Book Review : ‘Personal' by Lee Child

Jack Reacher is back. In Lee Child’s 19^th novel, 'Personal' the lone traveller, gets on a bus, when he sets eyes on a military publication.  He notices a message for himself and immediately places a call to the Pentagon. 

If any of you has read Child’s Jack Reacher series, then it should not be too tough to figure out a little about him. Reacher is something of a loner, who travels, by bus or prefers to take a walk. He does not have any off what we would call, essentials today like a phone or even credit card. He picks toothbrushes and clothes every three days. The only thing he owns is a toothbrush and is a former military policeman. He takes out the villains as and when they come.

Pentagon wants him to trace a former army sniper, John Kott, who has made an assassination attempt at the French President. So, Reacher is sent to find the man, who was a prisoner for murder for the past fifteen years. However, it has taken on a personal note, as he would find out in Arkansas. Here, he finds out that Kott is looking for him as well. And Reacher is sent on his way with Casey Nice, a state department official.

His trip takes him to France, where the attempt was made originally. It is a nice personal touch too, as we find out some more about Reacher’s family.

But, from France he discovers why he has to head to London, with Nice where

Lee Child

he manages to find Kott. Kott, who is under the protection of Little Joey. Little Joey, a 7ft, 300 pound villain who heads the Romford Boys. The boys are thugs known around town for all the villainy they can muster.

How he manages to find Kott, and what the end would be like is all a part of this fast paced thriller. A good book, which has all the guns you need, with some coffee and a tough and thought-provoking woman to seal the deal.

Read it, because it stands apart from Ian Fleming’s James Bond, though the two of them have similarities enough. The two are tough and loners, the hows and whys are for the public to figure out.

Author: Lee Child

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Bantam Books, Random House Group

ISBN: 978-0-857-50282-7

Price: Rs 350/-

Writing and Travelling... Holiday Away!

I have travelled a bit, but obviously it is never enough. I guess the best thing about travel is all the stuff one gets to write about. I remember as a child, that we got around the state of then Andhra Pradesh thanks to my father being transferred around. But it was only afterwards, that I actually went and checked out some places.

First to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra, then to some hill stations like Dehradun, Binsar, then east to Lonavala and then down south to Ooty, Yercaud, Coorg, Pondicherry, Goa, Araku Valley, Hampi, Nagarjuna Sagar and Horsley Hills. I also went to Kolkata, that all the sides! But, it was never enough. Am sure I have missed out on quite a few places and worse still, I have not travelled to them. I went on my first international trip, while I was working. To Singapore, we went but I regret not getting a chance to truly see it.

But, the places I have seen, I definitely came back with lots of ideas tucked away in my head. The greeneery and the hills. The citities, the rush and the crowds and the streets.

But let’s take up some tips, on writing about the travel front. Just getting ideas is not enough. :) Walking is probably the best way to actually know a place. I was lucky enough that I met and knew quite a few walkers. 

Write about a place tht you have loved and known. I can safely tell you that there is more of Bangalore that I know of then Hyderabad, where I had grown up. This is just so, you manage to capture your excitement and interest of a place.

For every place, you write about, see that you write whatever you can find out of the place. Ask old people, grandpas and grandmas because they have a few stories up their sleeve. Read up as much as you can about it, before you go there.

Find out more and try to find out something new about a place, see if you can lead with that. See that you are as vivid and expressive about a place. Do not overdo it, or you might lose your touch. You could check out some of the guides too.

See that your words say enough about the sights and smells too. Always carry a pen and paper or at least a smartphone, so you can note little details. Take as many photographs as possible. Try to get as much as possible in whatever time you have. When you are writing describe it as much as possible.

And travel and write as much as you can, because you can see and understand that way ‘no trip is ever a waste’. :)

Editor Interview: Rajani Thindiath, Comic Book Editor, Tinkle

Presenting Rajani Thindiath, Editor, Tinkle. Storyteller, writer of comics and fiction. There is one thing that this editor plus writer has, and that is advice and loads of advice. 

Asking me to edit it, were her words, but I really do not or rather, cannot see the point in doing so. So, let’s have it, Folks… 

What are you looking for in a comic book?

As a reader, I love humour and fantasy. So no surprises, my favourite comics are Calvin and Hobbes, Asterix and Bone.

What, according to you are the qualities of an ideal writer?

I don’t believe there is an ideal writer, not when there are so many kinds of writing. As a reader and a writer, I enjoy someone with an imagination unconstrained by the usual and the clichéd.

If the writer can also surprise, evoke empathy in the reader and has the ability to bring to life and explore the quirks of the characters and situations she creates, I would be hooked. :)

 

Could you explain the process, from writing, drawing to editing, and finally, printing?

Creating a comics story means starting with an idea. If you are lucky, you get an idea

right off (which is rare!). Otherwise, you try every trick in the book to first find an idea, plug in the loopholes, give it layers and finally end with a bang.

This is just the beginning. Next comes scripting, which can go into multiple drafts till the editor is satisfied (ahem! :D). The final script is sent to the artist, who works on character sketches and pencils in the artwork. This artwork is checked against the script for consistency after which it is inked. The artwork is lettered and coloured, and proofed multiple times for any errors, before it is sent for printing. Phew! :D

What sorts of project(s) are most likely to get an okay from you?

With regard to stories for Tinkle comics, we look for works that are child friendly (so out go superstition, politics, religion, violence, death and anything inappropriate).

An innovative idea, that can surprise and evoke laughter or empathy, gets our thumbs up. It would be great if the story has a strong beginning and end, with a few plot turns to hold the reader’s interest.

