Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel

When you pick up a book of an author you have previously read and enjoyed, your expectation from his new book automatically increases. I had high hopes from this book - Beatrice & Virgil by Yann Martel. The previous book by the author, Life of Pi is one of my favorite reads of all times. But, all my hopes with his new book came thrashing down as I turned pages after pages of the book without having a clue what the story is all about and then it came to me with a bang. Let me quote the blurb from the back of the book to get started:

"This story is the story of a donkey named Beatrice and a monkey named Virgil. It is also the story of an extraordinary journey undertaken by a man named Henry. It begins with a mysterious parcel, and it ends in a place that will make you think again about one of the most significant events of the twentieth century. Once you have finished reading it, it is impossible to forget."

I was HIGHLY intrigued by this blurb, so much so that I put aside the other books I had been reading and started with this one. Also, since the book was barely 200 pages, I didn't think it would take too long. The story started with a writer named Henry whose previous book was a huge success and he is working hard on a book about 'Holocaust'. He tries to present the stories from Holocaust in a different and 'never told before' style but his style and endeavors are rejected by the publishers. He decides to take a break and shifts to a different city and puts all the thoughts about his book at the back of his mind.

One day he receives a mysterious box containing excerpts from a play by Flaubert and another play which perhaps the sender himself had penned down. Henry traced the letter to a taxidermist and coincidentally his name was also Henry. The taxidermist reads out his play (whose main characters are stuffed animals present in his workshop- Beatrice, the donkey and Virgil, the howler monkey) to Henry.The first scene of the play was interesting where Virgil is trying to explain to Beatrice how a pear looks and tastes like. But from then onwards, the play is a jumble and I found it rather boring, crude and abstract.

And then  a few lines from the book sums up everything:


"Here was irrefutable proof that he was using the Holocaust to speak of the extermination of animal life. Doomed creatures that could not speak for themselves were being given the voice of a most articulate people who had been similarly doomed. He was seeing the tragic fate of animals through the tragic fate of Jews. The Holocaust as allegory."

 That is so bizarrely convenient! Here was an author whose book about Holocaust has been rejected and he comes across a Nazi who had somehow escaped detection and was living a solitary life. I felt aghast as a reader, here I was reading page after page trying to fathom what the author is trying to say and then in just a few lines you sum up the novel. Then in fact, a second thought dawned on me - was the writer Henry in this book Yann Martel himself? I do not know that for sure.

Even though I disliked the book to the core here are a few quotes from the book, I loved and think are thoughts to ponder on:

"To my mind, faith is like being in the sun. When you are in the sun, can you avoid creating a shadow? Can you shake that area of darkness that clings to you, always shaped like you, as if constantly to remind you of yourself? You can't. This shadow is doubt. And it goes wherever you go as long as you stay in the sun. And who wouldn't want to be in the sun?"

" If you are pitched into misery,remember that your days on this earth are counted and you might as well make the best of those you have left."


Linking it to A2ZChallenge for Letter B.


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All About Books~ The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri & The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

It has been a while since I did a post on books. I am a regular reader but of late the books I laid my hands on did not entertain/impress me and for that reason, I have not been very enthusiastic about writing about them.

I picked up The Death of Vishnu by Manil Suri just by chance. The title of the book and the Indian name of the author intrigued me and the blurb was interesting too.

"Vishnu, the odd-job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing: Around him the lives of the apartment dwellers unfold: the warring housewives on the first floor, lovesick teenagers on the second, and the widower, alone and quietly grieving on the top floor of the building. In a fevered state Vishnu looks back on his love affair with the seductive Padmini and wonders if he might actually be the god Vishnu, guardian of the entire universe.

Blending incisive comedy with Hindu mythology and a dash of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnu is an intimate and compelling view of an unforgettable world."

The book started in a promising way with the author dwelling on the lives of the inhabitants of the apartment block in question, where the man named Vishnu was lying, dying every moment. The author has done a commendable job on the character building of each of the character, but I found the story line itself very confusing. The author has tried to imbibe too many things into the story without focusing on anything in particular. I found the mythological mix in the story very weird and it is what that disappointed me. Vishnu on his death,actually imagined himself to be Lord Vishnu (from Hindu mythology) and was hallucinating about it through out the story. All thanks to the nutcase, Mr Jalal. I finished the book just for the sake of it even though I had lost interest half way into the novel. It was an unsatisfying read with a gripping start, vivid characters,too many sub plots, no main storyline and an absurd ending. I do not recommend it to anyone.

The second book that I picked up was The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. 

I had a hard time reading this book. I was really looking forward to reading it and I had added it to my To Read List 2011. I gave up the first time I picked it up early this year. But, then again I felt I should trying reading it again. But, it couldn't hold my interest for long. There is something about these Man Booker Books that is above my understanding. 

 Here is the blurb from the book cover:

"High in the Himalayas sits a dilapidated mansion, home to three people, each dreaming of another time.
The judge, broken by a world too messy for justice, is haunted by his past. His orphaned granddaughter has fallen in love with her handsome tutor,despite their different background and ideals. The cook's heart is with his son, working far away in a New York restaurant, mingling with an underclass from all over the globe as he seeks somewhere to call home.

Around the house swirl the forces of revolution and change. Civil unrest is making itself felt, stirring up inner conflicts as powerful as those dividing the community, pitting the past against the present, nationalism against love, a small place against the troubles of a big world."

It was a difficult read and pathetically slow. The narrative was monotonous and unenthusiastic. I do not want to crib more about this book. It was just not my kind of read and I abandoned it after reading half way through.

 If you have read these books and have different opinion, I would like to hear from you. Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

PS: I am reading Deception Point by Dan Brown at the moment. It is a typical Brown novel and I am enjoying it. It will be 2012 when I write about it.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger

Does it happen with you?

A book that gets mass accolades fails to make a mark on you? A book that you are so-looking- forward- to- read dissappoints you?

It has happened with me again. Last time when I had said this, it was about Eat Pray and Love.

Yes, I am saying I did not like The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger. It is the first book of the author I have read. Most of you may differ from me in your opinion about this book. But, let me tell you why it did not work for me and I abondened reading it after 150 pages.                                   The novel chronicles the love story of Henry and Clare. Henry has a rare genetic disorder, which comes to be known as Chrono-Displacement, that causes him to involuntarily travel through time. He does not have control over where he travels, why he travels, when he travels and he does not take any thing from the present to which ever time he travels, not even his clothes.                                                                         Actually, I found the whole premises of the story very confusing. The story is being told by both Henry and Clare alternately in first person. Henry would pop up in certain time before or after his present and meet Clare who would either be a child or much older. He would talk about their future or his past and then again he would vanish in thin air. What I found rather funny was he could travels in time and meet his other self, younger or older. That is why I felt the story was not growing and it seemed to me very flat and stagnant (till the point I read).

Another probable reason I think for not liking this book is perhaps I was  reading this book very slowly in bits and gave more time and attention to the other books I had been reading. By the time I reached a length in the story, I almost forgot what I had read before.

I had brought the book from the library and it had been with me for at least 3 months. I kept hoping that at some point I might find it interesting. But, give it to my lazy reading, I finally returned it without even completing it. For the rest of the story I read this article on Wikipedia and some reviews on GoodReads and realised there are a whole lot of people who felt the same about the novel.

To know more about the author and her works visit http://audreyniffenegger.com/

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