Colleen McCullough
Its a timeless tale of power.. but timeless as it is, ancient rome is a great setting for the tale… and it is well told, with the neat detailing – for the characters, the lives they lived, and the conditions they lived in…
The wonderful writing makes it easy for the reader to imagine the magnificent civilisation that still influences the world we live in, in many ways… a must read.. and i will start the sequel to this – The Grass Crown very soon
Jack Kerouac
A different America from the packaged version we get to see these days. Its a book that perhaps matches the times it was set in.. its, i think, essentially a book that looks at the wanderlust of Sal Paradise, the protagonist, his travel companions, influences and perhaps, at the very base, a quest for freedom..of self
A warning though, you’ve to be very patient, and allow for boredom to set in, in between. Its not the ‘finish in one read’ kind of book.
Pankaj Mishra
I’ve always been a fan of Pankaj Mishra’s melancholic way of writing, which just borders on cynicism. This book, while a study on the evolution of Buddhism, is also a travelogue of sorts. It even manages to touch upon the author’s personal growth – material and spiritual, and the gradual growth in his confidence, which was necessary for the book to be written.
It focuses a lot on Buddha’s teachings, the way it has been transformed in various regions and times in which it has been practised, and also manages an analysis of how it could still be pertinent in a world that has changed much, since the time he lived in. The book simplifies Buddhism to an extent, and while it cannot be a complete guide to the Buddha (that wasn’t the idea anyway), it does manage to chronicle the times that the Buddha lived in, and makes you curious enough not only to read up more on the subject, but also check out the works of David Hume, and Nietzsche, who have been extensively quoted.
A good start for those who seek to understand themselves.
Karan Bajaj
Karan Bajaj’s debut novel reminds me a lot of Chetan Bhagat’s first work, perhaps because of the similarity in milieu- IIT and IIM. Karan Bajaj is an IIM alumnus, and so this does seem a bit autobiographical. Well, even if its not, its definitely introspective, and is at its root, a person’s search for himself.
Samrat Ratan is the protagonist, who takes a break from his hotshot investment banking life on Wall Street, and gets into IIM-Bangalore. Its an interesting book, if not spectacular, and is definitely worth a read, if only for the analytic construction of the final lesson ‘ happiness is about being comfortable in your own skin…. living a life of your own, and not an imitation of someone else’s reality’
Of course, even that is only a perspective, but it happens to be one I agree with 🙂
Edward Rutherford
This is the second time I’m reading this book. A lot of book descriptions have the words epic, saga, spanning centuries and generations etc. But to truly understand all of that you have to check out this book, for its scale and scope is truly massive.
The tale starts from the time before the island of Great Britain was formed, ends in 1997 and in its expanse weaves a tapestry that contains the story of generations of families and events in history that they’ve been part of. Its amazing how, throughout history, the same characteristics are brought out – not just of people, but of the city too.
A lot of cities have a rich history, but very few of them manage to give the visitor or inhabitant a sense of history. I’ve never been to London, possibly never will, but I’m sure it’s one of those places which would give one glimpses of life as it happened centuries before.