BookRackTag Archive | Frog Books | BookRack

Melancholy of Innocence by Raj Doctor

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:56:00 +0000

Title: Melancholy of Innocence

Author: Raj Doctor

Publisher: Frog Books (Leadstart Publishing)

Pages: 342

Genre: Fiction / Romance / Philosophy

Rating: 7.5/10

Source: Review Copy (from Author / Publisher)

‘Melancholy of Innocence’ in author’s own words is ‘a philo-poetic fable of love set in the late 1920s in Istanbul, just after the political revolution leading to Turkish independence. It is an adolescent’s journey into self discovery about the true meaning of love’.

13 year old Umit has had a normal and happy childhood. His parents had a love marriage, and they are open and unorthodox in their upbringing. Umit is never forced to do anything. Umit gets deeply influenced by Zeheb, who is a distant relative, with spiritual and Sufi leanings. Umit considers him as his mentor and philosopher. Sufi influence is pretty evident in his thoughts and in the way Umit conducts himself.

Umit feels a Ruh connection with Masum, when he sees her for the first time on the streets of Istanbul. Umit is 13, while Masum is 21 at the time. For quite sometime, Umit resists calling it ‘love’. For him, this ‘connection’ and his ‘feelings’ for her, are much beyond the worldly definition of love.

The book traces Umit’s single-minded devotion and love for Masum, while doing which he does not even think about the society, family, future, differences between them and accepted norms of conduct. He just devotes himself in being close to Masum, and revels in the joy of those moments. This love story, as is evident towards the end and in the beginning, had three phases. This book dwells in the first phase when Umit falls in love with Masum.

The author has put the caveat that whatever Umit does is not his preachings for someone who worships another person, but just Umit’s way of expressing his unconditional love. He may not be right, unmindful of consequences, yet he does what he feels right. It is very easy to overlook that Umit is only thirteen.

After reading the book, I felt that the title as well as the cover page captures the essence of the story well. I also do not question the setting or the background chosen by the author because it is his prerogative. My experience has been that authors usually derive stories from their own personal experiences. I wouldn’t say that the setting or the background has deep influence on this story but a reader will certainly find several cultural and political references, and vivid description of Istanbul from 1920s.

The main characters of this book are Umit and Masum. We get a lot of insights into Umit’s character, mostly because the story is from his perspective.

The novel is full of philosophical anecdotes but at the heart, is a love story, may be a little obsessive. At every point, the narrator tries to explain behaviour, de-constructs human nature and philosophy behind everything.

I liked the references at the bottom of pages, which aid understanding; and the year mentioned at the end of each chapter is extremely useful. I don’t know if it happens with other people, when a novel goes back and forth in time, I sometimes get confused on the exact time when a thing happens.

The only issues I have are with narration and the pace. The narration is done by a third person in a simple story telling manner. Occasionally it also speaks on behalf of Umit. I felt that the narration was a bit unidimensional.

There are a few typographical errors in some pages, wherein there are no spaces between words. There are also unwarranted paragraph spaces in between continuing sentence.

This book will appeal greatly to those who love philosophy. I personally favour fast paced stories, so in a few places, I thought the story lost momentum whenever author digressed to dwell on philosophies related to different facets of life, but that I thought was intentional. Had it been just a love story, it would have more pace but often the narration spirals into understanding human psychology, actions and philosophies. But it would certainly appeal to the readers who love this genre.

I am happy that the author has not attempted to veil philosophy in the guise of love story, and he chooses to call it ‘philo-poetic’ fable of love; because the book is exactly that.

A story introduces you to places, characters and their lives. For a while you live their lives, go through the proceedings, and when you come out, that is when a book makes a difference; were you able to know the characters intimately, were you able to empathise, were you happy to be with them for some time of your lives, was it worthwhile! If you answer these questions honestly, you know you have got the answer of whether a book was good or not, for you.

Well, at the end, I was pretty engaged in Umit and Masum’s unusual love story, and wanted to know what happens in the end. I also tried to reason why Masum should love Umit, who is not her equal in age, looks, social status or education. But even beautiful people crave for adulation and love. Who wouldn’t want such single minded devotion!

Towards the end, the book says that Umit and Masum had 3 seasons of love, this story was just one of those. A sequel seems impending. Will I read if there is a sequel? I am not too sure because I don’t favour philosophies much, but then since I already know Umit and Masum to some extent, I just might!

Image source: http://melancholyofinnocence.blogspot.com/

By Reema Sahay

I also write about books at Recommend Books

Navrasa by Lotus by Rajiv Kumar

Amit Gupta — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:22:00 +0000

Author: Rajiv Kumar

Publisher: Frog Books

‘Navarasa by Lotus’ tells interlinked stories of a fading movie star; a youth accidentally taking form of a masked vigilante; a mosquito determined to fight human domination; an unmarried couple on the verge of break up; a woman who is terrified of her dream; a school kid struggling to vent his anger; Fate of our society post 2012; Rajiv’s addictions; and Anand’s redemption… The result is a collection of nine stories of different genres, each being a tribute to the rasa: humour, love, disgust, heroism, wonder, fury, horror, peace and compassion. These nine stories are interwoven with recurring characters and situations. There are surprises galore in each of the stories but it does take time to get used to that ‘recurring factor’ in each of them.

I particularly liked ‘Mutiny’ in which rebellious mosquito is determined to devise ways to combat humans. With interesting name conventions and a tight narrative, this is the best story of the lot. T20 had an interesting premise and delves with human relationships effectively though the grammatical mistakes were too high to ignore. ‘Loop’ is another intriguing story in which girl is entangled in a specific loop on a specific day at a specific point in life. ‘Redemption’ link all these stories together, and even though it is the shortest it is probably the most important story in the book. The idea of having connecting all the stories by a single link is not new, but is done intelligently enough to draw your interest.

