Gun Island-Amitav Ghosh

Book: Gun Island-A Novel

Author: Amitav Ghosh

Publisher: Penguin Hamish Hamilton

Has it ever happened to you that a story that you heard as a child have stuck with you, only to resurface years later, triggered by a recent occurrence?

Gun Island is based on one such folk tale based in the region of Bengal, both West Bengal (India) & Bangladesh. Dinanath Chatterjee is a Brooklyn-based rare book dealer and our protagonist. On one of his visits to Calcutta, he comes in contact with the legend of the Bonduki Sadagar or The Gun Merchant accidentally when he is asked about that in a party by an acquaintance, Kanai Dutta. Elaborating further on this, he mentions about a Dhaam, a shrine, in the Sunderbans connected to this legend and dedicated to Manasa Devi, the goddess of snakes. Kanai tells him that his Aunt Nilima had mentioned this and Dinanath meet her to get more information on this purported dhaam. On reaching Nilima’s place the next day, he comes to know that Nilima had come across this legend while she was working in the Sunderbans and had met the caretaker of the shrine and he had told her the first two lines of the legend. Knowing that Dinanath had a keen interest in the folklore, she asked him whether he would like to go and see the shrine since Nilima’s Trust does work in the area and could help him seek that shrine out. Though reluctantly, he decides to take the trip. Deep in the Mangroves of Sunderbans, he goes to the temple and has an encounter with a King Cobra. What follows this incident is an uncanny series of events that cannot be explained easily with rational arguments.

Gun Island is a powerful novel with the plots touching multiple social topics. Amitav Ghosh has taken a folk tale and set it in contemporary times with some very impactful characters. The plot of the book, though seems to untangle the journey of the Bonduki Sadagar and the Gun Island, but infact works with social topics such as Human trafficking, environmental impacts and has a very deep usage of fate as a theme. Amitav has taken examples of animal migration, forest fires, change in seasons to show that we, as humans are impacting environment in a large way. At one point in the beginning we have a discussion between Dinanath and Tipu about passports being a matter of belief, which sets the tone of the parallel theme of the book-illegal migrations and the methods people resort to. With apt examples and occurrings, the entangled plots of environmental impact, human trafficking and the folk tale move smoothly in the book.

The characters are created beautifully with each having a relevant back story, which is introduced at the perfect time. Be it the character of the depressed, rare book dealer Dinanath or the all-knowing professor Cinta to the rational researcher Piya, each character has their role perfectly defined and is related to one theme of the book or another.

The location of the book moves from Kolkata to the swamps of Sunderbans and from Brooklyn to Venice, taking into its arms Egypt, Turkey and Afghanistan. Each location has been chosen with its relation to the folktale of the Gun Merchant that unfolds in the last part of the book, but not before we have experienced a ride of paranoia, sadness, thrill and most of all, hope through the eyes of our protagonist.

For me, the book is a 5/5.

Room No 904-Shivani Singhal

Book: Room No 904?

Author: Shivani Singhal

Publisher: Partridge India

Each of us has that familiar memory of walking into a college for the first time, exhilarated yet nervous, butterflies in the stomach. This becomes more prominent when you stay away from your home for the first time, in a hostel. This is when friends become important, having a support system becomes a necessity.

Room No 904? Is based in a similar setting. Tamanna moves from Srinagar to Delhi to pursue a degree in law. Luckily, she gets a room in the hostel, but from the beginning, she starts getting a feeling that something is not right. Like every college, this one also has its secrets hidden inside the walls of the college. Allotted room 904 in the Narmada Hostel, she gets a nightmare on the very first night in the hostel. Coupled with the warden behaving weirdly during the room allocation and the hostel mates treating it like a taboo, things start becoming difficult for Tamanna. On top of the mysterious room, she has a run in with a senior, Tanya, who is bossy and vengeful. As a silver lining to this cloud, she befriends a girl opposite to her hostel room, Smera, who is 4 years senior to her but acts an anchor to her. She also gets involved with Tanya’s classmate, Surya. We are also introduced to Nandini, Tamanna’s paternal aunt, who is her guardian after the tragic death of Tamanna’s parents.

As the book moves ahead, we get to understand the reason why Room no 904 is central to the plot. We also get to move along the psyche of the characters and how they change as the time progresses. Why is Room No 904 such a taboo in the college? Why is Tamanna feeling uneasy in the college life? Are Surya & Smera truly helping her in the college?

