Waiting for Khaled Hosseini's third novel: And the Mountains Echoed

They say waiting is sweet. Well, this is good news for all the people who enjoyed reading Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. This author's third book is going to hit the Indian bookshelves this 21st of May 2013. The book is named And the Mountains Echoed and it comes after a gap of 6 years; the writer really knows how to make the readers wait!

Six years in the writing, Khaled Hosseini says of his new book:
‘My earlier novels were, at heart, tales of fatherhood and motherhood. My new novel is a multi-generational family story as well, this time revolving around brothers and sisters, and the ways in which they love, wound, betray, honour and sacrifice for each other.’

This book is heard to be quite different in its structure from the earlier two books; And the Mountains Echoed continues almost as a series of short stories. This book is about the choices we make for the love of family, how our choices are often shocking to the people closest to us, how our choices affect our family for generations to come. The story starts in Afghanistan and from there, it takes the readers to the locales of Paris, San Francisco and Greek. At the centre of the novel is the story of Pari. This three year old girl is sold for adoption by her step-uncle. Nila Wahdati, a poet and her husband buys this little girl for adoption. And thus Pari is separated from her brother Abdullah.

I am eagerly waiting to read this book. Its up for pre-order in all the popular online stores. Flipkart has it at Rs. 419/- (plus Rs. 50/- for shipping) and Homeshop18 has it at Rs. 389/-. Grab your copy soon. I have already pre-ordered mine!

Einstein's Dreams: Alan Lightman

Some people might call this book by Alan Lightman a collection of short stories. I would call this book a magic of time; a magic which is deep seated in the womb of science.

Einstein sits in his office and weaves out different theories on time. He dreams about time like no one else!

In one dream, time travels backward. The old woman grows young and younger till she is a new born baby. In this world, friend's do not mourn the death of friends; they patiently wait for their dead friends to start the backward journey again.

In another dream, people know their future. A boy who wanted to be a pilot would know that the course of his life would make a lawyer out of him. Some accept their fates. But in this world, their are some people who decide to be with their lovers, knowing full well that  one day they will marry someone else. Also, in this world, their are some who do not take risk; they keep waiting patiently for their vision of future and live and act accordingly.

Yet in another dream, there is no future. People know the specific date when their world is going to end. What do they do? As the last day approaches, they live life to the fullest.

In another dream, people choose their own pace of time. For some, time rushes frantically. For some, time passes by leisurely. This is the kind of world I would have chosen for myself. Mondays would just fly away, holidays would last forever. Times with friends would roll on for eternity.

In some dream, time is frozen, in another, it repeats itself in a cycle.

I loved this book. I had a long flight journey, and in between frequent naps, I finished this book. I would read a story or two, mull over them, take a nap, and read again. Some of the stories set me wondering. In our present world, don't we treat time differently? Some of us cling to our past; for them time is frozen. Some of us, defy all norms, all rules and set out on a hitherto unexplored  path; for them the prediction of future has no importance, these people will always take risks. For a cancer patient, often their is no future; the best he can do is live life to the fullest.

I am sure everyone will read this book with different perspectives. For you, this book might be a marvel on time and the science of it. For your friend, this book will be a poetry on time and its possibilities. And some will be reminded again, through this fiction, of Einstein and his crazy ideas that changed our world (and our syllabus too !)

Those Pricey Thakur Girls: Anuja Chauhan

Some fifteen odd pages down this book by Anuja Chauhan: "Those Pricey Thakur Girls”, and I was almost ready to dismiss it as yet another failure of a book that the bookstores are so abundant with nowadays. But something told me to hang on a little bit more and, thankfully I did hang on. The story is an almost predictable romantic comedy. But it’s not so much the story but the way the story is written; hilarious and witty, that wins the heart. The clever part is that though most of the characters are slightly larger than life, they warm up to you and after sometime, seem quite possible in a Delhi family. This is not one of the best books or the most insightful or creative book that i have read in recent times, but "Those Pricey Thakur Girls" is really one of the most entertaining books that I have read this year.

As you might have already guessed, this book is about someone called Thakur’s daughters. Yes, there are four daughters; the third among the lot our heroine. And we have a dashing hero too. Like in all romantic books and movies, they meet and fall in love. I won’t divulge the storyline after that. But let me add some interesting tidbits:

These girls have an aunt; the Meena Kumari of the family. Her life is full of complaints and tragedies (sometime quite ridiculous) and it’s fun to read how the daughters and their mother deal with her. The father normally shuts himself away when she is around.

The eldest daughter is the beauty queen of the family. She beliefs that her expertise on style and fashion should go undisputed and it’s fun to read how the younger daughters survive under her tyranny.

The author’s mockery of Doordarshan, which in her book takes the name of DeshDarpan, is intelligent and hilarious. DeshDarpan is where our heroine earns her bread and butter. This is where the first seed of her romance gets planted, albeit in a not very romantic way.

And a lot of kudos goes to the author for her just use of Hindi and Hinglish in an English novel. Actually, Hindi and Hinglish have been used very sparingly, but it has added to the humour of the story manyfold.

Yes, “Those Pricey Thakur Girls” is a very humourous, heartwarming novel and I am happy that I read it. Anyone wanting a good wise laugh should read this one.