Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I believe that imagination is the particular faculty artists possess that enables them to create a new reality from the one they live in,” writes Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Coming from the Caribbean, though, has made it virtually impossible for Marquez to depart from reality, even with liberal use of his imagination. Marquez claims, ” . . . nothing has ever occurred to me, nor have I been able to do anything, that is more awesome than reality itself. The most I’ve been able to do has been to alter that reality.” This seems an awesome claim after reading Chronicle of a Death Foretold, in which some episodes seem completely impossible. That impossible reality, however, is what, according to Marquez, gives Latin American writers the ability to create fantastic stories. The ambiguous Latin American setting of Chronicle of a Death Foretold is what gives Marquez the opportunity to use his imagination to create an altered version of his own magical reality.

The events that transpire in Chronicle of a Death Foretold hinge on the setting. Marquez is purposefully not very specific about the location or identity of the small Latin American town in which Santiago Nasar dies. He reveals that the population is small, which is very important to the plot progression. Marquez would not have been able to create the same story in the middle of a bustling city full of strangers; he needed a small intimate setting that would allow him to twist reality within reasonable bounds. One of the elements of the plot that best exhibits magical realism is the fact that everyone in the town knows Nasar is going to die without Nasar finding out until the last minute. It seems impossible for everyone to know someone is going to die without the future victim having any knowledge of his fate. Marquez has “alter[ed] reality,” but made his alterations more plausible by his choice of setting.

First, Marquez presents the town as being very small and intimate. Consisting of many large and intermarried families, the town is filled with friends and family, who would spread news of Nasar’s doom relatively quickly. There is also the shop in which the Vicario brothers sit to wait for Nasar. Since the town is small, it is reasonable that many of the town’s residents would pass through the same store on their morning’s rounds and see the two men. This makes it more plausible that everyone might hear a piece of gossip within a couple hours.

Marquez also chooses to make the residents of the town relatively poor and not disclose the exact era during which the events occur. Through these two choices of setting development, Marquez makes it possible to remove the presence of automobiles, save the one brought in by Bayardo San Román. This lack of automobiles explains why everyone in the town walks everywhere, and lends further credence to the fact that everyone knew Santiago Nasar was going to die. Marquez’s choice of setting has allowed him to create a reality that seems impossible, yet somewhat plausible, all at the same time.

The choice of setting only makes more reasonable a story line that otherwise seems impossible. Marquez may have created a setting in which it is reasonable to believe that an entire town would know a man was going to die soon. Even Marquez, though, cannot offset the mystery as to how Nasar himself could not know his fate. In his essay, Marquez speaks of “Latin America’s impossible reality,” so in the end perhaps it is enough to know that Chronicle of a Death Foretold is set in Latin America. There is nowhere else that such an impossible reality could be possible.

The Sorrows of an American by Siri Hustvedt

There is a lot of chat in Hustvedt’s new novel. Erik is a psychotherapist with some difficult clients, he’s just divorced, and is falling for the young single mum, Miranda, in the flat below.

His sister, Inga, was married to a famous writer, Max, who has recently died, and they chat about what it’s like to be in love with a writer and how you kind of fall in love with them through their writing.

And then there is Miranda’s ex, who is stalking her but using the surreptitious photos he takes in an art exhibition, which kind of makes it OK. And Inga is sort of being blackmailed by one of Max’s old lovers, which is distressing.

This all, of course, happens in New York – mostly in Brooklyn – as they each weigh in with intelligent theories on the nature of their own dreams and on the morality of their own stories. And the miracle is that Hustvedt manages to make her characters engaging and her novel absorbing rather than irritating; this examining of our inner lives is what she does so well and makes reading her feel like such an intimate, personal treat.

This is a short review for sure, however there is more to come. I read this book with great trepidation since I did not know what to expect from this writer. I had not read, “What I Loved” and had no clue about her other works. However after reading this one, I cannot wait to read more of what she has written and what is waiting to come. A gem of a book.

One Note Symphonies by Sean Brijbasi

…on many levels this book is weird, yet fulfilling describing loneliness, love, hidden passions, flaunting emotions, creating a mirage at times and then again leaving the reader baffled asking for more…

the stories in this debut are simply amazing! starting with “diary of a composor” to the very last “the etymology of the swedish quen” the stories travel back and forth sometimes in time and at others on a higher evolved self-level. while reading this book, way too many thoughts crossed my mind…some happy and some sad…but they were so connecting to what I was reading…

reading this book was like painting a plain canvas with so many varied colours – sometimes of a heartbroken lover, some of a failed marriage, others of napolean’s achievements, then forwarding to brushings with elephant pieces…

one last thing: Do not under any circumstances fail to read this book!!