Room No 904? explores different themes in the plot. Though the mail plot is a mystery, the subplots explore topics such as depression, teenage bullying, ragging in colleges and teenage love. It expertly weaves all the subplots into a coherent narrative that has equal amounts of mystery, thrill and emotions. Shivani has described the characters in detail and the scenes are believable. The theme of depression and bullying by peers has been handled extremely well by her. The plot of romance in the book has been shown with multiple perspectives and has a mature writing on the theme.

The climax of the book is quite unexpected and deserves due credit for its proper execution and planning. Guessing the ending is a bit difficult and that has earned this story another half-star.

For me, the book deserves a 4/5.

The Diary on the Fifth Floor-Raisha Lalwani

Book: The Diary on the Fifth Floor

Author: Raisha Lalwani

Publisher: Rupa Publications

The Diary on the Fifth Floor opens with a woman rushing for an appointment with a doctor. We meet Ms. Khanna (Not using her first name for a reason) who has pleaded with Dr. Rama Berry, a psychiatrist, a lot to schedule an appointment and hence we see her rushing towards the hospital despite of a huge traffic jam. Finally reaching the doctor’s office on the Fifth Floor of the hospital, we are then introduced to “The Diary”. The book is basically a collection of diary entries that help us understand the character of Ms. Khanna better. There are some fictional as well as true incidents from the life of Ms. Khanna that make up this diary.

Some accounts are thrilling, some are sad and some are plain cruel. From a story where a woman leaves her infant at home but finds her on a busy street in an unexpected turn of events to another woman, who wakes up on a flight, befuddled in strangest of circumstances, there is an assortment of events which are connected by a common thread-sadness. This brings us to understand the state of the mind of Ms. Khanna and her reason for visiting Dr. Berry. Over 4 sessions, we see a change in the mind of Ms. Khanna as Dr berry helps her understand the positive side of things.

The ending of the book is unexpected and poignant and is in fact in line with the tone of the book.

The blurb of “The Diary on the Fifth Floor” makes it out to be a thriller, with the questioning undertones and the title itself making you believe that, but in fact, that is not the case. For me the thing that worked in the book was the honesty of the author and the simplicity of the events that take place. The emotions and the feelings of the sub-plots can be felt. Some of the quotes of the book are nice and relatable as well.

The thing that did not work for me was the abruptness of the sub-plots, weak connection between events and an unconvincing ending. The book could have been a lot better of the psyche of Ms. Khanna could have been explored further. Dr. Berry was a wonderful character but unfortunately, she had a truly small part in the plot.

All in all, a decent read. I would rate the book 3/5.

Narasimha-Kevin Missal

Book: Narasimha (The Mahaavatar Trilogy-1)

Author: Kevin Missal

Publisher: Harper Collins India

As kids, we have all heard the story of the fourth avatar of Lord Vishnu-Narasimha. He was the formidable avatar-Half Man-Half lion-incarnated to save his ardent devotee-Prahlad when his father, the demon King-Hiranyakashyap tries to kill him. A pretty simple story of victory of good over evil, right?

Narasimha (The Mahaavatar Trilogy 1) is a retelling of the story from Kevin’s perspective. He has taken several stories around this central plot and bound it into a narrative. The characters are mostly human with some mythical plots built in. The book opens with the prologue showing an attack on Kashyapuri, the capital from where Hiranyakashyap rules. Devendra or Indra attacks the capital as the king was not there. Facing the confrontation, Kayadhu- Hiranyakashyap’s wife-decides to face the battle and gets killed by Narasimha, who was trying to do his duty and protect Indra. The book shifts to events fourteen years after this. We are introduced to Narasimha who is living as a physician in a human settlement. We see Prahlad & Anuhrad, Sons of Kayadhu & Hiranyakashyap- face a battle against Jayant. After the war, we see Hiranyakashyap seek a meeting with his son’s where he details them on the future that each of them was going to have to work on. He sends Anuhrad to help his cousin Andhaka in procuring the Pashupatastra, he himself leaves for Yakshlok to help Vigyasa defeat Lord Agni leaving Prahlad as the Interim King. We are also introduced to the different tribes-Simhas, Devas, Asuras and so on, their origins and their story. On reaching Yakshlok, Hiranyakashyap learns that his brother was in the search of the ultimate weapon-Brahmashastra- and to get that, one has to pass the three trials in the Temple of Brahma.

