Book Review of "The Complete Maus"

“The Complete Maus” is by far one of the most uniquely conceptualized and brilliantly executed graphic novels. It is brutal, it is honest and it moves you in a profound way. It won the Pulitzer (very few graphic novels have achieved this).

“No, darling! To die it's easy... But you have to struggle for life!”

The author’s parents were holocaust survivors. The book chronicles the horrors, the atrocities, and the abject humiliations the author’s father endured and how a combination of hope, resourcefulness, and pure luck helped him survive. What makes this book unique though is that the author portrays this in an unusual and allegorical way - the Jews are drawn as having mice heads and the Nazis as cat heads. All panels are black and white. It is this cold, cruel and yet hauntingly cartoonish way of telling the story that leaves you speechless. 

"I know this is insane, but I somehow wish I had been in Auschwitz with my parents so I could really know what they lived through! I guess it's some kind of guilt about having had an easier life than they did.”

Reading “The Complete Maus” reminded me of a somber afternoon I spent a few years back in the Holocaust Museum of Washington DC. It had reminded me then and it reminded me again after reading this book, the countless acts of violence perpetrated not just on the Holocaust victims but of victims of so many other communities and peoples. The allegory of “The Complete Maus” underscores this point very well. A solid 5/5.

Book Review of "Tuesdays with Morrie"

Tuesdays with Morrie is one of those books that I found to be 5-star worthy in some parts and 1-star or even zero-star worthy in some. Maybe that’s because I should have read this at a time when my tolerance for preachy or pseudo-self-help books was high or maybe when the cynicism of being in the early 30s hadn’t settled in.

When you learn how to die, you learn how to live.

 

The book chronicles the story of Dr. Morrie Schwartz, a University Professor diagnosed with ALS - a lengthy, slow, and painful death sentence. But with this compelling premise, the book, IMHO, is just an overly dramatic, drawn-out discussion about life priorities. There are definitely some heartfelt moments that make you stop and reflect but those are few and their impact gets diminished by the saccharine and not-so-subtle wannabe tear-jerking prose.

Anyhoo, I wish I had enjoyed this book, but I couldn’t. Let’s say it’s just me and not the book and move on; 3/5 

Book Review of "Children of Time"

“Children of Time” is an insanely imaginative and brilliantly crafted piece of writing! This may sound like a cliche but reading this book is akin to watching an artist paint a masterpiece. It might seem slow at the start, might seem to meander a bit but by the time the last brush stroke is done, the whole picture; the entire story comes alive and leaves you awestruck. This is not your typical SciFi and you should probably steer clear of it if you are looking for aliens and spaceships and such. What the writer Adrian Tchaikovsky has achieved here is exceptional and deserves 5 stars. I am going to leave here with, what was to me, one of the best lines from the book:

“If there had been some tiny bead present in the brain of all humans, that had told each other, ‘hey, they are all like you’; that had drawn some thin silk thread of empathy, person to person, in a planet-wide net—what might then have happened? Would there have been the same wars, massacres, persecutions, and crusades?”

Book Review of "Legion #3 - Lies of the Beholder"

The third and the final novella of the Legion series is as unforgettable as the first two - a well made cocktail of crime & science fiction with a dash of some psycho-thriller elements. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and comes with a few cheesy quotable quotes. My complaint is the same as before - wish the book was a little bit longer! 

“Who cares?” I said. “Yes, it’s all in my head. But pain is ‘all in my head’ too. Love is ‘all in my head.’ All the things that matter in life are the things you can’t measure! The things our brains make up! Being made-up doesn’t make them unimportant.”

Recommended for a perfect weekend afternoon popcorn entertainment!

Book Review of "Troubled Blood"

I am extremely conflicted about this book. In all honesty, there was no need for this to be close to 1000 pages long! The main case or the main murder mystery that the “Troubled Blood” centers around is meticulously crafted, all questions and loose ends exquisitely tied up and there are definitely quite a few chapters of pure JKR gold. The character arcs of both Robin and Strike are beautifully developed and the will-they won’t-they relationship dynamic is executed very well without seeming like a boring cliche. 

