Gearing up for The Write Tribe Reading Challenge #MondayMusings

4 months of the year has already passed by and I am miserably lagging behind in my reading goals. I didn't aim for anything too far fetched as a part of the GoodReads challenge - just 2 books a month. Should not have been that tough right? But it is becoming so, given the fact that I am also putting my hands into a number of other things. So, to get myself back on track, I am signing up for another reading challenge. Although I am pretty late for it already, Corrine of Write Tribe has been kind enough to let me into 'The Write Tribe Reading Challenge 2019'.

As a part of the challenge, I am hoping I will be reading 24 books (book lover level) of which 12 can match up to the book prompts listed in the challenge plus I will be posting a review of at least 1 book a month. Of course, there will be some catching up to do. But then, that's my intention for taking up this challenge.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel is a unbelievably fascinating story of Piscine Motilor Patel nicknamed as Pi and his arduous 227 days journey on a life boat in the dangerous pacific waters.

Pi lives in Pondicherry with his parents and brother Ravi. He is an intelligent child and is always eager to learn new things in life. His father is the owner of Pondicherry Zoo and thus Pi also has a sound knowledge of raising animals and zoo keeping. He is very spiritual and despite being born Hindu, he is attracted towards the preaching of Christianity and Islam and follows all the three religions avidly.

When Pi is 14 years old, his father decides to leave India for foreign shores. He sells off the zoo and most of the animals to various American and Indian zoo to set sail for Canada. They leave India with the animals as cargo on the ship. On the way to Canada, the unthinkable happens. Tsimtsum sinks and from there starts the incredible story of survival of Pi.

As the only surviving human from the shipwreck, Pi finds himself in the company of a dying Zebra, a hyena, an Orag-Utan and a 450 lbs Royal Bengal Tiger in a life boat. It is his wit, unerring faith in the Almighty and his desire to live that kept him going and in the end against all odds his determination wins.

The book has oodles of wisdom on various perspective of life which will make you ponder over things which we normally take for granted. It is a book not to be rushed upon. It should be read slowly savouring each and every details of it. I must admit I found the first 50 pages a bit drag and painstakingly slow and boring. Yet, there was something that kept me stuck to reading it, the words from the author's note kept ringing in my ears ~ 'it is a story that will make you believe in God' and there was no looking back. It is written mostly in first person in the voice of Pi with the exception of the a few short chapters from the author and the author's note where he tells how he came across this incredible human being and his incredulous story of survival.

I am really short of words to explain what to expect from the book. Yann Martel is a master story teller who has woven a tale so incredulous and surreal that any logic would deny it and still in your heart, you would want to believe it. I would just say, read it to find it yourself.

There are some excerpts from the book, I would like to share:

"I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the pacific, hanging on to an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging about me. Had I considered my prospects in the light of reason, I  would have given up and let go of the oar, hoping I might drown before being eaten. But, I don't recall that I had a single thought during those first minutes of relative safety. I didn't even notice daybreak. I held on to the oar, I just held on, God only know why."

" I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever , treacherous adversary, how well I know."

"So, I drifted. Winds and currents decided where I went. Time became distance for me in the way it is for all mortals- I traveled down the road of life- and I did other things with my fingers than to try to measure latitude."

Life of Pi by Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize in 2002.

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer is based on a true story. It is the story of George Mallory who dreamed of conquering the Everest and perished on his third attempt. On searching about it in Google, I found that his body was found in 1999, and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit. He was last seen six hundred feet from the top.

Story Summary from the book:

Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and Clark are among such individuals. But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?

Paths of Glory, is the story of such a man. But only after you’ve turned the last page of this extraordinary novel, inspired by a true story, will you be able to decide if George Mallory’s name should be added to the list of legends, in which case another name would have to be removed.
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The book summary speaks pretty much a lot about the content of the book. The cover page of the book also said, 'He loved two women and the second one killed him'. That was intriguing at first, but soon I figured out who this second lady was.

The book starts with George Mallory and how even as a kid, he showed his natural talent for climbing. He is married to the love of his life and is blessed with two daughters and a son. After his education is finished he takes up a job as a school master. But his passion for climbing never dims or dies. The novel also touches on the horrors of World War I and how life of common people were affected by it. What, I liked about the novel was the love Mallory had for his wife and how they wrote letters to each other when Mallory was off to his Everest expeditions. In fact, a good part of the novel is told in the letters they write to each other. But, in the end Mt. Everest proved to be tough lady to please and whether Mallory reached the top or not remained a mystery and a controversy. But, in the end, Archer made clear what he felt the truth was.

The writing style is average and Mallory is portrayed as a hero throughout even though there are other fellow climbers who seem quite good. There are some shallow details about the adversaries of nature on high altitudes, the preparation involved in mountaineering and the perils involved but all that did not make the story more convincing for me. To me it sounded more fictional than real.When you read something involving adventures, it should make you excited as well. This book failed to ignite that excitement. The book is different from all the other books I have read of the author. It is kind of rather slow paced than I would like it to be.
I was not amazed or annoyed by it. For me it falls into the average quick read.

