"My Childhood" by Maxim Gorky

Maxim Gorky's "My Childhood", his autobiography is a painful recollection of his childhood that was strewn with poverty, loneliness, abuse and maternal deprivation. His young father dies of cholera and his mother has a miscarriage on the same day. Though he is unable to comprehend the happenings around him, he is engulfed by a profound sorrow. He ends up in his grandfather's house along with his mother after his father's death. His grandfather, a self-made man runs a dye workshop at his home. His grandfather often flogs him for his acts of mischief with a strange belief that it is for his good. 

When Gorky lives with his grandparents, he comes across a variety of people and his autobiography puts forth before us their characters without judging their actions on the basis of morality. He comes across the workers in the dye workshop who are subjected to oppression for long, his two warring uncles who fight to extract money from his grandfather, the kids in the neighbouring house who are restricted to mingle with others but end up listening to Gorky's recital of his grandmother's stories, a bunch of mischievous kids with whom he steals wood for a living and many others. His autobiography respects everyone's decisions including his mother's when she decides to remarry and at the same time conveys the pain and suffering he endures in due course. 

Gorky's relationship with his grandmother is special and it provided the much needed emotional support which he yearned for. Gorky, as a writer would have grown listening to the stories from his grandmother. The contrasting religious beliefs and worshipping ways of his grandmother and grandfather made him pick his grandmother's "God" ahead of his grandfather's during his childhood. But, his independent intellect made him choose atheism at a later stage. 

Despite the physical abuse, emotional unavailability of his mother, his situation during his family's descent into poverty being a depressing narrative to hear, this autobiography of his reiterates how life instills hope in the form of people around us and promises a better and more humane future.

 

This book is an intimate portrait of Gorky's painful childhood in a dysfunctional family that instills in one the confidence to face upto the truth. 

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

“The Maidens” is another murder mystery from Alex Michaelides after “The Silent Patient” which revolves around a secret society that is based on Greek mythology. 

Mariana, a psychotherapist who had lost her husband Sebastian few years back receives a call from her niece Zoe and gets to know that Zoe’s friend has been brutally murdered. Mariana is concerned about Zoe and reaches Cambridge to be with her. 

With mysteries surrounding the murder and suspicions being raised over a professor who teaches Greek tragedy to Zoe and her classmates, Mariana decides to stay at Cambridge to uncover the truth and the identity of the killer. The killings continue and Mariana stumbles upon an evidence that connects these serial killings to Greek mythology. 

The novel starting off as a template serial killer mystery, has all potential to become an intriguing and compelling murder mystery. Does it hold on to the promising premise and builds on it? 

There are too many characters introduced just to add up to the suspense and the closure the novel provides for these characters is underwhelming in some cases. Mariana being a psychotherapist trying to play a detective is not convincing either. 

The literary references in the novel not only creates a great impact but also sticks to the storyline without deviating much. That is a big plus. The author also makes an interesting connection to his previous novel “The Silent Patient” bringing in its central characters Theo and Alicia into this universe. This is not a force-fit and blends seamlessly with the proceedings in the novel. 

With few sparks of brilliance here and there, the novel plummets down with a climax that throws us off guard in an unconvincing way.  

“The Mist” by Stephen King

Stephen King’s “The Mist” is a novella based on cosmic horror. The city is hit by a deadly storm and even before the people recover from the havoc, another unprecedented horror looms over the city. 

A strange white mist engulfs the city and the protagonist and his son get trapped in a local supermarket along with few of his acquaintances. This unnatural situation outside intensifies when bizarre creatures begin to appear and take away lives. 

Their fear, their separation from their dear ones, their encounter with death face-to-face, their tendency to find solace of any sort, even in rituals like human sacrifice begin to create factions among the people trapped inside. The psychological effect such situations have on people and their reaction to escape the unnatural reality outside are portrayed brilliantly. 

The suspense that builds around the mystery of unidentifiable creatures that pop out of the mist and the question of salvation make this a thrilling read. Stephen King’s ability to convey the horrific experience of the characters in words makes us a part of the experience too, as if we were trapped inside!

An engaging no-nonsense novella that stays true to its genre.

“The Stranger” by Albert Camus

Albert Camus who believed in “Absurdism” and was quite vocal about it puts across a story in “The Stranger” that is rooted and stays true to his belief. 

Mersault, the protagonist in this novel hears about the demise of his mother in the retirement home that he left her in. He reaches the home for her funeral, but he is not able to feel any sense of grief and he refuses to see his mother’s face for one last time. Since, he is not able to feel any grief which is expected out of him by the society he lives in, he looks like a stranger to himself. The novel starts off with this interesting yet strange scene.

The journey of Mersault from leading a life that he thinks is filled with meaningless events to accepting the inevitability of death is brilliantly portrayed. What makes Mersault feel a stranger in the society is society’s compulsive need to search for a rationale behind one’s actions or the happenings everyday. 

When Mersault is on trial for a crime in the later half of the novel, the same compulsive need makes the jury stand against the fair judgement of the crime. But, some of Mersault’s actions seem strange to us, even if it is justified from his point of view - may be we are driven by society’s collective mindset too!

The characters in the novel who influence Mersault’s actions are well written. These characters and how they link themselves with the protagonist are well established. Finally, when these characters serve as witnesses in Mersault’s trial, there is a proper closure to each of them. 

