Also the stations master’s story about people with 6 fingers.

In context to the Tsukuru’s life, I had a feeling that Tsukuru might have raped Shiro in his dream & it being a Murakami universe, I thought Shiro would've realised what he did. I suppose something like this happened in ‘Norwegian Wood’. So yes, I would have loved a bit more fantasy!

~~COMMON THEMES~~

There is always an underlying common theme in all the books by Murakami. Firstly, there is a lot of sexism with respect to the bodies of all the female characters. There is one kind of writing which is romantic when two people are being intimate, and then there’s the other thing that Murakami does. I have become immune to this, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother me. And, all the female characters are always attracted to the protagonist in some time frame or other, which is another level of sexism.

Secondly, we always have an empty vessel of a male protagonist leading a dull & routine life. But still he is the babe magnet. I’m getting a bit tired of this. This aspect is common in a LOT of his books & I have started to outright HATE IT.

~~MENTAL HEALTH~~

Unlike any other Murakami book, in this one we actually see important topics being unearthed. We see how Kuro, Ao & Aka side with Shiro because of her mental illness. But they don’t realise that by doing this they are only pushing Tsukuru further into a corner because of which he goes badly into depression. There was this link between the two which I thought was very thought-provoking.

Also, probably for the first time, we had the existence of gender identity mentioned in his books. Usually there are only straight people in the story, but not in this one, which is important.

~~CHAIN REACTION~~

I think this is what stuck with me for the longest time. Though the story is a simple one, it has A LOT OF LAYERS to it. There are a lot of things happening which make the reader think about their own life. I think the importance of a chain reaction or a sequence of things is very well explored in this novel.

Tsukuru’s life changed completely because a decision was made for him by others. If this wouldn’t have happened, his whole life would have turned out differently. One decision can change your entire life, which is why we need to dig deeper & ask ourselves the right questions. We need to ask ourselves…

Why did I decide this 5 years ago?

What made me chose option A over option B?

How will my life be different if I chose Career A over Career B?

What will be the consequences of my decision for me & others around me?

Am I making this decision or is it being made for me?

Is this going to bring me happiness?

 

Along with all the decisions we make, it is also important to take responsibility for our decisions. If our decision leads us to the wrong path or an unhappy life, then we need to accept that & try to move on from that. One wrong decision is not the end of the world. We are not dull empty vessels in a novel, but real human beings with so many colors to ourselves. We need to find the colours of our life. Just because our names aren’t synonymous to colours, doesn’t mean we are colorless. All the emotions we feel bring out different colours within us & that is what we need to embrace!

Until next time,

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman Book Review.

Hi Readers! Now that I have a HUGE TBR PILE, I have come up with a new way of reading books. I am already reading Little Women in the morning before work. Then, I am reading The Vanishing Half post work before sleeping at night. Because this constitutes only 2 hours reading max a day, my speed has become unbearably slow. That is why, on weekends, I am going to start an entirely new book & finish it in 2 days, which is exactly how I finished reading Anxious People by Fredrik Backman! I know it’s a bit of a flawed plan, but I can’t think of anything else so it will be this till I get bored of it.

 

~~INTRODUCTION~~

Anxious People is essentially a story about idiots, as you will often read it in the book itself. An idiot bank robber tries to rob a cashless bank & when that goes to shit, he takes a few other idiots hostage who are at an apartment viewing in the same building. This is then continued when idiot policemen enter the scenario. Anxious People is a much comical thriller with a lot of wisdom in it. You can never find another book written in this manner. This book is unlike anything Fredrik Backman has ever written but still as usual, he has won over the readers with this book as well! If you love CHARACTER-DRIVEN stories with a LOT OF TWISTS & also some LIFE LESSONS along the way which are truly relatable in the basic sense of HOW HUMAN WE ARE, then you will surely LOVE this book!

~~CHARACTERS~~

There are a lot of characters in the story, but it’s never confusing. We have the policeman father-son duo of Jim & Jack. Then there’s the bank robber. Then we have the hostages; Anna-Lena & Roger, who are husband-wife; Zara, who stands out the most; Ro & Julia who are wife-wife; Estelle who is the sweet elderly lady; Lennart, the rabbit & lastly the estate agent. This is a FUN combination of people who start out as strangers who want the same apartment to becoming friends during the hostage drama one giving up the apartment for the other. It was TRULY AMAZING to see so much going on in each of their lives in addition to what was happening in the hostage situation.

