Marley and me

I finished reading "Marley and Me" a couple of weeks back. Having grown up with a wild, misbehaved, adorable dog, I just loved reading the book. Being a dog lover, I could relate to every word in it.

"Marley and Me" is about a was a sweet, affectionate puppy who grew into a lovably naughty, loyal, hyperactive 90 pound Labrador, who did everything - from swallowing a golden chain to stealing women's undergarments to crashing thru screen doors, digging and scratching doors, destroying the garage....eating almost anything and everything that came his way. There was no way of taming down Marley, the obedience school expelled him, as Marley was turning out to be a distraction for fellow students and managed humiliating his instructor:) The best part of the book was how the family shares the grief and pain of Jenny's miscarriage, cling to Marley for comfort and reassurance.

As I read through the pages, I could feel the innocence that my dog had in his eyes after some mischief, knowing that he had not done things right. Though its many years that I have lost my dog, it brought back wonderful memeories of my childhood friend.

I don't have enough superlatives at my command to describe how much I adored this book. A must read for all dog lovers!

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I just finished reading Kite Runner..the story was so enthralling, that after a long time I completed a book in two days..as I child, I have finished reading Enid Blytons, esp. the Famous Fives' in 10 -12 hours, I read my favourite book of all times "Gone with the Wind" within three days, that too just before my Xth pre-boards....during my worklife, I donot remember finishing books within such short spans...may be I have lot of time in hand these days to do things that I have always loved to..:) But yeah, its not the speed with which one can finish a book, how much one can grasp the thought put behind a book, is more important.
Kite Runner is a painful, honest story about raw emotions. It is a story of love, loyalty, loss of innocence, betrayal, repentance, a story of Amir "Jan" and Hassan, story of Baba, Ali and Rahim Khan, story of Shorab, set at a backdrop of a politically turmoiled Afganisthan - the downfall of the king, the attack of the Soviets, and the Taliban effect.
I have not read much about the Middle-East region or Afganistan and Pakistan, except a very few like "Not Without My Daugther" or "My Feaudal Lord". Somehow, I cannot make myself read much on the sufferings of people during war, or the cruelty that fanatics can inflict on comman man. It always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth and fills me with hatred, hence I keep myself away from stories scripted out of Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan.
A good friend of my brother, insisted that I should read it, and i am happy that I heeded to him. The book bares open one of the strongest relationships in the world – the relationship that is shared between two friends, one master the other a servant, one who is a legitimate child of Baba and other illegitimate, of two half brothers Amir and Hassan. The reader sails through a voyage of emotions...of disgust when Amir watches from behind a house Hassan being physically assaulted, of anger when Amir plots against Hassan of theft and compels him and Ali leave their house, of shame when Amir enjoys his success in the American world and Hassan struggles in Taliban Afganistan, of saddness when Shorab lies in the hospital and whispers "I am so kastha" I am so tired, of joy & triumph when Amir runs after the kite for Shorab under Fremont skies and utters " For you, a thousand times over"
I agree this book could have been better crafted, technical elements of style in literature may be missing, but it is not written with literary contibution in mind. It is a story told by a physcian, of human emotions, of Amir's contant struggle to triumph over his inability & cowardice.

Jane Eyre

I am back to blogger.com after a day's gap, yest was a busy day, also not a very good day..right now a little pepped up, its almost midnight, and Kolkata Knight Riders won a great match against Delhi DareDevils @ Saurav Dada's hometown, Eden! And what a spell from Shoaibh Akhtar, devastating 4-11 in 3 overs!!
I had completed downloading the movie Jane Eyre on Sunday from the Internet, saw the movie in bits and pieces spread across Sunday night and monday evening. I must admit that Jane Eyre is not my favourite classic novel of that era..I have always been a great fan of Charles Dickens, David Copperfield and Great Expectations are books that I simply adore.
The movie was good and it compelled me to read the book all over again..for these types of movies, I have always preferred the book over the movie..trust me it was an amazing read..
I read the abridged version of Jane Eyre first when I was in Class Vth as a part of my regular curriculum. I tried again reading the full version of Jane Eyre when I was in Class VIIIth. I didnot understand much, I again picked up the book when I graduated from school. This is the time that I got some essense of the wonderful literature, in bits and pieces. As I grew older..perhaps my thoughts matured, I started reading these classics and some shakespeares all over again. It made much more sense and seemed much more meaningful to me than reading them at school and gobbling down lines for passing exams.
I guess with age you learn to appreciate a lot of things, which in childhood are just passing topics. Also, I have often wondered how can I appreciate literature, when I need to mug it, to pass an exam and get grades..literature is realization of the author and I need to suck it deep within as a part of me.
I read some chapters of Jane Eyre again, yest and today...it was the same book but giving deeper realizations to me...how true, how well written, how well articulated...I wish, I could spend my life appreciating creations, be it of Mother Earth or be of earthly men and women...
I want to record all those lines that I loved reading, I hope to memorize them, all of them touch my heart deep within me, gives me a very strange feeling of joy and sorrow, relief and pain, longingness and solitude...
Chapter 14:
A memory without blot or contamination must be an exquisite treasure — an inexhaustible source of pure refreshment: is it not?
Chapter 20:
A wanderer's repose or a sinner's reformation should never depend on a fellow-creature. Men and women die; philosophers falter in their wisdom, and Christians in goodness: if any one you know has suffered and erred, let him look higher than his equals for strength to amend, and solace to heal.
Chapter 12:
Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.
Chapter 37:
Sacrifice! What do I sacrifice? Famine for food, expectation for content. To be privileged to put my arms round what I value--to press my lips to what I love--to repose on what I trust: is that to make a sacrifice? If so, then certainly I delight in sacrifice
Charlotte Bronte