Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

This is the second book by McCourt  I read, Angela's Ashes was the first one which I didn't mentioned in my blog. Will write about that as well. But Teacher's Man first.
It was a mix of autobiography where McCourt talked about his experiences as a teacher in US in a funny and witty style. It is full of anecdotes how he dealt with all his students and authorities. 

This book reminded me of one of my teachers who was a lot like him and we should admit that after family its a teacher who plays an important role in our life, affect our personality and shapes us in something what we are. The worst part is that not all the teachers are good but it takes only one to make you good.

Don't know what to write about the book as it is something which you can get only if you read it. Only thing I want to say is that I wish I could have been the part of his class.

PS: This thought fall on my conscious lot many times if the movies based on a book or literary piece can really do the justice what an author wants to convey. And I think that even if the cinema is a terrific medium there are few things that it can't propose the way it was meant to be.

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

This is the third book by Rushdie which I’ve read after Midnight’s Children and The Satanic Verses. The book is good and narrative has such a catch that if you don’t read it in one sitting it will keep calling you to finish it till the last page. The story is a mix of reality and imagination as some anecdotes of Akbar are quite famous. It makes the book sometimes unbelievable but who wants a history record and it is definitely an entertaining one. There is some lack of seriousness as we’ve seen in some older books by Salman but it still has his signature style. Sex and illicit relations are abundantly used in the whole story (I must say that it has been a major part of all his books I’ve read till now).

The story about a lost princess Qara Köz who is characterized as an enchantress of high capabilities. She is claimed to be enchanting the whole city. The dwellers worship her like a messiah first and later they realize that she was not what they thought her to be. First they think of her like Christ and later an evil enchantress. She went through a lot of trying conditions and always had to make a choice which was a difficult one. It is really difficult to judge her on the basis of her judgments as she was not having much choice. She made the most favorable ones and for this we can’t call her selfish also. Even being an enchantress comes with its own curse.

The book is definitely a good read and entertaining one. But it can’t be taken for the historical characters and events it depicts, Rushdie has definitely taken a writers freedom for using the anecdotes to fit it into a proper narrative and it really fits well which is generally coined as Magic Realism.

What is Weakness?

What is the definition of weakness? It was a long time I was thinking about it but was never sure about how to write about it that it is expressed in words the way I think about it. First of all what exactly is the definition of weakness? It is a symptom which shows that you’re not ready or afraid of doing something or taking a decision. There can be a broader definition but in that case we will have to define the definition of weak first. Most commonly a physical inability to something is called weakness. But does it fits to all the cases. Here I’ll like to add that a weakness can be anything but a physical condition, I’ll say that it is more like a mental state. A state where a person tries to avoid doing something on some pretext. There are always people who fall out of this definition of mine but this is the most common thing we can find if we look closer.

So why this condition rises? The most common one is the reluctance to any type of change. It is the fear of change that makes a person think that the outcome of any action is totally unnecessary or a disaster. Fear is the root cause of weakness. A fearless person will never be weak. Fearlessness comes as a whole package. I may sound like preaching but a fearlessness is the cure of weakness. If the given conditions a person who chooses to swim against the current is the one who will never be weak.

Finally all I can say is that there are some basic tenets we are born with. We can overcome them but these are few of the things that make us human. Weakness is not a bad word but accepting that you can never stand in the trying conditions is more like a problem.

Napoleon by Emil Ludwig

After a long time I read some biographical book (after Mein Kempf). It was good read and a lot of information was there. The best part is the author Emil Ludwig doesn't seem to be giving any judgement. He writes with a flow and without any prejudice. He leaves this task for the reader and I think that was a neat writing.

I was not much aware of Napoleon other than some famous quotes and historical milestone he set. But the book gave more than that and I realized that the things are pretty much clear and the author has done some good research for all the figures and illustrations, he quotes the real letters and other literary material to back up the facts.

Now what I came to know that Napoleon was not exactly a tyrant. He was ambitious and a bit pessimist but he changed everything in his favour by his skills and a bit of luck. He was in wars for most of his life and never had a good family life for his own. He tried his best to favour his relatives and helped them by all means but never got anything in return, not even the loyalty.

