Book Vue

Rating: 4/5 Title: The Immortals of Meluha Author: Amish Tripathi Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Pages: 412 Publisher: Westland ISBN-13:  9789380658742                                                                                                                                                                                                               Hadn’t it been for the second intuitive glance at the summary behind the book, I would...

Rating: 3/5 Title:  The All Bengali Crime Detectives Author: Suparna Chatterjee Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Detective P ages: 180 Publisher: Rupa & Company ISBN-13:  9788129117823 I saw the cover of this book, read the summary and found it interesting enough to invest in it. I am truly happy that I did. This is the author’s first book and the story goes like this. A theft takes place in a neighborhood in Calcutta. Four retired people, including an ex-high court judge, investigate the crime. How the crime is solved makes the rest of the story. But is also has loads of description about the neighborhood and the people of the city. Giving readers glimpses of the Bengali way of life, the book breezes through the story. The author being born and brought up in Calcutta succeeds in portraying an appealing and interesting picture about the spirit of the city. The crime takes place during “Durga Pujo” which gives the author the opportunity to explain the...

Rating: 3.5/5 Title:  The Rozabel Line Author: Ashwin Sanghi Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller Pages: 346 Publisher: Westland ISBN-13 :  9789381626825 This is Ashwin Sanghi’s first book. It was first published in 2007 under the pseudonym Shawn Haigins which is in fact an anagram of the author’s name itself. Due to its bestseller status for a long time, it was revised and published under the author’s original name in 2008 and 2010. The story is about the Rozabel Line or rather the expedition of finding it. It exists in Kashmir, India and is supposedly Jesus’ tomb. A line in the summary behind the book says, “Spanning between centuries and continents” and is quite true to its meaning. I’m not getting down to details on purpose for this book because I believe the pleasure lies in digging them out on your own! The story begins in London where a professor’s severed head is found in a box inside a library. As a result, the journey begins to find...

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 ...

Rating: 2/5 Title:  Love Was Never Mine Author: Kunal Bharadwaj Genre: Fiction, Romance Pages: 144 Publisher: Cedar Books ISB N-13:  9788122311846 For a change, I decided to buy this book. The summary at the back looked interesting enough and moreover, Indian writings are always easier to relate to. So I thought to give it a try. This book is about Rahul and his first (and last) love, Shreya. Rahul joins his dream company where he meets Shreya and instantly falls in love with her. Rahul firmly believes in the phrase”If you want something wholeheartedly, the universe conspires to bring it to you“. Keeping his faith in the Universe, he tries to impress and help Shreya in any way possible just to steer her attention towards him. He gets dejected by even the slightest disinterest from Shreya and pours it out on Riya and Hari, his colleagues. Shreya, unaware of his feelings for her, hurts him unintentionally until Rahul decides to express it all to her...

Rating: 4/5 Title:  Only Time Will Tell Author: Jeffrey Archer Genre: Fiction, Historical Pages: 388 Publisher: Pan Macmillan India ISBN-13:  9780330535670 This book reminds me why I can never get enough of Archer’s ingenuity. Archer, as is known, is an excellent storyteller and after this book all I have to say is, there can be no one like him. ‘Only Time Will Tell’ is the first volume of the “The Clifton Chronicles” series. Harry Clifton is a child who, despite his poor financial condition, manages to attend the best schools due to his extraordinary singing talent and his mother’s hard work. People around him help from time to time with either money or advice and teach him how to handle life’s ups and downs which shapes him for his future. Like Old Jack Tar, a loner, who is particularly fond of Harry. Maisie Clifton, Harry’s mother, is a doting and hard working mom who determinately works many jobs to afford her son’s education. He meets his ...

Rating: 2/5 Title:  The Lost Symbol Author: Dan Brown Genre: Fiction, Mystery Pages: 608 Publisher: Random House ISBN-13:  9780552161237 The Lost Symbol is another thrilling chase for ancient secrets and unearthing startling facts on its way. Robert Langdon, the Harvard symbologist who helped solve mysteries in “Angels and Demons” and “Da Vinci Code”, stars yet again in this exciting expedition. Robert Langdon is invited to give a lecture at the Capitol in Washington D.C by his mentor, Dr. Peter Solomon, who heads the Smithsonian Institute. Upon arriving at the Capitol, Robert realizes that the invitation was sent by Dr. Solomon’s kidnapper and that his mentor is in grave danger. What follows is the journey to not only find Peter Solomon but also uncover mysteries that, until this time, Robert thought to be a myth. The story revolves around the Freemasonary group and a hidden pyramid which apparently is a map that points to the exact location of an ancie...