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~

~~NARRATIVE STYLE~~

I absolutely love reading it when the narration is not just one big collection of words with one story ongoing. What keeps me engrossed is different styles of text, multiple story lines of different characters, past, present & future of the same story with multiple perspectives. And, Anxious People had all of this. We have every single character’s own story, we have the hostage drama’s past & future, we have Jim & Jack’s version of the story, we also have the police interrogating the witnesses in a dialogue narration. All these factors matter into making it a whole good piece of fiction!

The only thing where I had a problem was with the voice of characters. In the interrogation room, all the characters talk in the same manner. There was a lot of scope to give all of them a different voice, a different style of talking & a different sense of life because there are so many of them. But, instead, it just feels like we are reading what the author has written, when it should be like we are reading what the characters have to say. This bit was quite disappointing in an otherwise impeccable work of fiction.

~~UNPREDICTABILITY~~

When I first started reading it, I had no idea what I was in for. But soon when the bank robber takes all the apartment viewers hostage, it becomes evident how it will end. We have an amateur bank robber who failed to rob a bank because it was cashless & just because the bank robber doesn’t know what to do next, he/she takes those people hostage. Everyone in the room know this. So it is fairly obvious that all these hostages would eventually help the bank robber in escaping. But, the unpredictability of the whole thing still exists because we don’t know exactly HOW they will help the robber escape. I loved how we don’t find that out until the very end!

I also like the unpredictable parts about all the people’s stories connecting to the bridge. That was something ingenious which I never saw coming. That bit just goes to show how we may never know whose life we are impacting unknowingly which is why we should ALWAYS be kind to one another.

~~FEEL-GOOD~~

There is the golden touch of Backman’s writing in this story in the way wisdom flows right in the middle of the story but with the perfect balance of wisdom & fiction. There are so many things in that novel having multiple layers. We see how a person decided to rob a bank only because he/she cannot pay a month’s rent. We see a teenager who was to commit suicide was saved by another only so that the former becomes a psychologist later in life. We see how a young boy is unable to prevent a suicide which later makes him want to save people & so becomes a policeman. All the distant connections in the novel may seem too bizarre & unlikely, but the point is that they happen on the daily & in such sense that we never even realise whose life we have touched. We see how everyone is essentially the same. The next person finds adulthood just as daunting as you do. The next person is just as human as you are. At the very core, we are all the same. This story restores a person’s faith in humanity & the goodness of things.

While keeping it mellow yet powerful, the writing is just perfectly humorous at times. Only when you look at it from afar, you realise how hysterical the situation is. Likewise, if you pause & meditate to look at your own life from a distance, you will realise how funny it is that you don’t actually have anything to worry about. In that sense, this book is one of the best feel-good novels that I have read recently.

~~TAKEAWAYS~~

Throughout the novel, I felt like the author has literally taken a shot at everything that’s wrong with the world. He has mentioned how unemployment & poverty can drive a normal person like you & I to take a drastic measure like robbing a bank. In a prose where he mentions how it is wrong to kill & later goes on to mention in a sarcastic manner how it is okay to kill animals because we need food. He has also called out vegans, most of whom are vegan for themselves but tell the world it’s an effort to save the planet. And the most obvious of all is that we all have our anxieties so it’s okay to accept it & live our life. He talks about mental health in such a subtle yet effective manner as no one has talked about before. I’m pretty sure if I read this book again, I will have more takeaways from it.

~~CONCLUSION~~

I have rated Anxious People at 4.5/5 stars & this book goes in my favourites! With this fresh writing & a new vision, Fredrik Backman has restored my faith in his books. I am definitely going to read whichever books I haven’t yet read by him!

Until next time,

Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler Book Review!

Hello Readers! I sure am on a high lately. I finished another book in 3 days. It was a short book & I could have finished it in a day, but it was really amazing to savor this one by reading not as fast. I have been meaning to read Anne Tyler’s ‘Redhead by the Side of the Road’ since some time now. And, because I wanted to steer clear of a reading slump, I thought of reading a few short books. It sure is working. Because it was a small book, I am going to write a small review!

