Recycled Prisoners - book review

 

Recycled Prisoners is a short story that covers a part of history that most narratives leave out. While most of us know about Hitler and Goebbels suicide, I was surprised to find out that in a single day in Berlin alone over 8000 Germans committed suicide. This is about Robin and Stacy who are childhood friends and have one thing in common - they both have nightmares as they relive their past lives as two men ( Hermann Lett and Viktor Steinman ) from Prague who committed suicide in Auschwitz. As a result of their nightmares, Robin and Stacy are unable to lead normal lives and how they get out of this nightmare cycle is what the story is about. It is a fascinating premise as they become prisoners of the nightmares from a previous birth.

I wish it had been a book instead of a short story. The writing is crisp and it makes you wonder if this can happen.

If you wish this short ebook, you can click to buy on Amazon

Where David Threw Stones - book review

 

Where David Threw Stones
by
Elyse Hoffman
Genre : Mixture of Historical fiction, Fantasy and Mystery.

"Sweet kids raised on poison grow into twisted bastards" - Where David Threw Stones


When I picked up the book to read, I thought the novel would be something about a boy named David and the German Goliath - Hitler and Nazis and how they were brought down in WW2. The author Elyse Hoffman proved me wrong as the story begins in 1968 when a kid named David Saidel blames himself for his parents' death even though they are killed by neo-nazis in Munich. The child is sent to Brennenbach to live with his maternal grandfather. David becomes the child who refuses to smile and then you are introduced to fantasy and history as the town reverts back to Hitler's Germany of 1943 at the stroke of midnight and  stays that way before changing over to 1968 during the day.

David is warned not to step out during midnight but he does anyway one day when he loses his grandfather's dog Mozart. What he faces during the hours is part of the mystery and what a mystery it is. So does David learn about himself and does the curse on Brennenbach ever end? Read the book to find out.

The writing style is crisp, the pace is fast and the book is a page turner. This is a fascinating mix of historical fiction, fantasy and mystery, meshed together and told in a riveting, heart wrenching and unique style which I never thought was possible. The author manages to zip through genres with the ease of a magician while keeping the reader glued to the pages.

As I read it, two things struck me about this book. It is very relevant for the world today where hate as an ideology is being spread against some "other" and there is a generation growing up only knowing hate and frankly it scares me as it is becoming the new normal. The second is for the forgotten genocides in other parts of the world like the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka in 2009 when over 300,000 people were killed in a week using cluster bombs and other banned weapons provided by 21 countries which either directly or indirectly participated with the Sri Lankan Army in the genocide irrespective of their ideologies - both sides of the Cold War bloc. Even today people in Lanka are yet to reconcile and the simmering hatred is still justified in the name of a falsified history and superiority provided by militant Buddhist monks and Sinhalese majority that is taught to children and the people stay silent because they fear speaking up or speaking out.

Everyone should read this book - doesn't matter if you are from the west or east, north, south, majority or minority in any part of the world. I hope this book changes the way you think about your own race, religion, language, identity and about "others" and helps you speak up and speak out. Never forget where and to whom you are born is just an accident of birth.

Buy the book on Amazon

Book Review : The Whispering Women #Book 1 of A Delafield and Malloy Investigation

 

The Whispering Women

by

Trish MacEnulty

‎387 pages, Prism Light Press

Genre : Historical Fiction

 

Is it insane for women to expect respect, dignity and equality in today’s world? After the failure of Roe vs. Wade, it is worrisome when a story set over a hundred years ago in New York sounds timely and relevant today even though it is said to be historical fiction. Whispering Women is set in 1913, which is 110 years ago addresses the women’s rights under attack today: abortion, contraception, equality in wages, the right to vote, etc in today’s USA. 

 The author uses the characters of Louisa Delafield and Ellen Malloy to tell a story of why women in the USA decided to seek these rights and what were the underlying causes to do so especially the right to vote and use contraception instead of dying an early death especially by women who were raped by men of high society. As I read the novel, I was reminded of HBO’s The Gilded Age.