But then, you have to also sit through a lot of unnecessary fluff, a set of characters that don’t really add anything to the whole story and sometimes just bad editing. I seriously think the editors need to grow a pair, stop being afraid of JKR, and actually start editing the Strike novels. 

About the brouhaha around this book being transphobic, I’ll say read the book completely and then decide how much you will let JKR's personal comments affect your perception of her artwork. IMO, this book is as transphobic as reality shows are unscripted.

Book Review of "From Tryst To Tendulkar"

This is not a bad read, it is just not as good as it could have been, especially if you have followed the writer’s - Balaji Vishwanathan’s - answers on Quora. A 3.5/5 from me.

A book solely aimed to capture the History of Independent India sounded very interesting. I still remember how the school history books would just stop after the Independence struggle, as though anything that happened after that was just not worth teaching the kids. That coupled with the fact that I have been a follower of Balaji Vishwanathan’s answers on Quora increased my expectations. Unfortunately though, my high hopes turned out to be futile and IMO, this book feels like a sequence of good Quora answers stitched together without a cohesive narrative thread. 

The main weakness is its short length. In ensuring that everything fits within 250 pages, each chapter feels rushed and unless you already have some context, you are left catching at straws figuring out the missing details. 

I applaud the writer though for talking about “contentious” topics in our country’s recent past - like the Shah Bano Case, the Mandal Commission, the Operation Blue Star and the IPKF embarrassment - in detail and applauding as well as criticizing the actions taken. Some chapters and/or discussions are true gems -reminding one, unfortunately of the writer’s well researched quora answers. I can’t help but think that this book could have turned out better had there not been a hard requirement to fit everything in 250 pages. Anyway, with all said and done, 3.5/5.

Book Review of "The Mahabharata Murders"

“The smile is the cruelest balm of all. It covers the wound from the outside and keeps it open from the inside.”

The Mahabharata Murders is a gripping, fast paced and a perfect edge-of-the-seat murder mystery novel. It’s fun, it's fast and it's entertaining. No subtext here, nothing deep or philosophical, it delivers on what it promises - an engaging story for one to enjoy. 

The mystery is sufficiently engaging, but it’s the characters, the flawed & the vulnerable protagonist and an equally peculiar antagonist make it a worthwhile read. To me at least, a couple of parallels to the Mahabharata characters seem a bit stretched and drawn out but the rest of them fit fairly well.

This book reads more like a movie screenplay, but a good screenplay, so you wouldn’t be disappointed. All in all, a perfect weekend read - 4/5.

Book Review of "Steve Jobs"

Regardless of whether you an Apple fanboy or not, regardless of what you think about Steve Jobs' legendary management techniques, the autobiography by Walter Isaacson is a superb read. It is thoroughly researched, meticulously crafted and above all brutally honest. There is some sugarcoating no doubt. After all it is an autobiography, so a little leeway is to be expected. 

"Was he smart? No, not exceptionally. Instead, he was a genius. His imaginative leaps were instinctive, unexpected and at times magical."

It has excerpts from more than hundreds of interviews of people that closely worked with him - his colleagues, his bosses and also his not-so-well wishers. Walter Isaacson has done a good job of providing a detailed account of everything and yet maintain an excellent narrative pace with cohesive storytelling.

There are numerous aspects of his work-life that you a glimpse into. His negotiation techniques, his ability to judge a person correctly almost always and willingness to do anything to "get things done" (including crying & wailing in meetings). Despite philosophical differences that you might or might not have, it is fascinating to read about his life story. Especially Steve Jobs' handling of Pixar and the reverse acquisition saga of Disney is mind boggling and you can not help but admire his amazing business acumen.

