Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh: Book Review

Eileen, the narrator of this story is an old woman in her seventies who reflects on the events in her life when she was twenty four- the events that changed her life. In the book the writer has described very dark life of a very sad and lonely girl in need of a touch of warmth and a streak of affection. The life of the young desolate girl is so miserably pathetic that one gets touched and saddened as one comes to terms with the dark depths of a defenseless girl tormented by her own father, who is alcoholic and elder sister who constantly ridicules her till she disappears. Broken internally, Eileen lives a resigned life fantasizing to run away somewhere till the day she meets Rebecca.

A must read we give the book a 17 in a scale of 20.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty

The Sellout is a modern comedy on the post racial society of America. In a gripping and gushing flow of words, the book in a satirical way is a brilliant work of the effects of lost identities in a post racial world. The protagonist finds himself in a world where his hometown, Dickens, is removed from the map. Facing an identity crisis the along with an assortment of powerful characters tries to resurrect the town and also bring back segregation and ends up in Supreme Court in a case involving Me versus US smoking marijuana and narrating in first person about himself and the lost town and its people waiting for the final judgement.

The book is a hilarious comedy with plenty of sadness. Ina scale of 20 we give it 17.5.

All That Man Is by David Szalay

'All That Man Is' is a collection of nine stories of nine different people across thirteen countries of Europe including UK. Although the nine stories are not directly connected or knitted yet it gives an impression of nine different stages of a man (across ages i.e.) in modern world grappling with all the ills, love, loneliness and financial meltdowns while travelling through Europe. The writer has brilliantly captured the dull everyday life with very impressive character development and perfect description of the feelings associated with transient moments. The book being basically nine different stories, one is tempted to put down the book after finishing each story but then one does eventually return back to finish the book, such is the style of writing.

n a scale of 20 we give it 17.5.

His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

The book is engrossing right from the beginning. It takes the reader to Scotland village of the 19th Century riddled with enmity between two families and related oppressiveness and hardships in the contemporary times. The presentation and characterization is excellent as is the trial and inquiry of the lead character who pleads guilty of the multiple killings. It is a book exploring definition of sane and insane and the intricacies of relationships in a family after the death of the mother of the lead character. This book is highly recommended and it scores a 10 out of ten.

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

The story of a family panning across three generations and continents through war ravaged China, Mao's China and progressing on wards till the modern day with a climax at Tiananman Square the book has been written in a free flow style with the write drifting with ease from the present across decades yet never going offtrack. Another brilliance of the writer's mesmerizing style is through the use of music compositions and the lives of composers and musicians. The book has multiple characters yet all orchestrated through hardships into a nicely knitted story. The book is a very intelligent work and surely is a must read. In a scale of 20 we give it a 19.5.

Hot Milk by Deborah Levy

Sofia has abandoned her pursuit of a doctoral degree in Anthropology because of her mother Rose's strange illness which has been a mystery for her all her life. The story begins in Spain where she comes with her mother to Dr Gomez - a last chance to cure her mother's paralyzed legs. 

Amidst Dr Gomez's strange methods, Rose's complaints Sofia discovers herself and her deep desires as she meets amazing characters Juan, Ingrid, and Julieta, in Spain and travels to Greece to meet her step mother four years elder to her, her step sister and her father who had abandoned her when she was 14. The book is written in a powerful and exciting way in Sofia's voice as she discovers the true ailment that had entrapped her old mother and her adult life.

The book was in the short list of Man Booker prize 2016.

In a scale of 10 we give it 9.5. It is a compelling hard to put down novel involving psychological complications of ailing mother - ailing daughter relationship.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

When breath becomes air is a memoir of Paul Kalanithi, a young neurosurgeon, written by himself as he transforms from a doctor to a patient. At the age of 35, after long grueling and arduous years of medical training and education just when Paul is about to embark on a much sought after career and future, he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

The book is about two aspects of his life. In the first part it is about how he grew up reading poetry and literature and obtaining degrees in Literature and how he finally ended up finding his vocation in neurology in search for meaning. The second part is of him being a patient grappling with his dreams vanishing.

Written with a need to be truthful, this memoir is definitely a must read. In a scale of 10 we give it an 8.5

I Saw The Old Man Cry by Ramakant Pande

I Saw The Old Man Cry

Beside the lake

near the duck pen

a year down

drifting by me

there he

rowing your boat

saw me

watching you

in desperate passion,

his lonely look.