What are your top three favourite books?

There are so many! I have to cheat :D ‘The Discworld Series’ and the ‘Bromeliad Trilogy’ by Terry Pratchett, ‘The Once and the Future King’ by TH White, ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Douglas Adams, ‘My Family and Other Animals’ by Gerald Durrell, ‘Gora’ by Rabindranath Tagore, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ books by JRR Tolkien, ‘The Harry Potter series’ by JK Rowling, the ‘Bartimaeus Sequence' by Jonathan Stroud, I could go on :D

Which are your favourite comic books?

 

Like I mentioned, Calvin and Hobbes, Asterix, Bone and without bias Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle comics, right from my childhood. :)

Could you tell us about some of your upcoming titles? 

We recently released our 34^th Anniversary Issue themed Wish Upon a Tinkle Star, where we fulfilled wishes sent by our young readers, down the years.

We have also recently come out with a new batch of character collections of the rising stars in the Tinkle pantheon—SuperWeirdos and Dental Diaries, along with old favourites Suppandi and Paws & Claws (animal tales).

Next up are the Tinkle Tall Tales, graphic novels based on our popular characters. The second edition includes books on Tantri the Mantri, SuperWeirdos, as well as Suppandi and Dental Diaries in the months to follow.

What is your favourite thing about being an editor? And your least favourite thing?

I love the parts that involve reading and writing stories, reading mails from our young readers, and planning a special issue or theme.

The hard part is when I have to say a story does not work to a writer.

What is the one thing, you would you tell an aspiring writer? (feel free to include as many tips as you would like)

Speaking from my experiences, it helps to try many many things you are not good at because even though you may not make any headway in those directions, they all become fodder for your writing material, sooner or later. :D

Read, read, read. Observe people, situations, expressions (unlike a tunnel-visioned me!).

Once you are decided on writing, or are lucky enough to know so beforehand, just write. Write what you would enjoy reading as a reader. (However if you are writing for a particular age group it helps to keep that in mind!)

Writing is hard work, so waiting for the muse doesn’t always work. If you are struck by an idea you are blessed. Otherwise, get your brain used to writing for a set number of hours every day. The brain is a creature of habit. Once you get it used to churning out ideas, it will get used to doing so on a daily basis.

The only way to work through writer’s block (when you get stuck and the ideas refuse to come) is to write through it. You may write crap, but you can always rework later.

If you stop writing, you may as well give in. Of course, taking a walk, switching to doing something else creative also boosts those brain cells. Just remember, a writer’s block can be overcome with persistence.

If you finish your work (honestly, there is no finishing your work, you will always want to edit, polish, rewrite, but if you finally say, ‘I am mostly satisfied with this’), take a break and then read it. Read it as a reader. Stay objective (you wouldn’t want to put off an editor with grammatical or spelling mistakes).

You may have written the best dialogues, the most gripping scenes, the most descriptive passages, however if they don’t come together within the framework of your story or plot, be ruthless, edit them out. No material is wasted; you will find use for it sooner or later.

Now, get someone else to read it before you send the story across for publishing. Art is subjective, so don’t be disheartened by a less-than-flattering response. If you are objective enough check if you can improve your work keeping in mind any advice that comes your way. If not, keep sending your works, BUT never stop writing. All the best. :)

Did you always know that you wanted to be a children’s book editor? 

Haha! No! I started off wanting to be a biologist after reading about Jagdish Chandra

Jagdish Chandra Bose

Bose in third standard :D, then an astronomer, tried studying to be a psychologist, animator and journalist in that order; before I realized that what I liked best was reading and spinning stories.

In your capacity of a storyteller, are you working on anything? If so, a few details on the same.

At Tinkle, I still write stories as and when I can, both stand-alones as well as tales based on our inhouse characters.

In my own time, there has been a manuscript in the works. With my love of fantasy, of course I had to write in that genre :D There are a few other ideas as well, once I finish off this one.

Book Review : ‘Fatal Margin' by Umanath Nayak

Umanath Nayak’s ‘Fatal Margin’ could well be India’s very own Robin Cook. Is he? A medical thriller was how it was termed as. Okay, first things first, I do not think that it compares to Robin Cook’s books, and I mean that not in the wrong sense at all.

Veer Raghavan is the main lead. He is an oncologist, who heads to the US to train under the best doctors, in the country. Once there, he meets Dr Jennifer Agnoli, with whom he has a brief affair, both attracted to each other due to their fields. Time passes quickly, before Raghavan finds himself where he wanted to be, i.e. in one of India’s better hospitals in cancer surgery, Paramount Cancer Centre. 

He is quickly married and is back at his gruelling work schedule. But troubles soon follow. He soon finds himself under a CBI investigation, where he is suspected of fraud and negligence. He finds that he has been taken into custody, where he would be tried on malpractice and also not treating his patients correctly. Even the hospital, he is planning to set up comes under the purview of the court.

He finds himself, fighting a lone battle against forces such as a few doctors, who are jealous, and also CBI officer, Madhavan. Will he get out of the whole mess? Will he be able to banish the questions on his ethics, as he tries to find the gap between medicine and the unpredictable disease, such as cancer? 

‘Fatal Margin’ is not a thriller. At least, it did not read as one, due to the lack of suspense and pace. The book would pick up on certain subjects but quickly dispose of them. There were quite a few topics, which met their end a little too quickly, I felt. A decent novel for a debut writer.

Author: Umanath Nayak

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Hachette India

ISBN: 978-93-5009-811-0

Price: Rs 350/-