Books

The Book Corner Vol. 2 – The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

Swathy · October 8, 2015 · Leave a Comment

It has been a really long time since I have read a good book by an Indian author. Last time, it was a few months back – The Bougainvillea House by Kalpana Swaminathan. But, when I read the premise of this book, I was definitely intrigued but a little sceptical as it sounds almost on the lines of The Shiva Trilogy by Amish which fell flat for me.

Now, before I proceed, let me clarify a bit of confusion I had. This book was released in 2013 and there is already a sequel out. Anyways, I am glad that Readers Cosmos sent it to me otherwise I would have missed reading an amazing story. I just ordered the second part as well which was released in January this year and hopefully would receive it by today or tomorrow.

The Secrets of the Dark: The Debt of Blood is Never Repaid Book Review by Arka Chakrabarti

The Story

So, this is a fantasy novel if you are feeling confused reading the name of Gaya. I sure was! So, no we are not talking of the holy city of Body Gaya but this Gaya is a fantasy continent which is divided into two parts – Land of the Rising Sun and Land of the Setting Sun. If you have read Amish, you would remember Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi clans!

The story begins with a king fleeing his son into the safety because there are some dark forces after him to snatch away the newly-born baby. And, then, the story shifts to twenty years later when Agni and Vrish lose their entire world in a bomb blast or better mentioned as huge fire in their language. Agni finds out that it was a planned attack and thus begins the saga of revenge and both the friends travel to Nisarga in the hope of solving the puzzle.

My Review

I would really not go into defining the story or its plot as it is complicated and I am sure we are not aware of many elements in the book. The book is actually the first part of a trilogy and not much has been revealed. If you are clever enough, you can spot the good guys and the bad guys but making sense of the mystery is a little difficult.

The Book Corner Vol. 1 – What I read all this year?

Swathy · July 24, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Last year, I did book reviews for almost all books I realized that I am not much adept at reviewing a book, its not my forte! So, this time, I decided to keep the reviews only to a paragraph and do a round-up of the books I have read so far. So, yes, this year has been rich on psychological thrillers with the ones with wrecked marriage and psychopathic couples on the top of the list.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Who has not heard about this book? I have read it too late and I have not yet seen the movie but when I caught up with its first look on the television, I think Rosamund Pike nailed the character of Amy and I know you must be lost if you have not read the book or watched the movie so I would just leave you with – there is a reason you have heard about the book so much and all around!

The Silent Wife by A.S.A.Harrison

I have this habit of finding out similar books in a particular genre which I happen to like and this book is one which comes after Gone Girl. I do not really remember being impressed with the book at all and you can really skip it. Btw, this is again about a disintegrated marriage and lady who is living in denial.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Well, it is all following the cult and I am not sure if I really like it but I think its ending is very satisfying unlike Gone Girl. So, yes, you can try it. It definitely engages you while you are reading it but it would nt stay with you after finishing it!

Books #2015 Vol. 1 – “Ramayana The Game of Life – Shattered Dreams” by Shubha Vilas

Swathy · February 12, 2015 · Leave a Comment

Ramayana The Game of Life - Shattered Dreams by Shubha Vilas book review

An entire month without reading a book?? Whoa, I am getting older. Did you ever hear them saying your concentration decreases as you grow older! That is what is happening to me. And, then, time seems to fly away all the time.

About the Author

Honestly, I have not heard about the author before I came across the book. Among both the great epics, I have always loved Mahabharata more than Ramayana but the premise of the book made me pick it up for review.

How does one prepare for a danger one knows nothing about? – The easiest way to forget your limitations is to shift focus from self-absorption to active-facilitation. Dasaratha had not realized his shortcomings because of his absorption in his responsibilities.

There is not much information about the author online but goodreads mentions him to be a spiritual and motivational speaker who holds both an engineering degree and law specialization.

About the Book

Okay, so let me start with the book. This is the second part in the series.

I have not read the first book but it was all about the birth and childhood of the sons of Dasaratha culminating in their marriage.

This second book takes off from the decision of Rama’s coronation to twelfth year of the exile period with a peek into Ravana’s psyche and life.

Half the night had been damned by despair and the other half buoyed by hope. Wasn’t this what life was all about?

Dasaratha is sad and suffering from nightmares. He has a sense of impending doom but is unable to figure out the reason. Due to his unstable mental state, he decides it to be the correct time to coronate Rama as the new king and take off time to spend his last years in spiritual contemplation.

Before proceeding, I would like to add that I have just reached pg. 120 and the story has just reached the scene of Kaikeyi asking her boons from Dasartha for Bharata’s coronation and Rama’s exile. In between, there was a bit of introduction of Ravana’s character and how his sins were one of the catalyst in maligning Kaikeyi’s mind.

Ramayana has been retold many times and we are all aware with it. What makes everything different is the interpretation of different authors.

Decision-making is akin to breathing. Just as in breathing there is careful balance between inhalation and exhalation, decision-making must be a careful balance between personal benefits (taking in or inhalation) and communal harmony (giving out or exhalation).

My Verdict

The author has tried to simplify some of the obscure events in the epic and justifies the philosophical importance behind each event in the footnotes on each page.

Some of the points made by the author are extremely prudent and force you to rethink. And, this is something which I found very interesting:

The word mantra is a combination of two words – man meaning mind and tra (from trayate) meaning control. Mantra literally means that which controls the mind. Mantras are subtle sound waves that soothe the subtle mind.

I had been researching on the same topic – how chanting mantras affect our mind and body so this piece of information was extremely useful.

From the point of editing and grammar, I found the book to be very mature except for a few phrases which were a lot cheesier than I would expect in a philosophical manuscript. For example,

Praise is the temperature at which any human melts. It is the garment that warms a cold body. It is a password to log into the software of any heart.

Death is a universal virus installed in every individual, programmed to terminate and dissolve the machine itself.

I know that the aim of this book is to align it to today’s life but the technical terms in it look really weird and I felt that they break the flow of the book. But, then, that is my opinion. Otherwise, yes, it is a good read. Do try it out!

So, what do you say? Do you prefer Ramayana or Mahabharata? Have you read any of Shubha Vilas’s book? How did you like it?

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