I am going with generous (2+0.5=) 3/5 for Rajiv Kumar’s ‘Navrasa by Lotus‘. Look beyond the repetitions in certain portions of the stories and judge them at an individual level. Each of them has a good heart beating inside and deserves your attention. Read it with no expectations, and probably you will not be disappointed.

I blog at Love is always new…

A Sliver of Moonbeam by Ipsita Banerjee

Roshmi — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:41:00 +0000

The other day I was reading Ruskin Bond’s “Notes From A Small Room” (a collection of his writings, taken from his diary and notebooks, up till a few years ago) and came across the name of one of his shorter pieces titled, “Catch a Moonbeam” – that has not been published before. Though I haven’t yet finished reading the book, yet needless to say that I enjoy his writings immensely. He is one of my all time favourite authors.

In case you are wondering why I brought in Ruskin Bond and one of his works here, well, all I can say is that I am about to share my thoughts on lawyer-turned-debutant author Ipsita Banejee’s first offering, “A Sliver of Moonbeam“. Now you can see the “moonbeam” connection, no? But I have no plans of digressing any further.

Published by Frog Books, this one is a slim volume – only 106 pages; something you can curl up with on a lazy weekend, or read as a bed time book, or it can even serve as a quick read while traveling to and fro from work or any other destination for that matter. And at only Rs.95 it is very light on the pocket too!

Don’t judge the book by the number of pages, coz it does pack in a quite a lot within its covers. Short stories – fiction as well as a few inspired from real life – some dark and with a twist in the tale, others – a little poignant, some sprinkled with a dash of humour, that will ensure a gentle smile on your lips. And then there are verses, a few that are an ode to Ipsita’s longing for her father – her Baba – whose presence and arms she seeks: to feel protected, to feel secure and to be the little girl once again with nary a care in the world. She also pens her thoughts, rather her feelings, on seeing him in pain – while lying in the ICU, and then his eventual journey into the sunset.

There are others too: of yearning, of faded love, of a sterile life, of longing and pining for someone, of wanting to be careless, carefree and casual once again.

There are myriad shades, though I would not say that the verses (rhymes rather) made for some deep philosophical musings, insights, etc., yet they do manage to leave an impact. Somewhat that is.

Why has the author called her first offering “A Sliver of Moonbeam” – I know not.

But what I liked best were her musings – drawn from real life. Titled, “Music and Perfume”, “Sounds”, “Little Angels”, “Family Vacations”, “Call In Them, Idiots!”, “Nothing”, “Idyllic Holidays”, “Bengali”, “Non-Application of Mind”, “Mornings” and “Thanks, Mr. Bell” – they make for some delightful reading.

About her tryst with trying her hand at piano playing, her attempts at singing, on being tone deaf and how she was thrilled when her daughters were born. Since everyone exclaimed how lucky she was to be blessed with two little angels … and how even after the passage of over a decade, she is still waiting for the slightest hint of a halo on either head, even an illusory soap induced rainbow like aura!

There are her musings about life when there was no TV and about life when suddenly there was TV all day and all night! And how she has never found a better baby sitter to rival the idiot box. You will smile reading about her account of the dreaded part of family vacations – packing; especially with her two brats, one of whom insists on wearing a slip of a dress on New Year’s eve, in Bhutan – in winter; while the other wants to carry her skimpy shorts that “make my legs look long”. And how a chocolate she had insisted could not travel with them was later found to be squished inside her favourite sweater (!) and how while trying out the local food she would be greeted with a “You just ate an unborn pearl, Ma!”

Being maid-less for six weeks and then finally tiring of fantasizing about a luxurious life in a mansion with Brad Pitt. Of being pregnant and handed a long list of don’ts (including any book by Stephen King) and generally being asked to just lie in bed and dream of cherubic babies; then giving birth and feeling like a cow that has given birth to a leech hanging on to her breast for dear life! Reminisces of every childhood holidays spent in water or on trees … than on land. Of the immense possibilities and challenges posed by languages, especially Bengali – where one would end up saying a whole paragraph in order to call someone “nyaka” (a complete Bengali specialty, I tell you) – in English. Of being a minor expert in rain showers, and on being constantly ‘advised’ by her mother on the importance of a steady diet of fish curry and rice – for her kids (instead of the worthless Maggi) – since “it makes your brains open up” … while all the while she was sure that it didn’t work for her!

Of scoring 3/100 in Sanskrit, of her brats informing her that there is ‘shor’ in her doodh and that she does not like Complan so why she cannot get Milo instead. This, during the morning mega rush, while she is struggling to pack them to school! Of times when the telephone was an instrument, black and heavy – that one could even use the receiver as a dumbbell because the telephone lines were not working most of the time anyway. Of being heard giggling on the phone (by her parents) and how conversations longer than 10 seconds made the frown lines deeper … and ‘the ultimate sin’ – if, God forbid, any BOY called. Of relying on the Indian Postal System for getting her thoughts across, and on still getting tongue-tied on the phone.

I really had a good time reading this section and I feel Ipsita has a good hand at fun and humour. Its gentle and relatable and not the sidesplitting type and her writings do make us reminisce on our own lives, as well as our childhood and carefree times past. I would love to read more of her writings in the future, especially this aspect of her writings. She does not give the impression of trying too hard and is effortless.

The book feels good to hold and I don’t really recollect any editing errors; so if at all there were any, they must have been really negligible. And that certainly added to the reading pleasure.

Suggestions: I wish some more thought had been given to the choice of the titles – of each story/chapter. There is some scope for improvement, rather innovativeness there. Ditto the book blurb. This brings me to the book jacket cover. I won’t say it is unsuitable, however I feel it falls short of doing justice to the contents of the book. There should have been some “sunshine” there, so to speak – in line with the funny, humourous, tangy, sweet, bitter sweet and sarcastic flavours – which lie within its fold. As we all know, visuals are important in choosing a book – especially by a debutante author, where ‘First impress-aan izz last impress-aan’!