"When he hurt people, it was not because he was lacking in emotional awareness. Quite the contrary: He could size people up, understand their inner thoughts, and know how to relate to them, cajole them, or hurt them at will."

I am not big on reading autobiographies. But glad I made an exception for this. A definite 5/5 IMO.

"Emotional outpourings are too often reserved for the deaths of drug numbed rock stars and troubled princesses. It was refreshing to see an entrepreneur celebrated"

Book Review of "Good Economics for Hard Times"

There were 2 reasons why I started reading "Good Economics for Hard Times". First - the obvious one - the authors (Dr Abhijit Banerjee & Dr Esther Duflo) have won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics with a piquing title "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty". The second reason was the more than usual brouhaha in the Indian News media about this economist couple (apparently at one point, Dr Banerjee had almost campaigned for an Indian Political party and also the fact that he is fairly vocal about his Indian heritage viz. wearing traditional Bengali attire for the ceremonies etc).

Despite being insightful with quite a few "aha, this is interesting!" moments, the book is a mixed bag of goodies and left me with a sense of looking at a half baked product.

The first half deals with very relevant and real problems, "Immigration", "Trade" & "Growth" - taking into detailed consideration the impact of Trump politics post-2016. This makes the first half a perfect balance of analytical commentary (backed by real data from experiments) coupled with presenting the crux of their thinking in an easy-to-understand-but-not-exactly-dumbed-down manner.

The second half, however derails and IMO just rambles on at an abstract level using economic concepts that would baffle someone with no formal economics background. At one point, I had to actually google stuff and had to go back and read a few pages multiple times. To their credit, the authors do have a 2 page "warning" where they come clean about the second half being more abstruse and theoretical. Maybe I should have listened to that warning and stopped.

Anyhoo, I do recommend the first few chapters of the book - especially the ones about Immigration, Trade & Growth. The online literature around such contentious topics is usually highly partisan, so its a welcome change to look at data-backed conclusions. For the rest of the book though, go/no-go based on your liking/comfort with abstract economic discussions. 

Book Review of "Death Comes As the End"

Ok, so this is an adequately fun book. It's another Agatha Christie novel, so there's mystery, there's murder, there's a few interesting characters, some twist and of course an antagonist at the end. What sets this book apart from other Agatha Christie novels - is the setting - the story takes place in Ancient Egypt. A solid 4/5. Recommend if you are looking for a relaxing read after a hectic day. 

Book Review of "And Thereby Hangs a Tale"

Short, sweet, breezy & entertaining. Jeffrey Archer rarely disappoints. I wouldn't call this his best work, but its decent and a fun book. A couple of stories are fantastic, one or two are very predictable and the rest are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. A solid 3.5/5.

Book Review of "Bad Blood: Secret & Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup"

Holy mother of god, the story of Theranos is crazy! I thought having followed the Theranos debacle in the news would soften the blow for me, but boy was I wrong! This is the story of one of the most gruesome frauds in recent history and the levels to which its founders stooped to justify their actions. 

You might have heard about Theranos before and you might have watched the couple of documentaries out there about it. But trust me, you should still read this. It has first hand accounts of hundreds of employees. Excruciating details about downright bullying and unconscionable acts of playing with terminal cancer patients' hopes.

Oh and if you are one of those few untainted souls who have not heard of Theranos before, then brace yourselves, you are in for a ride. 

I never thought a book about rise and fall of a biotech company would be as nail biting and exciting as a mystery novel. It certainly helps that the writer is the investigative journalist himself who first broke the news about Theranos's wrongdoings. 

That being said, the book itself is not without its flaws. It introduces too many characters too quickly and changes tracks suddenly more than a few times. But I think I understand where this comes from. The details are so twisted and the writer so eager to make sure nothing is missed that it does make an impact on the narrative as a whole. 

