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siddharthagolu's reviews
243 reviews
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
4.0
The only "problem" I had with this book was because it was a collection of short stories. Every time I started to like or feel sympathy towards a character, the story ended. It was like giving someone a paroxysm of happiness - and quickly stabbing them in the back! This might be an exaggeration - it probably is - but therein lies the brilliance of Jhumpa Lahiri. She intertwines the chaos and serenity so beautifully that you can't help but fall in love with every aspect of life - although more often than not, her stories have a low-key and slightly underwhelming end.
The stories typically consist of Non-resident Indians struggling to come to terms with living in a foreign land. Characters are relatable and Lahiri masterfully uses a mixture of cliches and contrasts to prove her point.
I'd definitely recommend this one!
The stories typically consist of Non-resident Indians struggling to come to terms with living in a foreign land. Characters are relatable and Lahiri masterfully uses a mixture of cliches and contrasts to prove her point.
I'd definitely recommend this one!
Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh
4.0
What an emotional roller-coaster ride! The story revolves around the bloody week of partitioning into India and Pakistan and how barbaric mutilations were the norm during that time. Khushwant Singh brilliantly uses hypocrisy and morality to show how fickle the human mind is and how easily it can be persuaded into different directions. Though the book lacks coherence in certain segments, it builds up to a crescendo as the story unfolds - the last few pages, especially the last segment is tragically beautiful. A must-read for sure!!
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
4.0
Some unconventional and useful advice right here
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
3.0
I wanted to like this book. Seeing all the rave reviews and because I liked Norwegian Wood, I picked up my second Murakami with the hope that somehow, it'll be able to smooth out the slight hollowness I felt after reading his last book. I am sad to say that wasn't the case.
Maybe it has something to do with it originally being written in Japanese - I feel as if whatever the author wants to convey, gets lost somewhere during the translation. In any case, I would not say that I really understood this book. Maybe next time? Who knows.
Maybe it has something to do with it originally being written in Japanese - I feel as if whatever the author wants to convey, gets lost somewhere during the translation. In any case, I would not say that I really understood this book. Maybe next time? Who knows.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3.0
Continuing on my journey of the classics, I picked up this book with a lot of expectations - and that's where I went wrong. Maybe if I had read the tagline "for teenage readers", the outcome would've been different.
This story is from the perspective of a teenage boy going through his high school year & revolves around his general distaste of people, alienation and angst toward humanity in general. We all have gone through this phase at some point in our life and that's why I could somewhat relate to his ramblings. Without spoiling much, I would say this is a good (and light) read, but probably not a book amongst "the great literary classics".
This story is from the perspective of a teenage boy going through his high school year & revolves around his general distaste of people, alienation and angst toward humanity in general. We all have gone through this phase at some point in our life and that's why I could somewhat relate to his ramblings. Without spoiling much, I would say this is a good (and light) read, but probably not a book amongst "the great literary classics".