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deepan2486's reviews
254 reviews
Time Stops at Shamli and Other Stories by Ruskin Bond
5.0
'Time stops at Shamli' is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read. I'd always been familiar with Bond's subtle style of writing and having read his previous short stories, I knew that this man genuinely feels what he writes.
The story is about a day spent by the storyteller in the hillside town of Shamli, where he meets interesting people and his long lost companion...but essentially it's a lesson on self discovery and unveiling of our deepest desires. It's a read that really warms yours heart and make you long more from this life. I highly recommend this novella to peeps.
The story is about a day spent by the storyteller in the hillside town of Shamli, where he meets interesting people and his long lost companion...but essentially it's a lesson on self discovery and unveiling of our deepest desires. It's a read that really warms yours heart and make you long more from this life. I highly recommend this novella to peeps.
Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi
3.0
So I began reading this book in the first place because I had loved Amish's shiva trilogy.
But opposite to what I liked about the first book of that series (Immortals of Meluha), the opening of this book with its first few chapters bored me like anything. I was recommended that I read Sita: warrior of Mithila before I read this, but I was bent on reading the first part , well , first. I got interested in the story only when I was halfway through. But there's a negative point here too. The style of this series (as clarified by the author himself) is of a multilinear narrative. Which means there are many characters and each of them witness the same happenings from their respective point of views. After some time, a connection brings them all together. But what if there are events when two or more protagonists are simultaneously there in the scene ? Well then the author has to include the same dialogues in the Pov of each character. I faced this issue here too. While writing this book, the author has deliberately left some plotholes and loose ends , which will apparently be clarified in the upcoming parts. As a consequence, I found the sequence of events quite hurried.
Apart from that, the story does become intriguing after a while and it flows smoothly henceforth.
Lastly I'll say, this is obviously a retelling of the Ramayana and the author hasn't changed the main characters. But since it's a retelling or more aptly a reimagining of the epic in alignment with modern age, the story has many deviations from the actual story in the epic. That doesn't bug me at all since after all it's fiction. So readers must not be offended that the author has distorted the Ramayana to suit his writing.....if they honestly think so, they better stop reading mythological fictions altogether.
But opposite to what I liked about the first book of that series (Immortals of Meluha), the opening of this book with its first few chapters bored me like anything. I was recommended that I read Sita: warrior of Mithila before I read this, but I was bent on reading the first part , well , first. I got interested in the story only when I was halfway through. But there's a negative point here too. The style of this series (as clarified by the author himself) is of a multilinear narrative. Which means there are many characters and each of them witness the same happenings from their respective point of views. After some time, a connection brings them all together. But what if there are events when two or more protagonists are simultaneously there in the scene ? Well then the author has to include the same dialogues in the Pov of each character. I faced this issue here too. While writing this book, the author has deliberately left some plotholes and loose ends , which will apparently be clarified in the upcoming parts. As a consequence, I found the sequence of events quite hurried.
Apart from that, the story does become intriguing after a while and it flows smoothly henceforth.
Lastly I'll say, this is obviously a retelling of the Ramayana and the author hasn't changed the main characters. But since it's a retelling or more aptly a reimagining of the epic in alignment with modern age, the story has many deviations from the actual story in the epic. That doesn't bug me at all since after all it's fiction. So readers must not be offended that the author has distorted the Ramayana to suit his writing.....if they honestly think so, they better stop reading mythological fictions altogether.
This Is Not Your Story by Savi Sharma
SYNOPSIS:
The story revolves around three characters: Shaurya, a CA student who dreams to be a film director; Miraya, a professional interior designer; Anubhav, an aspiring entrepreneur. There’s also a character called Kasturi, who apparently isn’t a protagonist, but to me has an integral role to play in the plot. The story is written from three perspectives. One is from the point of view of Shaurya, secondly from the point of view of Anubhav, and some chapters written in a diary format from Miraya’s personal journal.
The story opens up with Shaurya talking to his parents about his wish to pursue his dream. He’s heavily reprimanded by them and in the following days, we find him depressed and doubting himself about being a coward. He crosses paths with Miraya, who is a cousin of his neighbour, Kasturi. A friendship develops between the trio, and they discover hidden truths about one another, secrets that threaten their relationship. Amidst the spice of betrayal and reconciliations, they are forced to look back at their own lives and make hard choices.
Leaving these characters aside, the story of Anubhav unfolds, who also speaks to his parents about his dream. But in stark contrast with what happened to Shaurya, his parents let him fly free. He makes big successes in his career. But then tragedy strikes and tables turn. He arrives in Jaipur, where he meets the trio. What will happen to these people of varying opinions and ideologies ? Will they all have each other's back or will they rip apart from each other? Will they be able to bravely make the choices that stand before then ? You must read the book to find out !
