Book Vue

This is a post from my personal blog I,Me,Myself . Since it was about Agatha Christie, thought I should share it here too. Tu Mera Hero, Poirot! David Suchet as Hercule Poirot Image courtesy: http://www.agathachristie.com/christies-work/detectives/poirot/1 All my life I have been reading and re-reading Agatha Christie's books. I absolutely love them. She has this ingenious capability to create some of the most flawless and complex plots and characters. But Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective with his distinguishing egg shaped head and stiff mustache, is Christie's masterpiece. Just yesterday I was watching a Poirot movie. The Mystery of the Blue Train. Although I always maintain that nothing can beat the experience of reading, I was curious. Seeing David Suchet portraying him just made me smile. Oh, what an excitement to watch the clever, hot chocolate loving neat freak on screen! He looked exactly the picture I had always imagined. And so immaculately repres...

Rating: 3.5/5 Title:  Shadow Princess Author: Indu Sundaresan Genre: Fiction, Literary, Indian History Pages: 380 Publisher: Harper Collins India ISBN-13:  9788172239978 'Shadow Princess' is the third book in the Taj Mahal trilogy. I haven't read the previous two books and I'm glad that this book does not have a continuing story line. So if, like me, you have no idea what happens in the prequels, it is absolutely  fine  because this book starts anew and is a story in  itself . The story opens with the delivery of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan's  fourteenth child. When she passes away due to  compilations  in childbirth, the powerful emperor is reduced to a forlorn figure as he struggles to come to terms with the tragedy. So great is the void that he considers giving up the mighty throne. It is then that he decides to demonstrate his love for his most belov...

Ruskin Bond's new collection of stories The Writer on the Hill is up for pre order on Flipkart. Pre Order   here .

Rating: 1/5 Title:  First Sight Author: Danielle Steel Genre: Fiction, Romance Pages: 310 Publisher: Transworld Publishers ISBN-13:  9780593063170 It was sometime during my college days that I read the one and only Danielle Steel book that I read (befire this one). Sadly, I dont remember the name of the book. But it was a good one and since then I have been wanting to try her books again. Her stories are usually about women and their conflicts with romance. Atleast that's what I have come to know. First Sight is about Timmie O'Niell, a highly successful and renowned fashion designer from New York. Despite the fame and riches, Timmie has had more than her share of hardships. The early stages of her life were spent in an orphanage and as if that wasn't cruel enough, she ends up divorcing her husband after their son suddenly dies. Since then she has been totally devoted to her career and her fashion shows. On one such trip to Paris, her favorite city, she m...

Rating: 3.5/5 Title:  Chennaivaasi Author: T.S. Tirumurti Genre: Fiction, Romance Pages: 270 Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers ISBN-13:   9789350291016 Chennaivaasi is a book by the author T.S.Tirumurti. I read the summary and since it mentioned a TamBram boy, I thought I should give it a go (TamBram meaning a Tamil Brahmin). Being one myself, I found the story and its instances empathizing and closer to home. The story is about Ravi, a TamBram boy from Chennai and Deborah, a Jewish girl from America who fall in love and want to to get married with the parent's blessings. While Deborah's parents agree Ravi's father, on the other hand, is enraged. The tradition-bound and adamant man that he is, Appa (as Ravi calls him) is unmoved by the countless pleads and reasoning by his son and shuns him out of his home and life. Nevertheless, Ravi and Deborah take up jobs and shift base to Chennai hoping to resolve the matter. Subsequently as Ravi's mother come...

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: 2.5/5 Title:  Fifty Shades Of Grey Author: E. L. James Genre: Fiction, Romance, Erotica Pages: 528 Publisher: Random House ISBN-13:  9780099579939 I had heard so much about this book being on the bestseller list and all, and one of my friends explicitly suggested reading this one too. I put it on hold because I had to finish reading the other books in hand. But when I was finally done, I thought to explore this particular trilogy. I seriously thought this would be somewhere in the lines of a Mills and Boon but I was astonished! Not sure in a happy way, though. The story is about Anastasia Steele, a university student, who interviews an immensely rich (and insanely handsome) businessman, Christian Grey, for her college newspaper on behalf of her roommate. From the moment they set eyes both are drawn towards each other. Although Grey displays his affection, he is distant and mysterious especially when he says that he cannot touch her unless she signs ...