Book Review : 'Ayesha and the Firefish' by Ajay Chowdhury

I guess the place to start reading a book will have an effect on the way the mind works. As it did with this book…. ‘Ayesha and the Firefish' by Ajay Chowdhury. It spoke of a ten year old, with the mind of a true explorer. A curious mind, an imaginative understanding and partial lack of control would mean that this young girl should be fun!

Ayesha was twiddling her thumbs and staring into space in the beachside hotel. Her parents, of course thought it was a nice place and kept busy, in either the spa or on the laptop. But, Ayesha was bored stiff! 

One particular night, she was suddenly taken by the smell of the sea and she quietly changed into her swimsuit. She made her way to the waterside in the middle of the night. She looked up and down. Above were the stars and below were surprisingly, fireflies as she called them, in the water. She is taken by surprise, when a dolphin calls out to her. The adventure begins. 

Surprise after surprise, before she is taken on by Shekina, the queen of the seas. Shekina, whom nobody is supposed to see the way she actually looks, is all set to send Ayesha on a mission. The queen wants her to save the world. So, helped along by Caro, the snail, Ayesha heads to dry land, from where, her mystery adventure truly begins.

Antoni Gaudi

She sets off to Italy to meet her cousin Xander and discover all about the firefish. Their extraordinary quest, takes them across not just the seas,  but also into the 'Museo Galileo' in Italy, and with Antoni Gaudi's 'Casa Battlo' in Barcelona, even wormholes in space and even up to Jupiter. It mixes up countries, the people, the fish, sometimes even androids, the firefish and the planets too, of course.

So, if you guys manage to read this book, which had a little bit of everything and keep wishing for more, I wouldn’t be surprised. Do read it. It was all worth it, especially the lessons learnt, and to give something more away, would be wrong of me!!

You can Buy the Book, right here. 

Author Interview : Sreyus Palliyani, author of 'Gabriati : Rise of the Preceptor' (Part 1)

Sreyus Palliyani

Read up, the first part of the Interview with Sreyus Palliyani, author of 'Gabriati : Rise of the Perceptor'. The book was a brilliant telling of a story, which we have heard before, but the essence lies with everyone's perspective. In this Interview, he tells us how the Gabriati's characterisation came about, what the kind of research was put into this book, how the book is different from the others, what the challenges, that went into its writing and much more, Folks...

How did ‘Gabriati : Rise of the Perceptor’ happen? What is the research that has gone into it?

It probably dates back to the time when I was a kid, when my dad used to tell me about fables from across the globe. I remember he would not spare any details. He wouldn’t make it an after school special. He taught me that morality cannot be defined in black and white. A character of a man of God, a saviour, a monk, a priest-it was always my fascination. A man who is above the law and does what he thinks is right and sets things right. All of us have wanted to be this man at some point. I wished to emulate him in my own words.

These days you see even the most educated people doing downright crazy things when it comes to faith. And that’s not what faith is meant to be in the first place. So much blood, so much hate, so many rules yet so many violations. I wanted to tell the world my perspective of God and religion. One that doesn’t involve dogmas in books or scriptures. Just plain human morality.

Gabriati is a product of extensive research that nearly got me into trouble so many times. As I wanted my facts to be authentic as much as I could, the research lasted a good 2.5 years. It ranged from readings, interviews and even simulations.

Alexandre Dumas

I am sure; you have probably taken inspiration from a few other books? Is there any particular one, you were most fascinated by and why?

I wouldn’t know inspiration as such. But there have been a few books that have haunted me over the years. The top of the list would be Alexandre Dumas’s ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. Edmond Dantes is the epitome of hope. 

A few others would be Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' and of course, 'The Mahabharata', where I find something new each time I pick it up.

How do you think your book, ‘Gabriati : Rise of the Perceptor’ is different from everyone else’s?

I guess it would be the superimposition of the themes of religion, strategy, violence, sex, history, military, espionage and family. This juxtaposition is something, which hasn’t been experimented with much before.

How would you relate the life of Gabriarti to the lives today? Any similarities?

I believe Gabriati exists in all of us. We have thought like him, we have wanted to act like him at some point of time in our lives. It is his clarity of all things that primarily draws us. His enigmatic charm is of course a bonus.

