Book Review: The Forest of Enchantments (by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni)

                                                         

Confession: Read this novel as I was completely blown away by the author’s previous work.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is one of the most prolific female voices in the Indian literature scene. I have also read her previous offering, The Palace of Illusions. She has certainly carved her own niche as feministic writer. The Palace of Illusions was certainly a masterpiece, and I wish I had started this blog several years earlier, so I could have reviewed this book also. While Palace is the Mahabharata told through the eyes of Draupadi, in The Forest of Enchantments we read the Ramayana as recited by Sita; by that, the author implies that this is the Sitayana. As I type this on MS Word, the program automatically decides that Ramayana is an English word while Sitayana is not. And therein lies the problem in our society, where we recognize and laud the achievements of our male Gods and rarely acknowledge the contributions of our female deities.

There is no point in me going into any specifics of the plot. In Forest, Ram and Ravan both play their roles as villains. It might seem heretic to the most religious of readers, but Banerjee’s main intention is to give a voice to Sita: her aches and emotions that are so often discounted by the mainstream portrayals of this epic. As a result, it is not the war between Ram and Ravan that is highlighted, but it is a gentler story told through a greatly wronged woman caught between her husband who is bound by his extreme sense of ‘duty’ and a Rakshas who lusts after her. Women in India, thousands of years later, find themselves in the exact same position; subjugated and exploited by men.

I have no complaints about Banerjee’s writing. She is one of my favourite Indian authors, along with Amitav Ghosh. Her prose is subtle and beautiful. But I did not love this book as much as Palace. I could not put my finger on the exact reason for this. Probably there are large gaps in the source material as to what Sita went through during her banishment and subsequent kidnapping periods? Probably Banerjee’s creativity let her down a little bit while elucidating Sita’s suffering? It is not the most perfect book by Banerjee, but it is certainly the most important version of the Ramayana out there. Do read if you can.

My rating: 3/5

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Book review: Fool's Errand (Tawny Man Trilogy 1) by Robin Hobb

 

Confession: Robin Hobb and I have a love-hate relationship.

I mean, I love her writing style. Her words just jump of my Kindle screen and transport me into the Realm of the Underlings in a heart's beat. Her prose transcends that of most writers and not just in the fantasy genre. I have completed the Farseer and Liveship trilogies and the thing that stands out the most to me was her perception of the personalities of her non-human characters; of whom Nighteyes and Paragon have been etched out the best. Her descriptions of the magical structures of the Wit and the Skill in particular are both extremely surreal and tangible at the same time. The only grouse that I have against her are the length of her novels; which are almost always more than 600 pages long; largely plodding along at an unrealistically slow pace.

Although I knew I would be visiting the Realm again, it had been more than two years since I finished the concluding volume of the Liveship trilogy. This was mostly because the ending was less than satisfactory and I vowed to take a break from her work and focus on other authors. However like the Skill that beckons and taunts Fitz, I could not stay away from this series forever and here I was, back with Fitz and Nighteyes who are both fifteen years older and wiser. As is typical of Robin Hobb, the actual story does not start till you are at least 40% into the book. For a long time after I started reading, Hobb, in her gentle and meandering way recounts Fitz's journey after the events of the Red Ship War. Chade and the Fool are back at Fitz's little cabin as they try to coerce Fitz into giving up his simple life and immerse himself into Buckkeep politics again. Meanwhile as the story unfolds, the Witted are being increasingly prosecuted, so Fitz must tread a very careful line. As he forms an unusual partnership with the Fool, we uncover some unexpected facets of the Fool. I did miss his usual antics and maddening tendency to speak in riddles.

Hobb introduces several new and compelling characters- Hap (Fitz's adopted son), Laurel, Jinna and the crown prince, Dutiful. I must confess that although Dutiful was not entirely to my liking, both Laurel and Jinna were interesting female characters that lend a refreshing vigour to the plot. I hope to see their roles in a more prominent way in the remaining books. Like Fitz, I found Dutiful to be tiresome for the most part, though he does redeem himself a bit toward the end.

I wouldn't say that it was among her best work (the first two books of the Liveship trilogy occupy those positions), but it was certainly a nice reminder to me why I love Hobb's writing so much. There are emotional, nay, gut wrenching moments in the book which will leave even the toughest reader teary eyed. All in all, a good yet slow start to the Tawny Man trilogy. Looking forward to reading the next two volumes in this series.

My rating: 3/5

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Book review: The Silent Patient (by Alex Michaelides)

Confession: I probably read this book as it was recommended to me by my psychiatrist friend.

This psychological thriller follows Alicia Berenson, a painter who murders her husband by shooting him in the face five times and then stops speaking entirely. Theo Faber is a forensic psychoanalyst who endeavors to help her through therapy. Interesting premise? It most certainly is! One of the slickest thrillers to come out in recent times; The Silent Patient is a New York Times bestseller and an edge of the seat thriller that guarantees to keep the reader devouring chapter after chapter.

"We are all crazy, I believe, just in different ways."