The story moves on to answer these questions. Will Andhaka get his hands on the Pashupatastra with the help of Anuhrad? Will Prahlad turn into a worthy Asura ruler or will he bend towards faith? Will Hiranyakashyap pass the trials and get his hands on the Brahmashastra? Why did Narasimha leave the war?

Part 1 of the trilogy sets the plot of the entire series beautifully. We are introduced to all the characters well. Each character has a distinct storyline with the proper details needed to establish the cause for their actions. The turning points in the story are very good and the cliffhangers are well placed. The mythology of the Narasimha has been amazingly turned into a fictionalized account of a part human-part god tale.

All things considered; I would have preferred the three trials that Hiranyakashyap undertakes in the Temple of Brahma come in the second book so a certain mystery can be maintained. Nevertheless, the book ends on a very good point with all the plot lines merging towards a single location.

I would rate Narasimha 4/5.

The Billionaire's Funeral-Elijah Brahms

Book: The Billionaire’s Funeral

Author: Elijah Brahms

Publisher: Harper Collins India

With the world going digital, have we ever tried to stop and look back what can go wrong? Plastic money is now taken for granted, digital transactions are taking place faster than ever. With a physical life, we now have a digital life, a digital identity of sorts. Imagine what if one day you wake up and the internet is dead for good?

The Billionaire’s Funeral by Elijah Brahms is a story of Chad C. Cohen, a billionaire investor, who becomes a victim of digital crimes and it wreaks havoc on his life. The story begins with his card being declined at a posh restaurant in London. Not that worrying, right? Except that is the beginning. All his cards get declined subsequently, his stock holdings of his company suddenly start come on the market, his company loses value overnight and he is fired from his own board. If this was not enough, he is arrested at the airport for travelling on a forged passport with a red-corner notice issued against him and  a charge of drug trafficking and human trafficking. He then calls the one person he trusts-Michael “Mike” Cole, his friend and business partner. As the story unfolds, we are first taken into the past and introduced to the characters of the story, their lives, their connections and possible motives now start simmering in the pot. Moving on, Chad begins to suspect Mike as the only person benefitting from the incidents seems to be him. Is Mike the real culprit? Has he stabbed Chad in the back for Redrock Investments? All this is answered in the last part of the book.

“The Billionaire’s Funeral” is a brilliantly executed project. All major characters are properly defined with an individual story arc. Be it Mike, Chad, Chad’s ex-wife and so on. Each of them are given their due time in the story so that no one can be discounted. The arcs seem pointless in the beginning bit in the end, everything is tied up neatly in a bow. The technology described is quite simple, though it sounds complicated but it gives authenticity to the plot.

Apart from being a thriller based on digital crimes, it shows transformation of a human being as it endures new experiences. The character of Chad is a wonderful case in how situations can alter a person. 

And the climax of the book is amazingly done.

It was an unputdownable read, worthy of a 4.5/5.

A Year of Wednesdays-Sonia Bahl

Book: A Year of Wednesdays

Author: Sonia Bahl

Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing

“Can one meeting change everything forever?

The Japanese have a term for it: Ichi-go ichi-e. One Time, one encounter, lasts a lifetime.”

A Year of Wednesdays is based on this Japanese term. The book opens with 2 people flying from Delhi to New York, two people who have nothing in common, polar opposites, sitting in Seat 7A and 7B. On 7A we have a cool Wall-Street guy, and on 7B is sitting a mom of two kids, who is happy that the toddler is sleeping peacefully. Over the 15 hours of flight, these polar opposites discuss their life with wit, debate and sarcastic comments. Cut to New York, 7A invites 7B for a cup of expresso at the best coffee place in New York, an invitation that 7B declines curtly.

