Book Review : On the Way to Shirdi

 

On the way to Shirdi 
by
Archana Jayaseelan
164 pages, Fiction 

What is a pilgrimage to Shirdi like? More importantly, what does a pilgrim's journey entail? These and more questions are asked and answered in  Archana Jayaseelan's book, "On the way to Shirdi."

Sarah from Minsk visits India due to work. However, she misses her return flight. While she books the very next flight and checks out of the hotel, she meets her Indian colleague. This sets  in motion a series of events which leads Sarah to want to visit Shirdi. But does she get there? Does she get a darshan of Sai Baba/ Baba Sai/ Sainath at Shirdi? What happens to this Belarusian woman?

The writing is clear and crisp. 

The author has a twist in the end which readers might not expect. Nothing feels forced as the author gently weaves into the narrative the shift from pilgrimage to the pilgrim's journey along with quotes from the Sai Satcharitra.  

This book changes your perception of pilgrimage in India, or pilgrimage in general. Good book to read. 

You can buy the book here  Amazon

Book Review : The Vengeance of Samuel Val by Elyse Hoffman

The Vengeance Of Samuel Val
by
Elyse Hoffman
110 Pages, Project 613 Publishing

Khruvina is a tiny, backwater village in Belarus, Soviet Union. Young Samuel Val lives there with his parents and sisters and hopes to become the Rabbi of Khruvina when he grows up. Instead he finds himself the only survivor as his village is burned to the ground by Germans headed by Viktor Naden aka the beast of Belarus, under orders from Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich was described by Hitler as the "Man with the iron heart."  Sam is shot and left for dead but survives and joins the Black Fox underground network which frees Jews and puts them up in safe houses. When Sam is on a mission to bring back a fellow Jew namely Amos, they accidentally end up in a safe house run by Naden's wife and daughter. Will he have his revenge or will he spare them because the German wife and daughter of Naden are helping the  Jews escape?

From Belarus to Germany, Hoffman spins a tale of horror, inhumanity with flickers of humanity and extreme sadness thrown in between. One cannot think it is just a fiction based on the Holocaust of the past as you see this is being repeated again and again in the genocides across the world making you wonder what is wrong  with human nature that fascism is taking such a strong hold on mankind nowadays. Is ignorance or love an excuse to forgive a barbarian? There is a wonderful debate in the story about redemption and repentance.

The writing style is crisp and the pace is fast. This book reminded me of the recent horror in Manipur, India and we do not know yet all of the stories as it is still ongoing and everyone is aware of the ethnic cleansing.  While synagogues and churches have been destroyed, numerous villages have been burnt leaving many homeless and as internal refugees in India. That Hoffman's story is still valid as genocide is still happening in Asia, makes this book all the more important.

If you wish to buy it, go here  Amazon      - available from Sept 1, 2023 but you can pre-order it now.