Small Things like These by Claire Keegan had taken over booktube and it deserves all the praise it gets.
It's a historical fiction set in a s4.5 stars
Small Things like These by Claire Keegan had taken over booktube and it deserves all the praise it gets.
It's a historical fiction set in a small town in Ireland around Christmas time is 1985. In the cold winter and declining economy, Bill Furlong is making ends meet with his small business of providing firewood and coal. Despite coming from nothing, he has achieved a quite pleasant life with his wife and five daughters. But one day, while making a delivery, he comes across an event that makes a stir in his comfortable life.
Bill witnesses en event, a sort of a crime, an organized crime against a group of people, committed by another group. It’s a crime everybody kind of knows about, but doesn’t speak up or do anything to prevent it. The said crime going on for so long in the society doesn’t affect Bill at all but it leaves an impression on him. It makes him question his past and his present. It makes him confront certain aspect of his life which he has always overlooked. And it changes him.
The sheer simplicity of the writing in this book is the true attraction. The author knows how to pack a punch using very limited words. The book is only 70-ish pages. There's a little written down in words. But the things those words implied is just wonderful. It's the things which weren’t said were the ones that were the most powerful.
The book is cozy and nice. It made me sad for a bit but in the end it was nice. Some might even call it heartwarming. It was a wonderful experience to read this book and I'm excited to read more of the author's works....more
A great portrayal of black history throughout time. The book spans 300 years and 7 generations of two lines of the same family and represent the strugA great portrayal of black history throughout time. The book spans 300 years and 7 generations of two lines of the same family and represent the struggles and threats faced by people of color at different times.
The book starts at gold coast of Ghana where tribal wars were a regular affair. The British encouraged these wars even more and made deals with the tribals lords to buy the war prisoners as slaves. Due to their lack of knowledge and compassion, the Ghanaian became slavers of their own people.
The British slavers used to take a local girl as wife and Effia became one. While her son with the white man and her later successors became involved in the slave business, some of them fought to cut their ties with these crimes. Caught between the black and white world each generation faced new challenges. Unknown to Effia, her half sister Esi was sold as a slave and kept right underneath her home. Esi's successors caught in slavery, the war, the great migration also faced new challenges with each new generation. They were freed from slavery at a point but the curse never really left them even today.
The book is written like a collection of short stories. The stories of each characters span hardly 20 pages but they are crafted with such care each story leaves the reader heavily impacted. This book is a great starting point for anyone new trying to study black history....more
