Back again with a Vengance

Hi, it has been years since I posted on this blog. Life caught up meanwhile :)

And the Mountains Echoed
By Khaled Hosseni
216 pages
Genre - Fiction



What would you have done if as a child, you were forcefully separated from the only person you truly loved? How would you react if the people who caused the separation were your own father and uncle? Would you look for the person you lost when you grew up? Would you even remember as you were only a child yourself when the separation happened? Khaled Hosseni asks and answers this and much more in his beautifully crafted novel, “And the Mountains Echoed.”
From the villages of pre-Taliban Afghanistan to the romantic streets of Paris during the hippie days, from a small island in Greece to the sunny restaurants in California, Hosseni tells a powerful story of love and fear, expectation and hope that spans over 60 years in the life of Pari and Abdullah, and through them the ordinary Afghan people and all the others who came into Afghanistan during that time.
The style of writing is simple, elegant, straightforward and unpredictably beautiful. The multiple points of view used works to the advantage as the author slips easily from the Afghan to the Greek, man to woman effortlessly. What is extremely uncanny is it is as if Hosseini can read the soul and mind of a woman! Momentarily, you forget the author is a man until his male characters begin to speak as the story moves forward. The narrator catches you by surprise at every turn at the same time shows the emotional vulnerability of the characters that kills the stereotype most of us use when we think of Afghans and Afghanistan. It also tears apart the stereotype the media feeds us with about Muslims and NATO workers in Afghanistan.
The book is extremely insightful and makes the reader emotionally vulnerable to the various characters and not just one, a rare feat performed with a lack of drama that almost borders on humility that makes this book outstanding. A highly recommended read if only for the simple reason it makes you more humane.

© 2013 by Deepa Kandaswamy

Buy the book here

Weight of Light

Weight of Light
By Andrew Staniland
156 Pages.
Price varies depending on where you are located.
Available on Amazon, Barnes& Noble,Flipkart,eBay,etc.
Genre: Fiction/Literary
ISBN: 1-4116-3409-8

I never realised daily routine like getting up, switching off the alarm clock or just getting ready for work can be expressed so beautifully.

Delphine Romand is a single French woman living in London. The book is about her thoughts, her work, her friends, her music, her likes, her relationships, her family and her life.

The author makes you fall in love with words and Delphine’s world. That he is a poet, gives Staniland the added advantage. His visual style of writing makes the characters come alive. He has a unique style of writing. He uses extremely short sentences, disregards the regular novel format, rebelling against convention adding almost a lyrical quality to the book.

The story is not a poem but prose though the poetic quality is unmistakable. It isn’t narrated directly like Alfred’s Noyes’s poem The Highwayman or the meaning disguised like Robert Frost’s beautiful poem Nothing gold can stay. It is a novel that manages to find midway between the two with a dash of humour. The digs at New Age gurus will make you grin. If you are unmarried or single, you will be able to relate to portions of the world and thoughts of Delphine or her friends. If you are married, it will remind you of someone in your circle of friends or acquaintance who you may have wondered about. It is almost uncanny how the author has managed to get into a woman’s head.

The book reminded me of Bryan Adams’s song “Have you ever really loved a woman”. If you thought literary fiction was boring or just picturesque speech as I did, you will be pleasantly surprised after you read this uniquely lyrical book.

© Deepa Kandaswamy

Elephant Song

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For over two thousand years, man has hunted elephants for white gold but over the last decade they have become an endangered species, especially the African Elephant. What is happening that has dramatically changed the scenario? What is the difference between culling and slaughtering? Where are the markets and how is illicit ivory trade done? Wilbur Smith answers these questions and much more in his fantastic book, Elephant Song.

Dr. Daniel Armstrong, a world famous TV naturalist is in Zimbabwe’s Chiwewe National Park to film the culling of a herd of elephants, accidentally films the slaughtering of elephants. He also comes across the murder of the Park rangers including his childhood friend‘s entire family and the poaching by a powerful environment friendly company. In London, anthropologist and environmental activist Kelly Kinnear is protesting against the ruin that is about to befall the African continent while a powerful conglomerate is holding a shareholder’s meeting discuss on sharing the spoils and ruining the forests and the people. Despite mutual admiration for the other’s work, their paths differ. Will they be able to overcome their differences, mislead their killers and act together to help prevent the catastrophe?

