Something old, something new!

It’s never too late to start over...

This is a season of new beginnings across the world. For many, it is spring, that amazing season when the grim landscape of winter is wiped away with a new wash of colour and light. For many in India, the month of April marks the beginning of a new year (different for different states) and they bring it in with pomp and style, full of hope that it is going to be a wonderful year right through.

Strangely, this trend is reflecting in the books that are out this year too. There are countless books out there on re-invention, about making a new start, about life makeovers and everything that goes into launching into the new and the unknown. I love this wave of new writing, because each one is fascinating, both in thought and content. 

Ever since Bridget Jones launched her diary of daily slip ups and vowed to become a better Bridget, there has been a veritable storm of similar stories in the market place. I have read many books where the protagonist works at chipping away at her flaws and making herself better, but many miss the point of doing so, which is to enrich life as it is now. Not to throw away the old but to bring in a newer, enriched you.

To emphasize my point, I quote this line which I found on re-invention by a behavioural expert called Jonathan who has pinned up a lot of interesting stuff on his web pages.

“Every time we add a new dimension to our lives we gain knowledge, insight, and experience. Over the course of a lifetime that becomes a deep well to draw from. There is a richness of wisdom that can only come through experience...”

Ready to take the plunge into the rocky path of the unknown? Here’s a book on a woman who did just that and as we mull on the subject of re-invention, read my book review of the week to see if “something new is exactly what you need”....

Something New

By Janis Thomas

Even if a novel that is about a middle aged woman with a charmed life who decides to reinvent herself does not appeal to you, this is one book you must pick up for the sheer ease and beauty of the writing. There is no self conscious prose here, no self indulgent rambling about her woes in life or a tiring exposition of getting old and therefore heading to the nearest Botox doctor.

There is instead an upbeat note at the heart of novel. The story is about Ellen Ivers who has it all (loving husband, nice kids, pretty home, good friends) but is utterly bored with life. While other women might settle into the predictable and often dull world of the suburban home maker, Ellen refuses to do so. And one day, she decides to take it on herself to make many changes and voila, there she is... on the cusp of reinvention.

As she begins to exercise, and take care of her skin, Ellen begins to feel good about herself again, so much so, that she also decides to enter a blogging competition and begin writing as she used to. The book is therefore interspersed with blog posts that are as snappy and fun as the protagonist herself.

Here is a sample of one of her blogs:

“I used to do cartwheels, albeit bad ones, on my front lawn, right in front of my postman. I used to jog to the beach and jump into the ocean in the middle of winter, the cold water stinging every inch of my body, just to feel the wonder of being alive on the planet. I don’t do any of those things anymore...And today, for the first time in a long time, I actually recognized that fact and asked myself why...”

So Ellen begins to write and gains more confidence every day. Paradise, at last? Of course not! Because in every earthly paradise there is a serpent and here it is -- the handsome (and married) guy next door, Ben Campell. So while Ellen is busy trying to reinvent and build herself up, another side of her life begins to unravel. Yes, she wants change, but does she want so much change? Does she want a new life altogether?

A must read book, for the smart writing and the dilemma that builds to a crescendo by the end of the book. What will Ellen do finally? (I must warn you – the end is a bit silly and hard to believe!) But read the book to find out what really happens and here’s assuring you that you will enjoy the journey!

Thought to leave with you –

 “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

Barack Obama

Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain!

 Catch the melodies of the rain in this new book...

Remember that old song ‘Rhim Jhim Gire Saawan’? That gently evocative song by Kishore Kumar that takes you back to a time when people sat on the patio, watched silver sheets of rain fall all around them, sipped cardamom tea and remembered the first love of their lives. Bollywood, however, changed all those romantic scenes quite rapidly over the years. Rain soon became the inspiration for all kinds of sensual outpourings, where lovers whispered all kinds of sweet nothings while drenched to the skin under cloud bursts of epic proportions.

Now, why did I bring all that up? The reason is simple enough. I want to introduce today’s book to you that relies heavily on its rain muse to take the story forward, either by the pitter patter of a past memory or the sweet pounding of  a current wave of  emotions.