উপন্যাসের পটভূমি মধ্যযুগের বাংলা। মোগল সম্রাট হুমায়ুনকে পরাজিত করে দিল্লীর দখল নিয়েছে শের শাহ শুরী। তার বিরুদ্ধে বাংলায় বিদ্রোহ ঘোষণা করেছে গৌড়ের উপন্যাসের পটভূমি মধ্যযুগের বাংলা। মোগল সম্রাট হুমায়ুনকে পরাজিত করে দিল্লীর দখল নিয়েছে শের শাহ শুরী। তার বিরুদ্ধে বাংলায় বিদ্রোহ ঘোষণা করেছে গৌড়ের দেওয়ান সোলায়মান খান। প্রতিপক্ষের দুই দক্ষ সেনানায়ক তাজ খান এবং দরিয়া খানের সাথে প্রতিনিয়তই তার যুদ্ধ চলছে। হয় স্নায়ুযুদ্ধ, নতুবা অস্ত্র হাতে সম্মুখ সমরে। এমন অস্থিতিশীল পরিস্থিতির মাঝে বেড়ে উঠছে তাঁর দুই পুত্র - ইসমাইল এবং ঈসা। সেই ঈসা যে পরবর্তীতে বারো ভূইয়াদের মাধ্যমে বাংলার সালতানাতের ভিত কাঁপিয়ে দিবে৷
ঈসা খানের আখ্যান নিয়ে লেখা ঐতিহাসিক উপন্যাস সিরিজের প্রথম কিস্তি 'স্বর্ণবাজ'। মূলত ঈসা খানকে নিয়ে সিরিজ হলেও প্রথম বইতে ঈসা খানের পিতার সময়কাল বর্ণনার মাধ্যমে তার ছোটবেলাকে চমৎকার করে ফুটিয়ে তুলেছেন লেখক, পরবর্তী খন্ডগুলোর জন্য একদম দারূণ ভিত্তি গড়েছেন। সোলায়মান খানের ছায়ায় বড় হওয়া ছোট্ট শিশু থেকে কত ঘাত প্রতিঘাত সহ্য করে রোমাঞ্চকর অভিজ্ঞতার মধ্য দিয়ে প্রতাপশালী শাসক হয়ে ওঠার যাত্রার বাকিটুকু পড়তে আর তর সইছে না।
লেখকের আগের বইগুলো পড়ার অভিজ্ঞতা থেকে বলছি আগের লেখনীকে ছাপিয়ে গেছেন তিনি স্বর্ণবাজের মাধ্যমে। থ্রিলার উপন্যাসে মুহূর্তে মুহুর্তে টুইস্ট, কাহিনীর অপ্রত্যাশিত বাঁকের থেকেও বেশি উপভোগ করেছি লেখা। এত দারূন শব্দের গাঁথুনি আর কাব্যিক লেখনী অনেকদিন মনে থাকবে।
বিলাশবহুল রাজদরবার, কুটনীতির চাল, অ্যাকশন-প্যাকড যুদ্ধক্ষেত্র, দৃঢ় চরিত্র, মনে রাখার মতো কিছু উক্তি, আনন্দ-বিষাদে মাখা আখ্যান সব মিলে আমার স্বর্ণবাজ পড়ার অভিজ্ঞতা ছিলো অতি চমৎকার। আগের লাইনটা পড়ে গেম অফ থ্রোনসের কথা মনে হচ্ছে? মধ্যযুগের বাংলা সম্ভবত ফিকশনের থেকে কোনো অংশে কম ছিলো না আর সেই গল্পই চমৎকার করে আমাদের সামনে তুলে এনেছেন লেখক। নিজের অজ্ঞানতার কারণে হিস্টেরিকাল এক্যুরেসি নিয়ে কিছু বলার নেই তবে ইতিহাস আশ্রিত ফিকশন হিসাবে লা-জবাব! সবাই বেশি করে বই পড়ুন যাতে লেখককে চাপ দিন পরবর্তী খন্ড দ্রুত প্রকাশের জন্য।...more
পাহাড়ের কোলে স্নিগ্ধ বাতাসে বুনোফুলের মিষ্টি সুবাসের আড়ালে লুকিয়ে থাকা বিষাদের গল্প নিয়ে এই নীল পাহাড়।
বইয়ের মূল চরিত্র অনাথ আশ্রমে বড় হওয়া ডাপাহাড়ের কোলে স্নিগ্ধ বাতাসে বুনোফুলের মিষ্টি সুবাসের আড়ালে লুকিয়ে থাকা বিষাদের গল্প নিয়ে এই নীল পাহাড়।
বইয়ের মূল চরিত্র অনাথ আশ্রমে বড় হওয়া ডাক্তার মানিক মিত্র। অন্যায়ের প্রতিবাদ করার শাস্তিস্বরূপ তার পোস্টিং হয় বান্দরবানের দুর্গম এলাকায়। আশির দশকের শেষের দিকে উত্তাল পাহাড়ী এলাকায় মানিক মিত্র গিয়ে পড়েন বাঙালী-পাহাড়ী কোন্দলের ঠিক মাঝখানে। অপহরণ, হত্যা, লুটপাট, ধর্ষণ যেখানে নিত্যদিনের ঘটনা। স্বল্প শিক্ষিত কুসংস্কারে আচ্ছন্ন আদিবাসীদের আধুনিক চিকিৎসার প্রতি অনাস্থা, বাঙালি হিসেবে পাহাড়ীদের বিষদৃষ্টিতে পড়া আবার সংখ্যালঘু হওয়ায় অন্য ধর্মাবলম্বীদের আক্রোশের মধ্যেই দিন কাটতে থাকে তার। মাত্র ১২৮ পৃষ্ঠার ছোট্ট এই বইতে জুড়ে আছে সত্য, হিংসা, ঘৃণা, অসহায়ত্ব আর মৃত্যুর গল্প। আছে সংখ্যালঘুদের প্রতি অবিচারের গল্প, আছে কতিপয় ক্ষমতাসীনদের দ্বারা নিপীড়নের গল্প। আছে অপ্রতাশিত ভালোবাসার গল্প। কাহিনীর প্রয়োজনে মাঝে মধ্যে উঠে এসেছে মুক্তিযুদ্ধের নির্মম বর্ণনাও।
মন্ত্রমুগ্ধের মতো পড়লাম পুরোটা বই, একই লাইন বারবার পড়লাম, বই শেষে স্তব্ধ হয়ে বসে থাকলাম কিছুক্ষণ। ওবায়েদ হকের লেখায় জাদু আছে। নির্মম সত্যগুলোকে এমন সরলভাবে উপস্থাপন করেছেন। নিখুঁত বর্ণনাশৈলীর বদৌলতে যেন চোখের সামনে দেখতে পাচ্ছিলাম সব ঘটনা৷
নীল পাহাড় পড়ে কাহিনীর নির্মমতায় একই সাথে মন খারাপ করবেন আবার চমৎকার লেখনী পড়ে শান্তিও পাবেন।
This is a story about standing in the deep bowels of hell, staring imminent death in the face every moment yet still managing to stand up for one's beThis is a story about standing in the deep bowels of hell, staring imminent death in the face every moment yet still managing to stand up for one's beliefs, daring to hope and to love.