 

~~INTRODUCTION~~

Redhead by the Side of the Road is one of the many books written by Anne Tyler. It was also longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2020 which mainly piqued my interest in it. Basically, this is the most simplistic story of a man named Micah Mortimer who lives a predictable life in Baltimore. Coming from a noisy & messy family, he is the only one who believes in the order of things. He has a steady girlfriend of 3 years who is quite similar to him. The whole book is a very straightforward story in the day to day life of Micah.

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~

When I first started reading this book, I straight up read around 40% of it. It was so easy to follow. A simple man living a simple life. It was also relatable in the sense that Micah is so particular about things. Also, in the sense that how predictable his life was.

Reading this book is quite like how I keep re-watching Grey’s Anatomy. I know what’s going to happen, but in that moment the familiarity makes me happy. Similarly, there isn’t a life-altering lesson to be taken from this book, but in the moment it gives the reader joy. It’s like comfort food for the brain. Or the in-between of books. Or the kind of book which will help in the transition of the afterthought of the last book you read to the next book you choose.

This book will remind you of the plain simplicity of life. How it is completely okay to have a predictable life. How it is extraordinary to just have a normal life. How there are lessons to be learnt even in the most infinitesimal things. And just maybe, in the whole simplicity of it, you will find a bigger meaning. And even if you don’t, you know that that’s okay too. There will always be people who will choose French Vanilla over an oversized ice cream sundae sprinkled with M&Ms, nuts & what not.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Redhead by the Side of the Road. And, I think every person who will read it will have their own customized takeaways from it. In a much basic sense, this book has achieved to be something beyond amazing. Usually I’m not a fan of such books, but this one is the clear differentiator. It’s a definite recommendation from me!

Now that I am an Anne Tyler fan, I am planning to read her books more. I have already planned on reading ‘A Spool of Blue Thread’ which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2015. I also plan to read ‘Breathing Lessons’ which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1989! There’s a lot to choose from because she has written TWETY THREE NOVELS!

Anyway, I hope my reading streak continues & that I am back with another book review soon enough!

Until next time,

October Book Haul!

 

Hello Readers! See? I can write 2 posts in a week! It doesn’t always have to be 15 days without a post. (Though that could be the case in the near future!) Anyway, the last many months all of us were stuck at home. Initially we weren’t even able to order books. But, now that we can, here’s another book haul post for you all! I think I must have bought these many books for third time this year!

The books I bought this month aren’t necessarily the ones that have been too long on my TBR or even for too short a time. This time I have ordered randomly. I went to my ‘To Read’ stack on Goodreads, saw the number of pages, saw the reviews briefly & then added a bunch of books to the cart.

 

~~PACHINKO by MIN JIN LEE~~

Of the 6 books I bought, only ‘Pachinko’ by Min Jin Lee has forever been in the cart. Set in early 1900s, this belongs to my favourite HISTORICAL FICTION genre.

Pages: 496

Goodreads Rating: 4.27/5

~~THE COLOR PURPLE by ALICE WALKER~~

Also, Alice Walker’s ‘The Color Purple’ which I had already read on e-book was on my list since long. I liked it so much that I needed to have a copy with me.

Pages: 304

Goodreads Rating: 4.22/5

~~COLORLESS TSUKURU TAZAKI AND HIS YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE by HARUKI MURAKAMI~~

The others are pretty random. It has been quite some time that I read Murakami (the last book of his that I read was ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’ which was terrible.) But, because a few months have gone by now, I ordered another book of his with fairly fewer pages. I hope ‘Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage’ has something good in it for me.

Pages: 314

Goodreads Rating: 3.85/5

~~THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO by CHRISTY LEFTERI~~

Next on the list is ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ by Christy Lefteri. This book kept popping up here & there so many times. I finally looked it up & turns out it is a historical fiction with war factoring in the story. Um, YES PLEASE! You guys know by now how much I love such stories. If you have forgotten, you better check out my reviews for – The Nightingale & ‘And the Mountains Echoed.’

Pages: 317

Goodreads Rating: 4.23/5

~~THE STORYTELLER by JODI PICOULT~~

Next we have Jodi Picoult’s ‘The Storyteller’. I have only recently been familiarized with Jodi Picoult. She has written a lot of amazing books & so I thought it was about time to read them. I decided to start with ‘The Storyteller’ because I have heard good reviews about it. I also got a new hardcover from Amazon at a reasonable prize, which is always such a thrill for book geeks like me!