I have a short interview with the author too, so that will help you understand the book better.

 Love the rain? Sit back and enjoy!

Book of the week: FARAWAY MUSIC by  Sreemoyee Piu Kundu

The story begins on a long-haul international flight, with famous writer and heroine of the story, Piya Choudhury deciding not to sit back and enjoy the “dizzying drone of flight A1 102”but to speak to a young reporter, Sumaya on board the same aircraft about the loves and passions of her life.  And so, over that long journey, we learn about the real Piya Choudhary, the gifted and impetuous youngster, turned journalist, turned PR consultant, turned writer and the many twists and turns in her eventful life. Right from her teenage crushes to her miscalculation of men and their behaviour, to her love affair with her editor Abhir to her marriage to a noted artist David Cicconi, to becoming a famous author herself, the story unravels gently and we, the readers, are swept along in its wake.

 The first thing that strikes you about the book is that it is written from the heart. From the reminiscence of avocado oil, the magical jasmine lights of Jorapur Lane, the single drop of Elizabeth Arden perfume, the rose Chanderi sari, the champagne coloured chiffon – the book is full of vignettes that propel you back and forth in time. It is like the author has transported herself into these worlds once more and drawn out its essence for us to savour just for one brief, delicious second.

Unwontedly, perhaps or intentionally, there are wistful thoughts inserted sporadically into the book. Like the part when Piya says, “We can’t be our mothers Sumaya, no matter how hard we try....All we are is their reflection...and life the mirror”. Or when the author looks back at Mumbai and writes, giving voice to Piya’s thoughts... “Mumbai, a city by the sea, a city of a million people....a city of lights and lust, of stars and stock markets, of soul and sin. A city I left.”

The most admirable person in the book is the Karim Bhai, her friendly cab driver, who was like an angel hovering over Piya right through her stay in Mumbai. When he eventually leaves the story, there is real feeling of loss that the reader feels, just like the heroine herself.

And then, there is the rain. When everything blurs in a curtain of water, where damp monsoon breezes bring in fresh insights or a sad memories, where stories are spun and spool out with the rain as a refrain in the backdrop.

If I have a criticism, it is in the feeling that the story drops in pace sometimes and here, an injection of a few more startling twists would have helped carry the story forward with far greater sense of anticipation.

All in all, an enjoyable book, full of the quirky workings and sub plots in the world of journalists, celebrities and more that the author seems to have experienced firsthand.

Now over to the author, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu...

Where did you get the inspiration for Faraway Music?

Faraway Music is my first novel in and it is the story closest to my own life. I started the story of Piya on the night of the July 26 floods when I was a journalist in Mumbai and stranded in office on a night that was to become memorable later, when all of Mumbai literally drowned. Sitting in a corner of a sprawling Edit Hall, in the mellow after light of flickering computer screens, I remember scribbling a chapter on Piya Choudhury, a journalist and Abir Sen, her editor. No wonder then that the rains continue to be an important element in the book, almost taking the shape of a parallel character. In a larger sense, the inspiration of FM emanates from all the cities I have lived in and left, so many people I have met and lost and those that found their way back.

How much of the book is autobiographical?

It is natural that since Piya's life follows in a sense a trajectory  similar to mine, the parallels will be drawn. I would say that Piya's childhood is very similar to mine.  Having said that I think there is a bit of the author in every book one pens, especially in the first that is most often cathartic and reflective of one's own life and experiences.

Have you worked with an editor like any of the ones mentioned in the book?

Are you asking me if there was an Abir Sen in my life? No. But, the role of TT, another character in the book, is loosely based on a dear friend of mine. However, Abir Sen's portrayal is again based on editors I have interacted with in my own life, whose ruthless ambition and cold ego was legendary.

 What do you like most about your own heroine?

 That she is real. That her reactions are not imaginary, but life-like and that she is a woman of the world as much as she is childlike and vulnerable.  There is a Piya in all of us.

 What is your opinion of Indian authors today?

 Indian fiction writing has definitely come of age. However, the quality maybe questionable as opposed to the volumes being churned out. So, I can say I'm all for the explosion, but I wish publishers would not try and fit all authors into boxes.