My Rating: I am going with a 3.5/5 for Ipsita Banerjee’s debut book and I look forward to her future writings with interest.

Details of the book: A Sliver of Moonbeam/ Author: Ipsita Banerjee/ Publisher: Frog Books (an imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.)/ Publishing Date: 2011/ ISBN: 978-93-81115-15-2/ Pages: 106/ Price: Rs.95 (Rs.81 @ Indiaplaza.)

About the Author: Ipsita Banerjee describes herself as irreverent, crazy and tactless, but also a mother, a lawyer, a wife and a daughter. Like most women today, she plays a juggling act: maid, driver, tutor, professional, cook… and writes when she has the time. She lives in Calcutta (now Kolkata) with a large assortment of in-laws, and can be contacted at ipsita70@gmail.com

Picture: Courtesy link.

Reviewed by: Roshmi Sinha (Musings of an Unknown Indian)

Frosted Glass by Sabarna Roy

Amit Gupta — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:58:00 +0000

Author: Sabarna Roy

Publisher: Frog Books

Frosted Glass comprises one story cycle consisting of 14 stories and one poem cycle consisting of 21 poems. The Stories, set in Calcutta, bring to the fore the darkness lurking in the human psyche and bare the baser instincts. The stories, compactly written raise contemporary issues like man-woman relationships and its strains, moral and ethics, environmental degradation, class inequality, rapid and mass-scale unmindful urbanisation, are devoid of sentimentalization. They move around the central character who is named Rahul in all the stories. We encounter the events that shape, mar, guide Rahul’s life and also the lives of those around him, making us question the very essence of existence. Rahul symbolises modern man; he is not just one character, but all of us rolled into one.

Books like ‘Frosted Glass’ are nightmares for reviewers. There is so much good and bad about the book that it is a tough choice to make a decision. The character ‘Rahul’ is repeated in each of the story, so after reading few of them, you stop relating to him because subconsciously you are still thinking of the previous story. The author could have so easily name all the male characters with different names in the story and still come out with that common feeling of fake, half-done relationships.

There is a long list of sexual desires depicted in the book – threesomes and foursomes, making out in public places, exhibitionism in front of painters, kinky pleasure of getting raped by mutual consent, fellatio by a 12-year-old, extra-marital affairs gone wrong in bed, sexual experiments with homosexuals and so on. I am hardly straitlaced to be affected by such repressed and unconventional methods of portraying relationships but the sensation of being on a high fades away after a while when the writing gets repetitive with the sexual escapades, and to a point it becomes draining and boring.

The story cycle still stands out for dispassionate style with which betrayal in personal relationships and resultant loneliness has been handled. The best thing is that the writer does not take sides between the betrayer and the betrayal and hence, you can empathize completely with that bitchy, saucy relationships. The poems weave a maze of dreams, images, reflections and stories. They are written in a reflective and many a time in a narrative tenor within a poetic idiom. The poems are inseparable in a hidden way and are elegantally sequenced.

I am going with 2.5/5 for Sabarna Roy’s ‘Frosted Glass. It is not a bad book by any means, but with a little more restraint and non-over-indulgence, it could have been so much better. In the hand, reading it feel likes being to your favourite restaurant but being undone by their signature dish.

I blog at Love is always new…

The Blogging Affair by Amitabh Manu

Amit Gupta — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:16:00 +0000

Author: Amitabh Manu

Publisher: Frog Books

In hindsight, ‘The blogging Affair’ reflects the dark, ugly side of vanity publishing in India. It is hard to point out any other reason how such a book can get into the market in the first place. This is lazy, almost arrogant publishing at its best. It is so laidback, that it even forgets the most basic ingredient in a book – a plot.

For the sake of it – here is the flimsy story: “A young woman’s body is found murdered in a suburban flat. The evidence reveals an affair with a married man. To the seasoned police force this is just another routine love triangle affair gone wrong. However, as other evidence comes to light, they are realising that there’s more to this crime than meets the eye. One detective comes across an anonymous blog and it sheds truth upon the case. The ramblings capture the ebb and flow of a criminal’s mind – and a murder of lust and betrayal: a sex-crazed husband wants the best of both worlds; the love of his wife and the challenge and raw passion of his mistress. When things take a turn toward hopelessness, will the husband end the affair? How far will he go to rid himself of this complication? The investigation twists and turns as the detectives solve this mind-bending case. The intrigue will leave you wanting more. The mystery will leave you perplexed. And you’ll ask, “Who is the blogger?”

Generally, i find writing book review of the murder mystery most difficult because of the inherent nature of the genre. But i cannot say the same for this book since there is no mystery at all in the book. That is a totally different thing that it rambles on and on for more than 340 odd pages. It is an unedited version of the manuscript, and i am sure that no one remotely associated with the book – author, editor, publisher had any idea what they are doing with it. Keep aside the numerous spelling, punctuation and grammatical mistakes, it just does not engage you at the most basic level.

Narrating the blog posts in a reverse chronological order and keeping the tone strictly gender-neutral raises red flags early in the book about the identity of the blogger. The married person’s narrative is one big hoax and nothing else; writing about perverted sex moments without any links with the main story is ridiculous to say the least. I am not prudish by any means but continuously rambling about sex life without taking the story forward is insipid and frustrating to say the least.

The conversations between the cops and portraying their internal friction while solving the murder case is interesting to start with, but soon it also goes down the hill because there is no even an iota of mystery. In fact, there are such impractical and illogical plot points which will make you cringe no end. Sample these: The cops decides the sex of the blogger based on the colour of the dreams. The cops interrogates the married person on the phone rather than arresting him. The cops blatantly put forward all the clues in the front of all people remotely associated with the case as if solving a murder mystery is a child play.