Louisa belongs to the old money high society elite whose dead father has managed to destroy their inheritance. She is scraping by as a society column writer and is told to expand as the readers are bored with dresses, debutantes and designers. She decides to write a crime column. The other protagonist is Ellen, an Irish immigrant who works as a lady’s maid and witnesses her friend and fellow servant Silvia die due to an illegal abortion conducted by a high society doctor. Ellen manages to escape and this how Louisa and Ellen meet. While Louisa offers Ellen protection, Ellen collects information to help Louisa connect the dots in a police matron’s murder and thus solve the crime of her own friend’s murder.

Trish MacEnulty creates a rich world and interesting characters. Well researched, the writing style is crisp and easily moves from ballrooms to brothels with a pace that would make the readers glued to the book. The notion of capitalism and the use of gangs of New York makes one shudder with anger. But that is what it is all about, isn’t it? Certain things in particular are emphasized, especially how, even though Silvia’s pregnancy was forced upon her, she would have been the one punished for ending it and dies along with her immigrant dreams. The men face no consequences, even when it is them who are the cause of the problem. It is always about power, isn’t it?  If you wish to read a book on white slavery, this would be it.

What Louisa writes about in her column are still issues which over a century later, still remain issues and such parallels show just how important these things are in society now and bursts our notions of women’s equality today as opposed to a barbaric, class filled past where women’s lives didn’t matter, especially those of women without money.

If you like historical fiction and mysteries, this is just the book for you.

You can buy it on Amazon.

Rebel - Women Who Dare - Book 1

Rebel
by Beverly Jenkins
Avon Books, 2019


As a reader, it is fantastic and exciting when you discover a new author who creates a fantastic book. This was it for me in January. I have never read any of her books and now plan to read all of it considering she has been writing since 1994 especially her "Women Who Dare" series. Rebel is the first book in this series.

Don't be diverted/misled by the book's cover. If you think this is simple romance, think again. If you have read "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell and loved it, this can be considered as a continuation of the story about what happened after the American Civil war and for a change from the African American's perspective. So the Civil war took place and after that what? Reconstruction, of course. But how? Did the white Americans agree to equality after defeat and treat the enslaved equally? Why are there so many white supremacist groups and why are there so many ghettos even after two centuries in the USA? What about education, jobs, etc.? What were the roots of the Democrat and Republican party? This book is just an introduction to that history.

Valinda Lacy decides to head down South in the aftermath of the American Civil war to teach freed people until her fiance returns from Paris. She is a free woman from New York.  She arrives in  New Orleans which is still in shreds and reconstruction is on. Lacy works as a teacher to freed African Americans who wish to learn. Her semblance of school is burnt down by white supremacists and while she is attacked, Drake LeVeq saves her temporarily as he happens to be returning with his sister-in-law Sable. While they drop her off at her boarding place, he leaves her his residential address, just in case she needs help. Will Valinda just pack her bags to New York where she is from or will she decide to fight the white supremacists and stay and teach in New Orleans ? If so, will the Army support her efforts? What about the LeVeq family?  No one can provide her the space to teach. What will she do?

The writing style is humorous, chilling, thrilling and romantic all rolled into one. I didn't know characters can be so practical and awesome at the same time. Jenkins is a master in action, adventure and romance. I felt like Wilbur Smith met Nora Roberts but for the humor, it is all Beverly Jenkins. It is a very interesting combination that makes the writing totally unique. More importantly, most English books have only people of the white race as its main characters with colored people thrown in for the sake of their skin color or the book has to be a thriller or historical fiction but Jenkins turns this formula on its head. It is an amazing achievement and trust Jenkins who was a former librarian to do this.  

It has been a long time since I read a book which I truly loved and made me grin from ear to ear. If you like romance, you got to buy this book. If you like historical fiction, check it out. If you are interested in inspiring women, you have to read this book.     


Buy it here

Book Review : The Soulmate Equation - witty and makes you wonder

The Soulmate Equation
by Christina Lauren
Genre: Fiction


What does it take to find a soulmate? Dr. River Pena and his scientist friends come up with a solution after testing over 100,000 couples. They identify over 3000 plus genes that lead to long term compatibility. They make an app using biotechnology to identify one's soulmate.

Jessica Davis, a freelance statistician and single mom and her friend Fizzy, a best selling romance author decide to try it out on a whim as they have seen River almost every morning at a coffee shop which they all frequent. Jess finds River physically attractive but is shocked to find the app says he is her soulmate. Both refuse to believe it and so he runs a blood DNA test just to be doubly sure and the answer is the same. They are soulmates.

