Reading when Bored?

Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Fence

What can you read when you are bored? You can try asking me, I live off reading and writing… what would I know? If I said stories, you would be thinking of all the novels, I am meant to read and write about. But, I have an idea…

Try reading short stories from school. :) Firstly, they could be over before you know it, and secondly, the story would be easier to understand and more fun with no teacher breathing down your neck. And if you are as mad as me, you might just have a few copies from your old school books.

So, you might want to try some of these. A short story by Mark Twain, named ‘Tom Sawyer Whitewashing the Fence’ scores as my absolute favourite. It is such awesome humour, social commentary and a few lessons too. Or perhaps, a couple of RK Narayan or Ruskin Bond stories even.

Panchatantra

Then, there are the Panchatantra short stories or perhaps a few Amar Chitra Katha stories. Not too many ACKs in school, but they are there from all those years ago. Or maybe you could try some of the Akbar-Birbal stories.

Some of these tales are illustrated, so you can give your imagination a break. I absolutely love the figures of all the animals in some of the Panchatantra tales. 

I have never seen such a funny jackal or a cooler looking fire breathing dragon. Some of the international tales or even the African folk tales are exciting too. A few American and British stories as well. Or perhaps Aesop’s fables or maybe even fairy tales for the romantic ones.  You might give ‘The True Story of Three Little Pigs’ a go too. Or perhaps ‘The Lorax’ ? My god, there is no end!!

And I am not saying that these books are for children only, but so many of these could be for adults, who might be bored or just kind of staring blankly at their computers…So, ‘Read up, Folks’, and bring on the fun…

Author Interview : Olivier Lafont, author of ‘Warrior' (Part 2)

Read up, Folks... The much awaited Author Interview (Part 2) of Olivier Lafont. In this, he shares a few more details, of how he manages to relate the characters in the book to today's lives, and his favourite authors and also what he is reading currently, Folks...

How would you relate the life of Saam’s life to the lives today? Any similarities?

Beyond the son-of-Shiva-immortal-demigod aspect, I think Saam’s personal struggle with his identity, with the role of his family in his life, with who he wants to be versus what his past experience has defined him as, I think these are things that people can relate to.

How would you relate the book and its various characters to the lives today?

Olivier Lafont

The main personal themes of ‘Warrior’, which touch on identity, love, family, loyalty and betrayal and are depicted in a variety of nuances through the events and characters in the story, are themes that I think people can always relate to, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

 

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

I don’t think there were any challenges I faced. The entire process was fluid and organic, and such fun from end to end.

What is the most fulfilling part of writing this book?

Knowing that the story I created is being read and enjoyed by people. 

What are you planning on writing next? When would you see that released?

I have a few fiction ideas in mind. What I’m working on right now are a couple films with myself as the main character, for which I’m looking for a producer.

Who are your favourite authors and why?
 

My recent favourite authors are George R.R. Martin, Mark Lawrence, Brandon Sanderson. They all write epic fiction that is extremely detailed and complete, but that is also really fun.

Pierre Bordage

Which book are you reading, currently?

I’m reading French author Pierre Bordage, an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author, ahead of meeting him later in August for a literature event.

What do you do on a day to day basis, besides writing stories?

My days generally look completely different. Between shooting, promoting the book, voice over work, and of course writing, no two days are actually alike. I try to keep some regularity with exercise and a work structure when possible. 

Otherwise I just shrug, grab the bar, and let the roller coaster take me where it will… 

Book Review : ‘Legacy' by Mohan Prasad

Set in the post-independent India, Mohan Prasad’s ‘Legacy’ is truly a series of varied stories, holding onto an essential point. Let’s be led on…

Starting off with the hero’s father, Shankar Prasad, the book traces a rather longish line of how Darshan, or Dalai was born, named and brought up. 

Let us leap frog into Darshan’s hostel life where he sets up a life, where he joins the student movement under Jayaprakash Narayan. We are quickly put through a series of funny adventures of students, where we are meant to go through the oddities of food, and the hostel life. And Anita, of course. Anita, who is Darshan’s senior, quickly manages to capture his heart and his mind. 

He is one for the zealous life and so is she, but their routes separate. Darshan finds his fate in being a godman and one sees Anita become a naxal strategist. The godman, actually comes up, when Darshan ends up meeting a swami, who apparently is supposed to be Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

But, love builds on between the two, despite the events in India. India, which had received freedom, is haunted by communal events of a violent and severe nature. The death of his father and the Sikh riots and Anita, who is sick of the socio culture ends up turning to Naxalism, are all life-changing events in Darshan’s life.

The birth of their child, Subhash and his eventual rearing are all a part of the lives of both these characters. Subhash, who almost does not meet his parents till he turns 18, becomes the third angle mentioned in this book. Starting off with 1960 it moves on till the 90s.

What does happen to a Darshan and his love, Anita? What does happen to

Mohan Prasad

Anita’s idea of a social revolt, what does the godman achieve and how does his son figure in this eventful rigmarole?

This book is a post-independent picture of how the country faced its freedom, with its social problems and issues and problems. The protagonists, though in love with each other, have to face problems of a different nature. Their passion for separate issues and their deep understanding of them, though completely in diverse backgrounds, probably changes the entire structure of their stories.

However, the two of them have courage and strength, which wades them through, but never without the hurricanes and storms. The book was a fascinating read, but unfortunately has its disturbances, which caused the story to grasp at islands during its flow. Though, with the contradicting standpoints of Darshan and Anita, the story gives the reader, a whole new way of looking at India.

Definitely, a book to be read and beliefs, to be given a thought, again and again. This book is definitely of historical significance, with the author’s angle and thought provoking ideas of today.