Sweeping from the unforgiving heat of the African Sun to the palatial houses in Taiwan, from the pigmy people in African forests to the powerful conglomerates around the globe, Smith weaves a fascinating tale of greed, compassion, corruption and coups. Combining awesome realism with suspense and pace that would do a Porsche proud, Smith takes you into the beautiful, wild and magnificent continent of Africa which seems to be forever threatened by the destructive hand of man and the brave but unknown African people who rise up to the challenge every time.

Wilbur Smith was born in Central Africa and writes with a passion and knowledge that can be characterized as truly African. Educated in Michael House and Rhodes University, Smith became a full time writer in 1964 and has since written twenty six novels which have been translated in twenty six languages worldwide.

Elephant Song is an eye opener for most people whose knowledge of Africa is limited to TV channels or shows. Extremely visual in style, Wilbur Smith takes you on a tour of Africa, its politics, its people, its geography, its economy and most importantly its wild life and the magnificent African elephant whose song needs to be heard. After reading this book, you’ll never view a national park, a wild life activist or a nature channel in the same way again.

Copyright by Deepa Kandaswamy

The Zama Codex

The Zama Codex
by Chen Tzu
282 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-4116-3809-9
Available on Amazon.com & Lulu.com
Genre : Fiction

Reviewed by Deepa Kandaswamy

A team headed by archeologist Dr. Ric Caulderon find a codex with encrypted information written by Zama, a Mayan scribe of Mayan sorcery and portals during the peak of the Mayan civilisation. However, the codex is stolen by a secret cult. Will the archeologists and anthropologists be able to retrive the codex in time? What secrets does Zama's codex contain that the cult is willing to kill for it?

From the palaces and rites of Mayans to the 21st century archeological dig sites in Guatemala, from sacrificial offerings and the doomsday prophecy of Singing Lizard to the healing techiques of today's native Americans, the author weaves a seamless tale of sorcery, time travel, ignorance, quest for knowledge and universal healing.

The author seamlessly weaves the story of Zama and Ric, the way time has weaved our history - ancient and modern. His writing style is easy to comprehend. Interestingly, Mayan numbers are used for chapters which proves useful as you learn the Mayan numbering system without being force fed. This is one of those books which during the first read seems like a suspense thriller but on a second read, provides insights and on successive reads makes you contemplate. It is a difficult feat to accomplish but Tzu aka Chensue manages to do so easily.

Is the world really going to come to an end on December 21, 2012 as some predict? Read the book to find out.

Buy the book by clicking on the title of the post.


© Deepa Kandaswamy, All rights reserved.

Gypsy Magic for the Lover's Soul :A Romany Book of Spells, Sachets, Oils and Incense

Gypsy Magic for the Lover's Soul :A Romany Book of Spells, Sachets, Oils and Incense
by
Allie Theiss
150 Pages, Gypsy Girl Press
ISBN 0-9771835-0-5
Available on Amazon.com ( click on the title link above to buy)

Reviewed by Deepa Kandaswamy


The Roma people have always been a misunderstood lot in the West and ignored in the East. Magic and Meditation on the other hand mean different things to different people. The author, Allie Theiss aka Allie L.T, traces her ancestry to the Roma people of Europe and has succeeded in creating a interesting, informative and intriguing book about Roma people and magic.

Easy to read and understand, the book explains what magic means to a gypsy and how the word gypsy itself came about. It contains information on stones, incenses, oils and spells and explains each in detail. It also has warnings and how to go about charging and casting spells of love and healing for friends and lovers. For those interested in magic, real magic being the healing of ourselves and our loved ones and living in harmony with the world, this book offers insight and makes one contemplate.

Crisply written, it makes an interesting read. All of us have something we wish for - healing a broken heart or mending a friendship, a longing for love or friends, a way to break off a relationship amicably, etc.

Since the crux of the book is about this very topic, it is well worth the read.


© Deepa Kandaswamy, All rights reserved.

