Book Review: One Hundred Years of Solitude.

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One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Gaŕcia Marquez.

I have read Of Love and Other Demons and short stories written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez before I finally picked up this book. One Hundred Years of Solitude was on my to-be-read list for a long time but I was a little hesitant to actually start reading it. I read some 50 odd pages of the book last year and kept it aside and didn’t touch it again till last month. I had to skim through the previously read pages as a refresher and I am glad I did that otherwise I might have been utterly lost going ahead.

The story of One Hundred Years of Solitude spans for more than a century with seven generations of the Buendia family. It is tricky to explain all the characters in this books as they are many of them and they have same names; I don’t think its possible to explain the plot of the story in brief but I will try to give an overview. It begins when Jose Arcadio and his wife Ursula leave their hometowns to look for a new place to settle. They are the original settlers and founders of Maconda; Jose Arcadio dreams about this place and they build the town. Jose Arcadio is curious by nature and he is obsessed with scientific pursuits and immerses himself completely in his work. Jose Arcadio and Ursula are cousins and Ursula has been warned that incest will eventually lead to a baby being born with a pig’s tail.

The novel is wonderfully written. The magical realism of the writing and the story is what kept me intrigued as I read. The descriptions of the atmosphere and the landscape of Maconda paints a picture in your head as you are reading. You can imagine the town vividly which helped me stick to the story because I could see it play out properly in my head. The element of magical realism shines through the story and the way it progresses seems completely organic. The political and social upheaval in the story is mirrors the reality of our society. I have never read any books before which have the element of magical realism the way it is present in this novel.

The characters, the character traits and their names are repetitive in the story. At first, I had trouble keeping up with all the names and it didn’t exactly get easier as I progressed. Jose Arcadio, Amaranta, Aureliano specifically are names repeatedly used by new generations. It seemed confusing but then I realized that it is on purpose. The Buendia family is stuck in the same old circle of mistakes and decisions through generations. For example – the incestuous tendencies in the family are also present in generations and they end up in incest relationships no matter how hard they resist they can’t break the cycle. The personality traits are also similar in different generations like Aureliano’s are shy and self-reflective, they like being in their own company.

All the secrets that are kept by the family about parentage due to incestuous history end up being the reason that sixth generation Aureliano and his aunt Amaranta Ursula end up marrying when they are unaware of their familial ties and their son in born with a pig’s tail. Its very difficult to explain the themes and story of the book because it is vast and complicated. The family which keeps going in circles and interpretations of time and space in the story are some aspects are understood as I was reading. I might need more time to completely understand the story and all that it encompasses.

There were time where I really had trouble reading this book and I wondered if I should finish it or not. I am glad I stuck it out in those patches because in the end the story comes to full circle and it is intriguing. There are so many elements of the story that I feel went slightly over my head and I’ll have to read about it later. I enjoyed reading the book in parts as sometimes it was slow and I lost patience. I liked the book and the story and the writing but I don’t think it’s a book I’ll pick up again at least not anytime soon. Reading this book is a completely different experience but in a good way.

Currently Reading (Feb 2020)

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I re-read quite a few books last month mixed with a couple of new ones. This month I plan to read only new novels.

1) 1984 by George Orwell.

I have been meaning to read this book for a while. I didn’t feel like reading dystopian fiction so the book has sat on my shelf for a while. The book is published in 1949 and is set in the future year of 1984. I am already a couple of chapters in and I am completely intrigued. The first chapter is eerily similar to our reality, dealing with the privacy concerns of citizens. Once I pick up the pace a little, I feel like I am going to finish this book quickly.

2) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

One hundred years of Solitude is a multi-generational story of the Buendia family. I have restarted this book. Last time I read around 20 pages but then there was such a gap before I started reading it again that I lost interest in it. I am reading this book from the beginning so that it will help me get into the story. The start of the book is a little slow but it is very interesting. Keeping track of all the characters was difficult for me especially remembering who was who and who is related to whom. Once I get past that problem, I think my reading speed will increase.


3) Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie.


Bet Me is a contemporary love story that I stumbled upon while browsing. I have read four chapters so far and it has been very interesting. The main characters are unusual but in a good way. Their quirkiness and witty humor are endearing as a reader. Though the book was published in 2004, it doesn’t seem outdated. It is actually fresh in its writing and characterization. I can’t wait to finish this one.

* Get your own copy from Amazon by clicking on the images of the books. 😊

Book Review: Inside the Haveli.

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Inside the Haveli

 – Rama Mehta.

I read this book a while back when it was part of my syllabus at college. Inside the Haveli is a story of an urban girl Geeta, who gets married to the son of a former prince. She struggles to fit into a traditional and conservative family of her in-laws in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The novel is set in the1970s.

Geeta is the central character of the story and the journey is mostly seen through her eyes. Another important character at the beginning of the story is Laxmi; a maid in the haveli who has lived there since she was a little girl. It is the only home she has known as she was taken in by the family. The story begins with the birth of a girl for Geeta and her husband. Geeta is restless; she hasn’t adjusted to the way things run in the family. She is a well-educated girl from Mumbai and has always lived in an urban and cosmopolitan environment so she doesn’t understand the old customs and practices of her new family.

Laxmi, on the other hand, has grown up in such an environment and doesn’t know anything other than that. Laxmi has a daughter as well. She has been compelled to make certain decisions which she didn’t wholeheartedly agree with and that weighs on her. Laxmi leaves the haveli, her husband and her daughter to see what lies outside the walls of the haveli. She wants to be free.

The plot of the story is pretty straightforward and thus, easy to follow. I liked the flow of the writing. The descriptions of the city of Udaipur, the setting, the workings of the haveli and the atmosphere are apt. As you read, it transports you to that place and time. Before I started reading this book, I was told that it’s a feminist novel with strong women characters. By the end, I realized this was misleading. Geeta is constantly questioning the regressive practices still prevalent in the family. She doesn’t understand the need for such customs in such progressive times but she never argues against it.

Geeta keeps her head down and does what is expected of her even if she doesn’t agree with it. The only time when she questions anyone is when her mother in law plans to get her daughter married before she is even 18 but even that doesn’t lead to anything. That is the precise problem I had with the book, the plot builds up and builds up, whereas a reader you feel something is about to happen but then nothing happens at all.

 As I came close to the end, I started to care less about the story and the characters. Geeta, in the end, conforms to the same traditions and practices wholeheartedly which she had reservations about earlier in the story. How this is a feminist novel I have no idea. It sent a wrong message I think in the end that that one has to conform to the regressive practices of society. Laxmi, who runs away from the haveli, is alluded to; she has suffered because she left. The girl who actually takes a step towards freedom has shown to suffer. Yes, she abandons her daughter which makes her less sympathetic and later she sneaks to her daughter’s school to get glimpses of her. So when you follow the old traditions you are okay but when you leave nothing good comes of it. Geeta being a well-educated person, her choices to start accepting everything as it is was baffling for me.

I was actually interested in the story for a long time. Once I reached the middle, I thought now the plot will advance but all the ideas don’t go anywhere. As a reader, it is very frustrating. It is not a feminist novel, especially not in our times. The end was the most frustrating part of the story and frankly, it pissed me off. Maybe when it was published in the 1970’s it had a different impact then it does now. I liked the setting and the whole atmosphere of the story, the world created in that story has almost disappeared now but overall I liked the book in the beginning but lost interest halfway through.

Book Review: Jane Eyre.

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Jane Eyre

– Charlotte Bronte.

I bought this book years back and now I have finally read it. I started reading this book last month and was hoping that I can finish it by the month-end; that did not happen. Jane Eyre is set in the England countryside in the 19th century. It is a story of an orphan girl Jane Eyre and it chronicles her life from childhood to an adult. It is a gothic romance.


