Neeraj Chavan
His poetry is as esoteric and beautiful as his writings!
Some of the best poems I've ever read!
“He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How”
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
“Yes, a man can get used to anything, but do not ask us how”
Forces beyond your control can take away everything you posses except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always controls what you feel and do about what happens to you.
I happened to read this book after a dear friend of mine, Aayushi suggested me to give it a try.
And it turned out to be one of the best book suggestions of 2017! The book is an account of psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's experiences in the Nazi concentration camps. The book is bound to shake you to your core. It's harrowing and grim, yet motivating and inspiring at the same time! As the title of the book goes, it explores the never-ending question that has troubled humanity over aeons, “What's the purpose of all this? What's the meaning of our existence?”, that too in a rather philosophical and profound way. Pick up this book when you're going through a tough phase in your life and then you'll understand the true magic of this wonderful memior by Frankl! Surely worth reading!
“Oh, Jake,” Brett said, “we could have had such a damned good time together.”“Yes”, I said. “Isn't it pretty to think so?”
A classic tale of unrequited love beautifully set amidst the backdrop of Spain and Paris! Hemingway's way of narration and his elegant style while describing the imagery is unparalleled in the literary sphere. It's literally your ticket to Spain and Paris, right from the comfort of your couch. The whole book revolves around a bunch of folks who've just came out of war and are trying to forget all the misery. There's extravagant wine and liquor flowing throughout the entire book and at times you may find it a bit tedious to read. A fiesta indeed. The characters are well developed. I admire Hemingway's portrayal of Jake Barnes. The protagonist who's wallowing in the angst of his unrequited love for Brett. And yes, what can I say about the lady of this book; Brett Ashley! She is the perfect definition of a ‘femme fatale' You're bound to fall in love with her.
The plot is brilliantly woven with the all the characters. But the pace of the book seems a bit slow, despite it being a short novel. That's the thing about Hemingway. He never compromises with quality just for the sake of wrapping it up. Ernest is always known for providing a rich reading experience to his readers!
The conclude it, it's a great book about a lost generation. It taught me that despite all the boisterous partying and champagne, if you're not in harmony with your inner self, you'll eventually suffer and always be in a pathetic state. And that no matter how terrible the affliction seems, there's always light at the end of the tunnel. There's always hope. For the sun also rises, even after the darkest of nights!
I have always wanted to read Greek mythology as I had heard quite a few standalone stories which have fascinated me. But given the vastness of it, it always felt overwhelming to get started.
From Kronos eating his own babies to Midas turning his wife and daughter into gold statues! Every story has its own taste and charm. Stephen Fry has done a brilliant job at wonderfully compiling these stories, sprinkling his own humor and wit along the way.
If you're like me who has always wanted to delve into Greek mythology but didn't know where to start, this is the book that you need to pick up.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and was transported into the world of Greek gods and demi gods who often teach us a lot about ourselves and our mortal world, through these beautifully tragic (mostly) and interesting tales.
I look forward to exploring other works as well in this series.
I had placed a library hold on this for several weeks till I finally got my hands on this book. The moment I started this book, I felt discomfort reading it. The characters are not likable or maybe I didn't understand them well. Whatever it was, the fact that this book won the Nobel prize for literature is very surprising to me.
The story is about the main character who wakes up one day from a dream and decides to become a vegetarian. What follows is a surreal story of the character's descent into madness. Where she tries to starve herself to death and soaks in the sun by undressing herself, as if she wants to undergo photosynthesis. The other characters too are very complex and difficult to follow. Their actions and motives are unclear.
The only thing I liked about this book is the writing style and the author's unusual way of narration. I'd have given it 2.25 stars but that extra half star is for effortless writing.
This book will make you feel unpleasant things and if you're looking for something existential to shake up your soul, I'd suggest going for it. If not, avoid reading this altogether.
I have had my share of bleak existential fiction books from Sartre to Kafka and Nietzsche to Camus. But I feel I'm past that phase now to find the idea of death as something fascinating. Will I pick up any other books by Han Kang? Not likely though. Not in the near future.
People like best what's hard for them to obtain.
If I could take all the stars in this universe and shower it on Hesse's books, it still won't be enough to rate them! This is one of the best love stories I've read read. It's about a man who falls in love with a woman and then introduces her to his best friend, and eventually she ends up falling in love with his best-friend. It's harrowing, dark and yet wonderful. Hesse has beautifully captured the emotions of the protagonist who is madly and passionately in love with Gertrude. The way the characters are developed is just sheer genius. I was totally in love with each one of them. In the end, the books teaches you a lot about friendship and love. It also shows how tragedy and pain always play a vital role in an artist's life. Glad that I read at a point in my life where I was going through similar plight as that of the protagonist of this novel. And this book has acted as my guide to pave my way out of it. A masterpiece of a novel! Must read.
