The Best Seller
Woody Allen’s raunchier films, conferences over cannabis, psychiatric analysis in Amsterdam’s Red Light District, ancient Indian philosophy, Tai Chi Chuan – do these seem enough to combat the financial downturn? Sandeep, struggling novelist, takes on the roles of clandestine cameraman, ghost blogger and tai chi teacher as he awaits his big break. A convoluted twist of fate lands him in Amsterdam, propelling him through hilarious adventures in the toppling world of economic crisis, the mu
To Have and To Hold
A Story of Virginia in Colonial Days. A best selling romance in 1900 that has twice been made into a movie.
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A fresh breath of air,
This book is like a morning star alone and ungrouped, amidst a milieu of stars and asteroids in the literary firmament, shimmering in ancient wisdom and philosophy of life and emphasising the ways and nuances of interpreting our own lives and making our own choices as we go along. It also makes a case for understanding the subtle distinction between truth-like and the Truth and carefully choosing the latter.
Seldom has any author attempted to reconcile the complex ambitions of human minds by putting on conference a psychiatrist, a political science student, an information technology worker, a young multi-faceted hero who expresses his love both through Shakespearean drama and Tai-Chi rigour and finally an aging saintly professor who passes to his protégés his unbounded faith and erudition from ancient Indian canons viz. the Gita, the Upanishads and the Mahabharata. Also what is interesting are the multi-cultural discussions around the self-contradicting India and the self- introspective
Dutchland.
The presentation style is contemporary and unique through the usage of chat transcripts and blogs which are the modern mantra of corporate and social networking. Every page of this book has got a thrill, many wonderful alliterations and expressions of humour, mostly leaning on sarcasm whose poignancy leaves our mind badly bruised and scarred… and makes us reflect those very shades on our own personal lives. Makes us feel like a journey … a real one towards truth.
Choosing characters, from the sphere of Information Technology, who are working in large global corporations with vaunted identities, makes it a very interesting read for the real IT professionals. This book is highly recommended for all multi-national knowledge workers at varying echelons of the corporate ladder who wish to take a fresh perspective of their lives and start preparing for avoiding their premature career burnouts. Also in some cases this journey may help them to turn their attention towards other vocations in life which could even foliate priceless enjoyment.
Lastly, it discusses the age old dilemma in relationships between a man and a woman … and without attempting to draw any conclusion just leaves it to one’s own faculty, maturity and mental frequency to decide on how and what can create the resonance of two minds.
My gratitude goes to the author for turning this honest book out from his own sweatshop each page finely calligraphed in crimson.
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|philosophy, love and psychology,
Yet another masterpiece by a young and talented author.
Set in Amsterdam and spanning across the continents to California and India , the novel reveals the brilliant command the author has on the English language, martial arts , the economy as well as the great Hindu philosophical text- the Geeta.
He manages to weave the skeins of these individual entities into a rich tapestry, shimmering with his own wicked sense of humor apparent in every page.
Though a weighty book,the narrative is never boring and conveyed through seamless transition between prose,delightful repartee, mails and Simons blog.
The darker undercurrents deal with being a struggling author and trying not to compromise ethics while being sucked into the vortex of rejection slips.
People working in the IT industry will identify with the all too familiar shenanigans of everyday corporate life.
The erotomania of Amrita, the simple philosophy of Simon as well as rotund intrusiveness of manager Madhu with her self proclaimed knowledge of psychiatry is entertaining.
These are interspersed with philosphical discussions with the real psychiatrist Dr Roy and his analysis of people and their personalities, these compelling conversations often being held in interesting locations.
The reverence that the author and by extension Sandeep the protagonist, has for the “Professor” is apparent in the exchanges with him over the telephone as well as in person.
Running through the core is the stimulating banter between Sandeep and spirited Shruti while their love blossoms over text messages and haikus. Every encounter is a pun-filled paradise peppered with playfulness and is a treat to savor.
Finally we have the authors own interpretation of the financial crisis as well as his own innovative solution.
A thoughtful and thought-provoking tome, refreshingly written and a riveting read.
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|Most Interesting Novel in different dimensions,
This is one of the most interesting novels that I have read in the recent times.
