Confessions Of A Shopaholic : Sophie Kinsella

Confessions of a Shopaholic was just the book to get me over a book hangover. It is a quick and funny read.

The book follows Rebecca Bloomwood who is deep in debt solely because of her shopping excesses. Her weak and naive attempts at controlling her shopaholic nature have as much success as... as doing yoga while gorging on potato chips would. The irony of all, she is a financial journalist writing for Successful Savings magazine. Sure the book is quite predictable, but that doesn’t take away from the entertainment of watching her stumble through tricky situations and come out clean. Makes me wish I was a character in a book.

Bridget Jones Diary is a personal favorite and I found myself comparing the two, and Confessions lagged behind. However, if you want to read something in this genre, then pick it up. But be warned it is not for the weak-hearted(read weak-walleted). All the shopping expeditions... made me feel like I just spent a bomb at a mall.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is narrated by Kathy, a 31 year old woman. The other main characters are her friends Ruth and Tommy. The story starts normally enough, in an exclusive boarding school in England. The children in the school are 'special', and some of their experiences are truly weird (giving the reader clues as to what may be different about these kids) whereas some of what is described is very close to what one may remember from one's own childhood / school experience. Kathy takes us through her recollections of Hailsham, followed by the youths' transition into 'Cottages' where there is relatively unsupervised interaction with the world around them, and finally to their lives as adult carers / donors.

The reader is given clues throughout the book as to what the dark center of the plot might be. Ishiguro brilliantly unfolds the story for the reader, one clue at a time; the clues are embedded in beautifully narrated incidents that Kathy recollects. The stories don't always follow each other in time, but the author writes exceedingly well - despite the many unanswered questions in the reader's mind, the book is never confusing to follow. And the style of his writing holds your attention such that you will want to read this book in one sitting.

The issues the book raises range from free will, ethics in science / society, and the 'soul' i.e. what makes us who we are. The two things that stood out for me were: i) how well the writer conveys to the reader the emotional repression throughout the lives of the characters
ii) how, towards the end, the reader is made to see that even with the horrible wrongs done to the Hailsham children, their 'guardians' were in fact trying to give them a better environment than their counterparts in other 'schools', and were in fact fighting for a respectful place for them in society.
This second point of course in no way redeems any of why the Hailsham kids were created. The truth is simply terrible.

This book is one of the best futuristic / sci-fi books I've ever read. In fact it is one of the best pieces of fiction - period - I've ever read. I liked it at least as much as 'The Speed of Dark'. Ishiguro deserves all the praise he has received for his work.

Salaam Paris : Kavita Daswani

Salaam Paris is about a 19 year old Indian Muslim girl, Tanaya Shah, from a conservative family. She leaves Mumbai to go to Paris under the guise of meeting the man she has been promised to. Once in Paris, she breaks away from her family. Ignoring the gnawing guilt of behaving unlike a good Muslim and to find the her individual freedom that she romantically links with Paris, having dreamed of achieving Zen-like satisfaction a la Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina.

She goes on to become one of the most sought after models in the Paris fashion industry. The book follows her rise and super stardom and her time amongst the rich, beautiful and famous in Paris and New York. Sounds promising for a quick fun read, doesn't it. I thought so. I was wrong. Its an absolute bore.

For a book with so much to play around with, there is no flavor or pizazz to it. It gives no more insight into the orthodox Muslim world than the 2 words themselves "orthodox Muslim". The same goes for the "fashion industry".

For a story that revolves around exciting and beautiful cities, Mumbai, Paris, New York, the book is a real drab. I was hoping it would be full of insights into the fashion world, or maybe some tender thoughts of a young Muslim girl abandoned by her family for wanting to be an individual. Instead it reads more like a Women's Era story. It may sound harsh but there was not a single line which made me laugh, enjoy the moments or cheer for her in her quest for freedom.

Do I even have to say what happens in the end. Like every unimaginative Hindi movie, this too ends with Tanaya leaving her (pretty cool, I think) job for a husband. All that rebellion for nothing! Don't get me wrong, I am not against her choice, just that somehow a lot of books/movies tend to focus and preach on the struggle of a woman to prove herself and then show her ending up with the very life she was rebelling against. As if a woman is only truly satisfied with a husband and kids. The only thing I agreed with was when she slightly redeems herself in the end by trying to live her own life finally and not be bogged down by guilt passed on by her family.

Kavita Daswani tries to pull off a compelling let-me-live-my-life book but it's very weak. I think I had high expectations seeing that she had been a fashion editor.

I would have been better off reading one of the raunchy Shoba De books.