While Jessica agrees to work for River's company which is to be launched in three months and be paid for public appearances with him, she wants to protect her young daughter while River wants it to be a  no sex and emotion involved deal which they work into the clauses of the contract.  River is the one who came up with the technology, so shouldn't he at least find out? If they are soulmates, does this mean River and Jessica can stick to the terms of the deal? Read the book to find out

I found the writing witty and wonderful. I was surprised to learn that Christina Lauren are two people but that doesn't mean it makes the book any less thrilling. It has been a long time since I laughed at science jokes and being the nerd that I am, I couldn't stop giggling and grinning all the while wondering if I would use such an app. What if there is a glitch or it turns out to be something like astrological match making which Indians swear by and use for marrying but is not based on DNA? Is romance over rated and it all boils down to just genetics?

Would you use such an app based on solid science instead of dating or matrimonial sites to look for a soulmate? 

If interested, buy the book here

Book review : Legacy - a fun weekend read

Legacy  
by Nora Roberts
Genre: Family Thriller

For those who follow my blog, the genre might sound strange as there is no such genre but Nora Roberts seemed to have created a new one with this book. It is basically a family saga and a thriller rolled into one.
 
Adrian Rizzo is 7 years old when her father tries to kill her. She is protected by her mother Lina Rizzo, a fitness celebrity who saves her only daughter and in the process Adrian's father dies. However Lina manages to take the heat of the press away from her daughter by dropping her off at her grandparent's home for the summer vacation.

When Adrian turns 17, she decides to start her own business and right then, she begins to get scary poems warning her she would be killed. Though she accepts it as being a part of celebrity life, she has other things to deal with like most people do - family, friends, school, work, love and loss. But the letters keep coming and she hires  a PI. Is she dealing with just a celebrity stalker or is this something more?

The book is fantastically paced, crisp and to the point. Roberts blew my mind by changing the age of the protagonist by a decade in just a single chapter and it works so well that the reader would hardly notice it. That to me was amazing. Another thing about this book is that you would want to get out and exercise even though it is a thriller.

Legacy is a very delicious book and if you are a wanna be author, you can learn the tricks of writing a bestseller while feeling very satisfied reading a darn good story.

If you wish to buy it , click here

Book Review : Queen of Mahishmathi - Book 3 - Bahubali - Before the Beginning

 

Queen of Mahishmathi
by Anand Neelakantan
Genre: Fiction

"Politics is about mining religion and selling what is holy, son"

This is the final book of the trilogy Bahubali - Before the Beginning. It neatly ties all the loose ends and makes the story of the two part blockbuster movie Bahubali sensible. I wish the books by Neelakantan in this series had also been made into movies. This is the much needed back story for any Bahubali fans to understand the characters and their motivations.

Sivagami loves Mahadeva but why does she marry his brother, Bjjaladeva? Why does she treat Bahubali, the son of Mahadeva on par with her own son Balladeva? Why do the Kalakeyas attack Mahishmathi? How does Sivagami end up as the Queen of Mahishmthi whose word is revered by all? Why is Bijaladeva not the king but just the husband of Sivagami, the queen?  

Neelakantan spins a fascinating story that crisscrosses the story of three women - Chitraveni, Achi Nagamma and Sivagami, their strategies and their love for their respective people. Chitraveni who would do anything for her daughter and the matriarchal system, Achi Nagamma who would do anything to preserve nature and Sivagami who rises from an orphan to become the queen of  Mahishmathi. In telling their stories, we also learn about the people they rule over - poor who opt to become soldiers to save their family, young women who would do anything to save their children and people who consciously opt to save nature from the greed of mankind.  During the Covid times, it makes one pause and think about  the destruction humans have let loose in the name of development and globalisation. It also gives us hope that we can change the wave of destruction if we think about all this rationally and work together.

The writing is sharp and just when you think you know what is going to happen, the author surprises you. The book is a page turner. It covers multiple themes in politics, economics, greed, rage, cultural hegemony and life in general. Makes you wonder if the only decent politicians are women and men are mining everything from religion to hunger in politics.

If you would like to read the book, buy it here