The Great Gatsby

     Author                             F Scott Fitzgerald

     Country                           United States

     Genre                              Fiction: Classic

     Publication Date            1925

     Pages                              189








They say it's a classic. Am confused since to me classics have always been 'Jane Austen' or something close. But I guess it was my time to dabble with somewhat different.

Much against my initial urge to leave the book unfinished, I managed to complete it. And the fact that it's a less than 200 page book was no small a contributor!

While this definitely doesn't rank as one of the best books I have read, the book gives an interesting perspective of the 'Jazz Age' 1920s America. Ranked as one of the greatest books to read among the myriad listings of this nature, the book tells the story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy and the absolutely lavish, frequent and crazy parties that he hosts on Long Island. 

While the book starts at a slow pace, it gains momentum towards the middle and finally manages to grip the readers. The ending of the book is however, unusually sad and leaves a very dark picture of the society in general. The fact that hardly anyone turns up for Gatsby's funeral is a sad telling on a society which is caught up with money and power. While his parties saw attendance in hundreds, ironically, his funeral is attended only by 3 to 4 people.

To know if you have truly impacted people during your life, look around to see how many turn up at your funeral. That's a true test of a life well spent.

And that's my takeaway from this Amercian classic!

Bridget Jones Diary: Mad About the Boy

     Author                              Helen Fielding

     County                             United Kingdom

     Genre                               Fiction

     Publication Date              2013

     Pages                                386








And there are times when all of us should just read a chic flick! That's how I would define this book. Doesn't take away from the fact that this was a lot of fun and an unbelievably quick read.

Being a believer of 'happily ever after'; I detested the fact that the happy ending of book 2 was completely overthrown by this book which sees our very own lovable Bridget widowed at 51 with 2 young kids. And this book is all about her struggle as a mommy, as a script writer and as a woman who wants a man (desperately). In Helen's own fun way, each page makes one relate incredibly with Bridget and thus, this book makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

While most of the book is indeed about internet dating, competing with other moms and so on, one message that the book beautifully communicates at a more profound level is the fact that ones long term emotional health depends on the quality of relationships that she maintains with a range of friends (not just her spouse). Bridget's strong network of friends are the ones who keep her sane and cheerful in the most pressing of situations. 

On a more serious note while one fells terrible for Bridget when she misses Mark like crazy, somewhere the book (like the earlier ones) continues to insist that a woman is incomplete without a man. The feminist in me would have loved Bridget to become a strong, career focused, independent woman who knows that life doesn't end without a man.

But then, who am I to judge? 

Maybe this book is meant to be chic flick and should be enjoyed in that spirit alone.

Committed

     Author                Elizabeth Gilbert

     Country              United States

     Genre                 Non Fiction: Memoir

     Publication         2010

     Pages                  481








I am not too much of a taker for non fiction but somehow I ended up picking this book and believe me, there are no regrets.

To put it in a snapshot, this book is one woman's search for the true meaning of marriage. Through the course of the book, Liz takes us through various aspects of matrimony: how different societies view marriages differently and how she struggles to make sense of matrimony in her context (having been almost forced into marrying her new boyfriend on account of some American Immigration issues)

One of the key thoughts that stay with me as I hand the book back to the bookshelf are that marriages are all about striking the right balance between autonomy and intimacy: in other words; while intimacy and close proximity make marriages strong; the space to be yourself make marriages last. 

The book beautifully takes us through the evolution of marriages from being an institution that used to provide only finacicial and social security to becoming one that also needs to create an emotional connect - a true sense of happiness. And it's this redefinition of the purpose of marriage that defines the current society - love marriages are on the rise and so are divorces and it takes a layman to work out the correlation between the new purpose of marriage and hence spiraling divorce rates due to unhappy marriages. 

All in all, this book is a thought provoker. 

It forces one to question and to find the answers. 

For someone like me who believes in the sanctity of marriages, it was interesting to see the other side of the coin: a true sceptic making peace with it!

Wuthering Heights

     Author                             Emily Bronte

     Country                           United Kingdom

     Genre                              Fiction: Classic

     Publication Date            1847

     Pages                               279








And I finally read this book; having been on my 'to read' list for the longest time.

Believe me when I say this: classics are truly endearing to anyone who is fond of reading - the quality of the language, the way the plot and the characters are built leave most other books wanting. And to imagine that this was written by Emily Bronte around the age of 30.

The novel's main character, Catherine falls in love with her foster brother Heathcliff but Hindley, (Cathetine's brother) detests Heathcliff and turns him out of the house post their father's death. Catherine ends up marrying someone else but her heart and soul always stay with Heathcliff; who returns to seek his revenge. The book is built beautifully around the truly heart-renching love story and the extent to which one man can go to seek revenge for his unrequited love.

This book clearly wins the race of being one of the most passionate books I have read in the recent past. The intensity of emotions is both endearing and nerve wrecking. Love to the extent of madness, purity of love through connection of souls, deep rooted hatred and vengefulness are some of the many emotions on which the book rests.

However, the dark side of the book is too strong for my comfort. To give an example, the extent to which 'Heathcliff' manipulates children and their innocence in order to achieve his ulterior objectives leaves me itching to strangle him. 

And, finally, this book once again (like other books before this) leave me with the realization that people are complex and they are 'grey': the same person can love someone to madness while he can be outright mean and obnoxious to others. In my small world, this sounds strange since people are meant to be good or bad (black or white); but who said my make believe world was real?

All in all, this is a page turner. 

A very fast paced classic (almost sounds like an oxymoron!). 

A book you will not repent picking up.

The Lowland

     Author                       Jhumpa Lahiri

     Country                     United States

     Genre                        Realistic Fiction

     Publication Date       2013

     Pages                         340








An effortlessly and poignantly written real novel about real India, real relationships and real people. An easy read but a thought provoker. A story that revolves around 2 brothers and their relationship and how they are same, yet very different. While one (Udayan) gets involved with the Naxalite movement in India, the other (Subhash) moves to the States to build his future. Udayan's tragic death pulls Subhash back to his roots so much so that he ends up marrying Udayan's widow, Gauri and takes her with him to the US. Gauri bears Udayan's daughter only to finally pull away from her family strings and build a life alone with her books and studies.

This beautifully written book has left me confused about 'Gauri'. Her courage to break away from her daughter and second husband is in some way impressive and in other ways disgusting. While the mother in me wants to detest Gauri for doing what she did to her daughter (abandoning her at the tender age of 10 for no concrete reason other than the fact that she did not feel connected to her family); the woman or the individual in me empathizes with her - understands how it's hard to carry on a life when one is not truly happy from within and how it needs a lot of gumption and honesty to finally call it a day!

Being a 'black and white' person, I like to have strong views about my likes and dislikes. But Gauri's character has in some way evolved my thinking - it makes me believe in the 'grey'. It makes me realize that life is not as simple as two distinct compartments of black and white - there is a lot in between. The circumstances and the experiences we go through in life mould our thinking process and make us the better or worse for it.

Hence, we must think twice before we judge people; without any knowledge of their circumstances and life story!

And that's my take away from the book. Read it to find out yours!