Whether you work in Tech or not, whether you are a star crossed silicon valley fanboy or not, the story of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes is eye-opening. The following lines in the book sum it well - 

"She didn’t initially set out to defraud investors and put patients in harm’s way. By all accounts, she had a vision that she genuinely believed in and threw herself into realizing. But in her all-consuming quest and amid the gold rush of the “unicorn” boom, there came a point when she stopped listening to sound advice and began to cut corners. Her ambition was voracious and it brooked no interference. If there was collateral damage on her way to riches and fame, so be it."

Book Review of "City of Djinns"

"Whoever has built a new city in Delhi has always lost it: the Pandava brethren, Prithviraj Chauhan, Feroz Shah Tughluk, Shah Jehan ... They all built new cities and they all lost them. We were no exception” - says the last living descendant of the Mughals to William Dalrymple, author of "City of Djinns". After multiple recommendations, I finally got around to reading this and boy oh boy, isn't this book a trip ! Even though I wouldn't give this a perfect 5 on 5 rating, I do highly recommend it, especially if like me, you revel in the history & don't mind a trip down nostalgia lane.

I have always loved cities. Maybe because I spent the formative years of my life in the quintessential "old part" of Pune or maybe because like millions of others, I feel at home despite the chaos, the noise & the crowds. So naturally, the premise of "City of Djinns" - a Scottish historian spending a year in Delhi chronicling its history - was immensely seductive and I dove into the book with high expectations.

Its a good book nay a great one if you are looking to understand the history of Delhi from the 12th century AD to about the 1900s. Dalrymple paints a vivid picture of the many transformations - both literal and cultural - that the city of Delhi has gone through. Instead of only talking about the Kings and their wars and who conquered who, the main focus here is on the cultural nuances, artistic scene and speculation about how the life of everyday Delhi-ite would have changed. The depiction of the Mughal Delhi is the most vivid one. Dalrymple talks a great deal about the East India officials who lived in Delhi from the 1800s, the sharp racist turn post the 1857 mutiny and the sad but true fate of Anglo Indians who faced closed doors from both India and UK. Chapters about Delhi eunuchs and about Sufi saints are riveting. 

So then, what's my beef with the book ? IMO, it doesn't paint a "whole" picture - which is perfectly fine - but still claims to do so - and that is not ok. The pre 12th century Delhi history is literally glossed over in 20 pages, no mention of the role Delhi played in the Indian Freedom struggle and apart from talking about the architectural features of the Lutyens Delhi, the book doesn't talk about Delhi's importance in economy of North India. All of this is probably fine and I shouldn't complain, but what ticked me off most was the coverage of the partition. Don't get me wrong, it paints a very good picture of what the migrating Sikh, Muslim and Hindu had to go through because of the partition and it talks in great detail about how in few weeks, the demographic of Delhi was changed forever and how the "Old Delhi" lost part of its soul. But it bucketizes people per their religion and stops there. It doesn't mention the common middle class man - who whatever his religion was, was also affected deeply. Based on what I have read about the partition (which I admit, isn't a lot), the fate of the common man, who previously wouldn't necessarily identify his religious bucket strongly faced battles that he didn't want. Although nothing compared to the horrors the migrating people endured, this change in everyday, left a mark on the post-partition Indian psyche.

In spite of these issues, I feel the book still works. I salute Dalrymple's calm attitude when dealing with government red tape and his quiet acceptance of the early 90s Indian idiosyncrasies

Give this book a shot, you won't regret it, 4/5. 

