JYOTI JHA

July 02, 2019

When you cry after reading a book!!!

Hello guys!!! Sorry for the late post but I was ridiculously busy this week and could not post for a long time. And now I am back with another book review. So, read this article to know my thoughts about the same.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini : Book review

Introduction:

This book is my first Khaled Hosseini book and eventually the first novel written by the author. Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-American author born on 4 March 1965. He has also written A Thousand Splendid Suns, And the Mountains Echoed and Sea Prayer. Talking about The Kite Runner, it was published in 2003 by Riverhead books having the backdrop of Afghanistan, America and Pakistan. It was a New York times bestseller for more than two years. Till now, over seven million copies have been sold.

Plot:

The story is about two friends Hassan Ali and Amir. Amir is a boy of a rich father and he belongs to the Pashtun community while Hassan is the kid of the servant and he is a Hazara.The story revolves around their friendship and how it changes with time. One day, when there is kite festival and Amir wins, Hassan runs the kite for him(he is a very good kite runner) and catches the kite. However, Hassan is raped by a boy of higher community - Assef. Amir watches all this but doesn't help and runs away. Out of guilt, he tries to stay away from Hassan and treats him badly. Finally, he gets rid of Hassan when Amir accuses Hassan of stealing his watch and money. Along with his father, Amir settles in America and grows up there. When suddenly, Rahim khan(a good friend of Amir's father) calls him and tells him that he is not well and that he has to meet him in Pakistan. After reaching Pakistan, he knows that Hassan and his wife were killed by Taliban and their sun - Sohrab is in orphanage in Afghanistan. Later on, he finds out that he was being sold by Taliban. He somehow manages to rescue Sohrab. I'm not telling you the story after that because I'm afraid you won't want to read this book!

Writing style:

Metaphors are the speciality of this author and he has portrayed it beautifully in this book. Some of them include Hassan's dream about the monster in the river when everyone shouts at Amir and says not to jump into the river since there is monster in it. But Amir says "there is no monster" and jumps. Amir than tells that he has always been a monster in Hassan's life and he deserves no mercy. Another beautiful metaphor is about how sheep are being slaughtered and sacrifice their lives to make the Human's Allah happy. Similarly, Hassan has always sacrificed for Amir since he is a servant's son and he is bound to show loyalty to his masters. The book is narrated by the protagonist himself - Amir in first person form. The book starts with he getting a call from Pakistan from Rahim Khan. From that, many changes in time are observed, i.e, it starts in present, then goes back to past as Amir recollects his memories. This transition between past and present happen in the whole book and thereby making the writing style more interesting - it's simple yet creative!!!

Theme:

There can be many themes but in my belief these are the main themes:

Child abuse

While Hassan was homosexually raped by a boy named Assef because he didn't hand the kite to him, later on, his son - Sohrab is also sexually abused by the same man.

Social inequality

Although Hassan is Amir's best friend, he also admits that he never played with Hassan in front of his other 'higher class' friends out of embarrassment. Due to this reason, he was always treated poorly by other boys. Sohrab also faces this same discrimination.

Betrayal

Amir betrays his friend Hassan out of cowardice. Years later, he finds out that his father also betrayed Ali and in turn betrayed Amir.

Forgiveness

Even after being treated harshly, Hassan forgives Amir of not rescuing him and accusing him for stealing. Amir also forgives his father for not telling the truth that Hassan was his half brother and above all he forgives himself.

War

The novel also consists of the war happening between Taliban and normal people.

Remorse

Out of remorse for his deeds, Amir decides to make up the mistakes and rescues Sohrab - Hassan's son by risking his life and adopting him and thereby providing a better future for him.

My Opinion:

In all of the Khaled Hosseini books, you will find one common element - and that is how the protagonist in the story is flawed and not a perfect guy. He feels jealousy, he is afraid to stand up for himself and of others and thereby creating the strong bond between the readers. In this book, for example, Amir is sometimes jealous of Hassan since he gets more love from his father. He even doesn't stand up for himself or for his best friend Hassan(when he is sexually abused). It also breaks the taboo that boys are supposed to be strong and they should not cry or that are not allowed to experience fear. However, there is always a chance to improve yourself and repay for your mistakes. You should learn to forgive yourself. Only then you will acknowledge the fact that you are after all a human being and that you are allowed to make mistakes as long as you learn from those mistakes. The key is - never be hard on yourself.