But when was the last time, we did something with a feeling that what we are doing is 100% right? I think it is at that point that we relate to the Preceptor. He would slit a man’s throat in cold blood without even a tiny bit of remorse if he feels it’s the right thing to do (wink wink!).

Any challenges you had to face, while writing this particular book?

My greatest challenge was the research, as sometimes even for months I would go without writing a single word due to unavailability of authentic data. The ending was another challenge, which took me nearly three months.

The story is set over 8 countries and as such the conveyance of the culture and beauty of each location was a literal challenge to me. Many a time, I questioned my capabilities as a writer.

One of the things I feel is most important for a good protagonist is an even better antagonist. Constructing a villain, whom the readers fear and secretly admire, took some work. After all a hero is only as strong as his villain.

I had to interview quite a few experts and others for this book, and many of them would turn you down once you told them the purpose of the research because it was such a controversial topic.

I faced a similar challenge during the time I was searching for a publisher as most publishing houses or agents would openly tell me that they would publish my work only if I edited it enough to cut out the controversial stuff because religion is something that’s too sensitive, and I don’t think there’s a single page in my book that won’t classify as controversial. But luckily, my Acquisition Editor Malini Nair, was ready to take up my work the way it was. I am eternally grateful to her for that.

Finally, the name! Somehow, a reader’s perception of a character changes with his name. And my protagonist’s name was very important to me, ANGELUS GABRIATI.

You can Read the Review, right here and Buy the Book, right here, as well.

Book Review : 'Yama’s Lieutenant' by Anuja Chandramouli

Yama's Lieutenant

Anuja Chandramouli’s ‘Yama’s Lieutenant’ is a tad'?' different from her earlier books. All her earlier books, dealt with one character, particularly. Whether it was Arjuna or Kamadeva or even Shakti, but this one does not have Chitragupta or anyone of that sort! 

It has Agni Prakash, who is an earthling but is suddenly thrust forward. And modern life is suddenly mixed with mythology. It starts off with the six year old Varuna and her twin brother, Agni and the promise they make to each other of never leaving the other.

But, as the story moves on we are left with an empty space, when Varu once lived. But that is not all. She leaves behind a manuscript, which Agni has to go through. 

In the meanwhile, hell’s occupants have broken free, and have vowed to inflict chaos in all of the three realms, of heaven, hell and earth. The fierce populace of hell are upon us, and we find that it is now, an earthling’s duty to save the three dimensions.

Yama, who is the lord of hell, now is in need of help. Agni is the chosen one. His job is to deal with the dead ones in the process of finding one person. In this, he would be helped along by two hounds, as well as Yama’s staff, fire and noose. He would also be aided by a young woman, Minothi blessed with a powerful and special magic. 

As the book moves forward, we have two different phases to deal with. One is Agni’s world, where he finds out that he would be the lieutenant and the work he is put through. The deaths, the killings, the causes, whether it is the world, we see around us, in terms of caste, or even the accidents, which seem to be happening around the country. 

And the other, is the manuscript he is supposed to read. It talks of Yama and his sister. The son and daughter of Lord Surya and his wife, Sanjana. What it is that happens to them, how the entire melodrama is brought about, and how exactly the whole drama comes through is all a part of the manuscript.

Does Agni manage to find the links between his own life and that of Yama? Does he also take the help of the Minothi, and find his way across Ganga to find the young woman, which was his task and save the three worlds?

Anuja Chandramouli

Okay, that is not all. Harry Potter and Percy Jackson also make an appearance. The fantastical story had its blend of true lives, along with its mix of mythology and stories of death.  It had such a mix of everything. 

I loved Chandramouli’s attempt at experimenting. It was quite the different story, it did not attempt to explain Yama’s story nor did it dwell on Agni’s twists with fate. I guess, it got a little confusing but the overall blend of the fantasy left me  quite breathless. It had both, and mixed them well, indeed.

You can Buy the Book, right here.