Auschwitz was the Grim Reaper's abode, where the SS harvested souls of the people whose only crimes were being able to pick up a weapon, following a different God or simply existing. Imprisonment wasn’t punishment enough. So the prisoners were forced to take part in murdering their own - operate the Gas Chambers and Crematoriums. The SS seemed to do it all for their twisted entertainment. And when the war seemed to be lost, they took even more drastic measures to hide their crimes.
Amidst of it all Mala, Edek and their friends from the resistance stood for hope. Each and every character were memorable. They enriched the story regardless of however small their appearance were. Their struggles, their love for each other and their ability to hold on to their humanity in that living hell broke my heart into million pieces. The book also focused on the German character and their complexities. How some of them too were human, how they tried to make life a little bearable for the prisoners and were punished for it.
This is a story about people running away and starting over. About how they managed to be someone else and about how even after a lifetime the past neThis is a story about people running away and starting over. About how they managed to be someone else and about how even after a lifetime the past never left them.
The novel revolves around the Vignes twin sisters; the impulsive, rebellious Desiree, and the calm, rational Stella. They grew up in a small town called Mallard. Mallard, more of a thought than a town was built for colored people; whose complexions were light enough so that they couldn’t really belong to neither the colored nor the white community. All the twins ever wanted was to run away from the smallness and tedious life of Mallard and explore the outside world. At the age of sixteen, Desiree decided finally to make a run for it and Stella went along with her. Out in the exciting new world, the inseparable twins chose different paths. Desiree was happy to be herself while to her surprise, Stella decided to be white. After being apart longer than they had been together, leading completely different lives, their fates remain intertwined.
This book shows the discrimination toward the colored, the adversity of the poor, the wrath of the predator, the hardship of a tortured wife, the struggle of a single mother.
The writing was exceptionally beautiful. I loved how some of the key points of the story were hinted at the very beginning but the reality of them unfolded little by little over time. This book is one that burns slow but stays with the reader for a long time. It is deeply emotional and thought-provoking. It is heart wrecking while fulfilling in its own way....more
The story is about Lily and Snow Flower. The two girls at a very young age had been matched into a 'Laotong' or 'old same' relationship. It is a swornThe story is about Lily and Snow Flower. The two girls at a very young age had been matched into a 'Laotong' or 'old same' relationship. It is a sworn sisterhood for emotional support to last throughout their lives between two girls with many similarities. This book is a tale of love, friendship, betrayal and changes. Throughout these two girls lives, the author shows us the social scenario of women in 19th century China. It's not a story of rebellion, rather it's the brutal history that shows how unforgiving the then society was to the women.
The story is narrated from Lily's pov. We get to see a very insignificant girl born in a poor household who become very significant throughout time. We see her cope with challenges and changing herself for better and worse. We see her life from the childhood days, to her footbinding days, to her getting married, becoming a mother and finally being a lonely old lady in her final days. From her early days, she was wishing to be seen by her family, as in those days, daughters were regarded insignificant in their parents home, they were only another mouth to be fed until she is married off. And it their husband’s home, they were merely a vessel to give birth to sons. Throughout Lily and Snow Flower's lifetime we get to see difference between classes, how it affects one's behaviour and view of the world. We see the game of fate cruelly played.