“Who is the third who walks always beside you? When I count, there are only you and I together But when I look ahead up the white road there is always another one walking beside you. Gliding wrapt in a brown mantle, hooded, I do not know whether a man or a woman —But who is that on the other side of you?”
“My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me. Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak. What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? I never know what you are thinking. Think.”
My final book of 2017 and it's T.S Eliot! The Waste Land is a beautiful poem! The poem has five sections. Each section explores a unique theme and what can I say abot Eliot, he is the master of modern poetry! The concluding chapter, What the Thunder Said, is my personal favourite. The last line of the poem ends with the holy mantra, “Shantih shantih shantih”
Just like I wanted the year to end!
Surely worth reading!
“A person doesn't die when he should but when he can”
“It was a characteristic of men to deny hunger once their appetites were satisfied.”
“The world must be all fucked up”, he said then, “when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.”
“Watch out for your heart. You're rotting alive.”
“Incredible things are happening in the world. Right there across the river, there are all kinds of magical instruments while we keep on living like donkeys”
“There is always something left to love.”
Okay, this is one of the best fictional works I've ever read. It's on par with the greatest literary fiction works of all time! It's not a book, it's a journey into the beautiful and isolated town of Macondo and the lives of Buendia family. Every page, every word, every chapter, every character is enticing and mystical! Its vividly mesmerizing writing style combined with a magical story, makes it a genuine literary masterpiece. The way Gabriel Garcia Marquez creates his characters and blends them into his wonderful world, it's just exquisite! The book introduced me to a totally new genre of magical realism. Where the boundaries between what's real and what's magical are blurred. This is what makes this book fascinating. And what can I say about the characters of this novel! Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a genius of fiction! When I finished the book, the existential crisis and the void left by it felt like a hundred years of solitude!
To end this review here, I'd say that if you haven't read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, you haven't read real fiction yet! A must read masterpiece from the magical artist of literary fiction!
“Because nothing is as good as you can imagine it. No one is as beautiful as she is in your head. Nothing is as exciting as your fantasy.”
“We can spend our lives letting the world tell us who we are. Sane or insane. Saints or sex addicts. Heroes or victims. Letting history tell us how good or bad we are. Letting our past decide our future. Or we can decide for ourselves. And maybe it's our job to invent something better.”
“It's creepy, but here we are, the Pilgrims, the crackpots of our time, trying to establish our own alternate reality. To build a world out of rocks and chaos.”
Oh Chuck, how the f**k do you do this? Reviewing a Chuck Palahniuk book is like trying to explain how a rainbow looks like to a blind guy! To begin with it's a story about how a guy fakes choking to death in posh restaurants, just so that he could earn some quick cash and support his mother, who's dying in a hospital. The characters are quite interesting, especially Dr. Paige Marshall and Denny, who collects rocks from the street and treats them as new born babies. The plot is weirdly vague, just like his every other novel. But Chuck still manages to blow off your mind with his masterpiece of a plot twist. Literally, the climax of the novel was just like Chuck putting a shotgun to my head and painting the walls with my brain! The book is so thought-provoking and profoundly charged that it's almost impossible to put it down! It's a plethora of fascinating aphorisms and epigrams.
It's very difficult to explain or review the book. The best you can do it, read and experience it yourself.
As Chuck says in the book, “It's pathetic how we can't live with the things we can't understand. How we need everything labeled and explained and deconstructed.”
It's the best book I've read after Fight Club, in this genre!
A perfect epilogue to a masterpiece! This book is a bundle of joy, magic and nostalgia. It takes you through a wormhole where you're once again teleported back to your childhood! J.K Rowling certainly is the master of her art. It took me just a day to finish off this one! Speaks volumes about the enthusiam and anticipation I had for this book! Potter fans shouldn't miss this one! And lastly, since I an ardent fan of The Dark Lord, For Voldemort And Valor!
“What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?”
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, you fuckin' genius! I'm rendered totally speechless by this masterpiece of yours. This is one of those books that you must not miss out on. It is an universal compendium of various ideas and aphorisms which are brilliantly knitted into a great tale about a man who commits a murder, blinded by his vanity while thinking he's intellectually superior others. Dostoyevsky is the master when it comes to understanding human nature and knows how to penetrate through your soul with his words. This book is an unforgettable classic. It is bound to make you introspect after you've finished reading it. Having said that, every time I read any of Dostoyevsky's works, at the end of the book, I come out as a completely different person. His books always leave an imprint on your mindset. Such is the literary flair of Dostoyevsky! Will now end my year wallowing in the reverie of this beautiful book.
Do not miss out on this timeless classic. I repeat. Do not miss out on this timeless classic!
“The mystery of the universe is not time but size.”
Stephen King novels aren't known to be short but this one was, compared to his other works that I've read. I love it how he uses the start and stop technique of amusing the readers, with spells of intriguing narration throughout the novel, at regular intervals. I've always wanted to start with The Dark Tower series and this beginning didn't disappoint. Stephen King never compromises with the quality and this book is as picturesque as it can get!
