BOOK REVIEW : A GOD IN EVERY STONE by KAMILA SHAMSIE

City of Men
City of Flowers
Land Beyond the Mountains
Caspatyrus, Paruparaesanna, Paropamisadae, Gandhara, Parasapur, Purashapura, Poshapura, Po-lu-sha-pu-lo, Fo-lu-sha, Farshabur, Peshawar
" They all had a name for it, century after century- the Persians, the Greeks, the Mauryans, the Indo- Greeks, the Sassanids, the Kushans; kings and generals and Buddhist monks and travelers, everyone felt the tug of Peshawar."
Truly and aptly said by the famed author Kamila Shamsie in her latest book, A God In Every Stone.
History, archaeology, India's fight for Independence, World War 1, Ottoman regime, Indian sepoys fighting for the Queen in the World War 1, Peshawar in the early 20th century- such contrasting topics but under Shamsie's excellent writing, it turns into a beautiful story, set in the early 20th century. It starts somewhere in 1914 and ends in the middle of the 1930s. Vivian Rose Spencer, Nazeeb, and his elder brother Qayyum Gul are the three main protagonists here, sharing a unique connection amongst themselves, which though seems insignificant in the beginning reveals its true meaning and importance at the climax of the story on the Street of Storytellers, Peshawar.
The story begins in the ancient town of Labraunda, where Vivian is a part of an excavation dig led by her father's old friend, Tahsin Bey, a Turk. Shamsie's style of writing about the ruins of Labraunda, the broken columns, half-buried rocks and the wild foliage growing there is so vivid that I could picturise it all so well and almost feel myself being present there. Beautiful!!!
From Labraunda, the story jumps to France in the time of World War One, where the Indian sepoys are being deputed to fight for the Queen of England- the readers have to understand that the JUMP in the story is not haphazard rather a very smoothly done one!!!
After the excavation dig and the battle of Ypres, Shamsie takes the readers to the mesmerizing, alluring, addictive, mysterious city of Peshawar where the story reaches its climax and the destiny of our three main characters come together to create an ending that is brave, humane, sad, poignant, and at the same time is cruel and harsh. It makes you weep and smile and even get angry, simultaneously!!
I am very impulsive and mostly all the books which I end up buying/reading are a result of this impulsive streak. This book was another such buy. I was very cautious when I started this book, fearing the worst ( that I might get bored and lose interest), but to my pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed this story. I was never a history buff but I was hooked to this one from page 1. Moreover, the one aspect that thoroughly had me in its grip was the detailed archaeological parts. Shamsie has done a brilliant job here and the descriptions were so apt that I just had to close my eyes to visualize it all. Just one word... Wow!!

Peshawar - I have no words to do justice to the charm, the magic, the chaos, the culture, the people, the society of a city which is the heart of this story. The myriad lanes of Peshawar and their intriguing names - The Street of Partridge Lovers, The Street of Englishwomen, The Street of Felt Caps, The Street of Silver, The Street of Potters - made the story all the more interesting and enthralling for me.
I am right now in my happy place, feeling content and satisfied, having completed a good book and enjoying visualizing certain scenes and characters in my mind, again and again!!
This is one author whom I would love to read again to enjoy the beautiful synchronized blend of history, facts, and fiction with characters who stay with you long after the story is over!! 

Aaahhhh... A big sigh of bliss n contentment!!!

BOOK REVIEW : GARDENS OF WATER by ALAN DREW

"Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly,into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul" -  Joyce Carol Oates.

How aptly said. We have all experienced this feeling, this helplessness, not once, but several times in the hands of many a story-teller. My first brush with story telling and the amazing world of books was through Babaji, my paternal grandfather, who was a story teller par excellence. He made the whole experience interesting with his special sound effects and voice modulations. Undoubtedly, one of my very precious childhood memories. 

This book, Gardens Of Water caught my eye in Crossword(a bookstore in my city, Kolkata) where I had taken my two girls for their stationery shopping. It's bright yellow cover literally made me stop and pick it up and once I read it's synopsis, I had to buy it. Vamika, my older daughter made fun of me, saying that I can never leave a bookstore without buying a book or two. True but not something which embarrasses me. 