Conclusion:

In short, the book is a masterpiece and in my opinion, it will surely make you cry. I would definitely recommend you all to read this book. Go and grab this book!!!

My favourite mystery book!!!

JYOTI JHA Agatha Christie , Book review

And then there were none by Agatha Christie: Book review

This is my first Agatha Christie book and after reading it I'm tempted to read more books of the author. I know its a very big statement to make but this book has topped the list of my favourite mystery books. It's the best seller mystery books of all time and is translated into many languages. Many movies have been also made in past from this book including our bollywood movie 'Gumnaam'.

Okay, so let's not spoil the mystery here because it will eventually make the book less valuable. I will, therefore, only talk about the genreal plot(please forgive me for that!!!).

The story is about ten people who are somehow lured into an island for various purposes by a mysterious man called U.N. Owen. On the first night, gramophone plays stating each and everyone about the murders they have commited in the past and escaped from the eyes of law. After this strange event everyone starts to panic.

During a week or so, each person mysteriously dies one after the other which fits exactly to a nursery rhyme. Since, there is no one in the island except the ten people, the killer is one of them (you need to read the book to find out who is the killer!!).

To sum the whole review, its a fantastic book and intrigues you from the very first page. Don't forget to read it!!

Have you read this book? If yes, do tell me if you liked it or not!!

The girl in room 105 by Chetan Bhagat: spoiler free book review

JYOTI JHA Book review , Chetan Bhagat

Honestly speaking, I'm not a very big fan of Chetan Bhagat's writing because it includes some typical cheesy romantic plots that I usually hate. But this book is different as it is not a love story but a thriller murder mystery. I was always doubtful about reading any of CB books. I only decided to read this because I wanted a light read and needless to say, I don't regret the decision. I can surely say that this is the best CB book I've read so far (I've only read two books!!!).

Well, the story is about a guy Keshav Rajpurohit who, inspite of completing his IIT, didn't got a reputed job and is teaching mathematics in tution classes. He had girlfriend, Zara Lone, a beautiful Muslim girl but they broke up a few years ago. The girl has moved on, but Keshav still misses her and is deeply in love with her.

The first 30-50 pages get really boring as it is a mellodrama about Keshav missing his girlfriend and crying all day. One night, however, on Zara's birthday, she messages him that she misses him and to come and wish her a happy birthday in her room 105 in her hostel. He goes there and his life completely changes after that.

Zara is found dead in her room and his best friend Saurabh tells him to leave her alone and run away but Keshav refuses. He finally decides to call her father and police.

The rest of the story covers a thrilling adventure of Keshav and Saurabh finding out Zara's killer and they find it. However, I won't tell you who the killer is as you would definitely curse me for unfolding this to you!!!

But, when reading any of CB's books, you should not expect any deceny in his language as there are too many abusive words. So, in my opinion, this is a good one time read and if you are a mystery lover, you can surely give it a go!!!

Have you read this book?? If yes, do tell me if you liked it or not!!!

A brief history of time by Stephen Hawking : Book review

JYOTI JHA Book review , Non fiction

When you look at the sky, have you ever wondered how this universe started, how will it end or is there any end? Well, this book is for all the curious ones who ask questions. This book doesn't need any introduction or review. Chances are, you have already read this book or heard about it or atleast heard the name 'Stephen Hawking'.

A brief history of time is a book on Cosmology written by Stephen Hawking. Till now, more than 20 million books are sold and is an international bestseller.

The book has 12 chapters in total and is a short read. It starts with a short incident where a well-known scientist gave a lecture on astronomy telling how earth orbits round the sun and sun in turn orbits round the galaxy. However, a lady got up and told that it was all rubbish and that the world is a flat place being supported by a giant tortoise!! When the scientist asked what is the tortoise standing on, the lady replied that the turtles are all the way down!!! By this incident, Stephen Hawking asks us several questions like the start and the end of the universe.

It covers topics including the illusion of time, wormholes, black holes and many more. Generally, when we are reading any book related to science, we become terrified at the idea of difficult equations and concepts. But it's just overwhelming to know that their is not a single equation in this book. In fact, the main reason behind the writing of this book is to make science easy and fun for people having non-scientific background.