It is not that writing is bad, i have read worse. It is the lack of a proper plot, structure and any sophistication which kills you no end. Transposing all the blog entries on a book doesn’t make sense till you provide a cohesive feel to it. There are far too many digressions in the name of education, quotes, religion, sexual frustrations that you just don’t get a feel of the main story.

I am going with 1/5 for Amitabh Manu’s debut novel ‘The Blogging Affair’. It could have been far more rewarding read if there was some thought process gone behind the plot and the narrative rather than just filling in the pages with nonsense clatter. It’s back-breakingly long, and I can’t remember one plot point that made me feel excited about this book. Indeed, an affair gone horribly wrong.

I blog at Love is always new…

Pentacles by Sabarna Roy

Shail Raghuvanshi — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:59:00 +0000

Title: PENTACLES

Author: Sabarna Roy

Publisher: Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

Be not fooled by the slim exterior of this book. Within it lies a rich treasure of a descriptively emotional story and a beautiful bunch of poems. Within the bundle of the story, ‘New Life’ lies a plethora of emotions that plague the mind, body and soul of the protagonist, Kingshuk (King for short). He is deeply traumatized by the loss of his mother – not an ordinary loss because the mother had left the family to pursue the meaning of life elsewhere.

Young King is unable to come to terms with this abandoning, caught as he is in the web of orthodox Indian living which demands sacrifices from a married woman however dissatisfied or unhappy she may be in her family life. Kingshuk carries this trauma throughout his life, its shadow reflecting on his work and in his relationships. He is always lonely however successful he may be.

“Loneliness is like smoke. It starts from a definite point and ends up elsewhere, indefinitely. It eats up the soul, actually chews it to miniscule shreds, from inside and out.”

The protagonist longs for normal companionship which the author very beautiful describes as a shawl around you, which you can disrobe at your will. It may be around you and you may still not know it. It protects you from hurt and causing hurt.

In the same way, he describes love as “a rage of wind that uproots you from the present, makes your past irrelevant to you and obliterates the significance of a future. Love is happy death.”

The book, Pentacles traverses over all kinds of territory, crossing all borders (legal or not) giving a vast insight into human behavior, thoughts and varied emotions.

Does Kingshuk finally acknowledge the pain of his mother’s separation? Does he live life denying himself any close social attachments? The answers lie in the story.

The poems are deeply descriptive and delve into a fantastic imagination of the poet.

“Memory is something you are incapable of forgetting.”

and

“My wife belongs to lands where fables are written, I snatched her from a fable and made her mine. In doing so I made her the heroine of one fable, And a vamp in another. “

are some of the lines amongst several others that caught my eye! Have a great read!

A freelance journalist, I blog at:

Muse n’ Motivation

Muse n’ Poetry

Write Space

The Blogging Affair by Manu

Roshmi — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:32:00 +0000

Amitabh Manu is a first time author and his maiden offering is “The Blogging Affair”. He however prefers to write under the name Manu and has carefully dropped Amitabh in the process. Perhaps he is no fan of millionaire-making game shows and/or big and small bees. So much for honey and money!

The Blogging Affair is a murder mystery but not in the classic ‘thriller’ or ‘whodunit’ format that we normally associate with this genre. It is also quite different from the well-received debut novel of Ismita Tandon Dhankher, titled, “Love on the Rocks”. In fact, I don’t recollect having come across anything like this from Indian authors past and present. And perhaps that is the reason why Amitabh had thanked me for sending him a friend request on FB (which he accepted of course); while stating at the same time that he hoped I would not change my mind after reading the book (along with a smiley).

I had gallantly (not sure if the female of the species are supposed to be gallant) assured him that though I hailed from Poschimbongo, I was very unlike Mamata didi – and suffixed it with a smiley as well, as a proof of my noble intentions.

Now, the book consists of only 339 pages; but it took me longer than usual to turn the last page. This is partly due to the fact that I was a bit pressed for time and partly due to the nature of the book.

A beautiful girl has been found dead in her bed and the cops have been alerted and they are on the job. So far so good, but there are multiple narratives vying for your attention: the inner voice (or whatever was left of it) of the guy Maithun Mehta – the prime suspect, coz he was in an extra-marital affair with the dead girl. Unfortunately he doesn’t think with his gray cells, never did; his capabilities lie elsewhere, further down.

There is this game of one-upmanship between the police guys investigating the murder. Their hot and cold wars make for an interesting read, and is a classic case of brawn vs. brain. I somewhat liked this part; and there is a bit of humour too. The mystery bit though isn’t deep but it does manage to hold your attention all the same, kind of. However, the bit about ‘dreaming in colour’ is totally clichéd and should have been avoided. Even if the author meant it to be funny or punny, it falls way short.

Next there is an anonymous blog – in reverse chronological order. The author’s identity is hidden but the blog is suspected to be a vital clue as well as character, in this murder mystery.

Umm, we are not averse to feed our blog regularly or asking others (blogger friends) to feed theirs – so as to keep the blog healthy or well nourished and thereby ensuring a steady flow of traffic. However, the author has so overfed this anonymous blog, that a gift voucher from one of the ubiquitous weight-loss programmes wouldn’t be a bad idea. It certainly resulted in reader fatigue. Reader meaning: yours truly.

The anonymous blogger’s digressions into religion, homeopathy, education, politics, spiritual enlightenment, etc simply eat up space and bring down the pace to that of a snail. Not done. Amitabh may have wanted to share his point of views on these matters of national importance with his readers, but writing a whole book for that purpose was not necessary. He could have simply posted them on his personal blog!

Agreed they do give him precious opportunities to talk about eclectic issues, and get into saucy word plays and double entendres, supposedly to enliven the book, but the effect is quite the contrary. Maithun’s inner voice with its one-track mind and too much sauciness affect you so much that you just want to stay away from ‘sauce’ for a while.

It becomes unfunny and unpunny after a point.

