'One hundred years of solitude' reviewed

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One hundred years of Solitude. The title itself is intriguing and gets you to read what Gabriel Garcia Marquez has in mind. Once you start reading he takes you through a gamut of emotions and there will be times when you would wonder why you are still reading it. Almost feels like a hundred years. No it never bores you but it slows down the ambient time. You tend to read it very slowly, trying to grasp every nuance, a herculean task but in hindsight it was fun. It is a book that is Fantasy bordering on reality. All fiction is based on things the author has experienced some time or the other. But this beats it all! It is fiction but the thoughts are so real that it reminds me of the times I have sat thinking of ‘what if….’

It all begins in ‘Macondo’ ‘ …a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs.’ This will give you an idea of what to expect or so you think. Gabriel is full of surprises. The book is full of quotable thoughts as he goes on to describe the qualities of a leader, the gullibility of the common man, his greed for money and power and the fear of the unknown that is set in primordial situations.

The book grips you and has you thinking hard as you slip back to today and wonder what has changed.

The quotes below will give you an idea of what to expect when you pick up this book to read. These are quotes picked at random and I will just give a couple as the book itself is a quote that is worthwhile.

‘…he would sit in the street door as long as the mosquitoes would allow him to. Someone dared to disturb his solitude once.
“How are you, Colonel” he asked in passing.
“Right here,” he answered. “Waiting for my funeral procession to pass.”’

“He resigned himself to being a womanless man for all his life in order to hide the shame of his uselessness”

This is a book that portrays the birth, life and death of a civilisation.

This review is a mere attempt to explain what the book is about. You have to read it to experience it.

Yes, it is an experience and once you finish reading it, any time you are feeling bored, just pick up the book, open a random page and read. It will be time well spent.




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Salvation of a Saint - Book review

‘Salvation of a Saint’ by Keigo Higashino is the first book that I have read by a Japanese author. Strangely it did not seem different from any Western murder mystery, in the sense that it did not have any Japanese flavour to it except for the fact that the name of the author was distinctively Japanese.

The book was originally written in Japanese and translated into English by Alexander O. Smith.

Keigo Higashino born February 4, 1958 is a Japanese author chiefly known for his mystery novels. He is the President of Mystery Writers of Japan.

In this novel, physics professor Manabu Yukawa, known as Detective Galileo, returns in a new case of a seemingly perfect murder, where instincts clash with facts and theory with reality.

Yoshitaka, who believes that marriage is for procreation, has just informed his wife Ayane who has not conceived even after a year of marriage, of his decision to divorce her. Apparently distraught, Ayane leaves him alone and goes to visit her parents, citing her father’s ill health.

Yoshitkaka is found dead the next day, poisoned by arsenic-laced coffee.  His wife, Ayane, who is the logical suspect is hundreds of miles away when he is murdered.

The lead detective, Tokyo Police Detective Kusanagi,who is put on the case seems smitten with her innocence and refuses to believe that she could have had anything to do with the crime.  His assistant, Kaoru Utsumi, however, is convinced Ayane is guilty.  While Utsumi’s instincts tell her one thing, the facts of the case are another matter.  So she does what her boss has done for years when stymied—she calls upon Professor Manabu Yukawa aka Detective Galileo.

Detective Galileo is a real character! He is the typical arrogant scientist who believes in investigating the minutest details to arrive at any conclusion. He will not tolerate any emotive speculation and insist only on hard scientific facts.

There is another very intriguing character, Hiromi Wakayama, who is introduced right in the beginning and stays on right till the end. She is Ayane’s assistant and looks after Ayane’s quilt patchwork classes. And right from the beginning she is shown how close she is to the family and the trust that she has earned. As a matter of fact when Ayane decides to go to visit her parents, it is Hiromi that she hands over her house keys to and requests her to look after not only the classes but also her house. Divulging anything more at this stage will spoil the suspense for you.

What follows is a beautiful tapestry woven by Keigo Higashino that keeps you fascinated and enrapt in the discussions, emotive clashes of opinions and a captivating story that refuses to let you keep the book down till you reach the last page and heave a sigh of relief at finding out whodunit!

The Times has called Keigo Higashino The Japanese Stieg Larsson.

Salvation of a Saint is Keigo Higashino at his mind-bending best, pitting emotion against fact in a beautifully plotted crime novel filled with twists and reverses that will astonish and surprise even the most attentive and jaded of readers.

Book details:

Publisher	Little, Brown Book Group
Imprint	ABACUS
Publication Year	2013
ISBN-13	9780349139340
ISBN-10	0349139342
Language	English
Binding	Paperback
Number of Pages	384 Pages

You can order it from Flipkart for Rs.214/- against the original price of Rs.350/- at a discount of 39%.

Go for it guys! This is one book which is a must read for all crime fiction addicts!

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The Bankster – Book review

The coinage of the title ‘Bankster’ is very intriguing and as you read the book you realise why the book is titled so.

This is the first time that I have read Ravi Subramanian, though he is said to be a bestselling author, and was not disappointed. His indepth knowledge of the banking industry and its murky dealings comes from being a career banker and a financial services professional. The Wall street Journal has labeled him the John Grisham of Banking! He has authored four books before this one and has a formidable reputation. All his books are related to Finance. His first book was ‘If God was a Banker’ followed by ‘Devil in Pinstripes’, ‘The Incredible Banker’, ‘I Bought the Monk’s Ferrari’ and finally ‘The Bankster’.

The Bankster as the title suggests is about the nexus between a Banker and a gangster. It weaves an intricate web of power, politics, underworld and the money laundering done with the active involvement of bankers, on an international scale.

The book starts very well in Angola and then shuttles between Kerala, Mumbai and Venice. The plot is taut and the characterisation is well thought out. Somehow towards the end, the writing gets melodramatic and feels like one is watching a Hindi potboiler. There were times when I expected the characters to burst out into a song! But not for long. The author quickly pulls back the reins, takes control, and ends in James Bond style! A winner!

I loved the fact that ninety five percent or more of the book is based in India and Indian characters talking in a language that Indians can identify with. The Indian ethos is present throughout the book. This is a book with a plot that all Indians will be able to identify with and enjoy, specially the parody about Arnab Goswami – the news anchor of Times Now! Loved that bit! Then the so called NGOs which are funded by obscure foreign organisations which are facades for money laundering.

It is a revelation of how Bankers today will not stop at anything for rising up the financial ladder. Also how easily they can be swayed by instant riches at the cost of ethical banking.

Ravi Subramanian takes us through a slew of events to show us how uncut diamonds are used as currency for activating coups in Angola to funding Indian NGOs by Western countries to ensure India does not become a nuclear power. All done with the active involvement of the Bankers who ultimately turn Banksters. It is kind of scary that despite the innumerable and seemingly fool proof checks, the murky underworld has its way!

It is a must read and the writing is so reader friendly that it is almost an unputdownable book! The chapters are so beautifully spaced out that I found it difficult to take a break between chapters too!

So guys get off that couch and go get that book and have fun! You will not regret it!

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