There are theories that will simply blow your mind. Some of them are given below:

Wormhole: A thin tube of space-time connecting distant regions of the universe(It may also provide the possibility of time travel!!!).
Singularity: A point in space-time at which the space time curvature becomes infinite.
Information paradox: The information content of objects falling into a black hole at first sight seems to be lost, but this contradicts the laws of quantum mechanics. It is now believed that the information is returned in an altered form in the Hawking radiation escaping the black hole.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to observe it!!!

This book is simply a wonderful treat for all the cosmology lovers. Don't forget to read it!!!

Liked this article?? Share it with your friends and consider subscribing us!!

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams: book review

JYOTI JHA Book review , Comic science fiction

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams : Book review

The Hitchhiker' guide to the galaxy is an International bestseller comic science fiction novel written by Douglas Adams. There have been multiple adaptations of the book including a television show, radio podcasts, video game and a movie.

The book starts with the protagonist Arthur Dent whose house is about to be demolished by Mr. L. Prosser in order to form a bypass. Arthur Dent greatly refuses it.

Arthur's friend, Ford Preface, who is actually an alien, suggests Arthur to go with him at the pub and convinces Mr. Prosser not to demolish the house with a weird sort of argument. At the pub, Ford declares that the earth is about to be destroyed and that he is an alien from Beteleguese planet and was here for 15 years. He also says that he is the researcher of 'the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy' which is an electronic book having the answers to nearly every universe related questions.

When several yellow ships arrive in the sky drove by vogans and they announce that they are about to destroy the Earth to create a hyperspatial express route, the public starts to panic. The earth is finally destroyed and Arthur is rescued by Ford Prefact and they climb to a vogan spaceship. Unfortunately, vogans do not like hitchhikers and they eventually throw Ford and Arthur out of the spaceship into the galaxy. They are picked up by 'heart of gold' starship which works on an infinite probability drive meaning that when a button is pressed, the most improbable thing will happen.

Here, the two headed president of the galaxy with his friend Trillion ask Marvin - a depressed robot to fetch the two newcomers. When they come, they soon realise that they know one another. It is soon revealed to them that they are in horse head nebula and are astonished to find a planet - Magrathea. It is the wealthiest planet in the galaxy and is believed to be manufacturing planets.

They are soon headed towards the planet where a 5 million old voice recording said that two missiles are coming towards the planet. Arthur uses his presence of mind and turns on the improbability drive resulting the two missiles to turn into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias. Zaphod, Trillion and Ford begin to explore the interior of the planet leaving Arthur behind with the robot Marvin. He bumps into an increadibly old man Shartibalfast who shows him the extremely interior of the planet where the other planets are being manufactured. He declares that Earth was a program made for scientific purposes and tha it was run by mice. Arthur then learns through a hologram that a computer named 'Deep thought' is being asked to give the answer of the question of life, universe and everything. He tells that it will take it 7 and half million years to find out the answer. After this long time, it's answer is '42' leaving the public puzzled. They ask it what is the question to which '42' is the answer. It tells that it cannot answer. However it can tell the name of the one who can answer. They will have to go through the 10 million year long program to create such computer and that computer will be 'Earth'.

They return back to where they were where Ford, Trillion and Zaphod were waiting for Arthur. Soon two mice arrive and introduce themselves to Arthur. They also tell the old man that there will be no need to create a new Earth as Arthur - the last man alive from Earth would be able to answer the ultimate question. They will have to use his brain for the same. All they have to do would be replace the brain of Arthur with a computer program. Horrorstruck, they refuse this plan and somehow manage to escape them.

During the end of the story, Zaphod asks if Arthur is hungry. When Arthur gives a positive reply, Zaphod says that he will take the ship to the restaurant at the end of the universe.

Liked this article? Share it with your friends and do subscribe for more updates!!!

My favourite quotes from Kafka on the shore.