And this is where the story begins. Over the course of one year since this meeting, the conversations unfold. The story moves with each Wednesday of the year, alternating with the life of seat 7A & 7B. Be it a trading success party of 7A or a play at the son of 7B, both of them reflect upon the conversation in the flight, affecting them and their life in some manner. Starting off as polar opposites, over the course of the year, we see that they are much more alike. With the life of 7A seeming perfect-perfect job, perfect lifestyle, perfect fiancé, successful and 7B being a successful mom, juggling a career as an environmentalist and a home maker, it is their conversations that start affecting their decisions. When 7A suffers a terrible loss, he starts taking those conversations a bit more seriously and we see a sudden change in his life. We don’t see much change in the life of 7A, except when she sees the news and rushes to the coffee shop that 7B had suggested and her life takes a turn.

The book is wonderfully written and the alternating chapters on the happenings in the life of the two protagonists is seamless. Sonia has created the characters at the polar ends, hence relating with both of them at times is but natural. The conversations are motivating at times and sometimes funny to the core. They met only once but in their lives, they interacted daily, in their heads but changing each other, bit by bit. The characters are relateable and the storyline is crisp. It has humour as well as witty charm.

The ending of the story is truly unexpected and amazing. The chapter is aptly named and written beautifully. The entire story gets summarized in that chapter, that moment.

I would rate the book 4/5.

Thank God I’m Fired-Sandeep Pawar

Book: Thank God I’m Fired

Author: Sandeep Pawar

Publisher: Amazon

A Novella, Thank God I’m fired traces the journey of an IT Engineer who is stuck in the rut of the daily life of an engineer. He feels that he is not doing justice to his education and his skills and decides to take a leap of Faith. Enter Indu-a colleague and ex-teammate of his who starts hanging out with him and encourages him to take the leap. The story further moves on to what happens and how his decisions affect his life and how his firing was actually a boon for him in disguise.

The novella is short, straight and to-the-point. It is written in a candid manner and any engineer can relate to the story and the life of the protagonist. We all have made plans to resign when the going gets tough and have junked those letters when a raise has come in. Sandeep has captured the essence of the story in a nice manner & the hint of romance in the plot is excellent.

I would rate it 3/5.

Upon a Burning Throne-Ashok K Banker

Book: Upon a Burning Throne (The Burnt Empire Saga Part 1)

Author: Ashok K Banker

Publisher: Simon & Schuster India

“They came to watch the Children burn”

Upon a Burning Throne opens with this chilling line. First book in The Burnt Empire Saga, it is a mystical take on the epic Mahabharata. Ashok Banker reimagines the characters of the epic in a wonderful manner.

The book opens with the test of Fire, where we are introduced to the concept of the namesake, The Burning Throne. Made of an extraordinary stone, it burnt with Stonefire, which has unmatched fury, such that no flora or fauna is found near it. This throne is the centre of attention as the scene unfolds when the two princes are placed over it one by one and what unfolds after it. Only a Krushan prince, worthy of the throne could escape unhurt. Now, apart from the princes-Adri & Shvate, another girl also survives this claim to the throne but is denied the right. Unknownst in the beginning, she is the offspring of the powerful demonlord-Jarsun and he vows to tear the empire apart.

From here, the story moves on and we are introduced to the characters that we can relate with the epic. Be it the All powerful Demigod Vrath, who has taken the vow of celibacy (wink wink) to the albino prince Shvate and the blind prince Adri, The all powerful river Jeel and so on and so forth. We are also introduced to Princess Karni (No prizes for guessing who she is in the epic) and her son kern.

The story starts with young Shvate and Adri fighting the rebels led by Jarsun and its subsequent effect on their psyche. After a timelapse, we see the grown-up version of Shvate marching to Reygistan to defeat Jarsun and how he has changed from his first war.

The characters are detailed and the author has taken efforts to show us various sides of their personalities. We come across a law-abiding, strict and ruthless Vrath, but we also see the emotional, humane side of him. Same goes for Adri, Shvate, Jillana and most of the characters. They are easily relatable and corresponding them to Mahabharata is also quite easy. For a person who knows the story of Mahabharata, these character descriptions would truly be amazing.

The plot of the story is good with details wherever needed and fast-paced when needed. The time lapse is a bit odd but does not disturb the story much.

The first part of the saga is captivating. The ending of the book is great with a question posed and it would be interesting to see how the author treats this epic in the forthcoming books.

I would rate the book 4.5/5.

Go buy the book now!!!

This post is a part of the Blog tour by Simon & Schuster India.



I received a physical copy of this via my participation in a blog tour but that, in no way, affects my rating and/or opinions about it.