In the library

above the duck pen

six months back

bent and absorbed

soaking up

volumes

in your sophomore

and I digging for more

digests for you

I saw him smile

as he dusted

the racks,

hope filling his eyes.

In the garden

overlooking the library

a month ago

that rainy day

you pelted 

the bunch of lily

on me

he heard you shout

your angst at me

pruning the hibiscus

he beamed

and I winked at him,

his faith reborn.

In the cafeteria

beside the garden

in the autumn chill

in late evening

I saw his face

contort as he saw you

an hour ago

when you shrieked

and jumped 

shouting yes I do

yes I do at me

turned his back

hiding his eyes

clearing the table.

I saw the old man cry,

tears washing away

all the sorrow.

..........Ramakant-Pande

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

This is debut novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen which is narrated in a neat and unique way as a confession by a spy. Highlighting the light and travails of the refugees the book is based on the aftermath of the USA misadventure in Vietnam and its consequences. It is also a double minded narration without any particular pro or anti american sentiment nor is it for or against Communism. The two minded spy sympathizes with both sides of almost everything. More then often the nameless narrator is caught, not between two opposing sides i.e. between black and white but between white and white. The book is astounding in its form and style too. Winner of Pulitzer, this book, presenting the perspective of Vietnam of 1950 to 1970's is definitely a must read.

And I Rose From Ruins: A Poem by Ramakant Pande

And I Rose From Ruins

I tried 

and the harder

I pushed away

to fight

to escape

clutches of

misery

the more

in a spider's web

of a quicksand

I got sucked

into the thorny

dark pit

pricking.

Wretched in me

tormented writhing

in agony

of regret of anxiety

broke

into shards

got annihilated

melting away

leaving nothing of it

of me

I surrendered.

With nothing 

remaining

outside,

the sublime

divine effulgence 

shone within

and I rose from ruins.

...... Ramakant Pande

Faith And Hope

Faith and Hope

Existence had reared

its head in me

but yet again

in its vain effort

of the need to

look at itself 

through me

failed.

I failed

as my mind

interfering

in the ego

of its analytics

and conclusions

interfered 

with the divine

escaping 

in the name 

of need for 

vocation- career.

It takes

but a lot of courage

to have unflinching

faith and hope

and effort

to steer 

the mind

out of 'Its' way.

...................................by Ramakant Pande

Truth be told

Truth be told

I and facing me

in the mirror

just him and me and I

look into his eyes

in my mind's eye,

and search for any

wrinkle on his face

and I,

I am but confounded

for between the two

of us, in the end,

the whole point is 

who emerges

winner,

inspite of who we are

truth be told.

And I flinch

for I see myself

in it all

inspite of him

having his hold on me

him being the boss,

and me just

a titular 

head

with nothing of me

about me

to my credit, or his.

The mirror

hanging on the wall

shows cracks on the face,

my face,

of broken images

of me

on myself.

Wait dear judge

let me dress up

my face, even out

my wrinkles

and let me stand tall

and beaming. 

Yes it is okay now,

judge.

                                          ...... Ramakant Pande

© Ramakant Pande

And together, we'd have done it all

I and myself
we sit down a very 
once in a big gap
of a time
and often we talk
If we'd been
together
you would have said
about how lovely it all is
and I
I would have said yes.

You'd have been
surprised
at the strange things
I had 
to show.

You'd have
laughed 
at the long stories
I had 
to tell.

You'd have cried
sobbed
at the short sorrows
I had
made you feel.

And together 
we'd have 
fulfilled 
our destiny.

                                        © Ramakant Pande 

I can almost touch it

Was noon yet it felt like dusk

And the fogs rolled in and out

Against the washed out dark hills

As it started to beat in big drops

Against the only umbrella we were snugged below

With your left and my right shoulder 

Prevented from being wet

By my left and your right hand.

And the thunder kept booming ahead

Yet how can I forget

The firm resolve, the invincible desire

To walk the long arduous trying path

Together beating tide breaking against us

Against the murky overcast gloom

Drowning the belief so strong in us

Of a clear sparkling bright 

Land of balanced tranquility

At the end of the road.

Just like it will be once again,

And I can almost touch it.