The author's narration is heart-achingly beautiful. I loved the melancholic tone throughout the whole book. Her prose are flowery but not too lyrical. The way she portrayed her characters and conveyed their thoughts were absolutely remarkable. I'm sorry for this half baked review but you need to check this book out if you like emotional tales, melancholia, flowery writing, female friendship and stories spanning a lifetime....more
4.5 stars This is a story of a dysfunctional family, with characters who are very flawed and very human. It's not very plot driven, more of a character4.5 stars This is a story of a dysfunctional family, with characters who are very flawed and very human. It's not very plot driven, more of a character study. There weren’t something happening every two sentences but I found it very engrossing. Ann Patchett's writing is very intense and vivid. I loved reading every single descriptions, the Dutch House truly came alive in my eyes through her beautiful writing.
This book is about Evelyn owning up to her mistakes and flaws and demanding to be humanized after living her whole life being portrayed as how everyonThis book is about Evelyn owning up to her mistakes and flaws and demanding to be humanized after living her whole life being portrayed as how everyone wanted to see her rather than who she really is. Because people only loved the idea of Evelyn, not the reality of her.
This is the story of how a cuban girl from nowhere ruled the misogynistic Hollywood industry from the 50's till the 80's. Evelyn hugo is someone who saw the world for what it is and then went out there to wrestles what she wanted out of it. She made a lot of wrong choices but never lost a minute of sleep on them because those were her choices. She did everything she thought she needed to do to protect her loved ones. She made her own heaven and at times became trapped in a hell of her own making.
This story focuses on the dirty secrets of film industry and the price of fame. It shows the actings celebrities need to perform on and off screen. It also smashes society's norms regarding women and patriarchy.
this book shows how important it is to be the person you want to be rather than the person the world wants to be. This is a story I'll always cherish....more
What a wonderful book! I picked this one up totally blindly mostly because the title was sweet and the cover looked pretty. I had no idea how it was gWhat a wonderful book! I picked this one up totally blindly mostly because the title was sweet and the cover looked pretty. I had no idea how it was going to break my heart, fill it with warm feelings both at the same time and become an all-time favourite.
The novel is about the Pack Horse Library Project. A real life Works Progress Administration program launched by the first lady Elenore Roosevelt that delivered books to remote regions in the Appalachian Mountains between 1935 and 1943 in time of the Great economic Depression.
The story follows a group of strong ladies defying society's norms, making their own rules and delivering books to people, in hope of bringing them a little comfort in difficult times and educating them. It's about how they all stand together, laugh at the difficulties life throws them and try to find a way to overcome those. There is the outspoken and free spirited Alice yarning for a place to belong, a person to love. The badass Margery O'Hare who comes from a family with bad reputation but doesn’t let it get her down. This book is about love, friendship, loyalty, strength and belief.
The writing is so powerful and filled with raw emotions. The storytelling is so gripping I couldn’t put the book down and stayed up all night to finish it. I'm still hungover on this book and I have a feeling It'll stay with me a long time....more
Rebecca is simply an extraordinary novel. This is considered one of the most defining books of Gothic Literature. While reading this novel, a chill wiRebecca is simply an extraordinary novel. This is considered one of the most defining books of Gothic Literature. While reading this novel, a chill will run down your spine giving you goosebumps. The simple yet intriguing writing gets under your skin but in a good way. There is no horror or supernatural element, but the hint of mystery and terror lingers in every page.
Maxim de Winter, his new bride Mrs. de Winter, the shadow of his late wife Rebecca, the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, the beautiful landscape of Manderley, the mysterious and horrific history; all of these components together make this book simply amazing. The narrator of this book is Mrs. de Winter herself. This makes the writing more lively and more vivid, her obsession over Rebecca, her frustration, loneliness and helplessness just becomes so real. Starting of the book is smooth and comforting, it gets more and more mysterious from there. The nailbiting thrill in the last 150 pages of this book kept me at the edge of my seat.
If you are afraid of reading horror books like me, don't much enjoy the modern thrillers still want to enjoy something with a little spooky terror and thrill, go for this novel....more
I couldn’t love this book as much as I wanted to. It had a really promising start containing number of things I like in a book; strong female protagonI couldn’t love this book as much as I wanted to. It had a really promising start containing number of things I like in a book; strong female protagonist who is anything but a damsel in distress, Victorian London, vibrant nature description, hint of mystery, complex characters. Yet in the end it kind of fell short for me.
