Sumit

When I saw Gadar for the first time, the images of bodies on the train scarred me so much that I never revisited that movie and the handpump shenanigans for a long time. Train to Pakistan invokes the same kind of feeling . The book is haunting in its depiction of the partition, elaborate in describing the rural Indian life, frank in showing how religions are viewed in India and walks in a delicate balancing act between all three aspects. There are 2-3 protagonists and some of their plot points do seem contrived, but it takes nothing away from the core idea of the book.

PS: Do not read it before you go to sleep.

What a ride this book is! It's like someone wrote up episodes of Black Mirror in prose. I got around to eventually reading this after watching Arrival, and also the repeated recommendations on the Tim Ferriss Show. Each story is based on a central concept, building a world of myriad possibilities. These get your head churning like no other.

This is my intro to Vonnegut's work and my, what an intro. If you're just brisking through, the story might seem all over the place, what with all the time-travel stuff. But underneath all that sci-fi, is a pretty stoic person's life(just got off, a couple of days ago, reading Obstacle is the Way, so I have my glasses tinted with stoicism) Vonnegut has brilliantly weaved in the Dresden bombings with the Tralfamadorians' outlook of time. That which is to happen will happen, has already happened, is happening. The dead are always living and the living are always dead. So it goes.

And another thing about this book, if you're the least bit creative, this will turn the gears in your head like a mofo and will beg you to create stuff, because if this guy can blend in WWII, Time travel, Aliens, Philosophy and a optometrist-veteran's life-story into just 175 pages of cohesive awesomeness, you can at least start.


Update 2024: the above review was written in 2017 when I was just a budding writer. Now in 2024 I'm a budding writer 7 years in the making. My depression aside, this book still slaps. All the above points made by the 25 year old me are still valid but I don't know about the stoicism thing. Billy as a main character feels to have a very flat arc. Sure he's supposed to be the everyman who goes on extraordinary adventures whom you can paste yourself onto but still I would've liked some semblance of a personality. Let's see. Only hope is I see this review in 7 more years and at the bare minimum, still am a budding writer. For the alternative, I fear, is much much worse. Happy reading

Gaiman's writings have always (always meaning since I discovered him i.e. earlier this year)fascinated me, the way he is able to create entire worlds and mythologies in a drop of the hat. Sandman was on my wishlist for so long, finally got around to reading the first volume and gotta say it is enticing as hell. The stories, especially the beginning of each issue (8 in total) seem disjointed at first, but some come together in great ways, others are left for the reader to figure out. Characters are spread out like grains of sand (yep!) helping and aiding our protagonist Dream aka Sandman aka other thousand names in his mission for revenge, with a lot of heavy handed biblical themes thrown in to the mix. Also classic DC stalwarts show up, so that's a plus point. I found Vol 1 to be thoroughly enjoyable, although the first issue may confuse some, but stick it out, it's gonna be great.

Focusing on a particular set of things, this book explores how an epidemic (of things, ideas etc) spreads voraciously or “tips”. The argument made is quite convincing but this is, by no means, a wild page turner. Some sections are pretty interesting, others you can just skim over and not lose track of anything. All things said, things flow pretty neatly into each other and the idea presented is tied up into a nice, cohesive book.

Interesting premise to begin with, the story encompasses a myriad of characters around this circus. Some are better fleshed out than others. Some you don't even care about. The story goes lull in the middle but hanging onto it is worth it. Took me days to get to the first half as the pacing was pretty slow, but the second half especially the last third picked up the necessary pace and ended up being the saving grace of this book. Best enjoyed while speed reading, skipping over some lines won't hinder your comprehension that much. All in all, I liked the circus, would love to see it adapted to screen