Sandeep – the protagonist is not just a struggling author. He is also a tai chi expert, an investigative journalist, a ghost blogger, and a voracious reader, with knowledge of karate, world cinema and capable of talking about anything on the earth – science, history, mathematics, literature or Bhagavad Gita. He is a true
multi-faceted person, much like the author of the novel.
The 681 pages of this interesting novel are about the struggle of our protagonist
to become a successful author and his interactions with the other colorful characters – such as the his blogging Dutch friend, the erudite professor in Kolkata, and a curious psychiatrist. There are many other characters similar to those with whom we interact in the typical corporate scenario in the contemporary world.
I would like to specially mention one such character, who is as interesting as Sandeep.This Shruti – the lovely and pleasant female lead. The interactions between Sandeep and Shruti throughout the novel remain poetic. I wouldn’t want to divulge the story in the course of a review. Let me just quote few lines from a chapter where Shruti and Sandeep interact.
This is just to give you an idea about how they interact throughout the novel.
“Consultant to a broke tai chi student hobnobbing with artists in Jordaan. Is this a story of rebirth?”
“Don’t you think births and rebirths will make the conversation too ‘laboured’?”
“This is becoming too ‘painful to bear’.”
“I was not ‘expecting’ that.”
“I guess there will be ‘pregnant’ silence from now on till you ‘deliver’ your story.”
Many authors and poets of India have imagined and depicted Lord Krishna as a lover, son, king, guru, and even as a servant. However, I am not sure if anybody has depicted him as a modern-day consultant. No one would have thought that his ideas, which are believed to be 5000 years old, can be used by consultants for the modern day economic crisis. Interesting right? There are many such novel ideas that are unique thought throughout the book.
The novel is purely contemporary, meaning, rather than merely having paragraphs and paragraphs of content, it’s written in a different way – it has sms, blog posts, twitter messages, and emails along with the typical content. In his previous book “Big Apple 2 Bites” the author used a unique technique of referring to the protagonist in the second person. In this novel, he uses all the contemporary techniques. Innovative and interesting.
The novel deals with various dimensions – how talented writers struggle to publish their work, how the publishers and agent reject the authors work without even
going through the manuscript, how the published books are reviewed by reviewers without as much as a read, the rat race in corporate world, how the people in the corporate world are ready to do anything for their own sake, love, infatuation, Gita, Upanishads, the thought process and behavior of typical consultant, tai chi training, psychoanalysis, branding……. It’s endless!
The humor and sarcasm throughout the book makes it more than interesting. Overall, it’s a great work by Sengupta once again. I am looking forward to his next book.
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|The Definitive Adventure/Romance Novel,
Clear your calendar before you start, there is no good place to put this book down. Adventure, romance, rich characters, and wry humor carry you into the forests of early colonial America, embroidered with the tragedies and intricacies of colonial/Native American relationships. The plot, at first blush simple and time-honored, is only the framework for a study in human character: the best of it, the worst of it, those in whom the base and noble are inextricably entwined. Jocelyn, the King’s ward, escapes England in a bride-ship bound for the colonies and for her own reasons marries a planter who has decided–on a throw of dice–to come to Jamestown for the arrival of the brides. Their uncertain path is complicated by the arrival of the powerful suitor Jocelyn hoped to escape, by kidnapping, intrigue, arrest, shipwreck, and pirates, and the unravelling of the colony’s delicate peace with the first Americans. I was captivated, not from the first page, but from the table of contents: Chapter Two “In Which I Marry in Haste,” and Chapter Three “In Which I Am Like to Repent at Leisure”. Read it at your leisure–you will have no reason to repent.
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|To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston, 1901,
My parents read this story to my brother and me when we were 6 & 8. It starts out slowly but gets really good, really fast. It has Indians, pirates, swordfights, one of the best (worst) villains ever (& his evil cohort), betrayal, sacrifice, true love and ventriloquism. We LOVED the story then and, as adults, came to appreciate it on new levels. Same goes for my son, now grown up, to whom I gave the same privilege of great story-telling as a kid. There’s a 1947(?) movie based on the book but the book itself, of course, can tell more of the story with the very best illustrations – those from your own imagination.
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|Still In My Heart,
I read this book in High School. Its still in my heart, I have never forgotten it. I’m now 60 years old.
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