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simranpradhan's reviews
122 reviews
House of Cards by Sudha Murty
3.0
Mridula is a young, talented girl from a small town in Karnataka, who meets a doctor Sanjan by the luck of chance. They fall in love, Sanjay starts his own hospital with the help of a friend after facing severe corruption in government hospitals while Mridula's teaching career flourishes. Yet, there are holes in the marriages she doesn't realise. House of Cards, as the name suggests, is a tale of just how fragile our support systems can be.
Sudha Murthy probably is my favourite Indian author. She doesn't analyse, neither does she underrepresent something. There are metaphors and juxtapositions that will melt your heart, there are tragic tales that will make you weep. House of Cards, especially, tells the ordeal of an Indian woman. While Mridula isn't an ideal woman in the modern world, one can still understand where she comes from, and in the end, she is the epitome of being a good person, teacher, mother, daughter and wife. Yet, she fails to provide for herself- and by the end of it you will be glad she starts doing it. I also love the concept of flawed characters- no character is perfect here, yet there are aspects you will agree on. If you want a white person to understand just how complex the dynamics of brown society are, just make them read a Sudha Murthy book.
Sudha Murthy probably is my favourite Indian author. She doesn't analyse, neither does she underrepresent something. There are metaphors and juxtapositions that will melt your heart, there are tragic tales that will make you weep. House of Cards, especially, tells the ordeal of an Indian woman. While Mridula isn't an ideal woman in the modern world, one can still understand where she comes from, and in the end, she is the epitome of being a good person, teacher, mother, daughter and wife. Yet, she fails to provide for herself- and by the end of it you will be glad she starts doing it. I also love the concept of flawed characters- no character is perfect here, yet there are aspects you will agree on. If you want a white person to understand just how complex the dynamics of brown society are, just make them read a Sudha Murthy book.
Metropolitan Stories by Christine Coulson
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
The Blind Matriarch by Namita Gokhale
4.0
Matangi-Ma, the blind matriach of a dysfunctional yet dynamic family, hovers over the lives and consciousness of all her family members who reside below her. As the COVID-19 pandemic forces all of them together in a standstill, past secrets and inner reflections force out aspects of themselves they didn't know they will encounter- including Matangi-Ma herself. The novel is a deep, soulful insight on the workings of Indian joint families, their hierarchies and complexities by making a strong female character the focal point of and ever evolving yet stunned world of the pandemic.
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The most attractive aspect of the book is Namita Gokhale's soft-spoken narration with equally strong tenors that echo Matangi-Ma's compound personality and sundry life experiences. She is a woman who knows she has been wronged in her life, and she is also a woman who has learnt from her experiences and applies the knowledge in her parenting as well- a trait so uncommon in so many Indian female characters I have read & watched, especially those old. Her family members are equally varied and complex: an adopted grandson, a single daughter striving to eradicate social disparity, a son & daughter in law both selfish from one view but understandable in the other among other interesting & engaging characters. Her keen interest in daily soap operas subtly reflects the story's drama too: yet, hardly in any soap opera do we get to see and understand the other side of a supposedly antagonist character. But one of the key things that got me hooked is that the plot began without even informing the readers that it had begun. It wasn't until a few chapters later, when I was still feeling like I was just getting into the story and was getting to know the characters that I realised actually, the real tale had already developed- indicating a master storytelling, for the ultimate goal is to hook the reader to a point where they don't know they are actually reading. The Blind Matriarch is for anyone looking to get into a perfect contemporary piece of art & fiction, and those with strong Indian females as lead are always my favourite.
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The most attractive aspect of the book is Namita Gokhale's soft-spoken narration with equally strong tenors that echo Matangi-Ma's compound personality and sundry life experiences. She is a woman who knows she has been wronged in her life, and she is also a woman who has learnt from her experiences and applies the knowledge in her parenting as well- a trait so uncommon in so many Indian female characters I have read & watched, especially those old. Her family members are equally varied and complex: an adopted grandson, a single daughter striving to eradicate social disparity, a son & daughter in law both selfish from one view but understandable in the other among other interesting & engaging characters. Her keen interest in daily soap operas subtly reflects the story's drama too: yet, hardly in any soap opera do we get to see and understand the other side of a supposedly antagonist character. But one of the key things that got me hooked is that the plot began without even informing the readers that it had begun. It wasn't until a few chapters later, when I was still feeling like I was just getting into the story and was getting to know the characters that I realised actually, the real tale had already developed- indicating a master storytelling, for the ultimate goal is to hook the reader to a point where they don't know they are actually reading. The Blind Matriarch is for anyone looking to get into a perfect contemporary piece of art & fiction, and those with strong Indian females as lead are always my favourite.
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
3.0
Turtles All The Way Down • 3.5/5 ⭐ • YA, Contemporary
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Aza is stuck with the mystery of the disappearance of a local millionaire because her best friend is hellbent on getting the prize. After trespassing on his property and reconnecting with his son who was once her friend, her OCS spirals into a larger yet the small meanings of life.
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I won't give a very analytic review, rather what I felt about the book- because that's how the book is written. In simple words, it's not a book to tell you a story but is a book to just for the sake of being a book. While there is a plot, it's not it's driving point- the driving point is Aza's OCD manifesting into spiralling philosophies and fears of contracting e.coli.
Personally, I think in a time of Wikipedia, if the plot is too exhausting to get through- it is necessary to have the narration be the strongest suit instead. Some people might say this book is just silly or stupid, but in my opinion it's holding to a bar where it shouldn't be held. John Green's style is very much like living in the present- without thinking of the impending material dooms but rather looking at them as metaphorical horizons. I think he very much has mastered the art of what teenagers and young adult want, escapism without letting go of reality- to hope but not to the point of delusion. Personally, I enjoy it a lot.
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Aza is stuck with the mystery of the disappearance of a local millionaire because her best friend is hellbent on getting the prize. After trespassing on his property and reconnecting with his son who was once her friend, her OCS spirals into a larger yet the small meanings of life.
.
I won't give a very analytic review, rather what I felt about the book- because that's how the book is written. In simple words, it's not a book to tell you a story but is a book to just for the sake of being a book. While there is a plot, it's not it's driving point- the driving point is Aza's OCD manifesting into spiralling philosophies and fears of contracting e.coli.
Personally, I think in a time of Wikipedia, if the plot is too exhausting to get through- it is necessary to have the narration be the strongest suit instead. Some people might say this book is just silly or stupid, but in my opinion it's holding to a bar where it shouldn't be held. John Green's style is very much like living in the present- without thinking of the impending material dooms but rather looking at them as metaphorical horizons. I think he very much has mastered the art of what teenagers and young adult want, escapism without letting go of reality- to hope but not to the point of delusion. Personally, I enjoy it a lot.
After by Anna Todd
1.0
I am just gonna say "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same" is a WUTHERING HEIGHTS quotes you uncultured group of people who have no idea what originality is Emily Bronte did not write that masterpiece to be humiliated like this