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The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I didn't expect the ending as it is due to a lot of fanfare around this book. It was certainly ahead of it's time. It fit perfectly in my current reading phase i.e. dark, gloomy, slightly depressing subjects. The psychoanalysis of the protagonist seems very real but as we know about the author's life, it had to be surreal. Depression and mental illnesses are serious issues, which have been ignored since beginning. We only consider physical ailments as "respectable" and mental illnesses are "unholy" for us. This needs to change. This book depicts the world though eyes of a depressed person and I could see how tough and colourless it gets. Sometimes in narrative, I could almost feel what she must be feeling. That is the strength of the author and this book.
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Looking for Alaska by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It started with a kindle book which was on a freak sale; I didn't even like YA novels (so I thought) and it was an impulse buy (you know, when you buy books just because, you know!!) but boy, has this book opened my eyes! I had liked some YA movies like 'Perks of being a wallflower' and 'Me and Earl and the dying girl' but always thought YA books to be fodder for the inferior somehow. I couldn't be more wrong. This one created swirls of emotions I had always loved but current cynicism had forbidden. It is true that we grow bleaker and more cynical as we grow older but we are delusional as well. Books like these show you the softer side of life. Everyone has gone to school once upon a time and each one of us has had a crush on someone we thought was cute but not every crush ends up being 'happily forever', well, most of them don't. This book is an ode to those turbulent times of the journey from childhood to adulthood, first kisses (and blowjobs too!), that fluttery feeling in the heart, friendship, unbreakable bonds, introduction to vices of life, adolescent pain, breaking rules, love and most important of all, memories!
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If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yes, there are some books you've heard a lot of hype about but don't live upto your expectations. This was one of them. This doesn't mean that it's a bad book as I'm no one to pass judgements towards books. What I may not like can be love of someone else.
So, what I liked about this book is obviously the narration style. The reader is the protagonist in this novel. The writer takes us on a journey to read a book 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller'. We buy the book but there seems to be a problem in the book and so we go to replace it, but it starts a series of events where we stumble upon many books (or rather only beginnings of books) but are never able to complete any one of them.
This book might have been a try by the author to provide source for his stories which never went beyond intriguing beginnings. He elaborately has enticed the reader in reading all these unfinished stories. It sometimes reminded me of Vonnegut's style and insane logic of 'Catch-22'. All this was very interesting but there were patches in the book where I couldn't get much interested fully. There was heavy usage of complex words and phrases which seemed slightly out of place for this novel.
Overall, I liked the novel but I can't say I loved it. Maybe in future, if I reread it, the result maybe different.
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The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I rarely read thrillers, but I had heard so much about this book and now a movie is coming out, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about. This book consists of a very limited number of characters which is good for a newbie reader to understand. Author maintains the suspense till the end despite having so few characters. A particular thing I learned from this book is the protagonist need not be a strong, firm character. Author takes the worn out, drunk and (some may call it) a loser Rachel as the chief protagonist with equally important characters of Megan and Anna. All three characters are narrating the story and author being a lady, it feels more authentic and realistic to read all three women voices. Author has certainly played her strong points. Though the ending didn't match my expectation, it was already sky high, so no let down there. Although, me not being a staunch thrillers fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
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