Book Vue

Rating: 4/5 Title:  Paths of Glory Author: Jeffrey Archer Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller Pages: 400 Publisher: Pan Books IS BN-13:  9780330511667 Paths of Glory is an interpretation of the life of George Mallory. This book claims that Mallory realized his lifelong dream of conquering Mount Everest 29 years before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay achieved their feat. The topic has always remained a controversy since 1924 when Mallory and his fellow Andrew Irvine attempted to reach the summit of Mt. Everest but never returned alive. They were last seen by Noel Odell (another mountaineer climbing behind them) when they were around 1000 meters below the peak of the mountain before disappearing into an extreme storm heading their way. Whether they actually reached the top or not, continues to remain a mystery till date. It was not until 1999, when Irvine’s and Mallory’s frozen bodies were found that the debate fired up again. Efforts ar...

Rating: 5/5 Title:  And Then There Were None Author: Agatha Christie Genre: Fiction, Mystery Pages: 316 Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN-13:  9780007282319 Although I enjoy reading Agatha Christie’s novels over and over again, there are a few books that fascinate me every time I read them. One of them (and my all time favorite, too!) is this particular book. From an exceptionally thought out plot to an array of interesting characters and a totally unexpected climax, it has the perfect ingredients for an even perfect story. Twelve people are invited to a lonely island to spend a few days in a house supposedly owned by the host. Upon arriving, they realize that they have all been tricked. Inside the house they hear a voice accusing each person with an offense they had committed earlier in their lives. The story continues with everyone getting mysteriously killed, one by one until there are none. Who is the mastermind behind these murders and...

Rating: 3/5 Title:  Cat O'Nine Tales Author: Jeffrey Archer Genre: Fiction Pages: 255 Publisher: India Book Distributors ISBN-13 :  9780330449625 Cat O’Nine Tales is another set of twelve interesting short stories by Jeffery Archer. As with his previous short story collections, this book too has a few stories he picked up during his prison days. Some good ones include ‘Don’t drink the water’, ‘Maestro’, ‘The Alibi’ and ‘In the eye of the Beholder’. It is a good read although I found a couple of them too lengthy for a ‘short’ story collection. Nevertheless, Archer gives us an engaging set of stories once again.

Rating: 4/5 Title:  Jonathan Livingston Seagull - A Story Author: Richard Bach Genre: Fiction, Literary Pages: 96 Publisher: Harper Collins ISBN-13:  9788172235789 The book is about Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a unique seagull, which aspires to learn more about flying than just to catch food. It is an inspirational story and the author uses flight as a metaphor to explain how the very purpose of life is lost in the everyday fight for food and survival. The story is about a seemingly unattainable ambition and how it is achieved, in spite of oppositions, just by keeping faith in oneself. It is a short and nice read (might fire up your goals and dreams). Some lines in the book made me pause and reflect upon them. One of them being “Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly” and another one - “Overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now.” My take -...

Buy from Amazon.in Title:  2 States - The Story of my Marriage Author: Chetan Bhagat Genre: Fiction Pages: 268 Publisher: Rupa & Co. IS BN-13:  9788129115300 Rating: 4/5 The fourth book by Chetan Bhagat,  2 States  is about two people who fall in love and their struggle to get married due to the cultural differences. The book showcases, in a light humored way, the resistance to an inter caste marriage in India, even today. The story begins with Krish, a Punjabi boy and Ananya, a Tamil Brahmin girl, meeting and falling in love at the IIM-A campus. Both of them choose to get married with their parent's consent. Thus begins the herculean task of convincing the parents. Krish and Ananya take turns in winning over each other’s families. Ananya’s family has been described as the typical stringent south Indian one, as a result of which the trouble Krish goes through to woo her stubborn parents. On the other hand, Ananya comes face to fa...