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Monday, May 21, 2012

To Kill a Mockingbird

Writer: Harper Lee

Genre: Southern Gothic, Fiction

Language: English

Translation: Translated in to 40 different languages

Publisher: Arrow Books

Catalog Reference: ISBN 978 0 09 954948 2

Website: www.rbooks.co.uk

Sales: Sold over 30 million copies
Appreciations Received: 
  
I have chosen only a very few...

Truman Capote -
"Someone rare has written this very fine novel, a writer with the liveliest sense of life and the warmest most authentic humor. A touching book; and so funny, so likeable"

Independent -
"No one ever forgets this book"

Daily Express -
"A rich and remarkable novel"

Guardian -
"One of the best first novels I remember... Uniquely unsentimental"

Sunday Times -
"There is humor as well as tragedy in this book, besides its faint note of hope for human nature; and it is delightfully written"

Time's Magazine 1960 review -

"teaches the reader an astonishing number of useful truths about little girls and about Southern life"

Chicago Sunday Tribune -
"This is in no way a sociological novel. It underlines no cause... To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel of strong contemporary national significance."


 Glimpse:


The story revolves around the old town called Maycomb, Alabama. In this story the main characters are a six year old girl Scout Finch, her brother Jem and their father Atticus. Atticus is a widower. Atticus is a lawyer. They have a weird loner neighbor called Boo Radley. Nobody seems to be willing to talk about Radley.

Incidentally Atticus gets appointed to defend Mr. Tom Robinson, a black man, who was accused of raping a white girl 'Mayella'. The girl's father town drunkard Bob Ewell plans to humiliate Atticus in front of the whole town for defending Tom in the court.

Whether Tom did really rape Mayella or not? Who kills Tom Robinson and why? Ultimately, whether Atticus could prove Tom's innocence or not? What happens to Scout when reclusive and mysterious Boo Radley finds her walking down a dark lane alone with Jem? Who kept those gifts under the tree near Radley's house and why?

One thing I can say with confidence that this novel will not let you down. This is one of the best novel I have ever read. It is an unputdownable novel in true sense!

Feeling curious enough to read the novel, then go get your copy! Happy Reading. . . :)

Price:  £ UK, 350/- INR.

The Kite Runner



Writer: Khaled Hosseini

Other Creations: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Genre: Historical Fiction, Drama

Language: English

Publisher: Riverhead Books

Catalog Reference: ISBN 978 1 59448 000 3

Website: www.riverheadbooks.com, www.khaledhosseini.com

Appreciations Received: 
  
I have chosen only a very few...

Atlanta Journal - Constitution -
“An astounding and humbling story of corruption, guilt and redemption. Epic in scope and intimate in its emotions, this terrific novel opens a window into a devastated country and takes us deep into the hearts and minds of those pierced by violence.”

Publishers Weekly -
“Stunning…a complete work of literature that succeeds in exploring the culture of a previously obscure nation that has become a pivot point in the global politics of the new millennium.”

People -
“Like Gone with the Wind, this extraordinary first novel locates the personal struggles of everyday people in the terrible sweep of history.”


Entertainment Weekly -
“Poignant…The Kite Runner offers a moving portrait of modern Afghanistan, from its pre-Russian-invasion glory days through the terrible reign of the Taliban.”

New York Times Book Review -
“This powerful first novel, by an Afghan physician now living in California, tells a story of fierce cruelty and fierce yet redeeming love…In The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and engaging story that reminds us how long his people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violence – forces that continue to threaten them even today.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer -
“From the first lines of The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini shows how an engaging novel begins – with simple, exquisite writing that compels the reader to turn the page. But The Kite Runner, Hosseini’s first novel, is more than just good writing. It is also a wonderfully conjured story that offers a glimpse into an Afghanistan most Americans have never seen, and depicts a side of humanity rarely revealed.”


The Washington Post Book World -

“A powerful book…no frills, no nonsense, just hard, spare prose…an intimate account of family and friendship, betrayal and salvation that requires no atlas or translation to engage and enlighten us. Parts of The Kite Runner are raw and excruciating to read, yet the book in its entirety is lovingly written.”

Diane Sawyer -
“An astonishing, powerful book.”

* A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year
* An Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Fiction Pick of the Year
* An American Library Association Notable Book
* Recipient of The American Place Theatre’s Literature to Life Award

Glimpse:

The story is about a boy called Amir from Wazir Akbar Khan district, Afghanistan. He is the protagonist and he is now a grown up man trying his hard luck as a writer in California, USA. The story talks about how the adult Amir goes back to Afghanistan to get answers for some unasked questions and to find solace through this search.

In the story Amir as the protagonist tell you about his childhood days and talks about his childhood best friend Hassan and his Baba's hazara servant Ali. How the society treated the well to do pushtan boy Amir and poor hazara servant boy Hassan differently and how lucky Amir was to be the son of a wealthy merchant.

The grown up Amir turns the pages of his memory's album and tells you how brave, stout and adventurous Hassan was as a kid and how cowered and spineless young Amir was. How Hassan used to run to fetch the cut kites and how Amir let Assef rape Hassan and kept mumb to save his own reputation.
The story talks about the Pedophilia, Nazism, Drug abuse, Sadism prevalent in Afghanistan. It tell the tale of how barbaric and gruesome and sadistic a Taliban could be and how unsafe and tortured the young servant boys are.

The main characters are Amir, Hassan, Assef, Baba, Ali, Rahim Khan, Soraya, Sohrab and some other significant characters like Sanaubar, Farid, General Taheri, Khala, Khanum Jamila, Farzana etc.

It also talks about how grown up Amir goes back to his native to find out Hassan's little boy child Sohrab, and save him from his gruesome painful life. Sohrab was also a victim of Pedophilia and was bought and repeatedly raped by Assef (who also raped Sohrab's father Hassan when they were young).

This is a story of a man who repent for his cowardice of his young age and tries to do something good to make up for that wrong doings by saving his childhood best friend's son.

Price:  £ UK, 350/- INR.