Let's talk shop now - Gardens Of Water by Alan Drew is a story set in Turkey and is about a Kurdish family who had to flee from their homeland and were now residing in the suburbs of Istanbul. Sanin, runs a grocery with his brother-in-law Ahmet, his wife Nilofer, manages the house and they have two children- Ismail, a young, happy, lively 9year old boy and Irem, a beautiful 15year old girl, who feels that her father only loves Ismail and she hates being cooped up in the house all day long working along with her mother. Sinan is working hard to provide for his family and at the same time is finding it very difficult to put a check on Irem's growing resentment and frustration on the restrictions imposed on her. To add to Sinan's problems is an American family who live in the same building as Sinan. Irem is attracted to Dylan, the young son of the American couple.  The delicate stability of this family is shattered away when a massive earthquake hits the area where Sinan is living with his family. In the wake of this natural disaster, Sinan looses his home and his livelihood, and is forced to take shelter in the temporary camp set up by the American missionaries working in that area. It is here in this camp, Sinan, who distrusts the Americans but is forced to accept their help, finds himself in situations, which are dangerous not only in the physical sense but also on ethical and moral grounds. Nilofer and Sinan find themselves very helpless in the face of such situations and are forced to take some very dangerous and frightening decisions which alter their lives forever. 

Turkey , it's culture, it's people, their religious sentiments, their ideologies, their belief - author Alan Drew has done a good job in depicting it all with the right amount of emotion. 

Whenever I read a book, there is always this one character with whom I can totally relate with. Here, it is Sinan, the father. The pride of a father for his children, the protective streak of a parent for his children, the helpless anger in the face of a rebelling child, the unconditional love for his children- these are emotions which as a mother I can totally empathise with. Though I cannot comment as to how I would ideally react to any of the situation Drew writes in his book, but , I can surely understand the angst, the love, the anger, the sense of ultimate betrayal which Sanin feels in the course of this story. At the same time, one can truly empathise with Irem and the reasons why she chose to rebel against her upbringing and her internal struggle, in doing something which is the opposite of all that she has been taught by her parents. Similarly I can feel the pain of Nilofer, an obedient, dutiful wife and mother who takes immense pride in being declared a good woman by the society and is completely broken when certain incidents occur, post the earthquake in the refugee camp, where they are forced to live on the charity of the missionaries. And then there is young Ismail, who though survives from the clutches of death, is not able to fully recover from the emotional and mental scars of the earthquake. 

This is a story which is written from the heart. It is not a brilliantly written book which will leave you with a feeling of awe but it is one of those books which will leave you feeling more human. This book will make you realise that though we humans, now belong to the modern civilised society, following societal rules, but , when nature unleashes her fury, then is the actual test of our civilised behaviour , in the face of survival being paramount in the minds of every individual. 

There is one line said by a character in this book to Sinan, which sums up my experience of this book. The line goes, " Our children are not ours. That's our mistake. We think they are. It seems so for a while - a few brief years - but they aren't. They never were. "

BOOK REVIEW : And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Husseini is an author who needs no introduction. He is an author who is known all over the world for his impeccable style of writing and unique story writing skills.
The first book of Husseini's which I read was A Thousand Splendid Suns and it would be an understatement to say that I was totally enthralled by it's gripping story and such strong characters. And the moment I finished it I caught hold of The Kite Runner. It goes without saying that it was an awesome read.
Now after a gap of many years Husseini comes with out with another precious gem from his invaluable ability of story telling- "And the Mountains Echoed".
The story is not about the Taliban or the suffering of the Afghans or an individual but it is a story about people, their relationships and the impact of certain decisions on their lives. Instead of one central character, Husseini presents us with some very compelling characters who make you plunge, heart first, in their stories with an effortless magic spell.
The book begins with the early childhood story of Abdullah and his younger sister Pari who are on a long journey from their village Shadbag to Kabul with their father. On the way he tells them a story and what a story it was. I was under the spell of the great magician of words-Husseini in the first chapter itself. From there the story moves ahead with Parvana, Abdullah and Pari's stepmother. It talks about her life in the shadow of a pretty twin sister, Masooma, and  how her simmering hatred for Masooma changes the twins's lives forever. Then the master storyteller takes us into the life of Nabi, Parvana's brother who works in the house of Mrs and Mr Suleiman Wahdati. Nabi plays a pivotal role in separating Abdullah and Pari and in bringing Pari in the lives of the Wahdatis. The story then jumps to Greece into the early life of Dr. Markos, a plastic surgeon living in the present day war-torn Afghanistan. It is through this kind doctor that Pari is traced and how after many decades she unites with her brother Abdullah and his family.
All the stories are very beautifully carved and are intricately linked to each other through invisible but very strong bonds. It is these relationships and the beautifully etched characters who very subtly but surely pull your heartstrings and stay with you long after you finish the book.