Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Book Review

Morbid, disturbing and haunting!

It's been 25 years since the "Farm-house Satan Sacrifice" and two and half decades since the then 7-year old lone survivor Libby Day fingered her brother Ben Day as the butcherer and murderer of her mother and two sisters. Libby has since been raised by a variety of people aunts, uncles, foster parents etc etc before finally being old enough to live by herself being assisted in no small measure by the donations made by others due to the intense publicity the case received. But now the money is running out and Libby finds herself unable to earn by traditional forms of employment. Out of the blue, she finds herself invited to the "Kill Club", a group of eclectic mystery enthusiasts who believe that Libby's testimony against her brother 25 years earlier was at best dubious and coerced and that Ben was innocent of the crime. She is commissioned to talk to the people involved and paid for the same. Although unsure about her brother's innocence, Libby accepts the assignment for the monetary benefits.

What starts as a purely financial assignment develops into a search for answers when Libby comes across more and more people who are convinced of Ben's innocence and perjury by many witnesses. The hunt changes Libby and her relations with the world around her!

The book is written in an interesting format with alternating chapters from the life of present day Libby and the fateful day 25 years ago when the massacre unfolded. A morbid, disturbing and haunting book that is bound to keep one riveted till the final page. The book is full of scarred and flawed characters and as a reader you may not feel a connection to any of them. The book is too disturbing and dark for my taste but was nevertheless an interesting read. People who enjoy dark and brooding stuff will certainly enjoy the novel a lot more than I did. You are bound to lose a night's sleep on this one!

Book Review: Hard Choices: A Memoir by Hillary Rodham Clinton

Hard Choices is a comprehensive work about Hillary Rodham Clinton’s experiences as Secretary of State between the years 2009 and 2013. It is very detailed (as detailed as it can allowed to be without becoming utterly boring) and encompasses all major geopolitical issues that came forth during her tenure. From the perspective of a reader with a little knowledge of the happenings around the globe it comes as a nice lesson on most things that transpired during those 4 years. It endeavours to provide justification for major foreign policy decisions by the United States of America, their tactical manoeuvres while allowing certain candour and admitting to the different choices the Obama administration made between the ideologies of democracy and human rights that the US claims to champion and the realism of furthering their own political, military and economic interests.

Although a good book, it reads more like a narration and lacks personal opinion one would expect from a public servant of Hillary Clinton’s stature. At times it also becomes a tedious read. The book is almost exclusively about Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State and is thus the wrong choice if one is looking for a better understanding of Hillary Clinton’s life and formative years. For that the correct choice would be Living History by the same author.

Book Review: I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban

I am Malala. This is my story.

A heart wrenching story of a brave young girl who did everything she could given her limited means and then some.

The book majorly deals with the life of Malala before the shooting and touches briefly upon the changes in her life after.

The first part of the book deals with a description of her background- her homeland within Pakistan called Swat, her heritage, culture, extended family and immediate family. Although coming from a conservative muslim family, Malala is clearly shaped more by her father’s evolved beliefs and fighting spirit and is aware of her rights from a very young age. The book then moves on to the exposition of Taliban and how they slowly and steadily entrenched themselves firmly into the society of Swat valley. They start with setting up a radio channel (FM) to reach the masses in the villages and airing seemingly innocuous shows over the channel like the interpretation of the Quran which the pious but illiterate people find not only beneficial but also interesting. They volunteer in these small towns and help out in case of natural disasters like earthquakes and floods when the government aid doesn’t reach these backward places in time. Operating free madrasas (religious schools) for the poor funded by Saudi money they provide anything thing but openminded education to the children in the village. They thus earn the loyalty of the populace until finally showing their true bigot colours and running a parallel administration to the government where the rule of law doesn’t work. They vandalised historic monuments, public building like schools etc. “They destroyed everything old and brought nothing new.” Favouring Nazi like propaganda and burning CDs, DVDs and TVs and meting out public floggings to keep the dissidents silent, they upped the ante by declaring war on the state. Thus “the Taliban became the enemy of fine arts, culture and our history”.