The plot of Jane Eyre begins at Gateshead Hall with the Reeds, the family of her maternal uncle. Mr.Reed has always shown kindness to Jane but he is unwell and makes his wife Mrs. Reed promise him that will take care of Jane after he passes away. The other Reeds are not fond of her and treat her badly. John Reed bullies Jane constantly, he throws books at her and hits her all the while her aunt remains indifferent towards Jane and her son’s behavior. The treatment of Jane in this part is particularly is difficult to read. She is 10 years old and feels so isolated, unhappy because the only family she knows doesn’t care about her.


Jane is constantly called ill-mannered and bad-tempered because she asks questions and stands up for herself. When her aunt decides to send her to a boarding school Lowood, Jane is happy to leave the Reeds. In a way, it gets better for her when she’s at Lowood, she finds herself but the system of the school is horrible. The punishments, living conditions, rationing of food and the disregard for the girls there by the trustees is disturbing. Helen and Jane become good friends at Lowood and Jane looks to her for support and companionship. When Helen dies you really feel its impact as a reader and for Jane’s character as well.


Jane is quiet but observant; this comes through numerous times once she starts working at Thornfield Hall as a tutor for Adele. This is where I felt like the story picked up its pace. The element of suspense and a sense of something coming is an underlying theme here that pays off later. Mr. Rochester and Jane have chemistry straight away I thought and it was cute. I liked the relationship that develops between them; it happens naturally and their relationship doesn’t seem forced. Jane can be herself with him; otherwise, she is very controlled about her actions and behavior. Jane likes working and living at Thornfield Hall with or without Mr. Rochester being around. She loves spending time with Adele and looks out for her.


Jane and Mr. Rochester accept their feelings for one another. Jane is hesitant to act on her feeling for Mr. Rochester even before and that stays with her a little bit even after Mr. Rochester asks her to marry him and she agrees. On her wedding day, she finds out what Mr. Rochester has been hiding from her and she is heartbroken. He asks her to stay with him despite of her now knowing the truth but she doesn’t agree to it; she knows its morally wrong and runs away. All the suspense and build-up of the thrill of mysterious events at Thornfield is revealed and it is an unexpected twist.


The narration of the novel is in the first person which gives a complete sense of Jane’s character, her emotions and how she reacts to her circumstances. As it is Jane’s story, her being the narrator is the right way. I could find relatable qualities in Jane’s character which made me like her more. It is hard not to feel the same emotions as Jane while reading. She is a unique character with her inquisitiveness, witty humor, morals and principles, opinions and she sees the world as it is and doesn’t harbor utopian concepts about her life. The setting and landscape of the story are rural England and it is a minor character of the novel.

The novel is gothic so the setting and atmosphere play an important role. I loved Jane and Mr. Rochester’s relationship; their love story is an integral part of the plot and is not unexpected but the way it happens is surprising. There is a slow and simmering build-up to their relationship and that’s interesting to read. The twist in their relationship is described in a way that lets us feel the emotions of Jane as well as Mr. Rochester.


It took me a while to finish reading this book because it is lengthy and my version has a fine print which made it impossible to read for hours. But I enjoyed reading this novel. I liked the development of Jane’s character through her decisions, experiences, and relationships. My favorite part of the book is Mr. Rochester and Jane’s love story. The story of this book seems simple but it has so many layers to the plot and characters. It is an intriguing and delightful read.

Book Review: We Were the Lucky Ones.

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We Were the Lucky Ones

— Georgia Hunter

The title of the book is what caught my eye and I have been meaning to read this book for months now. It is a fictionalized account of a true story about the author’s family which I found out after I was finished reading it. We Were the Lucky Ones is a book set during World War II about the Kurc family, who are well assimilated Polish Jews and their survival during the holocaust.

The story begins in the spring of 1939 in Poland and France when it seems imminent that something that has been looming for the past few years is finally here. The whole family gets a point of view, as they narrate the story through their perspectives and respective circumstances. The parents are Nechuma and Sol; their daughters Halina and Mila and three sons Genek, Jakob and Addy, and not including the spouses and extended family. Except for Addy who is in France, all the others are living in Radam, Poland at the beginning of the war.


