As the name may have given you a hint, this section is about books. Books that I have read, re-read, am currently reading or plan to read and what I think about them.
Recently (since January this year), I have read quite a few books which are either being adapted into movies or have already been made in movies. They include Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Mildred Pierce and The Hunger Games Trilogy. Currently I am hooked to Birds Beasts and Relatives (which is the only one of the ones listed here with no connection to movies). Each had its own style, mood and pace. Let me talk about them one by one.
Written in 2005, this book takes you back to 9/11, the story of a boy Oskar Schell and how his world is affected after the death of his father in the twin tower attack. The book is in a first person narrative (Oskar of course), a type that I usually like. It is almost like a journal where he writes and talks about his past memories, and accounts of his current quest to find the lock that opens with the key he found in a vase that belonged to his dad. The narrative is interspersed with his accounts and the letters written by his grandparents to him or his dad. It also includes several photographs, word-to-word conversations, blank pages, error corrected pages, as Oskar saw them. All together it makes for an interesting narrative. It is a book with funny and light moments , as well as sad and thought provoking situations. I had a good time reading the parts where Oskar is the narrator, trying to figure out how the author has tried to capture a nine-year old's mind and emotional state, his intelligence and wit. However, the parts where the grandparents narrate their story did not appeal to me a lot. There were some good parts, but some seemed to drag a bit making the book an overall good-ish read, but nothing exceptional. War and 9/11 are tricky subjects to handle I guess, maybe it was meant to be written the way it was, but it did not strike a chord at all points where it should have with me. Yet to catch the movie....
Yes, that's Kate Winslet on the cover :o) I heard about the book after she won the Golden Globe and Emmy awards for her work as the titular character in the book's adaptation into a TV miniseries. It is an old book written in 1941, a total hard boiled novel of that time with the plot perfect for a drama series or a movie (was made into a movie in 1945 with the female lead winning the best actress Oscar). It comes from the author who also wrote "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Double Indemnity" among others, which have all gone on to become successful films.
It is a strong woman-centric novel with all male characters portrayed as weak and no less than four strong character women. I would think that to be pretty unusual around that time. The novel is set in the 1930's Southern California and is the story of a middle-class woman trying to maintain her social position in the era of Great Depression. It follows her life, its ups and downs for a decade. The novel begins with her kicking out her good-for-nothing husband and trying to find means to support herself and her two daughters as well as find some happiness for herself. She goes on to become a successful businesswoman, but her real focus is her elder daughter Veda, that she should provide her with all the luxuries that she can and not hinder her "talent". Her love for Veda also becomes her destruction. There are times when you are reading the novel that you would want to just go in there, and shake her to make her see sense. It disturbed me somewhere that a woman with such a strong character could turn a blind eye to so many things, have such a fatal weakness, but then I guess that's the mark of a good author too.
The book is good, but again tedious at some points in the story. A good read, but not a favorite. I hope to catch the movie version someday, especially when a great actress like Kate Winslet is portraying such a strong character.
A little bit about the plot......no spoilers here, but those who want to be totally surprised, please don't read more in this section.
The plot is set unknown years in the future in a dystopian world of Panem, which actually is (or used to be) North America. It consists of a rich Capitol and 12 Districts each with its own specialty to cater to the needs to the Capitol, but mostly poor themselves. Previously there had been a rebellion wherein the districts defeated. As a punishment, and to suppress any thoughts of further rebellion, each year the Capitol holds the "Hunger Games" in which 2 tributes from each district, a boy and a girl between the ages 12-18, are chosen and are supposed to fight to the death in an arena (the whole game being televised to Panem like a reality show) till there is just one survivor. Each survivor is guaranteed food and rewards for the rest of his/her life. Katniss Everdeen is our protagonist and the story is told from her viewpoint, her narrative. The events leading to, during and after the games keep you glued to the books. I won't reveal anymore of what's in there. Go read them if you are interested.
Currently I am reading this book and totally loving it. I was first introduced to Gerald Durrell during my school days.....the English reader had a very interesting humorous account of a boy and his pet donkey in "My donkey Sally". Besides being in the autobiographical style (which I love), Durrell's books have this subtle "fun" element in them. Because he is describing real-life events involving himself and his family (including poking fun at them and the absurdity of situations) there is this sincerity which touches you. His ability to delightfully put into words the simplest of events is definitely worth a mention. Also, I admire his ability to recall so many of his childhood events, especially in Corfu trilogy which includes My family and other animals, Birds, beasts and relatives and The Garden of the Gods. He claims to have semi-fictionalized some of the stories but most anecdotal accounts involving his brothers Larry and Leslie, sister Margo, mother, Roger the dog and the driver Spiro are true and they are a delight to read!
Another thing that I find interesting about Gerald Durrell is that he has not written these wonderful books out of his love for writing; instead, in his own words "they were simply a means to make money to enable me to do my animal work"!! His love for animals definitely shows up in his work and stories. For anyone who enjoys simple, fun, light reading, Gerald Durrell's works are highly recommended by me. You can find a list of books authored by him here.
That's all on books for now. More to follow as and when I finish reading some interesting ones. Any recommendations or suggestions are welcome. Till then....happy reading!!!
I too love Gerald Durrell's style of writing! One of my all time favourites is My family and other animals-makes me laugh everytime I read it! And you are right, his love for animals and nature shines through his stories....
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