tsar

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin is the 4th book of the series Hainish Cycle.
Each book explores a new planet colony started by the Hainish people as an evolutionary experiment.
All books of the series can be read as standalone.
This one explores the planet Gethen, and the experience of the human envoy sent there on a mission.

Honestly, this book is what you'd expect after reading the blurb description.

I am definitely going to add more books by the author in my TBR.

“A Little Life” is easily one of the most scarring and depressing books I have ever read.

It deserves every trigger warning one can conjure up.

Yet, the writing is beautiful. I ended up devouring this book (only took a break when I had to go to work).

One insignificant issue I have with this book is on its marketing, it is sold as a story about 4 friends (Jude, Willem, Malcolm and JB) and how their friendship has evolved through the decades.
But honestly, it is only about 2 friends (Jude and Willem) and we, as readers, rarely get to experience Malcolm's and JB's pov.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is unarguably Marquez's most popular and successful book.
After reading this I can see why, his writing has the usual poetic melancholic elements to it and he knows how to conclude a book.
(The ending made this book jump from a 1-star to easily a 2.5-star book.)
Now, after acknowledging the elements I do appreciate, let me point out the ones that made this book tedious and unbearable at times.
The narration meanders a lot, by the time you are actually invested in a character, they are cut out from the book.
While its writing is beautiful, it tends to become overindulgent midway because the subplots are half-baked.
Overall, I prefer Love in the Time of Cholera over this as that book has both beautiful writing and good plot (well, lack of roaming around aimlessly).

Like a Love Story follows the life of thee high school kids - Art, Judy and Reza.
Set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, this book deals with a lot of tragedy, homophobia and its impact on gay young adults.
The author does a fantastic job of treading the line between serious issues like coming out and dealing with homophobia while simultaneously preserving the fun, youthful aspects of teenage life.

Although, I felt like the love triangle was a little too messy but apart from that it is a solid read.

A short book on Irish history which could honestly be shorter and I'd possibly like it a bit more.

The author assumes the reader is familiar with a lot of Irish folkore and spends more time on his commentary than on providing some historical context.
This book is quite Eurocentric, so hard to appreciate it from an outsider's perspective.

An incredibly easy book that you can binge-read.

**SPOILER ALERT**
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig provides a new interpretation to the belief of life-flashing-before-death; instead, the protagonist Nora sees her alternate lives where she took the road not taken.
Basically, she goes through all her regrets and realises that focusing on the what-ifs is preventing her to enjoy her current life.

I will admit that this book oversimplifies a lot of mental health issues but, there's a certain charm to it.

“Anna Karenina” is one of the most celebrated classics of Russian literature. It does an excellent job of portraying the society of elites and the impact scandals have on it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book, but the second half was a bit depressing.

The novel sheds light on many issues prevalent in high society, particularly how wives often turn a blind eye to their husbands' extramarital affairs. However, when a married woman does the same, she is ostracized by the very same society.

I love how this book exposes so many double standards and highlights internalized misogyny.

There are also various subplots involving other characters, like Levin, who is deeply unhappy with his life but doesn't end up taking the same path as Anna. Instead, he stumbles upon optimistic nihilism, which is honestly a hilarious way to wrap up the book, ngl.

Tender is the Night is F. Scott Fitzgerald's last completed novel and his most personal. It explores the marital life of the Drivers, Nicole and Dick—their union and ultimate downfall.
The characters are deeply influenced by Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, who was suffering from schizophrenia.
This lends a strong bias toward Dick's perspective and vices: his resentment toward Nicole, his guilt for feeling that way, his self-hatred for failing to meet his own ambitions and eventually turning to alcohol for an escape.
The other characters largely serve as plot devices, fading in significance next to the Drivers.
This book feels messy and raw, more like a therapy journal than a carefully structured novel. Unlike Fitzgerald's other works, which hold a window to the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age, Tender is the Night holds up a mirror to the author himself.

