Book Review: The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga

To me, 'God of Small Things' has always been the gold standard for the kind of book that should win a Booker. Booker winning book after book since has disappointed me sorely. The Booker Prize it seems, is more about the one eyed amongst the blind and not really the best book of the year.

That said, 'The White Tiger' is a good book in itself even though one feels the reason it won a Booker is because it showcases the slimy unspoken underbelly of India, all of us Indians are well aware of. In that sense, I think it is an important book (and perhaps that was the criterion for it winning a Booker?) in bringing about (potential) social change.

I did not enjoy 'The White Tiger' too much. It read like an okay-ish blog to me and a big let down compared to Roy's "God of...". That said, it is still readable, even though somewhat predictable.

Book Review: The Zoya Factor by Anuja Chauhan

I was somewhat surprised that I liked 'The Zoya Factor' so much. I expected to merely pass the time on a flight with the book; what ended up happening was that I was perhaps the only one not sleeping (or not trying to sleep) on a late night flight, completely hooked to Anuja Chauhan’s first.

The story line and plot points can be predicable at times – Zoya’s love story, its ups and downs, India winning cricket matches (with a purely fictional ease) – but Chauhan’s very Delhi lingo and colorful characters help you forget the kinks in the plot. The characters are real and lively, with their own idiosyncrasies and that is what made ‘The Zoya Factor’ worth the read for me.

Recommended.

Book Review: The Brethren by John Grisham

John Grisham is perhaps the only author I know who has the capacity to write both masterpieces and books that deserve purely to be used as footrests/ shredded. 'The Brethren' is Grisham's first book that I know of that manages to tread middle ground.

The story of three convicted ex-judges and a Presidential hopeful, 'The Brethren' starts off at hectic pace but manages to fizzle off at the very end. What it lacks sorely is one of Grisham's thoroughly entertaining courtroom scenes.

A purely airport read... even so, there are far better airport reads. Grisham most likely was writing to meet a deadline; not to tell a story he badly wanted to tell.

On numerologist’s advice, Arvind Kejriwal changes his name to ‘Aaaarrwindddd 13500.85’

Inspired by the events of the day. Satire.

Delhi: Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has become the first person in the world to have a
decimal point in his name, after changing his name to ‘Aaaarrwindddd 13500.85’. Sources within Aam Admi Party said that Arvind took the extreme step on the advice of his numerologist, whose advice he sought after the recent spate of controversies he had found himself embroiled in.

“All our calculations have been going haywire ever since Arvindji joined politics,” Pandit Tadapit Bhushan (unrelated to Prashant Bhushan), apparently Kejriwal’s personal numerologist said in a telephonic chat with this Faking News reporter. “The numbers and decimal point is the only way to give his career some balance,” he continued. “Otherwise, these episodes will keep happening.”

Defending Kejriwal’s decision to make his name rather ludicrous, Kumar Vishwas said, “Badal de jo rajneeti ke saam-daam, uska naam hai Aaaarrwindddd terah hazar paanch sau dashamlab aath paanch.”

Meanwhile Ashutosh tweeted, “Brest of lukk, Aaaaarwind!”

http://my.fakingnews.firstpost.com/2015/04/06/on-numerologists-advice-arvind-kejriwal-changes-his-name-to-aaaarrwindddd-13500-85/