Book Vue

Rating: 3.5/5 Title:  Wise and Otherwise : A Salute to Life Author: Sudha Murthy Genre: Fiction Pages: 232 Publisher: Penguin Books ISBN-13:   9780143062226 Yet another splendid book by Sudha Murthy, this time with real incidents out of her experience closet. As is the case with the rest of her books that I've had the pleasure reading, this one too leaves the reader with a distinct humbleness and sometimes, with a disturbing truth. This book is a set of short stories (true occurrences), that took place with the author herself. As the strong, open minded and always-ready-to-help woman that she is, Mrs. Murthy's stance in majority of these stories highlights the plight of the common man/woman in India. Whether it is a rank holder with a poor financial background or an educated and working married woman, the height of helplessness is so prominent that it moved me to tears. On the other hand, there are also tales of those helped by the author reminiscing and be...

Rating: 3.5/5 Title:  Gently Falls The Bakula Author: Sudha Murthy Genre: Fiction, Romance Pages: 169 Publisher: Penguin Books India ISBN:  9780143103776 Mrs. Murthy continues to influence as far as her stories are concerned. After reading 'Dollar Bahu' and 'Mahashweta', I just had to get my hands on this one. It is almost like drug! Shrimati and Shrikant are neighbours who have known each other since childhood but because of some family enemity, they are hardly on talking terms. They are the top students of their school and when Shrikant confesses his love for Shrimati, she is ecstatic and marries him leaving her dreams and ambitions behind. Shrimati was always interested in history but leaves it all to become the dutiful and caring wife. But as Shrikant climbs the corporate ladder, he hardly finds time for his wife and Shrimati helplessly realizes that her life is slowly getting empty without her love for Sh...

Rating: 4/5 Title:  Mahashwetha Author: Sudha Murthy Genre: Fiction Pages: 160 Publisher: Penguin India ISBN-13:  9780143103295 After reading ‘Dollar Bahu’, I browsed for other books by Sudha Murthy and bought ‘Mahashweta’. While ‘Dollar Bahu’ is a light read, this one on the other hand, is more introspective. Anupama is happily married to her doctor husband Anand when she finds out that she suffers from leukoderma. Her husband works abroad and in the meanwhile she is forced to leave Anand’s home and return to her own in the village. When her husband doesn’t reply to her several mails, she is left hopeless, lonely and marred for life. The crisis and evasion she faces from people and how she overcomes them all is the gist of the story. The book was originally written in Kannada but as the case with all Mrs. Murthy’s books, it was later published in English and all major Indian languages. The plight of the Indian woman is just as described in...

Rating: 4/5 Title:  Dollar Bahu Author: Sudha Murthy Genre: Fiction Pages: 142 Publisher: Penguin India ISB N-13:  9780143103769 I had always wanted to read Sudha Murthy’s books but whenever I walk into a book store the aura of a glamorous looking mystery/detective novel always gets the better of me (even today!). But a deliberate attempt to grab this copy had me enjoying a pleasant ride from India to America and now I can’t stop raving about it! Dollar Bahu begins with Chandru, an engineer, leaving Bangalore- his hometown- for Dharwad where he is sent on official duty. He stays as a paying guest and falls in love with Vinuta, the niece of his landlord. When he is sent to America on deputation, he reluctantly leaves Dharwad unsure if Vinuta has the same feelings for him. But going to America was a priority for Chandru as he and his mother, Gowramma, always wanted to visit the “Dollar” country.  Gowramma is thrilled and is rather pompous as ...