The Song of Achilles is a retelling of the tale of Achilles from the point of view of his friend and lover, Patroclus.
As with all books that provide a modern interpretation of Greek mythology, this one also shows the gods as the evil ones. Additionally, it also questions whether ambition is good and when does it become destructive.
There's a lot of not subtle foreshadowing in the narrative but that liberty is taken because most people are already aware of the tragic myth.

Gone with the wind is a historical fiction glorifying the good old times and slavery.
I understand that it was released in 1936, but even for 1936 it spends an awful lot time discussing how slavery was better for everyone.
Although I'll admit that all the primary characters have very well written arcs but I just couldn't get past the sheer amount of racism to truly appreciate it.

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul is the second book in the Dirk Gently Dectective series.
In this installment, Dirk tries to find out the cause behind the mysterious explosion at an airport terminal.
I will admit that the book has its moments when it is highlighting the absurdity of many daily life interactions.
Overall the book is drab, because its pacing and narration aren't that sharp and biting as you might expect from a Douglas Adam book.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is a famed classic adventure novel. It tells the adventurous tales of four young soldiers, three musketeers and one young man (D'Artagnan) aspiring to be one.
The narrative flow of this book went like this - D'Artagnan picks a fight with someone, his three compatriots (Athos, Porthos & Aramis) join him in the fight, they win regardless of how many odds were stacked against them.
The motives for picking the aforementioned fights keep on changing and these motives are supposed to drive the plot forward.
Herein lies my main concern, the first half of the book portrays the entire party of cardinals as the antagonists and the royalists as the protagonists but the second half transforms into a revenge plot against one of the cardinal's minions (Milady) and the punishment she receives at the hands of the musketeers is the conclusion.
As the reader, there's no particular resolution regarding the tumultuous relationship between the cardinalists and the royalists.
Frankly, it felt like the book made big promises but failed to deliver them.

P.S. I didn't mention the sexist remarks made by the musketeers here because well I should have known what I signed up for when I chose to read a classic about the machismo of soldiers in early 17th century.

Phantom of the Opera is a french historical fiction book, which explores the devastating consequences of the dubious relationship between the Ghost of the Opera and a beautiful opera singer, Christine Daaé. It tackles the obsessive, crazy, kind of love (or fascination) that starts between the two.
The plot feels like a mix of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Wuthering Heights.

I really enjoyed the climax of this novel, it is truly one of the most dramatic, emotional endings I have encountered. I love how the novel explores the idea of being loved by being accepted for oneself.
Will definitely check out the play once.

A book written chronicling the quarter-life crisis of a japanese woman and showing how to overcome it and learning how to give second chances to the right people. 

The book is divided into 2 parts, both focus on two types of relationships. 

The author emphasizes on two women both at different spheres of their life. Both have regrets, insecurities, yet a completely different way of dealing with things.

According to me, the first part of the book expertly depicts feeling lost and letting life pass by without any interest. 

The second part easily pales in comparison. 

“Time Shelter” starts off with an introduction to the eccentric character of “Gaustine”. A man who harbours grandeur ideas about the past and helping people with memory loss connect with the present by using the past as a medium, “a clinic of the past” if you will.
Though the book begins with the noble intentions of providing a respite to old people suffering from memory loss, it eventually proceeds to be a satirical comment on the society.
While reading this book one thing became clear to me, that this book is clever and a little too aware of its own premise. This is definitely one of the books I'll re-read.
Unfortunately, the open-ended conclusion, while reflecting the author's preference, left me looking for a more concrete resolution.

“Madam Sir” is the autobiographical account of Manjari Jaruhar, first woman IPS officer of the Indian State Bihar. The author goes over her 34 year long career in the Police Service.
I really appreciate the refreshing candour the author depicts while talking about the issues faced by the police officers, also how the police is perceived by the citizens in India.
However, at certain times the book seemingly appears preachy.
Overall, this is a book I'd highly recommend my mom and honestly, any middle-aged Indian to read.