...... by Ramakant Pande

© Ramakant Pande

Memoirs Of Yore

Another morning
Breezing dry air
Of hot summer
Nightingale twoo too ing 
The ultimate of thirst
Of parched westerlies
Heating up the lands
As dry as can be 
so high as to deafen 
the twoo too.

In the farms of golden wheat
Fearing rain
In the dry land
Of dried lips
You thrashing the bushels
And I am harvesting.

How lighted it was
That late April night
As I throw the husk
Into the burning ambers
When you brought
A cup of steaming tea
To drown the thirst
Of gallons
Of water.
When the thunder squalls
Beat the tarmac
Covering the wheat
With stones,
Mission accomplished.

And I knew
How much you loved me
How much we cared
How much
We belonged together
In that lovely night.

                      ..... @Ramakant Pande

Warmth

Warmth

Your breathing
Into my neck,
Around my ears
With rejuvenating 
Warmth,
Melting the thawed
Ice that had frosted
Into aloofness,
Loneliness,
Of long
Harsh and dry
Winters,
When even birds
forgot to sing
Of the imminent
Predators
Warning their prey.
With everything frozen
Into grey.
And you
Bringing me back 
To life
To affirm
In my place
In existence.

 © Ramakant Pande 2016

And She Will Sing Tomorrow

From toddler to school

To college, to work

Across changing years

Places, people

All

Lost into mist

Yet the Thrush

All along, in her songs

Every morning, making everything

Long gone

So real, so happening

Delivering back

Every exhaled breath

In a condensed joy.

© Ramakant Pande 2016

The War Child by Ramakant Pande

Blocking sun rise,

the building

on the other side of the divide,

smoldering,

wrecked into rubble,

was just inexplicable

to my infant eyes,

peeping through

the bullet hole,

wondering

why the smoke would not stop

even after a week,

since the day

it was torpedoed

right from the top

of the building we lived in,

and all of us had

danced to the music

of those trapped screams

watching the licking,

oozing conflagration

of the mighty enemy

 housed in it,

bent on

conquering us,

to unify our lands

into their fiefdom

they call nation

and then to

 exterminate us,

the secessionists,

they call militia.

by Ramakant Pande

The Unrestricted Quill by Ramakant Pande

So many answers raining
enticing, inviting, attracting
for a detour
into the torrential deluge
inundating
with the sea
of evolving theories
everywhere.

The logic and rational
almost sweeping me away
drowning in the baffling
world of logic
so blindingly bright
that groping for an anchor
I caught a broken feather
drifting in the dark.

No sooner did I
slit the plume
at it's shaft
the unrestricted, magical quill
started racing
across a floating palm leaf
printing the right questions,
subsiding the sophistry
of invented answers
that obscured the truth.

...... by Ramakant Pande

The Rhythmic Heart

The Rhythmic Heart

To jingling of bridle
and sound of hoofs,
she rose, she fell.

Her long tress
dancing to it's mane,
as it galloped
in a steady rhyme
to my heart,
Thumping!

... Ramakant Pande

The best movies of 2015

Following is the list of the must watch movies that our team has compiled. The names are not appearing in order of merit. Each movie is unique in its own way.

Bridge of spies

Goodnight Mommy

The Big Short

Ex Machina

Brooklyn

The Hateful Eight

Carol

Joy

Inside Out

Mad Max: Fury Road

Truth

The Martian

45 years

Room

Grandma

Spotlight

Love & mercy

Star Wars: The Force

Tangerine

James White

The revenant

99 Homes

Clouds of Sils Maria

Creed

The diary of a teenage girl

Black Mass

Beasts of no nation

Straight outta Compton

The end of tour

The Unknown Means

For anything wished for which

You slogged conscientiously

With a tenacious perseverance

Worn out, yet you plod along

Almost to the point of breaking up

Giving into the grind at times

Wiping sweat all fatigued

Sitting in the scorching heat, so stifling

In the shadow of a leafless tree

Weighing returning home

Against accepting failure

Amidst a jungle

Of a cut throat world

Stepping on corpses

To reach the end.

There is but only one outcome

Which may be as expected, intended

And you look back at means

To reach the end.

But other than those factors

You think made them happen

Being a mere fraction

The remaining uncountable unknown

The indeterminate

Affect the end.

......Ramakant Pande

Ten best books of 2015

The books are incomparable and not in order