To know more about the author and his works visit http://www.jeffreyarcher.co.uk/site/

The Curious Case of the Dog at the night time by Mark Haddon

I picked up this book - The Curious Case of the dog in the night time by Mark Haddon from the library because I was somewhat intrigued to see the cover page.

It thought it would be a funny and light book. But, somehow that's not exactly the case. This book will make you smile at some points but not exactly in a funny way and it will leave you pondering over it, long after you have read it!

The story is narrated by Christopher Boone, who has Asperger Syndrome, a highly functional type of autism. He lives with his father in Swindon, England. He is a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. That is why when his teacher Siobhan asks him to write a book about his daily musings, he decides to write a murder mystery novel. A book in which he decides to write about the investigations of Wellington's murder and everything else he want to talk about.

The story starts with Christopher discovering the dead body of Wellington, the dog of their neighbour, Mrs Shears. The dog has been killed with a garden fork and Christopher is appalled to see the dreadful condition in which the dog was lying in the garden. He decides to find out who murdered the dog and sets out to do investigation in his own way. In his quest to find the murderer and bring justice to the dog, Christopher comes across some startling secrets that his father had hidden from him. It changes his life for good.

Is that all the story about in the novel? Definitely not! There is lots more to the book than just the story and plot.

Haddon has very subtly given the picture of how the mind of an autistic child works. What problems the parents with such a child faces ? What are the issues that are vital to upbringing a child with special needs and lots more!

The character of Christopher itself looks so real. He is very sensitive to his surroundings. He is gifted when it comes to maths and physics but, he does not understand much about human feelings and emotions like most people inflicted with this syndrome. He looks at the world in a very logical way (that is why all the chapters in his novel as prime numbered) and he wants everything to follow a routine. He does not like uncertainty and the very thought of anything uncertain makes him feel dizzy and scared. He has his own little rules to determine if a day is going to be good, very good, super good or a black day.  All these little details about him makes the character so convincing. His takes on maths, physics and so many other topics will make you look at them in a new more logical way.

The story is not so much about resolving the murder mystery but how Christopher decides to solve it, how he processes his findings logically during his little investigation, how he tries to overcome his fears and talks to strangers and finally how he reacts when he finds out some startling revelations about his own family. Haddon has very nicely and neatly dwelled on the feelings of an autistic child, his special needs and his understandings of the worldly things. The book is written in a very simple English and in a kind of disconnected way. But the writing style works for the story and seems more apt as it is written from the perspective of an autistic child.

 A must read. No wonder it won the Whitbread Book Award in 2003 and CommonWealth Writer's Prize for best First Book in 2004.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

At the beginning of the new year, I had made a list of books I wished to read this year and I am glad I am doing quite well in that. One of them was the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer.  I had seen the movie- Twilight I and had not quite enjoyed it so much. So, I never gave a thought about reading the book until my best friend wrote to me about her love for the Twilight Series. That is what intrigued me and I brought the first book in the series, Twilight from the library. I found it in the young adult section in the library but, I think this will appeal to a much wider audience. I am glad to have read it and hope to read the other books in the series soon.

It is a 'Human-Vampire' love story like no other.

The story starts with Bella (Isabella Swan) leaving her mom's house in the sunny Phoenix for her father's place in a gloomy and small place called Forks to complete the rest of her high school. Its gloomy in Forks because it always cloudy and rainy. For Bella, good bright weather is like a dream in Forks. On top of that she has to sink into a new school with a whole lot of new friends. But, gradually, she adjusts herself in the new surroundings and even makes new friends.

Bella is by nature shy, under confident yet curious and observant. She is very intrigued by the Cullens, Edward Cullen in particular. She finds the Cullens different from the rest of the students in school. Despite Edward cold and unpredictable behaviour towards her in the first few encounters, she feels deeply attracted towards him. The very look at him sends a chill through her spine! The adjectives used to describe Edward in the novel like 'inhumanly beautiful' with 'luscious skin', a husky voice makes him instantly addictive to the readers as well.

Later in the story Bella and Edward fall in love despite the fact that they are all together different beings. They seem to deny any logic and hope that their relationship will somehow work. The story takes an interesting turn when another Vampire falls for Bella's blood and Bella has to run for her life. After several twists and turns things fall into places, But how? That's the thing to read in the novel.

The whole story is said with the perspective of Bella. The readers knows just want Bella tells and thinks. So, as the story proceeds secrets about the Cullens are unravelled one by one and that builds up the suspense in the novel as one keep thinking what more is in store. The story will keep you hooked till the end. The first half of the novel is relaxed, with vivid details about the places and characters. The second half is where all the action happens. The language used in the book is very simple and easy to understand. Meyer has depicted the feelings of teenage love very well.

If you are still intimidated about a human-vampire love story, I recommend you read this book.