Napoleon was a man of character but he also had an other side. He didn't want the old monarchy system but he wanted to be the king with appointing his son as a future king.

He was a man of discreet tendencies but he always wanted to please everybody. This thing finally cost him his life when he was taken as a prisoner of England.

There was an incident where he left his army in Russia and it was said that there were dead soldiers and horses all over the way and he ran out of it to save himself. I'm not sure about it because he doesn't sound like having such character, but I am not the historian.

There was one more incident when he ordered to kill the twenty thousand soldiers of enemy because he was not able to feed all of them and couldn't take them as prisoners. I'm not sure what others would have decided but this was not the right thing to do.

One thing that I want to add here is that England was not right in his conduct when they took Napoleon as a prisoner. I agree that he was always against England but he deserved a fair trial and it would have helped England to keep its hands clean.

For the book I'll say that it is a good read for sure for the readers who want to read history in an unbiased and entertaining manner with the correct details and later on you can have your own views on Napoleon (great or not).

Symposium by Socrates Recorded by Plato Translated by B. Jowett

Symposium is famous because Socrates's name is attached to it and there are different translations available for the same from different authors. I read read the one by B. Jowett and it is the first time I read a book which directly gives the words of Socrates otherwise he was just a name in some brainy quotations.

Anyways the book is about Love. There is a drinking party (symposium actually means that only) and seven participants give their views about Love. These seven speakers whose speech was reportedly recorded by Plato are : Phaderus, Pausanias, Eryximachus, Aristophanes, Agathon, Socrates and Alcibiades.

I really don't remember what each of them said separately but overall I liked below points :

1. That love lies in the synergy and detachment. Love is like the relation between bow and arrow. Both are destined to be separated but it is still the synergy that keeps them together and same is the case of love. Or we can call it the 'Harmony of Opposites'.

2. Love is divine and it has it divine reasons of existence. It was backed by mythological examples.

3. The reason of love is not exactly the human love. It is more like an instrument for getting the highest point in life. It is defined as more like that love is Love of Wisdom rather than the any definition of love.

And the best part in Socrates' speech is that love is the son of Resource and Poverty, which was defined beautifully. Socrates says that love is actually a desire to create which leads to the immortality. In the nutshell the knowledgeable people end up with same desire of Immortality but through the knowledge and leaving behind the pupil who will keep the thought (knowledge) alive.These pupils are more like an intellectual child which carry on the legacy and make the person immortal.

Love is a very flexible word and we can mold it according to our own liking or what suits us most because each one of us is different. For most of the people who think they can talk about love or they know what is love are only quoting the passionate lines from others and it is not actually what they think because there is no thinking process behind the quoting.

Wish I could have read some more translations but it was a Great read anyways.

The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi

It is the second book in the trilogy by Amish. The book seems to complement its first book and take the story to the new height.

There is definitely a depth in plot but I felt like after reading the first book the sequel was quite predictable.

In search of bad Shiva finds out that Nagas are not really the bad people. They are actually the people who are thrown out of the perfect society to keep it working on its own rules irrespective to the injustice done to the people who were born different than others.

One more thing I'll like to add up here is that Amish has made the character of Shiva very much realistic. He sounds like a dude from the US suburbs.

Anyways the pace of the narrative is undoubtedly very good and keeps the reader on the edge even if it is easily predictable.

Wondering when somebody will pick it up to make it as a film and I personally think that that will be the death of the book.

Anyways, enjoyed it and waiting for the Vayuputra the third and the last of the series.

The Rum Diary by Hunter S Thompson

I came to know about this book after watching the movie only.

I can't speak for the movie but there are some words for sure about the novel.

The main character is Paul Kemp who comes to San Juan, an island, as a journalist. He meets a lot of different people and had varied experiences during his stay.

There is a girls Chenault who is girlfriend of his friend/colleague.

The whole novel is full of inebriated encounters of different types with the local public, police and within themselves.

I really didn't find the novel very amusing or of any specific literary importance but it really showed the feelings of the characters like lust, jealousy, rage, alcohol parties and other emotions, I will include even madness. I will say that the author is quite successful in painting all these emotions.

The novel ends with Paul planning to go some other place and a brief encounter with Chenault.

Small novel and a good read but movie is a much better visual experience.