Book Review of "Last Argument of Kings - First Law Trilogy Book 3"

The fantastic First Law Trilogy ends with the "Last Argument of Kings" - it's been a good ride. The third book isn't exactly as "nasty" as the first two - but it has all the elements that made the first two books good - intriguing characters, fast paced action and an engaging story. I wouldn't call the First Law Trilogy one of the best fantasy books I have read, but they are definitely one of the entertaining ones. In fact, I wouldn't mind reading more about 'Sand Dan Glokta' and some of the other characters. This book gives a satisfying action packed conclusion and in my mind winds down all the important story arcs neatly. I don't necessarily like or agree with the way all those story arcs ended, but I'll say that's just me and not anything against the book - there aren't any obvious logical holes or odd u-turns. Overall, fun and interesting - 4/5. Got to admit, this genre of 'grimdark' is starting to grow on me :) 

Book Review of "Before They Are Hanged - First Law Trilogy Book 2"

They say the middle book of a trilogy could be a filler - you have the beginning and the end in your first and the third book respectively and the second one is there to "continues the story". There definitely is a kernel of truth to this generalization, but I have seen exceptions as well (case in point - the second book from the Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy). That being said, "Before They Are Hanged" unfortunately is not such an exception. IMO, it falls into the proverbial "middle book" fallacy. What works in its favor though (and hence the 4/5 rating from me), is the excellent characters and some of the sassiest character interactions in fantasy novels I have seen. The action sequences are painted superbly. The story arc of this book kind of feels flat. All in all, if you enjoyed the first book of the 'First law Trilogy', you'll enjoy this one, though not as much. For me, it's enough to keep me interested and go for the third book. I guess that's the main purpose of the middle books anyways! 

Book Review of "The Blade Itself - First Law Trilogy Book 1"

This one was an interesting read. 

Positives:

1. Excellent characters and character interactions: With the exception of a one obviously villainous character, all others are beautifully construed with a mix of black and white. You love them and yet you hate their guts - actually pretty good for a fantasy novel. The dialogues are funny & sarcastic with just the right amount of profanity. 

2. Vivid depiction of action sequences: simple man on man sword fights, fistfights & some magical fights throughout the book but they are painted vividly giving you a sense of urgency and actually having you second guess the results. 

Negatives:

1. The overall story arc: The entire book feels like a buildup to something and then it ends. I am hoping the next two books in the trilogy don't feel this way.

2. Unnecessary gratuitous violence is some places: Reminds you of a Tarantino movie - probably a bit less of graphic violence could have had a bigger impact IMO.

Overall, fun & interesting. 4/5.

Book Review of "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer"

What is your definition of a superhero ? Its the small town lawyer who decides to fight against the medical insurance behemoths because they didn't cover his sister's breast cancer treatment, its a pair of driven scientists who spent months walking the corridors of a giant Pharmaceutical company to convince them to mass produce a cancer medicine even though it was for a small variant of cancer and might not earn the company a lot of money, its the clinical researchers who stood their ground against the tobacco companies to push awareness about lung cancer and finally its the countless surgeons, hematologists and geneticists who spent their literal lifetime against a formidable foe and by solving a small piece of the puzzle saved thousands of lives.

"The Emperor of All Maladies" by Siddhartha Mukherjee is a brilliant masterpiece. It is superbly written and extraordinarily insightful. The research that must have gone behind writing this book is astounding - almost every page of this roughly 600 pages book has at least two references. 

It covers the history of Cancer starting from its first recorded occurrence in the Egyptian texts some 2500 years ago all the way to today's Cancer Genome Atlas. It has riveting accounts of numerous wins and losses by researchers against Cancer and how our collective understanding of this disease has progressed. The book mostly talks about the data from the US and western European countries and the writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee, openly admits to that. But that being said, this book will leave you speechless. 

IMO, everyone should read this, period.

Book Review of "Recursion"

A SciFi book that is action packed, fast paced with just a little bit of philosophical touch - is my guilty pleasure. "Recursion" by Blake Crouch fared perfectly on all of these fronts. It has won the GoodReads SciFi book of the year award for 2019. This combined with the fact that I had really enjoyed Blake Crouch's previous book "Dark Matter", made it an obvious choice to go for "Recursion". It didn't disappoint. Its fun & fast. You are not expected to think too much about the science in the story and that's ok. "Recursion" weaves an entertaining story around memory, time travel & some cop drama with a few well rounded & crisply defined characters. A solid 4/5. Perfect read for the holidays.