I loved Cora roaming around in her man's coat and man's boots collecting stones from the mud and determined to solve the mystery of the Essex serpent. The questioning of faith in a age of rapid scientific advancement was a nice touch. The complex characters with their own faults and motivations were intriguing.
I understand this is not a plot driven book. But whatever slow plot it contains did not work for me. The whole book felt like a number of random events without any relation to each other. Some characters were busy with finding the serpent, some were busy solving the housing problem in London, some off in their own made up world.
The writing was enchanting and I have found some beautiful quotes, "Sometimes I think I sold my soul, so that I could live as I must. I’ve sold my soul, though I’m afraid it didn’t fetch too high a price. I had faith, the sort I think you might be born with, but I’ve seen what it does and I traded it in. It’s a sort of blindness, or a choice to be mad – to turn your back on everything new and wonderful – not to see that there’s no fewer miracles in the microscope than in the gospels!"
"We are cleaved together – we are cleaved apart – everything that draws me to you is everything that drives me away."
I liked bits and pieces from the book but the whole novel never really came alive for me....more
If you are feeling too happy or looking for an excuse to cry your heart out, by all means read this book. I have been sitting quietly for the past houIf you are feeling too happy or looking for an excuse to cry your heart out, by all means read this book. I have been sitting quietly for the past hour thinking how to mend my heart which had been shattered by this book and wondering how I can review this book that will do it justice. Like the melancholic song of a Nightingale, this is a story of love and of sorrow.
During the second world war while the men of France left to fight the Nazis in the front line, the women and children left behind had to fight a different war on their own. This book shows how women fought in this shadow war on their own, how it changed them, how they did whatever they had to do to survive, how they helped in the war and more importantly, when the war ended how they picked up the pieces and started their lives over.
In the Nazi occupied France, women and children had to lived off of scrapes. Hours and hours standing in ration queues gave a family a tiny amount of food which was barely enough for one person. There were medicine to be had even in exchange for the rarest jewels. Families had to spend coldest winter nights huddled together in small space after the Nazis took their blankets and furniture and even the best rooms of their houses. The war turned the most timid of them into the bravest. It forced a whole generation of children to grow up with their innocence stripped away, their childlike sense of wonder lost. It turned them into emotionless, cynical versions in the face of pure horror.
The book follows the Nightingale sisters Vianne and Isabelle. It's a story of how the ever rule following good girl Vianne struggled to keep her daughter alive, waited for her husband to return, tried to help her Jewish best friend all while keeping her head down in front of the Nazi that billeted at her home. It's about the rebellious young Isabelle and her contribution in the Free Fance Movement. Their journey, their complex emotions and their growth throughout the whole book hit me hard.
I can't vouch for the historical accuracy of the book. It's a work of fiction inspired by true facts and it does a phenomenal job at describing the ugliness of the war....more
The writing style of this book is the main attraction. It is written as a documentary, a series of interviews by the band members,Rounding up from 4.5
The writing style of this book is the main attraction. It is written as a documentary, a series of interviews by the band members, crews and other people around them. I hardly watch any documentary as I find them very boring. But this books is something else. To write a about a fictional rock band and their life as a series of interviews and make it interesting is a great work on the writer's part. I could actually picture the characters sitting and talking about their lives in front of me.
"Music is never about music. If it was, we'd be writing songs about guitar. But we don't"
Just like the quote, this books isn’t about music either. It’s about people, about their insecurities, indecisions, wrong choices and consequences.
Taylor Jenkins Reid knows how to write broken characters and yet make you root for them. Daisy Jones is a girl who has been ignored by her parents all her life. She surrounded herself by the worst group of people, immersed herself in drugs. She became a songwriter and singer, because when she sang on stage people loved her and she mattered.
The book is not entirely about Daisy either. Other characters of the band are given much importance. Billy Dunn's struggle between being a rock star and a family man, Camilla Dunn's indecision of standing by her husband the rock star and helping him be a better man, Graham Dunn's insecurity of always coming second to his brother Billy and having a difficult love life is portrayed. You could feel the struggle of a group of people coming together to make music putting their personal relationships and differences aside, eventually failing to do that and shattering their band.
I loved the book. The writing is so beautiful that I wanted to take a pen and mark every line, every dialogue I liked so that I could re-read them later. But that would mean marking half the sentences in the book, also I couldn’t do that to any of my precious books! Also the songs mentioned throughout the book are included at the end and let me tell you the lyrics are beautiful!...more
Loading...
