Why They Killed Gandhi : Unmasking the ideology and the conspiracy by Ashok Kumar Pandey

This is rather a small book for such a big topic but this goes deep into a lot of documents and statements around Gandhi's assassination.

Its very difficult to bring all the perpetrators to light forget about justice but the books like this can make one think about how dark thoughts can lead you to devastating actions.

An accused was allowed to speak for hours justifying his crime, and the debate is still on whether it was right or wrong tells the sorry state of things.

A bullet can't kill an idea but it can definitely create a lot of space to put the wrong ones around the right one.

Peace

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

 Nope, not this one!

Mythology is the best place to take inspirations for any literary work because it gives you the freedom of interpreting the essence of myths from various point of views.

This one takes inspiration from Mahabharat and tries to tell the story from Draupadi's point of view. It doesn't matter how a reader connects with the original character, the retelling can't be the rephrasing of the whole plot. Which unfortunately is true in this case.

The whole books doesn't really offer a new perspective on Mahabharat but just tells the same story with Draupadi mostly adding the ambience (hills, palace, trees, garden etc). But this is a common pitfalls for the authors retelling the stories, when the original is so profound.

It might be slightly different in case of unknown ones from different countries or cultures but that is not the case here.

Maybe not worth reading if you know the original one.

Love

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

This one for Booker prize.

Alcohol is a real problem, and been responsible for the destruction of a lot of families. But it does show up in its worst form in a self destructive personality. First, it doesn't let you accept the issue, and second it will never let you accept some real help.

The plot is good, and does come with its own twists and turns but eventually this one is more of a story of a kid coming to age in as twisted way as possible. But the hardships in life make people a different person based on what they choose to be. The things they want to remember and forget from the past. And where/in whom they find solace.

Peace

A Good Provider Is One Who Leaves by Jason DeParle

Immersion journalism is a new word. The approach is not being just a bystander reporting hard facts but also being the part of the life of the subjects.

This was a really good account to read from a different journalistic approach. It tells the story of a Filipino family where a mother moves from a ghetto of Philippines to the US hospitals as a nurse. And how the whole family made the transition from a fragmented family (in different timezones) to a united family in US who ends up winning in their own sense of triumph.

Immigrants are the easiest target in a political game. They look different, and they are most vulnerable to any kind of attack be it physical or otherwise. More importantly, it is difficult for a lot of people to accept or even tolerate the people they don't understand because of the rhetoric they are served with, which alienates their own experience to a built-up image of immigrants. This is a long debate over the claim to nativity which stands on the very wrong grounds.

This is worth a read to get an idea of what an immigrants world and struggles look like.

Peace

Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R F Kuang

The problem with a fictional account of reality is that sometimes it is difficult to know where the fiction ends, and reality begins. And it has less to do with a writer's ability but a reader's prejudices.

The author has politely suggested that this is a work of fiction, and beyond that everything else stays with the reader. And, yes, eventually it does start sounding like a conspiracy theory in the end with a lot of incorrect history lessons.

It is a mix of Dickens, Harry Potter, tragedies, lost love and self sacrificing zeal, and all of it falls as fast as it flies. It is above 500 pages, and part of it sounds like a page filler rather than supporting the plot.

I'd definitely be not picking up anything from Kuang to avoid mixing the fiction with actual facts. Specially about poppy war.

Love

Mozart: The Reign of Love by Jan Swafford

Mozart is not really a musician which we listen to very often but he is a kind of myth which goes beyond his work. Being unsure between listening and reading, proceed with the later :)

Hence this book which is really a big one. Something which needs to be tracked how much is still left.

The book digs down into different pieces (symphony, opera etc) explaining why it sounds like the way it does or how it developed. Which is obvious from the point that the writer himself is a musician, and has the academic/professional capacity to dissect a music piece like this. But unfortunately it doesn't resonate with an ordinary reader. In fact, after finishing it, I realised that I could have picked something else on this topic.

Doesn't make much sense to give a word on Mozart's greatness but he definitely was a prodigy trained by his father who make it a point that he keeps getting benefitted by Mozart's talents for the rest of his life. Apart from that, most of his life seem to be an ordinary one with worries about a job, house, disease, and love.

Reading such a piece also makes one think that if the greatness it universal or it limits into a certain circle? Does it come with an expiry date beyond which it is not understood/appreciated widely? Anyone can answer this question from one's point about the personalities in the field they are interested in, and that is where the question about the circle is answered. And yes, everything comes with an expiry date.

Love