Author Interview : Olivier Lafont, author of ‘Warrior' (Part 1)

Olivier Lafont

'If you like fantasy, almost as much as I do, you could give this book, 'Warrior' a shot. It is like Mahabharata met LOTR with a little bit of Star Wars and everything else, in so many book and movies, which we might have encountered,' was something, I felt while putting this review together.

But in this Interview, Olivier Lafont says something a little different. He says, 'The only story I drew inspiration from, in a limited sense, was the Mahabharata. I was always impressed by the epic scale of a war of kings, demigods, and gods juxtaposed with the story of a family conflict.' So, read on for more...

How did ‘Warrior’ happen? What is the research that has gone into it?

‘Warrior’ was originally a feature film screenplay, I wrote more than a dozen years ago. I then moved to Mumbai to write my first film ‘Hari Om’, and the script of ‘Warrior’ went into the drawer for a while. The story stayed with me however, so I eventually decided to turn it into a novel.

 

There’s been a lot of research into history, mythology, geography, and the many salient elements of the story, like metallurgy, ballistics, and quantum physics. All the subjects you’ll find in the book have been abiding interests, and putting them into the story required quite some time in research, deciding if the elements should have a place in the story, then figuring out how to fit them in aesthetically. 

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?

The only story I drew inspiration from, in a limited sense, was the Mahabharata. I was always impressed by the epic scale of a war of kings, demigods, and gods juxtaposed with the story of a family conflict. 

Using this contrast, I created in ‘Warrior’ an armageddon scenario juxtaposed with the personal story of Saam’s traumatic history with his father Shiva, god of destruction.

A son of Shiva’s besides Karthikeya and Ganesha, is not a character, we come across every day. Why did you choose him and how does he fit into the entire scheme of things?

I’ve always been fascinated by Shiva, and all the ideas and ideologies associated with him. I created Saam, as his son because it instantly creates drama, a breach between the omnipotent being that is Shiva and the half-mortal Saam. 

I wanted a flawed hero, but a powerful hero, and being the son of Shiva he has inherited vast portions of his father’s limitless destructive power. 

So, a part of Saam’s struggle is with his own penchant and talent for destruction. He’s also out for revenge, but he’s tormented because he knows it’s a futile endeavour, it’s utterly impossible for him to match up to his father’s power. So, there are a lot of interesting dynamics going on, dynamics that play off Shiva’s identity and place in Indian culture. 

How do you think your book, ‘Warrior’ is different from everyone else’s?

I think every book needs to be considered on its own, for the author’s vision, for the story it tells, and for the aesthetic of the writing. I wouldn’t want to compare ‘Warrior’ to any other book. I like to think of the book as an adventure, a personal story, and an epic action story.

How would you relate the life of Saam’s life to the lives today? Any similarities?

Beyond the son-of-Shiva-immortal-demigod aspect, I think Saam’s personal struggle with his identity, with the role of his family in his life, with who he wants to be versus what his past experience has defined him as, I think these are things that people can relate to.

Book Review : ‘Warrior' by Olivier Lafont

‘Warrior’ is Batman from ‘Dark Knight’ but he is also ‘The Master’ from a few episodes of the TV series, ‘Dr Who’ on nowadays, and also, a bit of Percy Jackson from the books by Rick Riordan.

But, he takes on the version of Saam, a son of Lord Shiva from one of our own stories of mythology in ‘Warrior’. Are we done, now?  No, actually not, but let’s move on to the plot by Olivier Lafont. I would end up giving Wikipedia, a run for its money, if I happened to mention each and everyone of the characters or fantasises, mentioned. :)

The basic story is all about saving the earth, and Saam sets out on this adventure, accompanied by his half-brother, Ara and a few others. The plot begins in Mumbai and then hops across the nation, then of course, you have all the times, worlds and dimensions to deal with. It is a fantasy but with a touch of reality, due to way Lafont deals with his characters.  

The locations and the characters have been dealt with naturally, and there is nowhere, that the story seems out of place, if you are in the mood for a book, such as this. You have the gods, the locals, the demi-gods, saadhus and even the monsters, all dealt with in various shades, in this book.

The story begins with a blizzard falling over Mumbai and earthquakes to follow it up, signalling the end of the world. It is up to Saam to stop it. Of course, he is quickly followed by his girlfriend Maya, another son of god Vayu, Lalbaal, a rakshas named Fateh and a Hinduism expert plus historian, Fazal.

Olivier Lafont

Saam and his companions are on their way, to find the ‘Kaal Veda’ on the Ship of the Worlds. This ship takes us on a trip to different worlds, touching upon different dimensions. They also meet up with Lt Geoffrey Gordon, who was in the British Indian Army on its Afghan campaigns. The Kaal Veda is the fifth Veda and it contains a secret that has been lost to all mankind.

This is not the end of fantasy, but you are put through characters such geckos, lizards, 12 feet tall rakshasas, and also, Nagraj who I do not have to describe. Nagraj has an underwater library, which is fascinating for us, Readers.

If you have the patience, I would say, try giving this almost ‘fantastic’ book a read. It might get tiresome, thanks to its over-the-top characters and never ending worlds. Though its descriptions start off really well, but there are times, when you might think that there was a little too much of that or this.

If you like fantasy, almost as much as I do, you could give this book a shot. It is like Mahabharata met LOTR with a little bit of Star Wars and everything else, in so many book and movies, which we might have encountered.

But, all credit to the model/ actor plus author, Olivier Lafont. Good one for a debut author. If you want, you might imagine, Lafont as Saam. :)