Had the plot, the storyline, the description, the execution or the writing style matched, the digressions would have been welcome; it would have been curd and rice. Then, chaat masala, pickle, pomegranate seeds, nuts and even dry fruits would have enhanced its taste.

“The Blogging Mystery” is a mix-and-unmatch. Just like curd and noodles.

Though the chapters are short, there are 69 of them, making it a nice thick book; but given that too many avoidable people this book, apart from some clunky writing, it requires a great deal of effort – to finish it.

While editing was hibernating big time, something I did not expect from Frog Books. There are so many errors – poor grammar, spelling, sentence structure, garbled lines, et al, that one would not dare think of gifting this to one’s English teacher as a Christmas present.

My rating: I am going with a 2/5 for Amitabh Manu’s debut novel. Despite this being the Xmas season and with New Year around the corner too, I am unable to imbibe the festive spirit and be more generous. Sorry.

With better editing and a tighter plot, apart from cutting out the ample dead wood, this one could have made for a good read, if not a great one. Though I must concede that (Amitabh) Manu is earnest, I feel he can do much better.

Details of Book: The Blogging Affair/ Author: Manu/ Pages: 339/ ISBN: 978-93-81115-39-8/ Publishing Date: 2011/ Publisher: Frog Books (an imprint of Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.)/ Binding: Paperback/ Price: Rs. 295/Photograph: The book jacket cover of The Blogging Affair.

Picture courtesy: link.

Reviewed by: Roshmi Sinha (Musings of an Unknown Indian)

Charliezz by Trupthi Guttal and Zeeshan Farooqui

Amit Gupta — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:56:00 +0000

Author: Trupthi Guttal and Zeeshan Farooqui
Publisher: Frog Books

Welcome to the world of sorrows, tension and pressure the typical office, where employees come, do their jobs just for the money and dash back to their homes. The office here is an engineering firm which is in the process of making its mark in the world. This story revolves around two main characters working for this corporation – Zahir Pathan and Khushi Patil – and their struggle to prove themselves as worthy employees.

Work, work and work!

Well, a wave of relief is brought by Zahir. He travels into his yesteryear’s in college giving Khushi a glimpse of what he experienced during his nourishing days. Phase one begins with his five college friends, including Zahir, who are invited forcibly by one of their not-so-friendly-friend to his ancestral home where they created havoc but managed to survive the wrath of his parents. These five have an insatiable hunger for creating problems. Amidst the roller coaster ride, Zahir manages to find love in a lissom girl called Rashmi, his college friend, which unfortunately ends up disastrously. What is the reason? Will they reunite or does life has a different plot ready for them? And where does Khushi fit in?

The story begins in a typical corporate set-up with a stereotypical boss and subdued colleagues. Boss erupts, colleagues listen. The conversational format is unconventional but other incidents interspersed within the narrative are not seamless and leaves a lot to be desired. There are couple of incidents of the college days which engages the readers but are soon frittered away as none of them are strong enough to be sustained. It becomes a typical cross-religion/cultural love story which eventually makes very little impact. It gets minimum footage in the narrative and that too only towards the end.

I am going writh 2/5 for Trupthi Guttal and Zeeshan Farooqui’s ‘Chaliezz’. It starts promisingly but soon becomes a mis-mash of a love story, corporate politics and college adventures, none of them strong enough to make an impact. Read it if you must.

I blog at Love is always new…

Haunted by Douglas Misquita

Amit Gupta — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:34:00 +0000

Author: Douglas Misquita
Publisher: Frog Books

FBI Special Agent Kirk Ingram’s life is torn apart when his family is brutally murdered before his eyes. Devastated physically and psychologically, he vows to destroy organized crime in all forms. Across the globe, an international trade house brings terrorist activities and organized crime together in a deadly nexus that threatens to bring the world-order to the point of anarchy. And only one man stands in the way of global terror and paranoia-one man seeking redemption, and waging a personal battle against the demons of his past…

Haunted by Douglas Misquita is a breath of fresh air in the Indian fiction. Treating the book like a lurid thriller, the author goes for an audacious tone and a brisk pace, grabbing your attention from the very word go. The action scenes have a vivid description and brings you straight to the center of the action. Even though the fact that some scenes ‘inspired’ from the Mission Impossible, The Bourne Identity and Die Hard series is difficult to ignore, the book keeps you on tenterhooks and provides a tight thriller which is difficult to put down. My favourite scene is the one action scene which happens underwater and is well written to capture the essence of the narrative.

There are new characters introduced on every 10-15 pages and if you are not attentive, there is a good chance you may miss a few of them. It is not a bad idea to read this book in fewer sittings to enjoy it to the maximum potential. These characters is the emotional core and the reason the book remains grounded even when the plot occasionally teeters on the brink of sheer cheesiness is because of the quirky, witty conversations amidst crazy things going on all around them.

The book flirts with terrorism, suicide bombers, killings, police politics and revenge drama. Even though these revelations aren’t of an earth-shattering magnitude, and the book feels naive for presenting them as such. But despite its shortcomings, the book works as a brisk thriller that sustains dramatic tension throughout. The book runs out of steam in the middle portions where the actions scenes are abundant, but brings in a fatigue factor. Couple of sub-plots involving the various FBI agents are unnecessarily stretched and could have been better edited better.

But these are mere nitpicking’s in an otherwise engaging, engrossing action pack adventure. Despite not much novelty on a plot-level, it works big time with a brisk pace, crispy editing and tight screenplay. I am going with 3.5/5 for Douglas Misquita’s ‘Haunted’. Read it if you are a fan of this genre, You will remain haunted a long time after you have finished the book.