Firstly let me get this off my chest in the beginning, I have never read a book on nature but I have read many encyclopaedias. I really tried to keep my mind open about this book, but on many occasions I felt like any average encyclopaedia would be more informative.
The main reason I felt like that was because the author meanders a lot.
Or maybe it is just me, and I'd prefer to read a more technical book.
Overall, not my cup of tea.

This is a collection of eight short stories by Haruki Murakami. It was initially published in a Japanese monthly literary magazine. All the stories involve an older Murakami looking back at his life with nostalgia.
This book hits the right spot with some stories whereas, some stories just missed the point.
Stories like Cream, The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection and First Person Singular involve passages of honest introspection. Coupled with the usual spellbinding Murakami writing, elevated these stories for me.
However some stories (With the Beatles, On a Stone Pillow) where Murakami's visible inability to write multi dimensional female characters becomes apparent. As usual, the female characters serve as vessels for the other characters' emotions while their own are mystified.

First published in 1947, this book is the first book in the adventures of the English spy Roger Brook. It explores the pre-French Revolution era of Europe.
This book is quite engaging, easy-to-read and explains the context of European politics well.
But this book is a product of its time, so obviously one of its plot points is racist.

The Color Purple was released in 1982, and it is a novel that defined its own niche in literature. It follows the story of two sisters, Celie & Nettie, who have been separated from each other due to certain circumstances.
Initially, I was skeptical of this book because I was scared that this was just going to be a stereotypical depiction. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the nuance provided to each and every single character in this book. The author has crafted each character with so much care that it is hard to pigeonhole them.
It feels incredible to think that this was published in 1982 because this book is clearly much better than all of the historical fiction books being released every year.
Truly, a well-deserved classic.

This novel by Jame Joyce is considered to be the author's autobiographical work, focusing on his childhood and adolescent years in Ireland. In these formative years, the protagonist (Stephen Dedalus) undergoes different phases of self-analysis.
I really tried to like this book but it is just dreadfully boring to read. While I appreciated certain part of the book, especially the omnipresent political undertone but overall it is needlessly tedious.

Reluctant Fundamentalist is a monologue given by an unreliable narrator about the emotional upheaval he went through in America post the events of 9/11.
While reading this book, I really liked the portrayal of the downward emotional spiral that Changez goes through but his criticism of the American government lacks nuance.
This book is quite a short read and that's possibly one of the reasons why all the points it makes regarding the American society feel superficial, at best.
I do agree that this book is a good introduction to contemporary fiction that's not western but if you don't need that, this would just feel like a regurgitation.

This novel is about the titular character Eleanor Oliphant, a 29 year old women, who lives a lonely life. She is completely fine with that until she isn't and decides to make some significant changes in her life after having a chance encounter with the “love of her life.”
According to Honeyman, through this book she wanted to address the increasing loneliness among young people and that led to inception of Eleanor.

The first half of this book is boring and a bit too long, Eleanor gets a crush and she starts creating a cookie-cutter fantasy with him in her head. But when this fantasy is shattered by the reality of her life, that's when this book gets interesting.
We get to see this character unravel and face their issues. I really liked the fact that the book didn't let the other characters “fix” Eleanor but rather gave her the agency to do it at her pace.

Rushdie's 1981 acclaimed book follows the birth of the Indian Subcontinent through the means of “Midnight's Children”, a title given to kids born on the day of India's independence from the British rule. 

The narrator, Saleem Sinai, is one such kid born along with India, at the stroke of midnight on 15th August, 1947. Saleem narrates his infancy, childhood & adulthood drawing parallels to Indian subcontinent. 

The first 2 sections are well-paced albeit a bit lengthy but the last section concerning the Indian emergency period feels like a drag.

The concept behind this book is fascinating, receiving calls informing you that you'll die today but being unable to change anything about it.
The author tries to incorporate different actors affected by this tech, the “heralds” informing one about their upcoming death, the ones actually receiving the news and their loved ones. But it is only the story of Rufus and Mateo that does justice, every other character feels incomplete and superficial to actually have an impact.