REVIEW:
The book harps on a single theme: pursuing one’s dream and being courageous to start afresh. Though this sounds like a very enlightening idea, the book loses all its actual flavour to persuade the readers to believe what it preaches. After a while, the prolonged use of inappropriate, excessive philosophical lines makes the book a stumbling read. The character’s motivational discourses seem odd, as in no way would a person talk like that in real life. The unwinding of the plot is commendable and the pace of the main story line doesn’t utterly bore the readers. But all that happens in the plot has little resemblance to the ways of the complicated world we are living in. At times it feels like fantasy, though it’s not supposed to be. If one is a very depressed soul who wants to grab the nuances of goodness and gratitude from the tiniest of things, it would certainly prove to be a good read. Although at some point, one is bound to look up and ask, does this really happen? In a desperate attempt to be simple and avoid the dark intricacies of modern life, the book becomes very predictable. Without any cliff-hangers and plot crisis, the essence of the plot goes missing. The emotions of the characters appear genuine, but the way the author talks about it is not at all relatable. It seems everything is happening in an imaginary world. The way Anubhav suddenly encounters the rest of the characters and how fast he becomes a close companion of them to even vent out his heart to one of them seems disappointingly fake. There is a conflict between the characters, but it dies out after few pages of aimlessly groping about how they are feeling.
Some are of the opinion that the book is inspirational and radiates positivity, but what is the use of such positivity which comes about from this imaginary plot which no one can relate to. At the end of the day, you just wonder whether life can be as simple and smooth as talked about in the story.
RECCOMENDATIONS:
The book is something like what a student will write in his/her school English language paper, with the same number of plot holes, character development that needed more thought and overall a very dissatisfying read. I’ll recommend this book to young readers who haven’t read much, and to people who like to remain concealed inside a semi-real, semi-illusory bubble of fantasy and deter from facing life as it
3.0
SYNOPSIS:
The story revolves around three characters: Shaurya, a CA student who dreams to be a film director; Miraya, a professional interior designer; Anubhav, an aspiring entrepreneur. There’s also a character called Kasturi, who apparently isn’t a protagonist, but to me has an integral role to play in the plot. The story is written from three perspectives. One is from the point of view of Shaurya, secondly from the point of view of Anubhav, and some chapters written in a diary format from Miraya’s personal journal.
The story opens up with Shaurya talking to his parents about his wish to pursue his dream. He’s heavily reprimanded by them and in the following days, we find him depressed and doubting himself about being a coward. He crosses paths with Miraya, who is a cousin of his neighbour, Kasturi. A friendship develops between the trio, and they discover hidden truths about one another, secrets that threaten their relationship. Amidst the spice of betrayal and reconciliations, they are forced to look back at their own lives and make hard choices.
Leaving these characters aside, the story of Anubhav unfolds, who also speaks to his parents about his dream. But in stark contrast with what happened to Shaurya, his parents let him fly free. He makes big successes in his career. But then tragedy strikes and tables turn. He arrives in Jaipur, where he meets the trio. What will happen to these people of varying opinions and ideologies ? Will they all have each other's back or will they rip apart from each other? Will they be able to bravely make the choices that stand before then ? You must read the book to find out !
REVIEW:
The book harps on a single theme: pursuing one’s dream and being courageous to start afresh. Though this sounds like a very enlightening idea, the book loses all its actual flavour to persuade the readers to believe what it preaches. After a while, the prolonged use of inappropriate, excessive philosophical lines makes the book a stumbling read. The character’s motivational discourses seem odd, as in no way would a person talk like that in real life. The unwinding of the plot is commendable and the pace of the main story line doesn’t utterly bore the readers. But all that happens in the plot has little resemblance to the ways of the complicated world we are living in. At times it feels like fantasy, though it’s not supposed to be. If one is a very depressed soul who wants to grab the nuances of goodness and gratitude from the tiniest of things, it would certainly prove to be a good read. Although at some point, one is bound to look up and ask, does this really happen? In a desperate attempt to be simple and avoid the dark intricacies of modern life, the book becomes very predictable. Without any cliff-hangers and plot crisis, the essence of the plot goes missing. The emotions of the characters appear genuine, but the way the author talks about it is not at all relatable. It seems everything is happening in an imaginary world. The way Anubhav suddenly encounters the rest of the characters and how fast he becomes a close companion of them to even vent out his heart to one of them seems disappointingly fake. There is a conflict between the characters, but it dies out after few pages of aimlessly groping about how they are feeling.
Some are of the opinion that the book is inspirational and radiates positivity, but what is the use of such positivity which comes about from this imaginary plot which no one can relate to. At the end of the day, you just wonder whether life can be as simple and smooth as talked about in the story.
RECCOMENDATIONS:
The book is something like what a student will write in his/her school English language paper, with the same number of plot holes, character development that needed more thought and overall a very dissatisfying read. I’ll recommend this book to young readers who haven’t read much, and to people who like to remain concealed inside a semi-real, semi-illusory bubble of fantasy and deter from facing life as it