Pages: 461

Goodreads Rating: 4.27/5

~~ANXIOUS PEOPLE by FREDRIK BACKMAN~~

And then finally we have Fredrick Backman’s ‘Anxious People’. Again, Fredrik Backman is everyone’s favourite author. I have also LOVED some of his books & given the intriguing title of his latest book, I knew I had to read it. This one has again been on my TBR for quite some time!

Pages: 352

Goodreads Rating: 4.38/5

 

That’s about it! My huge bookshelf has started to fill up really well & with another few books, I won’t have space in it! In addition to the above, I am also yet to read the books that I bought back in July! These include both of Madeline Miller’s books, The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara & another book I bought last month – Jasmine Days by Benyamin. I hope I will get some motivation to read these as well!

Until next time,

The Whisper Man by Alex North Book Review!

 

Hi Readers! How are you all? The last 2 weeks had been incredibly stressful. To add to that stress, I was also reading a thriller right before sleeping at night. So, yeah, I am doing great! I finally finished the novel. I think for the first time it must have taken me 10+ days to finish a thriller novel! I wish I could say it was anticlimactic, but it disappointed right from the beginning. More on that below.

So anyway, because my days are super busy, I have decided to get up a little early & devote those 1.5 to 2 hours entirely to reading. It is only a plan at the moment, but one that I’m soon going to take to action! So, if I read more, I will be able to write more book reviews! Win-win for us both!!

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

“In this dark, suspenseful thriller, Alex North weaves a multi-generational tale of a father and son caught in the crosshairs of an investigation to catch a serial killer preying on a small town.

After the sudden death of his wife, Tom Kennedy believes a fresh start will help him and his young son Jake heal. A new beginning, a new house, a new town. Featherbank.

But the town has a dark past. Twenty years ago, a serial killer abducted and murdered five residents. Until Frank Carter was finally caught, he was nicknamed "The Whisper Man," for he would lure his victims out by whispering at their windows at night.

Just as Tom and Jake settle into their new home, a young boy vanishes. His disappearance bears an unnerving resemblance to Frank Carter's crimes, reigniting old rumors that he preyed with an accomplice. Now, detectives Amanda Beck and Pete Willis must find the boy before it is too late, even if that means Pete has to revisit his great foe in prison: The Whisper Man.

And then Jake begins acting strangely. He hears a whispering at his window... “

~~OVERALL THOUGHTS~~

I decided to read The Whisper Man because of all the amazing reviews it has on Goodreads. I mean, I’m sure after reading the blurb, anyone’s attention would be grasped. Despite its amazing premise, the story was UTTERLY BLAND. This is yet another time that Goodreads has let me down. It is a 355-page novel, which is a lot for a thriller. But, which also made me believe that the story would be damned interesting if it is this long. But, nope!

When I started reading this novel, I was entirely into it because I started I thought it was actually a thriller. I was expecting twists in the story, ups & downs, oohs & aahs. But, it turned out to be a pretty straightforward story. There were no parallel stories to make it more complex either. Just one thing going on & on. I cannot exactly say it was predictable. I think the best way to put it is that there was ZERO SHOCK factor when we find out who The Whisper Man 2.0 is.

Also, I was unable to form a bond with these characters. Estranged father-son or too similar father-son pair. The only character I liked was DI Amanda Beck, who had very little to do in the story. I couldn’t even see the point of bringing this father-son relationship angle between Pete & Tom. There was no potential in it & nor did it enhance the reading process. It was a poor choice for a thriller/mystery genre. Whatever the point of it was, it definitely did not work.

From a thriller perspective, there wasn’t much to it. It might had felt chilling sometimes, but I’m sure that’s only because I read it in the dead of the night with the lights off. Most thrillers I have completed, to give it a stretch, within 3 days, because they were just so good. The point of a thriller is you just cannot put it down. Or even if you did, you still can’t stop thinking about what could happen next. But, with The Whisper Man, firstly it took me 10 days to finish it & secondly, I only read it just to finish it off. For a thriller, it was incredibly slow & did nothing to keep the reader’s interest. I have rated it at 2/5 on Goodreads!

 

I suppose the only way to wash off this book is to read another thriller or better yet to go back & read a book from my favourite historical fiction genre. Currently, I have started reading a couple of books, but at this stage I’m really not sure if I will stick with them. So far, I have read a little bit of Little Women & also started reading Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler. Hopefully I will complete one of these soon enough. Will keep you posted!

Until next time,