JYOTI JHA Book quotes , Haruki Murakami

Here are some of my favourite quotes from Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the shore:

Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.
It's like Tolstoy said. Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.
Silence, I discover, is something you can actually hear.
Listen up - there's no war that will end all wars.
Taking crazy things seriously is a serious waste of time.
A certain type of perfection can only be realised through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.
Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loathe.
Not just beautiful, though, the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they are watching you.
I close my eyes and relax, letting my tense muscles go loose. I listen to the steady hum of the train. And then, without warning, a warm tear spills from my eye, runs down my cheek to my mouth, and after a while, dries up. No matter, I tell myself. It's just one tear. It doesn't even feel like it's mine, more like part of the rain outside.
If you remember me, then I don't care if everyone else forgets.
Time weighs down on you like an old, ambiguous dream. You keep on moving, trying to slip through it. But even if you go to the ends of the earth, you won't be able to escape it. Still, you have to go there - to the edge of the world. That's something you can't do unless you get there.
Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing is going to change just because you can't see what's going on. Infact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won't make time stand still.

For every theory,there has to be counter evidence - otherwise science wouldn't progress.
It's all a question of imagination. Our responsibilities begin with the power to imagine. It's just like Yeats said: In dream begin responsibilities. Flip this around and you could say that where there is no power to imagine, no responsibility can arise.
You're afraid of imagination and even more afraid of dreams. Afraid of the responsibility that begins in dreams. But you have to sleep and dreams are a part of sleep. When you are awake, you can suppress imagination. But you can't suppress dreams.
But that calm won't last long, you know. It's like beasts that never tire, tracking you everywhere you go. They come out at you deep in the forest. They are tough, relentless, merciless, untiring and they never give up.
Of course it's important to know what's right and what's wrong. Individual errors in judgement can usually be corrected. As long as you have the courage to admit mistakes, things can be turned around. But intolerant, narrow minds with no imagination are like parasites that transform the host, change form and continue to thrive.

Which are your favourite Haruki Murakami quotes?? Do tell me in the comment section below!!

Liked this article? Share it with your friends and do subscribe for more such contents.

Kafka on the shore: A book that is too difficult to talk about!!

JYOTI JHA Book review , Fiction

When you are reading any of the Haruki Murakami books, you need to be ready for all the weird things that happen between the story. Also, the story of this book becomes a lot more hard to understand if you are reading it with a narrow mind. So, my suggestion is you have to stop questioning about the events in this book and simply go with the flow.

It is a 2002 Japanese novel which was translated in English by Philip Gabriel. It received the World Fantasy Award for 2006.

This is the first magical realism book that I've read. A lot more people misunderstand magical realism with fantasy which in my opinion is noy true. Fantasy genre revolves around the whole magical setting and the characters itself are sort of magical while in magical realism - as the name suggests - have perfectly normal characters but there is a hint of magic in them.

The one thing that I love about in this book is its writing style and how their is kind of poetry in them. Obviously, a lot of focus is spent on the details in any of Murakami's books and this book is no different. The lines itself are so beautiful that you simply fall in love with them.

When I first met you, I felt kind of contradiction in you. You are seeking something but at the same time, you are running away from all you're worth.

To be honest, there is no point in telling you the story, because it'll not make sense to you anyway. Strange things always happen in this book like fish and leeches falling from the sky, a ghost of a girl comes but she is still alive and many more.

There are two protagonists in this book: Kafka Tamura who runs away from his home on his 15th birthday and Nakata, an old man who is sort of mentally weak and dumb and cannot read and write since a weird accident happens during his childhood but has an ability to talk with cats. It's amazing how their lives are connected to each other but they never meet in the story.The boy named Kafka is an introvert but meets some people with whom he feels connected like Oshima and Miss Saeki.

It's also great how this book talks a lot about books and music. Go and give it a try!!!

Liked this article? Share it with your friends and do subscribe for more contents like this!!!

Search This Blog

July 02, 2019

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini : Book review

Introduction:

Plot:

Writing style:

Theme:

Child abuse

Social inequality

Betrayal

Forgiveness

War

Remorse

My Opinion:

Conclusion:

June 21, 2019

And then there were none by Agatha Christie: Book review

June 19, 2019

June 15, 2019

June 07, 2019

The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams : Book review

June 04, 2019

Here are some of my favourite quotes from Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the shore:

June 03, 2019

Contact Form

Total Pageviews

Search This Blog

Labels

Translate

Pages

Popular Post

Popular Posts

Featured post

Popular

Blog Archive

Categories

Recent Post

Tags

Recent Comments