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Welcome to the latest section of Alma Matters “Bookshelf” - a platform where people can share their comments, feelings and thoughts about various books they read. From business and economics to SCI-FI, thriller and comedy…please feel free to contribute to this section by writing to us at alumni_relations@isb.edu
Recommended Reading Reshma Krishnan
Reshma Krishnan Barshikar (PGP Class of 2003) is an erstwhile investment banker who one day fell down the rabbit hole and discovered a world outside a fluorescent cubicle. She is now a freelance travel & lifestyle writer and contributes to National Geographic Traveller, India Today Travel Plus, SilverKris- the in-flight magazine of Singapore Airlines, Harper’s Bazaar,Grazia and The Hindu. Her debut novel ‘Fade Into Red’ from Random House India is available in stores now. Reshma divides her time between Mumbai and the Nilgiris. (www.reshmakrishnan.com)
“Perfume”, by Patrick Suskind
Patrick Suskind's Perfume is a fairy tale for adults and is the most extraordinary one I have read for a long time. The prose was akin to sinking your teeth into luxurious dark chocolate, so decadent, you bite into it and it begins to melt because of the heat emitted by your breath and hands. It coats your tongue and when its done, you lick the remnants off the outside of your mouth and perhaps the little big hanging from your chin. The story follows his adventures as a tanning apprentice, his entry into the hallowed world of perfumery and the resounding success of his creations and his coming to terms with the fact that despite his ability to deconstruct the composition of all animate and inanimate objects, he couldn't smell himself. He is shocked and horrified. Slowly a monster is born. We see him retreat from the world into an agonizing solitude and then reemerge stronger and with purpose. His purpose : to create scents by extracting them from living objects. How far does he go to create that almighty scent that will make him human? Suskind's narrative tone is fairy tale like, filled with sardonic humor that belies the horror that he unleashes on us. This is story telling at its best and I am sure there is much that can be read between the lines. Perhaps there is a tale of morality tucked in somewhere there. The New York Times called it “A fable of criminal genius..." Perhaps, But how can you when the lines are this beautiful.
“Game of Thrones”,by George R R Martin
The reading world is divided into normal readers and fantasy readers. Normal readers walk into book shops or scroll down the NY Times list when they want to find something to read. Fantasy readers have already penned down the release dates of when their favorite book is about to be published. Normal people are wondering, why George R R Martin's "A Dance with Dragons" reached the No 1 spot in the NY times list. Because normal readers have forgotten Martin and the fact that all his last five books in The Song of Ice and Fire have topped the NY times list. Fantasy enthusiasts have waited five years, sent him love letters which turned to hate letters which resulted in a petition when Martin failed to publish The Dance with Dragons last year after a five year wait. Yes, I signed it.
The book is based in Westeros, a land where winter lasts for an eternity and babies meet violent deaths. At the helm you have Robert Baratheon, ruler of the seven kingdoms and his queen, Cersei AKA the devils handmaiden. You have houses great and small and they are all vying for that elusive Iron throne. At the heart of it all is the family of The Starks at Winterfell. You see the world through many characters, but it's primarily through the eyes of the Stark children. The Starks live a happy cold life until one day Robert waltzes into Winterfell and sets everything in motion. As you continue reading the series, Martin introduces you to worlds beyond Westeros and magic-always having been only part of the Chorus line, begins to take center stage. The thing about Martin is that you want to take a voodoo doll to him sometimes since he kills people off without batting an eyelid, sometimes people you love. Often seems like it's only people you love. If you want to believe in Santa Claus, this book is not for you. His rationale is that it is unrealistic that only the people you hate die in a war. Everyone dies, sometimes the good die too. And because of that you're so emotionally committed that you sit there willing them to live. You find yourself saying, please don't take her away. I am yet to meet a writer as ruthless as Martin.
George R R Martin has been hailed as the American Tolkien but there is much more to this book that fantasy. The characters will haunt you in your sleep. After the fourth book -apart from having possibly lost your job because you are so involved in reading, you might find yourself saying, "That woman is worse than Cersei" or "God, I wish I had dragons."
“Mariette in Ecstasy”, by Ron Hansen
Mariette in Ecstasy begs to be read aloud. The delicious prose needs to coat your tongue. As I finished it, I started reading selected passages again just to feel the words swirl around my mouth. A gem of a book. Mother Saint Raphael, a taskmaster that watches over a gaggle of five novices- sisters in training, and stares them into submission. Ron Hansen draws you into the lives of his characters. Your hours and days are guided by the invocation of their saints and songs. The 21st of October is to them the Mass of Saint Teresa of Avila, Virgin. Characters are drawn with cinematic precision. The prioress reminds you of the reverend mother in The Sound of Music. Suddenly you find yourself humming Climb Every Mountain. For those of us who grew up with the movie, you cannot but imagine Maria as Mariette and wonder how the movie would have been if infused with nostalgia for a life lost and tension as they all compete for the love of one man. Ron Hansen, said in an interview, that he wanted to give us an intimate glimpse into the secret life of sisters and their rhythmic existence that serves only one purpose, the worship of their lord. There are obvious complications that would rise from thirty women loving the same man. But what got me was the restraint, almost as a mark of respect to the story and his characters. While miraculous events are showcased, they never become vulgar in their exhibition. This is possibly why the movie, made in 1996 to a screenplay also written by Hansen, was never released in the US. Any successful Hollywood version would have to be a parody of the book.