The God of small things by Arundhati Roy//Bookish Santa

"And the air was full of thoughts and things to say.But at times like these,only the small things are ever said.Big things lurk unsaid inside"

The God of Small Things By Arundhati Roy is one of the Indian Novels Which stays with you forever in a strange way.The characters and the storyline are so immense and unusual that one will definitely want to know more and more with each page.

So, the story is set in 1990's in small town of Ayemenem in kerala,India and basically revolves around the lives of twins Rahel(girl) and Esthappan(boy) who reunite with each other after so many years since their childhood after being separated and they still hold the memories of their dark past along with their mother who they call Ammu.Ammu's comes back to their native town Ayemenem after leaving her prude husband and falls in love with velutha who belongs to a low caste and just as the previous one, her love story is doomed yet again by the societal norms.

But the lives of the twins completely change after the death of their English cousin Sophie Mol.

I love how Pretty much every indian issues are covered in the book such as Indian politics and post British rule tensions, caste system , forbidden love mostly because of different caste or class, social discrimination because of it,Betrayal too remains a repeated element in the storyline and lastly the condition of women at the time clearly shows how misogynistic and patriarchal our society was.

Although,the story was set in 90's India depicting the problems of that time,but sadly, those problems remain rooted even today.

This book got a booker prize back in 1997 and was a huge hit not just in India but in foreign as well and it clearly deserves all the fame it got.

I read this masterpiece 1 year ago after getting so much requests and i never knew this story will always remain with me in a unsual way.The most suitable word i could find for the book was 'TRAGIC' and the ending explains it.It depicts how the laws of love or relationships can be changed so easily when one can't find the true meaning or motive behind a particular relationship.

The book also explores the post-colonial complex and attitude of many people about the former british culture.The mentioning of British Raj dominated most of the Indian books back in 20th century and somewhat even today.

The only problem i faced while reading this was a bit if confusing chronological sequences sometimes as it contained flashbacks and sidetracks.

Indian authors like Arundhati Roy needs to be appreciated every now and then for covering these kind of topics which are sadly, relevant nowadays too.

Overall i totally liked the book and surely recommend you to pick this one up.

MY RATING-4.5/5

Happy reading :)

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The God of Small things

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

"For you, a thousand times over"

I have read this line again and again , everytime i read it , sad emotions start emerging inside me.

'The kite runner' is a book about two boys called Hassan and Amir.Hassan is a Hazara (a minority low caste in Afghanistan) and Amir is a Pashtun(a high caste in Afghanistan).Despite of these differences, hassan and amir bond pretty well, they have grown up together.

Their lives completely change after the kite flying competition which Amir definitely have to win in order to make his father proud and takes the help of Hassan.What hapoens that day , changes the life of these two boys completely.

What i love this book is it has the power to make the hardest of the hard hearts cry.One can feel various aspects of life like 'What is the meaning of a real friendship' , 'how it feels to be socially discriminated' , 'sacrifice' , 'Redemption' and many many more....

Apart from that, Hosseini never fails to give political insight of Afghanistan through his books.

I remember i was sad for weeks after reading this masterpiece and it's all worth it, reading this has been a emotional roller coaster for me and it's surely amoung the books one should read before he/she dies :')

MY RATING -5/5

The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

"The truth, however ugly in itself ,is always curious and beautiful to the seekers after it."

After reading some masterpieces such as 'and then there were none' and 'the murder on the orient express' , i picked up this book and as always , Christie never failed to shook me again.

So, as the name suggets , this book revolves around  the murder of a wealthy person in the village called king's Abbot named Roger Acroyd. Mrs.Ferrars, who was the lover of Acroyd kills her first husband and herself later on, all the secrets of she harboured were to be revealed in the evening post but sadly roger is murdered on the same day.

'What were the guilty secrets she hold'?, 'who had been blackmailing her'? , 'had it really driven her to suicide'? , all of these questions get answered in a very shocking way.

Also , king's abbot is surrounded by other people which includes acroyd's pretty neice Flora, his stepson Ralph Paton, the respectable Dr.Sheppard and his sister Caroline , the village gossip.

They all remain  in the circle of suspicion including some servants too.

I think , Christie never disappoints and this another masterpiece proves that ;)

MY RATING- 4/5

Stranger trilogy by Novoneel chakraborty

Stranger trilogy by novoneel is my top most favorite trilogy by any indian author in genre of suspence-thrill.

Marry me , Stranger

This is the first book , which introduces us to the protagonist of the series named Rivanah Bannerjee who is a very talented and ambitious girl living in Kolkata, loved by her parents and boyfriend Ekansh.But things start changing the moment she shifts to Mumbai for her job.

She feels that someone is following her everywhere and knows her every moves,as the days pass , the stranger(called by rivanah) gets the control of Rivanah's life.

All yours, Stranger

The second book continues the mystery surrounding the stranger, the police even fails to nab him.She misses her ex Ekansh after being cheated by him.Although she manages to find a great friend in her roommate Ishita.As her story proceeds , she meets new people , some become too close to her, but the fact that still haunts her is who is the stanger? Why did he come to her life? What does he wants from her? She gets calls from him but most of the times numbers are changed.

Forget me not, Stranger

As Rivanah's journey continues in Mumbai, her life becomes hell, the mystery man or woman gains complete control over her life, she is forced to commit things which she didn't want in the first place.

She gets only one clue about her ex batchmate called Hiya choudhary which connects her to the stranger, but the problem is Hiya's dead.

What binds her to dead hiya, how does stranger knows about her?why he has been following her,who is the stranger? All these questions are gonna get answered in this final installment of the series.

This series is surely a page turner and the ending is most unpredictable;)

MY RATING-4.5/5

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Before i start the review of this book , i would like to Strongly recommend you all this masterpiece by Murakami even if you don't like reading much.

Now coming to the book , so , the story revolves mainly around 3 individuals who have faced tragedies in their own ways.

Toru watanabe is a ambitious young man, doesn't have more than 1-2 friends, loves reading and is struck between Naoko and Midori.

Naoko is also a student , quite introvert, very much in love with Toru and later becomes quite expressive about it.She deals with mental illness most of the times.

Midori is quite open minded and extroverted girl, she has different fantasies about life and happens to like Toru too.

Before you judge that it's a romantic book, let me tell you, it's a TRAGIC romance, includes the issues of depression , loneliness, student  protests and mostly every issue which a person faces and how he / she deals with it.

This book clearly shows the idea of death as a very natural phenomenon and the people who hold on to life and the ones who give up.

MY RATING-5/5

Birthday girl by Murakami

Birthday Girl is a short read by Murakami which can easily be completed in a single sitting.

What i like about this novella is that the story is short yet thrilling and interesting.

Story starts with the unnamed  protagonist girl who is a waitress and  how the events of her life change when she delivers dinner to the restaurant's owner on her 20th birthday.

Also , this story leaves one with an interesting ending to which the reader have to find answer for.

Also, this book was published to celebrate Murakami's 70th birthday.

I look forward to reading more Murakami(probably Norwegian wood).

MY RATING -3.5/5

Murder on the orient express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the orient express is one of most famous books by Agatha, though, over the period of time, it has got mixed reviews by readers, some define it as nothing new and some put it into one of the best murder mysteries category.

I overall found the book average as compared to other of Agatha's works, but if you are a new agatha reader, then it's just the right book for you, additionally it's a Hercule poirot mystery, which is always fun to read.

The mystery starts when a man is found murdered in the cabin of the orient express where poirot is also a passenger and a snow storm hits the train which makes it clear that the killer is present on the train.

If you are a fan of murder mysteries , then pick this one without any doubt :)

MY RATING-3/5