I blog at Love is always new…

The Reverse Journey by Vivek Kumar Singh

Amit Gupta — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 06:58:00 +0000

Author: Vivek Kumar Singh

Publisher: Frog Books

This is a story about a young man faced with a decision – to follow his heart or brain. The heart wants happiness in India, among his family, friends and people who are like him. His brain wants money – without it what security does he have? All his friends are relocating to the USA. He feels isolated. And so he decides to follow ‘the rat race’. He travels to America. Will the journey to a foreign land bring happiness? Will money be the answer to his prayers? Or will he finally realise that true joy is the sense of belonging?

Reverse Journey is one of those books where author is not sure which tone is suitable to take forward the narrative. So it becomes autobiographical when the author starts narrating own experiences while becomes a fiction when he decides to throw in a love story. As a result, it ends up being a mixture of awkward plot-points, cringing dialogues and clunky transitions. What finally manages to stay with you is the detail with which the author has penned down the minute details about living away from the country, adjusting to the new culture, momentarily forgetting your own and hypocrisy of Indians when subjected to racist remarks.

The book is thought provoking, delving deep into the psyche of Indians abroad or who move abroad after living for a substantial time in India. The author manages to capture the small nuggets of life abroad sincerely, but fails to enthuse any kind of reliability to the characters. Yes, you can relate to them at human level but all of them are written with flat note and hardly any variation, that in the end it fails to enthuse you.

I am going with 2/5 for Vivek Kumar Singh’s ‘The reverse journey’. It makes some pertinent points about brain-drain and living away from India but it is so poorly structured and told with flat narrative, that it will leave you with an empty feeling. How you wish author showed a little restraint and properly-laid straight storytelling to complement very competent thoughts about his journey.

I blog at Love is always new…

Abyss by Sabarna Roy

Amit Gupta — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:36:00 +0000

Author: Sabarna Roy
Publisher: Frog Books

Abyss is a full length play in two acts with an interval in between. It is essentially a racy crime suspense thriller. Act one builds up slowly to result in a crescendo of conflicts between personalities and ideas finally to end with an unnatural death before the interval. Is it a suicide or a murder? Act two evolves through a series of incisive interrogations to unravel the truth, which is disturbing and affecting. As the play unfolds into a very well crafted situational thriller, underneath is the debate about using land for agriculture or for industry, the ethics of a working author and the nexus of a modern state all wonderfully enmeshed into its storyline and the personal lives of its subtly etched out characters.

At 110 pages, it is a breezy read which can be finished in an hour and provides the instant rush. Since the story is written in a play form, the deliberations and discussions moves at a frenzy pace resulting in interesting one-to-one conversations between the characters. The high points of the play are its central conflict between a mother and her daughter and its female sleuth – Renuka. I particularly enjoyed the flirtations between the mother and the prospective son-in-law who has a hidden agenda behind all those sleazy talks.

The fast pace though gives away the clues to break the mystery a little too early and that is the only, but probably most fatal mistake in a murder mystery. I am going with 2.5/5 for Sabarna Roy’s ‘Abyss‘. Revolving around lust, greed and ethical ways of working, it is a quick fast food meal which you will enjoy but quickly forget about it. Guilty pleasure at its best.

I blog at Love is always new…

Pentacles by Sabarna Roy

Amit Gupta — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:32:00 +0000

Author: Sabarna Roy

Publisher: Frog Books

Pentacles comprises one long story and four short poems. The work provides an interesting, yet intellectually stimulating, stories for the discerning reader. The long story is the best portion of this book, while the short poems even though competent just fill up the pages.

New Life is a long story written from the perspective of a successful adult whose mother had deserted the family for another man. The teenage angst and the scars it has left behind on the psyche of the protagonist are subtly reflected in the character. The different elements and characters of the story are interwoven to produce an intense and compelling story of an adult haunted by the trauma of being deserted by his mother. The work is interspersed with thought-provoking views on issues like love and socio-economic conditions in India. Even though the portions where the author provide his own version have clunky transitions with the main story and divert away your attention from the main story, the story as a whole stand tall because of a sensitive portrayal and inherent sincerity attached to it.

The traditional rhyme and metre dominated poems are on love, loss and longing. Unshackled by the bonds of rhyme and metre, author’s free verses evoke the stark reality of urban life, hitting you straight in the guts. The use of everyday urban imagery adds to the appeal of the compositions. The concrete prison of urban life and the unfulfilled desire to escape to a simple life is aptly brought out in The Tower. The free verses sketch out their life story with its attendant pathos, poignancy and logic. Even though i am not a great fan of poetry, but was able to relate to most of these poems because of the ease with which the author has written them in an almost routine conversations form.

I am going with 2.5/5 for Sabarna Roy’s ‘Pentacles’. Short, sweet and will leave you more or less satisfied with this variety of literature pieces string together. A quick night read after work is how i perceive this book.

The Ancient Book by Parikshit Rane

Amit Gupta — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 06:02:00 +0000

Author: Parikshit Rane

Publisher: Frog Books

The Ancient book is like that quick take-away meal which will satisfy your hunger but will leave you wanting more out of it and i mean that in the best form of the word. It is a fantasy fiction novella that transports the reader into a magical world of Angdom and the gruesome colony of Satan called Lyncastia that is increasing at an alarming rate. A magical dark cloud prepared by Queen Witch Gilda hovers over all the captured territories and has the ability to shower acid rain or fire from the clouds. Gilda controls the clouds from the confines of Satan’s castle through a magical mirror. Satan’s castle is encircled by magical thorns that are growing wider and wider.

King Zius, the King of Angdam and the world, is the protector of the Ancient Book, a tome that has all the answers to protect the earth. When the tome falls in wrong hands, hell breaks loose. The universe works in mysterious ways helping him restore it back from the evil Satan. King Zius’ daughter, Sara plays a major role in this war to bring back normalcy on earth. The aliens too help King Zius due to their deep-rooted connection with him. A new era beckons, but not before it changes the various dynamics of the Satans.