This statement is so true, isn't it? Especially in the context of this  story that is told through Theo Faber, (who is himself in the wrong frame of mind as he faces personal strain in his marriage) and the diary entries of Alicia Berenson, the murder suspect. The mystery unfolds slowly, steadily, and then at breakneck speed leading to the all important twist in the final pages that is bound to leave most readers gasping. I believe that the impact of this twist on you will finally decide whether you enjoyed the book or not. I partially guessed the culprit, largely because I have read so many thrillers over the years that I am almost never surprised by the ending. With this book however, there are multiple layers to the mystery and I doubt that anyone can fully and accurately predict the conclusion.

That being said, the novel is let down by the pedestrian prose employed by the author. Though this is his first full length novel, he has had experience as a screenwriter in Hollywood, thus his style of writing was too simplistic and was a major letdown. Perhaps this is not the genre to comment on the prosaic nature of the narration, as the tempo of writing should be slick enough to capture the interest of the reader without too many unnecessary frills. I will wait for his next novel to fully pass judgement on his writing style.

The book was also the well deserved winner of the Goodreads Readers' Choice Award 2019 in the mystery/thriller section. Not a perfect book by any stretch, but definitely needs a read if you're into this genre. The book is to be made into a movie, and involves the great Brad Pitt himself! You can find all details here. So read it before it is released on the big screen.

My rating: 4/5
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Book Review: Priory of the Orange Tree (by Samantha Shannon)

Confession: I probably read this book due to its catchy title.

There is fantasy and then there is epic fantasy! At 840+ pages, this is a mammoth book by any standards. I read the Kindle version, and can only imagine how thick the actual book must be. Readers of fantasy are used to reading massive tomes on a regular basis, especially if one is a GRRM fan. The author, Samantha Shannon has said that this is a standalone book, though she may return to writing more about this world eventually.

The basic premise of the book is the inevitable return of the Nameless One; a 'wyrm' of immense power that is, at the start of the book, in a state of hibernation due to a spell that has bound it into the Abyss for one thousand years. (Flashbacks to The-One-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, anyone?). The world has been divided since centuries by religion and geography; where the West and East cannot stand each other. The story follows Eadaz and Tane; two female protagonists belonging to the West and East respectively, and through their experiences, we learn how prejudices are born from nothing more than blind faith and intolerance toward perceived differences. There are two other characters of significance in the story: Niclays (an unbearable character) and Loth. 

The book blazes through the pages where Eadaz holds sway. She is any feminist's dream and by the author's own confession, this novel belongs to feminism. Eadaz is, in equal measures, courageous and tender. She is the glue that holds the whole story together. For me, Tane was too flawed, and although she redeems herself towards the end, I could not find myself looking forward to chapters with her story. Thankfully, much of the book belongs to Eadaz, and she was compelling enough to make me finish the book inside three days.

As has been noted by many readers before me, the book excels at depicting equality between men and women. LGBT characters are wonderfully etched. The only blemish that I could find with the book was the length: it is both a blessing and a bane. There are stretches of pages where nothing really happens, and the reader may tend to lose interest. Other than this, the novel is pure and unadulterated bliss. Do read if you're a fan of fantasy literature.

My rating: 4/5
Image source: goodreads.com

Book review: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Confession: It is probable that I picked up this book only because it won the Goodreads 2019 Readers' Choice award in the fantasy section.

What does fantasy mean to you, as a reader? The genre has taken great strides in the recent past with a plethora of writers putting on their most creative caps to create some of the most imaginative stories that I have ever read. To me, fantasy literature is at its best in a medieval setting with a well defined magical system and mythical creatures. One need not look too far: Robin Hobb and GRRM come to mind immediately. Leigh Bardugo has also made the genre her own, with the Grishaverse series and the Six of Crows duology.

What Leigh Bardugo does in Ninth House is something more difficult and demanding in my perspective: telling a fantasy story in a more contemporary setting. This makes it difficult for me as a reader, as it seems far less believable that a magical world exists in our times. The charm and quaintness that surrounds kingdoms and dragons is lost. But Bardugo more than makes up for this void by creating a thoroughly entertaining protagonist in Galaxy Stern and her unique ability to 'see Greys'.

The first half of the book is quite laborious to read. The magical system seems confusing, at best. But Bardugo craftily introduces not one, but three mysteries into the plot that compel the reader keep turning the pages. The initial lethargy is shed off in the second half, which is action packed. As our heroine starts find her feet, the story gets more and more interesting and finally hurtles toward a MOST SATISFYING conclusion.

This isn't an easy book to read by any stretch of imagination. There are gory and gruesome scenes including sexual assault; which may be triggering for some readers. Through a raw and rough female protagonist, we see some closure to the violence; and that in itself is immensely gratifying. Look out for the secondary characters: Dawes and Darlington who have been fleshed out pretty well. If an intriguing combination of fantasy, Ivy League secret societies and murder mysteries is your cup of tea, then Ninth House is right down your alley.

I hear that more books in the Alex Stern series are in the pipeline (at least five, according to the author's twitter handle), which is very good news indeed!

My rating: 4/5
Image source: amazon.in