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

I happened to read The Bell Jar for my book group discussion for the month of November and instantly fell in love with the book. More than anything else I think it was Esther and her descriptions that absolutely gripped me from the very first word.

While reading the book, many times I tried to question my own sanity and what I was going through and quite surprisingly this book I felt dealt with so many issues that we all go through some or the other time in our lives. Esther’s struggle with issues and people around her gave me an inkling into what was I facing with people around me. It’s not more of madness than being sane that made me love this book and what it stands for – probably suffocation, probably the need to get away so many times when we are unable to do so. The probability of meeting someone nice and sensitive which never really works that way.

Grappling with oneself and situations can be quite a thing to undertake. Most of the times, many of us choose to push things under the rug without paying attention to our thoughts and problems. Esther on the other hand chooses to look inside and find answers which probably is best summed up in the following lines from the book,

“How did I know that someday–at college, in Europe, somewhere, anywhere–the bell jar, with it’s stifling distortions, wouldn’t descend again?”

This quote becomes all the more poignant when one discovers that only a month after The Bell Jar, her first novel, was published, Sylvia Plath took her own life. One wonders if things would have been different had she lived today. All in all The Bell Jar is one of the books in my life, which I will never let go…

Jane Austen and the Novel

So what is it about Jane Austen that captivates her readers? That is a question that I am waiting to find the answer to. I mean here she has written only of women who are waiting to get married or are already married. I agree that at one point I was a major fan and then suddenly I lost interest. I mean: The point of marriage in her books seemed so banal. Like my boyfriend says, “It suits the Indian aesthetics. They can relate to her heroines who lead a provincial life and marriage is the only end to happiness”. True, isn’t it?

Pride and Prejudice to top the list talks of 5 sisters – capable in every single way, talent and otherwise and yet yearning to walk down the aisle with men of substantial income. Yes, may be I get it. The fact that women did not work in those times. Therefore the only occupation was to find them an eligible groom. Have things changed much? At least not in India. The same situation exists around the world as well, I am sure.

I loved Austen’s dry humour while I was growing up. I thought Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Dashwood (of Sense and Sensibility) were fabulous when it came to comic timing and yet I also think that probably Ms. Austen should not have emphasized on marriage much. In her defense though there is also the fact that women in her novels just happened to get embroiled in the so-called concept of matrimony. They could not do much in the 17th century, could they? How could they defy their parents? We still don’t in our country.

All said and done, there have been times that I have loved reading Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. I think I have outgrown them, however one never knows when the need to read about clashing egos of men and women and marriage in-between arises.

Entrepreneur Journeys by Sramana Mitra

Alright, I am not the sort of person who reads any books on management, let alone training (which is my core profession). Till date at least I have not read a single management book and was not interested either till I lay my hands on “Entrepreneur Journeys” by Sramana Mitra. I have always like I said had this aversion to management books and I never knew why. May be it was the way they were written. Always trying to force ideas down my throat and not willing to listen to my viewpoint. (well, wonder if they ever will?). Peter Drucker and the likes of him with Edward de Bono and his thinking hats could not make juggle towards their concepts.

So what made me read Sramana’s book? Well to start with it was plainly written or rather it is. It says how it is, without any frills. It makes you learn from other’s experiences which makes sense and yet at the same time wants you to go ahead and take that risk to be able to make something of your life. For instance, I am at such a crossroads in my career right now that I am asking myself the same questions: Am I doing the right thing with my life? Was I cut out to do this? Can I do something better? Am I capable of starting out on my own?

And that’s what “Entrepreneur Journeys” makes you do – learn from twelve unique journeys of twelve unique entrepreneurs. Their ups and downs – and what it takes to get to the top or bottom (in some cases). It is about their experiences which Sramana brings out very well by using her insightful interviewing technique and thus making them confide their fears, hopes, passions, worries, and inspirations which have driven their ventures.

I felt like I was learning directly from the masters and I did. I would highly recommend this book to managers in organizations (like myself) who want to maintain an entrepreneurial culture as they grow or anyone concerned about global business issues.

Genesis by Bernard Beckett

I am not a science fiction reader. Never have been and never claim to. I have not enjoyed Asimov(Dare I say that!) or Dune(Even worse than to mention it on my blog) and yet I ventured and picked up Genesis. Only because I was intrigued and to tell you the truth, I was not disappointed in the least. Yes the story is set way in the  future – 2075 to be precise (which scarily enough does not seem very far, does it now?) and the crux of the story is “Individualism” – literally. All that Orwell and Rand profess.