The narrative is kept at a tight leash, with screenplay moving at a brisk pace. I particularly enjoyed how the writer kept a few things deliberately unspoken to create a feeling of mystery around the characters. Developed from a poem written by the author itself, it wastes no time in delving into the characters and straight away action follows. It transports you bang into the middle of the crazy situations and you are blown away by the honesty with which each character is handled. I wish it was much longer than it current form, and certain portions were developed sufficiently to create a better impact on readers.

I am going with 3/5 for Parikshit Rane’s, The Ancient Book. It will transport you to the fairy tale land which we used to adore in our childhood. At 80 pages odd, this novella will keep you hooked and engrossed for most of the time. Go ahead and rekindle the child inside you!

I blog at Love is always new…

Haunted by Douglas Misquita

Roshmi — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Fast paced, filled with plenty of high-octane action and incredible twists and turns, Haunted is one action-thriller guaranteed to give an adrenaline rush. Douglas Misquita, Jr. has impressed and how!

Don’t be mislead by the title, this book has nothing to do with the denizens of the spirit world or the afterlife, and the author – Douglas Misquita – is very much Indian *smile*

Action-thriller is one of my favourite genres and needless to say, I was more than glad when I won an author signed copy. There is nothing better than an intelligent and lucid thriller that pulls you into the narrative and keeps you there till the very end.

Book blurb: FBI Special Agent Kirk Ingram’s life is torn apart when his family is brutally murdered before his eyes. Devastated physically and psychologically, he vows to destroy organized crime in all forms.

Across the globe, an international trade house brings terrorist activities and organized crime together in a deadly nexus that threatens to bring the world-order to the point of anarchy.

And only one man stands in the way of global terror and paranoia — one man seeking redemption, and waging a personal battle against the demons of his past…

Alistair Maclean is my all time favourite for his Second World War and action-thriller novels like: Ice Station Zebra, The Guns of Navarone, Breakheart Pass, among others. I have enjoyed watching the movies too… and it had absolutely nothing to do with the presence of a certain Gregory Peck, I tell you.

Maclean’s Where Eagles Dare starring the slightly aging but with his debonair charm intact Richard Burton, and the suave Clint Eastwood is a classic that has achieved cult status.

I liked Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway as well. (Umm, I have a sneaking suspicion that the recent yawn-inducing yarn Kuchh Luv Jaisa starring the face of Indian English film, Rahul Bose and the wannabe desi Jennifer Aniston, Shefali Shah, directed by someone who is clearly a legend in her own mind, was ‘inspired’ by this 1975 classic.)

But I digress.

A plot built around the terrorism theme isn’t something that we can call refreshing or novel, however the plot in Haunted clearly is and for an Indian author this one is certainly a hatke plot. Frankly the reader never feels that an Indian author has written this, and I mean no disrespect towards Indian authors. I am merely doffing my hat at Douglas’ caliber as an action-thriller writer, the meticulous research, the erudite language, the taut narrative and the nearly impeccable editing, apart from the look and feel of the book of course. That reminds me… I got to buy one, a hat that is, if Douglas plans to keep writing thrillers like this.

The opening pages are simply mind-blowing – the built up, the chase and the encounter – all leave you quite stunned and yet asking for more.

The pace dips a bit in the subsequent pages, but picks up where it has to and from then onwards it is one tremendous ride. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill terrorism stories but a tight adrenalin packed one, involving Citex, a deadly nerve agent. Umm, it reminds me of the ‘naagpaas’ mentioned in our epics and other literature classified as mythology… btw.

You travel along with Kirk Ingram, the slightly larger than life protagonist/hero, through his trials and tribulations – his highs and lows, his success and setbacks, his smiles and tears – in his quest to destroy organized crime in all forms.

Through the US, Eastern Europe and the Balkans you come across characters – some pitch black, some white and others with distinct shades of gray. You get a sneak peek into the methodologies adapted by the bad rather ugly and evil guys, their logistics network, their fronts, their lives, their agenda and their motivations.

There is some fabulous underwater action too.

The good guys – and there are quite a few of them – work tirelessly despite mounting challenges. Detective Connor stands out among them, though for some reason Arnold Schwarzenegger’s visage appeared in my head a few times while reading about him – and under the current circumstances, it is not a compliment. And the good detective does absolutely nothing to merit one either.

You will warm up to the plucky Tamura and the intrepid Amanda Gunner who is on a mission of her own. What that is I will not tell you, read the book to find out.

Lars Gunther, his conglomerate and the shadowy Imer Qerim along with their cronies and sidekicks ooze nastiness from every pore of their being. They will leave no stone unturned to succeed in their nefarious designs and will stop at nothing to liquidate any opposition, Kirk and his team included.

How each of them goes about their job is something you got to read for yourself – for the thrills.

I won’t be surprised if your GK or your vocabulary travels northward at the end of it. And there is a twist in the tale too – but don’t expect me to play the spoiler. That is something I will not do.

Do not expect to skim through the book and this is no cursory read. It demands your full attention and is worth every bit of it.

When I say full attention, it does not indicate towards the reading bit only. You got to visualize it too. Simultaneously. Make sure you play out the scenes in your head, while your eyes do the reading. That will make it as they say in Mumbai or perhaps in matinee speak, “paisa vasool”.

Needless to say, Haunted will make for one helluva movie too but not a desi one for sure. Umm, come to think of it, it may all depend on the caliber of the production team and the person wielding the megaphone and periodically hollering, “cut” as well.

There are many events and characters peppering the book that may leave you with the feeling that a few of them could have been pruned out. Yet towards the end they all converge and all the loose ends get tied up neatly. A word of advice: do try to read this book at one go or at least cover as much as you can every time you sit down or curl up to read it. You may have to go back and forth a few times in order to get the flow or refresh your memory… but then it is all worth it.