What is your writing schedule like?

I write almost all day when I am doing a book. And honestly, being a full time writer makes my life a lot easier as I have the bandwidth to work for long stretches and switch off as and when I choose.

What book are you planning next?

 I am working on my fourth novel Cut! Out next is my erotica, Sita's Curse.

 

 

About warm scones and raspberry cordials!

Changing your life one book at a time...

I am not much of a foodie frankly (give me rice and curry any day) but when I read about food in the books, I am instantly hooked. It could be the mere thought of lashings of spice in a hot broth on a cold day, butter melting off a hot scone or ‘a creamy sauce laced with paprika’ that has me hungry in an instant. Phrases like a ‘a crust of pumpernickel’ or ‘fragrant bread’, ‘sun kissed tomatoes’ or ‘a raspberry cordial’ makes me curl up and reach foodie heaven. Never mind that I don’t really like raw tomatoes or anything made out of raspberry.

Come to think of it, the main reason I loved Enid Blyton’s book  was because of all the different kinds of food pictures that she painted. Do you remember them... that pitcher of icy-cold, creamy farm milk from the dairy, the meat and onions fried golden brown, the crusty loaves of new bread fresh from the oven? Ah food!

So when I got hold of Shoba Narayan’s Monsoon Diary, which was a memoir with recipes (it took an age to reach me though it is not an international title), I was delighted. I savoured each evocative phrase in her memoir with delight... “My mom would steam idlis, rice-and-lentil dumplings in the pressure cooker and open it with a pouf of steam just as we came into the kitchen” and “Grand Sweets in Madras... famed for its crumbly sohan papdi, saffron specked wheat halwa, golden jilebis, ghee dripping badushahs...” The book then combines some fabulous recipes, interspersed with stories about her family and later her life in America trying out those recipes.

 But no, Narayan’s memoir is not going to be my book review for the week. The point that I am trying to drive home is that writing about food is instantly appealing, whether it is the thought of a cool draught of root beer on a scorching day or warm mound of rice and golden fried pomfret on a cold night.

So, when I saw the title of this new book, Cupcakes at Carrington’s that I plan to review today, I was drawn to it at once. Did it live up to its title? Read on...

Book of the day: Cupcakes at Carrington’s by Alexandra Brown

I must begin by saying that besides the fact that the title sounds awesome, Brown’s writing is just as delicious. Savour these excerpts...

“I grew up in Mulberry-on-Sea and mum used to bring me here on Saturdays and we’d shop and eat fairy cakes in the old fashioned tea room with its Formica tables and white-pinnied waitresses.... this was years before Sam turned it into Cupcakes at Carrington’s , a cosy cafe serving red velvet cupcakes and sponge cake with pinkberry-infused frosting’.

And there’s more of that sumptuous writing when she describes Carrington’s. “It’s very nostalgic in an Orient Express kind of way. And the food is to die for – salted caramel cupcakes, rainbow salads, delicious artisan breads and the most fabulous afternoon cream teas you can possibly imagine.”

The heroine Georgie Hart, however is not quite so exciting. She works as a personal shopper in Carrington’s ladies bag department.  Her secret pleasure? Yup, you guessed it. She slips down to the cupcake store for her secret fix, the red velvet cupcake.
But Carrington’s itself is too old world to survive in a world of cut throat competition. It needs a makeover and that’s where the ruthless Maxine steps to make all the changes. Georgie has to step up to a new life of hard work or she might just lose her job.

Enter the men. Her boss James is married who is a big flirt. And then, the hot newcomer Tom. Will she choose between them or will there be anyone else?

The red velvet cupcake is like the muse in the background, sweet and scrumptious.

Did I like the book? It was very well written, yes. Unique, yes. But totally enjoyable? Not really. The problem perhaps lies with the heroine Georgie who is rather wimpy and a tad too reflective. The parts about the store was very interesting but the story was only what it promised to be, light, frothy, delicious -- almost like the cupcakes that were woven into the book.

Read it if you would like to read about an upscale department store, if you love cupcakes and if you are looking for an easy read for the warm days of summer that are coming up soon.