The plot is simple with the many layers that one has to read between and that’s the fun part. Its about the formation of The Republic, which is primarily due to countries not trusting one another. Wars have been waged and the result is clear: The Republic stands on the other side disintegrated by a wall in the sea. They have their own principles and philosophies. Their world is divided into four distinct categories: Laborers, Soldiers, Technicians and Philosophers. Philosophers being at the top of the so-called existence chain. And then enters our principal character of the book: Adam Thorpe who rescues a girl from being killed and in the bargain has to spend time with a machine as an experiment. This has happened in the past.

The present is that of Anaximander who stands before a panel of examiners, applying for a place in the Academy, for which she has to go through a 4-hour long question and answer round. She is all set to stand up for her hero Adam and in the bargain only discovers that things are not always what they seem.

Well in my opinion, I loved the book. Though the premise and structure did remind me of influences borrowed heavily from Huxley, Orwell and Rand, yet Genesis stands out to be an original. The arguments between Man and Machine are beautifully expressed and while I do not believe in reading about books set in the future, I might just have to eat my words this time and recommend this one.

Almost Done – Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Yes…My first challenge book “Genesis” by Bernard Beckett (though I started the challenge about 5-days earlier) is almost coming to an end and I just cannot wait to talk about it to everyone. It is super! It is not something that at least I have read before. Like I said I cannot wait to review it.

Book Meme 2

Hmmm..I had to write another Book Meme. I love them so. I do. I came across this one on www.jonobacon.org so here goes:

• Grab the Nearest Book
• Open it to page 56
• Find the fifth sentence
• Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions: “Don’t dig for your favourite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one. Pick the CLOSEST!”

Well so the closest book to me right now is “Genesis” by Bernard Beckett. The fifth sentence on Page 56 is:

The Head Examiner waited for her to move into place and then straight went into the next question, as if the break had happened only in her imagination.

I am so so loving this book right now. Can’t wait to post about it.

My Top 10 Villains in Fiction

Hmmmm…So I thought and I thought, I pondered by my bedside, I thought of it in my sleep and I reached something – at last! My top 10 Villains in Fictions. The ones that I would love to hate and love their writers for sketching them so brilliantly that they still manage to rouse goosebumps on my flesh when I re-read them..Brilliant I say…Here are my favourites:

1. Uriah Heep(David Copperfield): Well well well, he is the top of the tops. The wicked Uriah Heep of David Copperfield. The insincerity of this character is spread throughout the book. He is the epitome of sheer evil. Read this one!

2. Tom Ripley(The Talented Mr. Ripley): It is strange however I would love to go to bed with Tom Ripley. After all one doesn’t really know whether this villain is gay or straight. His crimes. His mind. The plots he schemes is beyond everyone. And yet somewhere down the line he is aware that he will get caught someday for what he has done.

3. Heathcliff(Wuthering Heights): I would not call this one a villain, but then again, what would you call a person who drives his loved one to madness? What would you call someone who loves with such a vengeance that he wants to destroy everything in his wake? You would but call him a villain, wouldn’t you?

4. Lord Voldermort (Harry Potter Series): Lord Voldermort is real. He is insecure. He wants to be liked by all. He wants to overpower. He is the trueblue villain of the times gone by and Rowling has managed just fine with him.

5. Count Dracula (Dracula): An entire book dedicated to the blood-sucking, enticing vampire. Before Twilight emerged, way before there was this Scandinavian imaginary being that was many a cause of people’s sleepless nights. Including mine – though mine came later as well with Keanu Reeve’s Dracula.

6. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs): The hissing. The good taste for flesh. The maneater Mr. Lecter is quite a monster created by Mr. Harris. Dark and brooding. He knows what to plan and what to do with his time. Chills the spine everytime!

7. The Devil (The Master and Margarita): The devil decides to take a walk in Russia and there is but after all, hell breaking loose. Literally. Moscow is the devil’s new abode.

8. Humbert (Lolita): No matter what anyone says, to me Humbert is a villain. Probably the greatest of them all. Yes he was a pedophile. May be he loved the child, however doing what he did!! Attrocious!

9. Sauron (The Lord of the Rings): White haired, withering, full of strength, Sauron will not stop at anything to get the ring to rule them all.

10. Sher Khan (The Jungle Books): And my personal favourite, the tiger himself..Sher Khan. The one who still manages to instill fear in kids! Brilliant I say!

Last but not the least. For every anti-hero or villain ever created, you made it possible for the concept of heroes to come alive.