And Oh, make sure to put a face to the characters too – in your mind that is, e.g., Robert Redford or Gregory Peck or Paul Newman for Kirk Ingram – its more enjoyable that way. Where my loyalties lie, you already know. Don’t you?

My rating: 4/5. A compelling read, it will appeal to all age groups. For fans of the action-thriller genre – this is one book you’ll love to sink your teeth into.

I look forward to Douglas’ future writings with interest.

Details of the book: Haunted/ Author: Douglas Misquita, Jr./ Publisher: Frog Books/ Publishing Date: March 1, 2011/ ISBN-10: 938015495X / ISBN-13: 978-9380154954/ Pages: 372/ Price: Rs.350; US $16.

Photograph: The book jacket cover of Haunted. Picture courtesy: link.

Reviewed by: Roshmi Sinha.

What goes around comes around by Naveen BC

Amit Gupta — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:56:00 +0000

>

Author: Naveen BC Publisher: Frog Books

WGACA is a novel about faith, friendship, family values, love and trust. The story presents an account of endearing love between a husband and a wife, everlasting family ties between a father and son and true friendship between young friends that lasts long. The narration that spans three generations rebuilds your faith in true human values. The emotional quotient is high, though most of the female characters are poorly developed.

The book’s major twists and turns comes from Peter’s journey from childhood to adulthood. This is clearly a character driven plot and the incidents driving the intentions of the characters is elucidated with depth, though too many of the characters create confusion and chaos right at the start of the narrative.

No doubt, it celebrates the triumph of the human spirit but the whole way of taking the narrative forward is melodramatic and tad unrealistic. The climax is quite predictable and if you are a regular reader of fiction, you would probably guess it way in advance. It becomes a struggle to end the book and that’s where as a reader you will let down by the laziness in writing. Also, the words of wisdom provided every now and then is not at all unique and add to preachiness quotient of the book.

I am going with 2.5/5 for Naveen’s debut novel, What goes around comes around.The language is lucid and crisp that keeps the flow of the story soft and subtle as the author carefully handles even situations like death with placidness and tenderness. A well-written story that draws one in a little bit at a time; however, there are few editorial issues that are overly distracting and will make you feel disappointed. Read it because at least it tries to be different.

I blog at Love is always new….

We Can Pull It Off by Suresh Taneja

Amit Gupta — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:02:00 +0000

Author: Suresh Taneja

Publisher: Frog Books

It was the most unusual vacation for Vikram, Yuvika, Manisha and Akshay – the G4, as they called themselves. In the first few days of the vacations, they experienced some shocking incidents of declining moral values and corruption. These completely shook them up when they understood the implications. They dreaded the thought of being labelled as citizens of a corrupt country. G4 found this deplorable and decided to plunge into action. They had two weeks of vacation, which they productively used to start an initiative to address this issue. They used their creativity and a number of unique strategies which left an indelible mark on the public, making their initiative a mass movement. The result? A complete cultural change and attitude shift in the citizens’ minds leading to a complete transformation of the nation, earning it respect and recognition globally.

Set in two different time periods – Washington 2030 and Delhi 2009-2013, the narrative describes how India has become a super power and what exact shift triggered that change by G4. Corruption is a major issue in India at this moment and is eating into the social fabric. This book provides a possible, probable solution with an optimistic point of view. Only glitch, the point of view takes superhuman and at times, impractical ways to achieve its agenda. The solution offered is too simplistic for the problem of this magnitude and does not offers enough reasons to convince its readers.

I can punch in a lot of financial and strategical loopholes in the agenda of G4 to bring about the change but that will get a little too academic for this book review. Let me just say that the whole strategy of bringing around a mass movement undermines the intelligence of its readers. There are never enough explanations given for any of the resulting positive outcomes and you are left lurching how exactly it worked out in the end. The author works with a straight two-piece narrative structure – show a problem and tell the solution, never sufficiently delving into the details how it is achieved. For example: We have been told right at the beginning of the book that in just 20 years, India have become economically sufficient to grant aid of 100bn USD. Fair enough, but it is never explained till the end of the book exactly how US has degraded their own economy so much that tables have turned against them. You got to provide justification for a reader to relate to this, not just superficial one-liners.

The sub-plots clearly ignores the diversity and cultural issues of India which in a way are the major stumbling blocks while implementing any change at a national level. Moreover, the change is brought upon by keeping the affluent or upper-middle class of India in mind. I don’t have to remind where the majority of Indians live and what are the economic conditions they are subjected to. The book could have worked better if it was done at a micro level – applied to a city or maximum, a state. But since the ‘change’ is bought on an all Indian level, it comes across not only bizarre but in turn, undermines the spirit of the premise with a juvenileness that is hard to fathom.

If you are kind of a reader who looks for character depth or nuances, then you will sorely be disappointed with this narrative. Almost all characters are clones of each other: all speak in the same tone, style and are cardboard replicas who believe in the perfect world around them. However, the pace is fast and never stagnates. The ‘Corruption Density Index’ – how parents are rated by their children for corruption is a unique concept and stretches the imagination but never shows us way in which ‘single’ people are rated. The author seems fixated with two incidents of corruption – the Satyam scandal in the IT industry and the cash-for-vote scandal in the Indian Parliament. There are numerous references to them and all of them are succeeded by a moral lecture. The dialogues are bland, boring and editing leaves a lot to be desired. By the end of the book, you will be exhausted and drained out like coming straight from a political science lecture. Considering it is just 160 odd pages long, it is still a serious test of your patience.

I am going with generous (2+0.5)= 2.5/5 for Suresh Taneja’s debut novel, We can pull it off. The author starts with a promising premise and the noble intentions associated with it should be applauded. But there is no excuse for giving us uni-dimensional characters, cheesy dialogues and even repetitive incidents in the narrative. Every one has an ear for hearing out preachy stuff, but there is no room for boring us. Read it because at least it tries to be different.

I blog at Love is always new….