Author Interview : Gayathri Ponvannan, author of 'Time Racers' (Part 2)

Read up, the second part of Gayathri Ponvannan's Interview, with regard to 'Time Racers'. In this, she tells us, how she relates the lives of her characters to lives today, the most challenging part of the book, the next book she has planned and also who her favourite authors are, and much more, Folks...

How would you relate the lives of characters to the lives today? Any similarities? 

Pratik is the quintessential underdog. He’s got a lot of relatable characteristics – ‘the parents are boring’ idea, the defiance against rules, even the ‘softie’ heart under all that nonchalant demeanor. The character from the past, Simha, is also similar to a typical teen, in spite of the widely disparate socio-cultural contexts.

 

Rebellion, awkwardness, emotional confusion, the ‘I-don’t-care’ attitude…these are aspects that don’t quite change over generations!

What was the most challenging part about writing the book?

Gayathri Ponvannan

Most certainly the time travel part. There was a lot of research involved in getting the technicalities right.

I suppose my editors at Penguin, Niyati Dhuldhoya and Nimmy Chacko, found the book’s development rather challenging too – my language and style is rather irreverent, and they had a good deal of pruning to do before the book could be published!

What book is coming from your desk, next? When do you see it released?

The next book is also pre-teen fiction, but with a female protagonist. I suppose it might be released once I’ve sorted out all the ideas I’ve spewed onto my computer, and found a publisher for them – possibly the next year or so.

I’m doing a Masters in Creative Writing just now, and I’m putting so much into this course that I feel compelled to incorporate all that I’ve learnt into my current manuscript. Which is all very well and good, but it does tend to slow down my headlong approach to writing!

Sandra Cisneros

Which book are you currently reading?

I’m currently re-reading Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol, Ernest Hemingway, Alice Munro and Sandra Cisneros…the set authors for my creative writing program at the University of Edinburgh!

Susan Coolidge

My all-time reads are works by Louisa May Alcott, LM Montgomery, Susan Coolidge and other children’s authors – ostentatiously for research, but more for pleasure!

Who are your favourite authors and why?

I’ve always admired Jhumpa Lahiri for her no-frills writing. I also like RK Narayan’s works – he couches the poignancy of growing up in such simple terms.

What else do you do on a daily basis?

I’m a network engineer, and I do technical research for corporate organizations – this is the writing job that actually pays!

You can Read the First Part of this Interview right here, Read the Review here and Buy the Book  here, as well.

 

Book Review : 'The Misadventures of Butterfingers' by Khyrunnisa A

Sadly have I begun this book, a little too late in life. But it is in my hands, nonetheless. And I began this book, and had wrapped it up, a little too soon, I felt! I am guessing that I missed about three other novels, on this great butterfingers, but I had begun somewhere, at least. So, I began Khyrunnisa A’s ‘The Misadventures of Butterfingers’. 

So, we take on, Amar Kishen’s adventures about the ghosts at Green Park School. Amar, who is an energetic and clumsy 13 year old boy, is nicknamed Butterfingers, by everyone who knows him. He gets into at least one misadventure at a time. And so, he gets in with the ghosts, and not just any ghosts, but Shakespearean ones too. Amar and his friends are roped in to write a play, and they do so, using a mix of Shakespeare’s masterpieces. How do they find the ghosts how would they defeat them? 

Then, Amar finds out more about his painting skills, which he thought he never possessed, and then we move onto his history paper and his umbrella. We also move on to his father, as he misses his flight, and on to the doctor that ol’ Butterfingers plays. It was over before I could say Butterfingers. Just as we know enough about Amar, we must know enough of his mom and dad, his principal Mr Jagmohan and his teachers, who never do get him right, and his best friends. 

We also find out about he has a screw up with the voice recorder, which he finds in school, and also the exchange student Pranav who must face a misadventure which was only possible at the Green Park School and ending with the second, Amar!

After all, we are dealing with the seventh fastest boy in all of the Green Park School, which had only one girl in its all - boys’ establishment. How and why is something you must find out, when you read this book.

The best thing about this book is the brilliant author, who comes up with these amazing stories. Her tone and language seem just right, for the book. She starts off so well, that if you aren’t laughing your ‘beans’ off, then I would be not be reviewing, this oh so funny book. 

You can Buy the Book, right here.