A slow paced yet impactful novel!

The Great Train Journey by Ruskin Bond

The fascination that a train kindles in a person with the grandeur in its appearance is a feeling everyone would have experienced from their childhood. The longing for the first train travel starts when a kid sees a train pass-by near their home or in a railway crossing and waves its hands - and the train never disappoints a passenger on his/her first train journey. Ruskin Bond's "The Great Train Journey" is a collection of short stories that have trains as the theme. 

The picturesque landscapes that unfold on either side of the train are beautifully put into words in some of the stories here. The stories which have kids as the central characters instil a sense of nostalgia and take us back in time to revisit our childhood. The stories written here reach both extremes - a busy railway station bustling with regular activity and a deserted railway station which has mysteries to be unearthed. The stories where the protagonist tries to uncover the mysteries behind deserted railway stations remind us the times when we had wondered about the same. The sight of a train whistling and storming out of a tunnel might leave the readers longing to experience it, especially those who haven't witnessed it standing at the foot of a tunnel.

Ruskin Bond's characters are nothing short of reality and his stories are mere reflection of the day-to-day happenings around us. A railway station is where people from all strata of the society are seen and there are times when that stratification temporarily vanishes with conversations that happen during train travel. The train journey, the co-travellers, the conversations, the vendors who keep moving along the length of the train back and forth and the happenings that keep the long journeys engaging are portrayed brilliantly here. 

Barring some repetitive themes, Ruskin Bond has given us a good collection of stories that will linger in our minds for a day or two. Few stories have something at the end that comes as a surprise and that makes this book a delightful read. 

Sidney Sheldon's "Nothing Lasts Forever"

"Nothing Lasts Forever" is a novel with three women as central characters who fight to survive in the male dominant medical profession. The three doctors undergo rigorous on-call schedule at the hospital with no work-life balance. They encounter male dominance, sexual harassment, life threatening blackmails when they stand up against the male doctors and hospital management. With each of them having a backstory and a past that might catch up with them anytime, the novel has enough scope for drama and suspense.

The novel starts off with a gripping courtroom drama in its prologue. The lives of the three women had taken a wild turn with one of them accused of murder, one of them dead and one of them held responsible for the possibility of the hospital shutting down. This intriguing suspense in the prologue gives the novel a perfect start. 

But, once the novel shifts away from the courtroom to the hospital, it dips in pace. There are too many minor characters that pass-by and serve no purpose to the storyline. The novel takes too long to be back to where it started and it fails to sustain the intensity all along. Despite a decent detective-style investigative portion at the end, the novel fails to connect primarily due to too many subplots.

What could have been an engaging courtroom drama is let down by the predictable and wavering nature of the storyline. Considering the novel was written in 1994, it could have been accepted by the audience then. Sidney Sheldon's lacklustre outing which might test your patience.

Lucy Foley’s “The Guest List”

Lucy Foley‘s “The Guest List” is a taut thriller which keeps the readers guessing until the very end. With a group of guests assembled at a high profile wedding in a remote island, the proceedings take a wild turn when a waitress suspects she has seen a body along the shoreline.

The novel shifts back and forth in time to cover the events that happened on the day before the wedding and on the wedding day. This non-linear writing is a great strength to the novel despite being abrupt at certain places. The events unfold before us from each character’s perspective and each character has a backstory which is seamlessly interwoven into the plot. 

We have the formulaic murder mysteries which start with the murder victim and build up to the revelation of the murderer and the motive in the climax. This novel stands apart and keeps the victim as well under wraps and leaves the readers  in intriguing suspense. 

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Lowen, a writer, who is almost broke, lands up with the best offer in her lifetime - to finish the series of best-selling author Verity. Lowen stumbles upon a draft of Verity’s autobiography during the research for the novel and it unearths more mysteries surrounding Verity’s medical condition and the death of Verity’s daughters. As these mysteries unfold, the suspense builds up and the novel keeps us engrossed.

Verity, the protagonist’s character arc is well written and the story depends heavily on this character to move forward. Jeremy, Verity’s husband is a weakly written character despite being the character that is linked to all high points in the novel and travels throughout the length of the novel. Lowen, as a writer who has a secret past and her fear for public / social appearances is a better written character. 

The climactic ending to the novel is great but the novel has its share of shortcomings in the build up to the climax where a lot of unnecessary scenes disturb the flow. The negative shade of Verity is brilliantly written and propels the narration forward. But the wrongdoings of Jeremy and Lowen are silenced at most parts and end up being justified and we wonder whether that was intentional or inadvertent.

Despite the shortcomings, this served just as the satisfactory read to come out of the reading slump. 

Harlan Coben's "Tell No One"

A pediatrician who is a grieving husband after his wife's abduction and murder, a serial killer, a witness, a mysterious email to the pediatrician after 8 years impersonating his wife and a rich man whose legacy is in danger. This premise catapults this novel into an intriguing suspense at the very beginning. The build up to the revelations that ensues is interesting and convincing. A flawless narration and a decent climax keeps the readers engrossed till the end.

A Prisoner of Birth - Jeffrey Archer

A taut thriller that keeps you engaging throughout. Though some of the happenings in the novel question the believable quotient, there are consistent high points in the novel that compensate them and the courtroom drama at the end with a crisp climax makes it a delight to read.