As I mentioned before, the narrative shift from one family member to another which takes the reader to different places and times and even countries. In the beginning, it was a little difficult to keep track of the characters as each chapter has a new narrator but as the story progresses it makes sense why the author decided to do this. There is a uniqueness to each character that clearly comes through the writing and you can feel their pain and helplessness throughout. The story goes from Poland to France to Siberia even to the Middle East and South America.


The descriptions of their situations are stated more as facts that pack a punch for a reader and the characters are just reacting to their circumstances. Addy, who hasn’t seen his family since before the war constantly thinks about them, not knowing if they are alive or not and whether he will ever get to see them again. I liked the spirit and realistic emotional impact of each character as they do what they have to in order to survive and it is heartbreaking to read about their struggles.

The part of the story which takes place in the ghetto is extremely difficult to read; a lot of the story is difficult to read but that part where Mila decides to leave the ghetto with her daughter and a few others for work and what follows that decision was completely unexpected and a little uncomfortable to read. The family keeps thinking about the happier times of their home in Radom and of each other fondly which gives them a little hope in such times and its fascinating to me that no matter how bad the situation, the perseverance to survive is there


I didn’t know it was based on a true story till I got to the very end of the story where the author has written a detailed epilogue of sorts of her family and their survival and the impact it had on them. They lost a lot of their extended family during the war and everything else familiar to them but they survived. By the time I finished reading the story, the title of the novel made complete sense. It is a heartbreaking and emotional ride and even more so since it is based on a true story. I finished this book over the weekend; it is emotionally draining but I liked the book

Book Review: It

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It

-Stephen King.

In a rare instance for me, I saw the movies based on this book before actually reading it. I don’t usually go for horror stories because I am easily scared but I really enjoyed watching the movies and decided to read this book.

IT is set in 1950’s as well as the 1980’s with a gap of 27 years in between in a town called Derry, Maine. It is not an exact division like part 1 and 2 but the book moves from past to the present throughout its narration. The story begins with the murder of a six-year-old Georgie Denbrough who is the brother of Bill Denbrough, one of the seven protagonists. Georgie is chasing his paper boat in the rain when a he sees a clown in the sewer who rips his arm off. The story then takes a leap of one year towards the beginning of summer. The protagonists Bill, Richie, Eddie, Stan, Ben, Beverly and Mike each get their own view points as the story begins in the present.

The murder descriptions are horrific. The deaths of Adrian and Georgie are described in such a vivid way that it made me cringe. The protagonists as kids are bullied by Henry Bowers and his friends; Henry constantly terrorizes the seven kids and I hated his character. Pennywise, the killer clown has such a hold on Derry and he exaggerates the tendencies already present in Henry, he doesn’t create his cruel behavior which makes Henry’s character despicable.

The book starts off strong and in a gruesome manner. The narration is from the third person point of view which fleshes out a complete picture of the character’s personality. All of the seven protagonists have aspects to their characters I feel are relatable which makes the reader invest in the characters emotionally. The past timeline of Bill’s story is hard to read at times because of the descriptions of how difficult it has been for him and his parents after the death of his brother which makes his obsession about finding Pennywise justified in a way.

The book is more than a 1000 pages in length and it does feel stretched at times when not much is happening in terms of advancing the story. Pennywise, is completely creepy and instilled a new fear of clowns in me. The friendship between the seven characters especially as kids is a highlight of the story and adds an element of nostalgia of those innocent childhood days and bonds. The friendship translates well to their adult selves too.The scene with the kids where they are lost in the sewers and can’t find a way out was difficult to fathom, I actually didn’t get it completely. I read through that particular part rather quickly because it bothered me.

The book explores the darkness and violence to the full extent befitting the horror genre. Watching the movies didn’t spoil this book for me at all; there were so many aspects in the book which were not in the movie.  As I said before the length and that one scene which I was unaware of in the beginning I enjoyed reading this book. The world Stephen King has created in the book is intriguing, scary and nostalgic.  IT was a terrifying and an exciting read.