The novel is mysterious yet gripping, with flashbacks into the protagonist's past and the wild desert backdrop adding to the richness of the plot line! I'd definitely love to read the next one after this. A story of a vivid chase between the good and the evil, set up in a quaint world. The ending of the book is profound in a very fascinating manner. Classic King!
“We went far down the garden to the farthest end, where the children and the nurse and the puppy and I used to play in the summer in the shade of a great elm, and there the footman dug a hole, and I saw he was going to plant the puppy, and I was glad, because it would grow and come up a fine handsome dog, like Robin Adair, and be a beautiful surprise for the family when they came home; so I tried to help him dig, but my lame leg was no good, being stiff, you know, and you have to have two, or it is no use. When the footman had finished and covered little Robin up, he patted my head, and there were tears in his eyes, and he said: “Poor little doggie, you saved HIS child!”
Oh Mark Twain, you genius! How do I fight back those tears and the lump in my throat! A brilliant short novel that is sure to move you. A tale of a loyal dog who discovers the dark and cruel side of humanity. Beautiful narration and immersive plotline. This is one of the most emotionally charged stories I've ever read. Will have to discover more of this legend's works now!
“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
Harper Lee at her best! A must read!
I picked this one up on a sunny weekend while browsing through my Kindle collection. It's more of an essay disguised as a short novel. A commentary on the pace of living life, hedonism and happiness. Good for a quick read on a summer afternoon.
A sad yet beautiful tragedy of Hans.
Beneath The Wheel is one miserable tale of how parents pin all their hopes on their child & how the the child succumbs to this burden of expectations.
There are many great writers but no one comes close to what Hermann Hesse writes. Sheer genius indeed. This is his fifth book I've read. Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, Demian, Narcissus & Goldmund! Each book is a masterpiece! Still can't get enough of Hesse!
I had never read any of William Faulkner's works before this, so I thought why not start with a short tale. And Faulkner didn't disappoint at all. Macabre at it's finest! Enjoyed the narration style and the way the story moves on. It's a tale of an eccentric lady called Emily, woven beautifully with grim elements. The ending puts the final nail in the coffin! Would surely love to explore more of William Faulkner.
This is my 4th Backman novel. I'd say it's a good short read about eight year old Elsa and her Granny. Sort of like a children's book which even adults can enjoy and learn something good out of it. The characters are unique and each has their own peculiarities. My personal favourite was Wurse here.
Towards the end the book concludes with each character getting a satisfying closure. Good to cosy up and read this one as a Christmas tale with a good ending!
“i am a museum full of artbut you had your eyes shut”
“do not look for healingat the feet of thosewho broke you”
“The thing about writing is I can't tell if it's healing or destroying.”
“your artis not about how many peoplelike your workyour artis aboutif your heart likes your workif your soul likes your workit's about how honestyou are with yourselfand youmust nevertrade honestyfor relatability”
Okay. This book is way too intense for a poetry book. At one point I thought I couldn't continue and had to stop. I mean, it literally gave me goosebumps after each stanza.
A friend of mine suggested me to read this and I was skeptical about it earlier since it's a different genre than my usual reads. I do enjoy poetry but this one was one of the most powerful work of modern poetry I've ever ever read. Rupi Kaur is raw and unabashed when it comes to expressing her thoughts.
The book deals with major and delicate themes like sexual abuse, love, trauma, loss, healing and feminism in a rather poetic and beautiful way.
Surely worth reading. I would now love to read ‘The Sun and the Flowers'
Stumbled upon this book after I read an excerpt of it in an article written on BrainPicker. This is a beautiful book on how to practise mindfulness in love and the relationships of our life. Also, a short and sweet read!
“A father can pass on his nose and eyes and even his intelligence to his child, but not his soul. In every human being, the soul is new.”
This is another brilliant masterpiece by Hesse. It's about this fascinating character, Knulp who enjoys being a vagabond, an onlooker who likes to live in the moment. He makes you happy, he makes you feel sad and in the end, he makes you think. Hesse's philosophical epigrams have always been a treasure! Such is the beautiful epic of Knulp!
This novel is absolutely beautiful! Hemingway is like Pink Floyd. Starts off gradually and then blows off your mind with sheer elegance! A masterpiece indeed! Now I understand why Ernest is considered one of the greatest authors of all time.
McCarthy has tried to encapsulate everything into this one. It has flashes of some brilliant prose and that gripping style of writing. It can be difficult to understand at times. But overall a good book! Do give it a try if you're a fan of McCarthy's writings.
“Daru looked at the sky, the plateau, and, beyond, the invisible lands stretching all the way to the sea. In this vast landscape he had loved so much, he was alone.”
Only Albert Camus has that ability to blow off your mind with every word that he writes. Despite being a short tale it manages to have a deep impact on your mindset. The story is so profound yet so simple. It teaches us that sometimes it's not about having a judgement. It's about observing, without any judgement!