This is the story of extraordinary struggle of an ordinary girl Malala in one such war torn region. Aided and encouraged in no small measure by her parents, particularly her father, she asserts her right to education in the face of the terror group Taliban. Defying the edicts of Taliban she stood up for what she believed in. “Education is neither Eastern nor Western, it is human”. This resistance culminated in her being shot by the terror outfit.Malala truly believed that over time things would improve in her valley and peace would return. She believed in the power of debate and peaceful negotiations and later express regret on not having had a chance to explain her ideology to her shooter.

The Pakistani government and the army although unable to ensure her protection pre-shooting knew the diplomatic time bomb they were sitting on which mandated them to ensure her safety and recovery leading to her treatment in the UK and her exile to the country.

Christina Lamb has written a lucid and simple book about a visionary girl and everyone should read it. It makes one believe that each of us can bring about a change in our way.

Volunteer Work!

“There’s nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer”- Jimmy Doolittle

Western civilization realized the gravity of the thought and placed extra value in community and volunteer work. On the façade, it keeps people- young and old alike, occupied and provides one with a chance to meet new and wonderful people. Not wanting to appear like I see everything through rose-coloured glasses, I concede that not all encounters may be pleasant. But life is a sum of moments and unagreeable situations also provide us with an opportunity to learn.

On a deeper level, continued and constant volunteering helps develop a sense of community and camaraderie. “Man is a social animal” and for the society to work well in a civilized manner it is important for everyone to feel a sense of belonging and bonhomie. Community and volunteer work thus involve us in day-to-day activities and help us in developing insight. It makes us conscious and active members of the society and nation, and helps us develop a sense of accountability. Volunteering is thus a two-way street. It can help a volunteer just as much as it helps the cause.

My stint as a coordinator in the recently concluded Career Fair in Jaipur painted a very different picture. People usually find the concept of volunteer work (UNPAID) to not be unpaid at all, but effectively as a meager paying job. This assumption leads to more personal assumptions regarding an individual’s (UNPAID VOLUNTEER) intellect and achievements. The idea of “work for work’s sake” is probably very lofty (read debasing) in their eyes. Worse still, the people who do recognize volunteer work for what it is (they comprehend it as labour for FREE) find it impossible to get over the “FREE” part written between the lines. My personal feelings aside (although I admit feeling a bit enraged by such naïve perceptions), this stint proved to be a more fulfilling experience than I had previously hoped.

It made me understand the culture of India in general. The idea of volunteer work, as I mentioned before has received a lot of traction in the western world and this is a clear signature of development. Not only economic development, but also moral and societal development. More than sixty years after independence, India still remains naively young country albeit vastly more populated. Due to this difficulty of plenty, most Indians fell an obsessively compulsive need to stand out in a crowd. The “I” in us supersedes the “we” of society and community. As Harsha Bhogle pointed out in his book “The Winning Way”, “our large population forces us to develop selfish instincts at every step.” ”Feelings of comradeship, of surrendering the self to the wider cause, can only arise in a highly spiritual phase or where the performer of great achievements has ascended to a level of personal calm about those achievements.” Indeed, this is the reason Indians rate badly in teamwork generally.

On a more personal note, after the initial discomfit over the perceptions, I returned back to my original self-assured form, and if anything found the entire situation quite amusing besides entertaining. And last but not the least, I did get a chance to work with like-minded individuals which made for a pleasant experience.

BOOK REVIEW: A Christmas Carol

One of those stories everyone knows (even the ones who haven't read the book). It is that open and shut book about a stingy old man Scrooge and his encounter with three ghosts which makes him change his lifestyle. But beneath the surface, there are a few reasons that have assisted in making this book the timeless classic that it is. The tale is made classic by setting it in the Christmas season. Scrooge has been imprinted on our minds as a miserly, bitter , petty and mean old man who cares about nothing and nobody. But the fact that he keeps the name of his business as Scrooge and Marley even after is partner's death points to a fondness for his partner. After Marley's death he finds himself haunted by his partner's memory which leads to his encounter with the ghosts of the Christmas Past, Present and Future. When forced to confront his past, present and the future the recluse Scrooge is reminded of carefree childhood, the life altering choices and in the face of unaltered circumstances, a horrifying prospect of a lonely death coupled with eternal damnation.