Flight to Pakistan

Flight to Pakistan
By Azam Gill
356 pages, Bewrite Books
Available on Bewrite Books
Price varies depending on format -- paperback and e-book.
ISBN: 1-904492-26-6
Genre: Fiction/ Adventure/Thriller

From the allies of Lahore to the mafia operations in Boston, from the killing fields of Vietnam to schools in London, Gill manages to tell a multilayered, multidimensional story of intrigue, first love, murder, caste, and honor that spans continents, race, and families. For most readers, it is inevitable to compare it with Mario Puzo's epic novel The Godfather. However, the author tends to outdo Puzo by adding several other dimensions.

Sirdar Ali Shah a.k.a. Dara, a Harvard Business School graduate runs the prostitution business in the city of Lahore, Pakistan after the death of his father. However, why does a Harvard Business School graduate chose to return to Pakistan and take over the family mafia business when he could have easily got a job in one of the top Fortune 500 companies? Read the book to find out.

It is not often you get to read Asian fiction that does not use the Western stereotypes or the colonial setting of the East. This book is a rare gem as the author manages to tell the story, free from the stereotypical settings and characters. Your senses tend to come alive as you read the book and irrespective of where you grew up, the story will move you.

The author is a former Pakistani Army officer who had to seek political asylum in France because he wrote a book on Army reforms which angered the Pakistani government.

Extremely visual in style, I hope it would be made into a movie soon.

Copyright © 2007 by Deepa Kandaswamy , All rights reserved.

The Dalai Lama : Is the world okay with double standards on violence?

Why is it that we remember names of terrorists and so called "freedom fighters" who use violence? Why do we ignore people who not only teach or preach but actually practise non-violence ?

The Tibetans and the Dalai Lama have continue to wage a non-violent struggle against China for over 50 years. Somehow they seem to escape the notice of the media and the people worldwide.
It seems to me that we consider non-violence stupid. As China waits for the Dalai Lama to die and also has the gall to introduce new rules on how a Dalai Lama is to be selected, the world media doesn't think it is worth the space and uses it provide us "news" about the latest in Angelina Jolie or George Clooney's life.

Media --- all sorts include a "news in brief" when the Dalai Lama received the Nobel Peace Prize or says something. It seems they have more important things like covering violence. Maybe if the Tibetans resorted to violence, then their cause would be worth covering! Currently, they are non-violent and not worth the media space according to most media moghuls.

This is a sad commentary on today's media. Violence sells or so they say.

For those interested in Tibet, human rights, Tibetans, non-violence, peace, Tibetan customs and culture, this book will be worth the read. After all, the Dalai Lama's life is completely intertwined with the history of Tibet.

The book review below is about Dalai Lama and Tibet.

Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic
By Mayank Chhaya
342 Pages, MapinLit (An Imprint of Mapin Publishing)
Rs.595 (Hardcover)
Genre: Non-fiction/Biography
ISBN: 81-88204-88-5

Engaging, interesting and informative, this is the only authorised biography of the Dalai Lama written by an Indian. The life of the current Dalai Lama (Lama means teacher and Dalai means ocean like wisdom) is intertwined with that of Tibet – his country, people, religion and culture, especially its current history. Tibet is the fountainhead of all the “holy” rivers of India (Sindhu, Ganges, Sutlej and Brahmaputra) and China (Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and the Yellow rivers) and is where Mount Kailash (holy for Hindus as they believe this is where where the Hindu God- Lord Shiva resides) is located.

It is amazing how people worldwide, especially Indians have been blind to the only non-violent struggle currently going on Earth, a struggle by Tibetans for retaining their culture, traditions, and country for over 57 years though the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan refugees have been in India for almost 48 years. Tibet has been colonised by China except colonial powers don’t usually come in droves, massacre the local population and occupy the land thus making the locals a minority in their own country. According to United Nations (UN) charter, this is a form of genocide. Having his picture in Tibet is a punishable offence according to Chinese law.

The current Dalai Lama is the 14th of the Dalai Lamas of Tibet. A refugee from his country, the author examines the various facets of monk, mystic and the man -- intelligent,funny and gentle. As you read this book, you’ll have “I didn’t know that” moments. While presenting a balanced account of one of the world’s greatest leaders, probably the greatest in today’s world, we are also given an insightful history of Tibet and Tibetans. However, at the end, one is left wondering given the complexities of global politics and economy, will this wonderful 72-year-old human ever return to his beloved Tibet?

Copyright © 2007 by Deepa Kandaswamy