Quick Notes on Priya Kumar's 'Thinking Aloud'

Author : Priya Kumar

Publisher : Embassy Books

Rating : 3 / 5

The book is a collection of original quotes on the subjects that matter in life - thoughts on winning, happiness, courage, love, hope, self-worth, humour, attitude and more. Each quote is an insight that makes you think and believe that there is more to life. It's a short intake of inspirational and motivation quotes which can pump you up during the times you are feeling low. 

It belongs to the category of self help books and as in most cases, the main purpose of such books are written with the aim of boosting self confidence for a person and providing confidence to take the harder way over the wrong way. They also are instrumental in driving through tough or complicated situations and provide an effective way out.

The book is neatly divided into various short chapters starting with a prologue and then quotes pertaining to every subject matter. It is meant to be inspire people and should be judged within those boundaries. With its boost-up content and beautiful layout, this is an excellent choice for gift as well and meant for quick reading over a cup of coffee.

Book Review - 124 : The Homing Pigeons

Author : Sid Bihari

Publisher : Srishti 

Not all love stories are perfect, but then neither are people.

The book encapsulates the above quote completely and build the premise around it. For obvious reasons, the title of the book give away the ending of the novel which is almost a crime to do in a literary fiction. Still, there is an utmost sincerity attached to the narrative that even though my mind wandered around abundant logical loopholes and grossly over written lines, i was hooked by the characters and their tribulations.

In the middle of recession, Aditya meets a woman in the bar and his life changes instantly by the lure of a profession he never thought he would get into in his dreams. Radhika, a young widow and ex-lover of Aditya marries off her stepdaughter, little she knows her newly found freedom will never be the same she had envisoned ever.

The author decides to tell the story from the point of view of two narrators - Aditya and Radhika, with alternating chapters devoted to each of them. This unique narrative device does help in creating two flesh and blood characters and follow their lives over three decades. But what it also does is create flabby chapters with repetitions of the same thoughts or a plot point told from both characters point of view. This in turn, make the book long, and require some deft editing. It also meant that there are multiple plot points inserted which has little to do with the story and should have been cut it out in the first place (Aditya's friend turning to his own profession, for instance)

However, the expressions and emotions are something which we can all relate to and even though their problems are not out of this world, it is the simplicity with which things unfold keeps you hooked. It drive home the point that relationships can never be perfect since the drivers of those relationships are not perfect themselves and striving for that elusiveness will only take you away.

I am going with 3/5 for Sid Bihari's debut novel, 'The Homing Pigeons'. It is well crafted story which employs unique narrative device to tell the tale of its two characters. You just wished it to be lot shorter to have more impact as a reader. And yes, this is a mark departure for a publishing house towards quality writing who was once known to dish you mass fiction writers and books one after the another. Give it a chance, you won't be entirely disappointed.

[This book review is done on request of Srishti Publishers & Distributors]

Book Review - 123 : Salvation of a Saint

Author : Keigo Higashino

Publisher : Hachette (In India)

Translated by : Alexander O. Smith

There’s an extramarital affair followed by a dead body. Suave ladies’ man, Yoshitaka Mashiba, is found dead with a cup of spilled coffee next to him with traces of poison in it. His distraught mistress finds his body in his upmarket Tokyo home. Nothing suggests a forced entry and he was alone at the time of death. Was this a suicide or the perfect crime?

The mistress has a perfect alibi so the most logical suspect and the one person with a motive is Yoshitaka’s mysterious and beautiful wife Ayane. But she was visiting her parents in Hokkaido, hundreds of miles away from Tokyo. So she's out. Or is she? Things turn interesting when Kusangi, the prime detective on the case is seen falling for Ayane and develops a soft corner. Their interaction forms a key aspect in solving the crime as the detective have to overcome his personal bias towards the prospective killer.

Enter Manabu Yukawa, a physics professor who has an uncanny knack for solving crimes – Yukawa (very) slowly closes off all possible avenues of investigation before uncovering the startling truth. Helping them this time is feisty detective Utsumi who is not shy of having put her foot down with Kusangi. Conversations and conflicts between them becomes interesting and refreshingly provides a fresh female point of view on the investigation.

Those who loved author's last outing as a novelist are bound to find a similar kind of sustenance and should be excited with yet another perfect crime wrapped with grilling investigation sessions and mental games. In the end, it is not whodunit murder mystery but how the murderer has accomplished the crime which builds the core part of the narrative. It is always difficult to follow up a landmark book and this case is no exception.

Inherently Sherlock Holmes in its structure and style, the book is fast paced and requires complete attention. Obviously as a reader, you need to get acquired by Japanese names and come over every character's obsession with tea and coffee. The characters complement each other and bounce off ideas in order to reach the right conclusion about how the murder is committed and for the most part, becomes the talking point of conversation. The final conclusion do feel forced and certain loose threads does not culminate well but you are ready to take that on the chin for most of the cases. However, if you have not read is previous works, this one should be really adored.

I am going with 3.5/5 for Keigo Higashino 'Salvation of a Saint'. It is not as perfect as author's last novel, 'The Devotion of suspect X' but judging on an individual basis, it is yet another watertight, perfect crime thriller which will keep you hooked till the end. though you wish it was a little shorter and had more meat. 

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