The three ghosts' appearance vividly accentuates the three epochs summarised in the book. The Ghost of the Christmas Past appears to be a cross between a child and an old man. He has white hair but no wrinkles. He is portrayed as being strong. This image represents everything Scrooge is at the moment. He is old but inside him resides a child long suppressed. It alludes to the the fact that man is born innocent, interaction with the world leads to callousness and in old age man returns to that higher level of innocence again. It teaches Scrooge not to let his past dictate his future.
The Ghost of the Christmas Present is the ghost of the authentic life. He is a "jolly giant" with brown curls and is accompanied by a feast. It shows Scrooge the contrast between a full life replete with love, happiness, companionship and family which is in stark contrast to scrooge's life of misery and loneliness.
The Ghost of the Christmas Future is the most fearsome of the three spirits. It is hooded and cloaked and it's muteness and undefined features is perhaps the representation of the uncertainty and malleability of the future.

By reliving the past, observing the present and fearing the future Scrooge learns the valuable lesson of mending his ways if he aspires for a better future not only in life but also after death. But most importantly the story shows charity to be not only a pecuniary act but also a symbolic one ( being complimentary, being pleasant and congenial). One the contrary wallowing in regret is self-indulgent, the only way to rise above ones past actions is through reparation.

Book Review: Poor Little Rich Slum by Rashmi Bansal

I have never been much of a fan of Rashmi Bansal’s books, because I felt that her work lacked scrupulousness. But, this is a rather fascinating collection of entrepreneurship anecdotes of the residents of Dharavi, one of the largest slums in the world. Dharavi has never lacked attention whether it be from the media, the tourists or political rhetoric. But what it has been unable to garner are concerted efforts by the society as a whole to understand the ailments, the needs and the way of lives of the residents.

This book is an account of a numbered individuals who have turned this adversity into success and carved a successful future for themselves as a result of their business acumen. It also focuses on the listless government policies and the disenchantment of the people with the policymakers. The addition of the narratives of the individuals and NGOs that have taken the onus of facilitating change bit by bit gives one the feeling that all is not lost.

This is perhaps the best work of the author thus far and the lack of in-depth analysis does not hurt due to the elementary nature of the exemplified success stories (the presence of relevant pictures keeps the reader riveted).

Rushdie's video link Scrapped

The Jaipur Literature Festival 2012 reached an abysmal ending today. Once again we have given in to the zealots who threatened the people at the fest and the literary figures who were there to witness the discussion on “Midnight’s Children”, the book honoured with the Booker of Bookers. The entire episode left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth except for the bigots present there who threatened violence and the entire edifice of the JLF 2012 if Rushdie were to appear on the screen. The mere sight of the great man was so abhorrent to them.

It makes me wonder if India actually is the country which espouses secularism, which considers all faiths as equal. After all atheism is also a faith. It is a blot on the face of freedom of expression. And to answer what Mr. Chetan Bhagat said at one of his sessions, we are not making heroes out of those who have hurt the sentiments of others. We have made heroes out of those who have come out as winners in the face of extreme adversity, and have the courage, determination and obviously the talent to present their side of the story in such enchanting words. We were there to celebrate the brilliance of their writing with which they have entertained the literary world. And last but not the least we were there to celebrate all those who have supported him (including ourselves) and we are going to continue to support him since “absence only makes the heart grow fonder”.

What truly concerns me is the image our country has put forth to the foreign delegates and nationals who visited this year to be a part of the fest. These unfortunate events can easily sully the reputation of our country and make them believe that India may be a soft state.

But it really makes me question India and the double game our polity plays. On one hand they are the first ones to criticize China when they refuse the Visa to some military units of the state of J&K and on the other hand they do nothing to control the untoward elements in our society, the neanderthals who believe that violence is the solution to everything. It is either vote bank politics or a truly spineless government we are represented by. Now I do believe, freedom is as far as freedom goes.