The Truth About You

"The Truth About You" is my second wary attempt at Susan Lewis's writing. 

This was a much more interesting and engaging read for me. Lainey Hollingsworth is the wife of a fairly successful writer. She manages her husband's writing career, takes care of her family, which includes a rebellious daughter, a stepson who seems to blame her for disrupting his family and an adoptive father who is suffering from Alzheimer's.

The book explores so many relationships between the main characters. Lainey seemed to have a volatile relationship with her mother who has fled from Italy to England while Lainey was in infant. While Lainey loves her step father and takes care of him, she longs to know about her past and her biological father, and the secrets that her mother fled from.

As Lainey plans a visit to dig out the truth's from her mother's past, she is confronted with another demon from her current life. She is caught unawares as her husband drops a bombshell which shatters her trust in her husband and their marriage.

She is caught between the secrets of her past and the troubles in her current marital bliss, as she struggles to face and figure out who she is, the reality she must live in and the choices she needs to make.

"The Truth About You" was engrossing even though it didn't make me think or contemplate too much after the story for completed. I would give this a rating of 3.5~4 on 5.

The Good Life

"The Good Life" by Susan Kietzman is another of my new finds. An author I have never read before, I understand that she has completed 3 books till date.

"The Good Life" focuses on a super rich family and their life. 

Ann Barons is a glamorous lady married to successful businessman and CEO Mike. Their two children are Lauren and Nate.  The book is the story of the Baronses and their life.

Ann Barons comes across as a person who is obsessed with her looks and maintaining her figure. She spends her days working out, meeting friends and shopping. Mike seems like a nice guy, but fully involved in his business and nothing else. The first glance also shows the kids as spoilt brats of rich parents.

Ann and Mike believe they have the perfect life. Their idyll is threatened by a phone call when Ann's mother calls her desperate for help. Ann's mother, Eileen, struggles alone with her husbands dementia and Is increasingly finding it difficult to handle Sam's delusions and forgetfulness. She arranges for them to get accommodated at Meadowbrook, an assisted-living community. However, they need to wait for a few months before they can move into Meadowbrook.

Eileen requests Ann if they can move in for a few months with Ann and her family. Ann who doesn't want her current life to disrupted also finds to difficult to say 'No'. Ann soon begins to resent her mother's presence and the changes it causes in her life. She feels that her mothers presence highlights her failings.

I liked the story and the way each character developed in the book. Initially, I was a bit put-off by the lack of feeling and irritation tht the entire family showed at the news of Eileen's and Sam's brief stay. The book showcases Ann as a superficial person who is only interested in shopping, showing off her money and losing weight. She comes across as materialistic and highly selfish person who is only concerned about herself and no one else including her own children.

The entire family seemed to be disconnected and living in a home like strangers till the arrival for Eileen and Sam. While Eileen in certain instances seems to be a bit thick-skinned, her interference and nature of elbowing into the Baronses house, seems to have been the one thing that made this family of four strangers a bit more closer and more family-like.

The kids, Lauren and Nate grow on you, as they spend time, learn and do things with their grandparents. Even Mike, the workaholic finds time to spend dome fun moments with his children. The issues that Ann faces are not fully resolved but at least she realized that she has issues.

"The Good Life" was a satisfying read and beautifully written. It was difficult for me to really absorb that in the complexities and trivialities of life, so much distance can crop up between families, between parents and their children. In this case, the distance in the relationship of Ann with her parents and of Nate and Lauren with their parents.

Another aspect that I liked about the story was that it touched lightly upon the concept of "Good Life". While Ann believes she has a good life, the reader can understand that though she has money there are too many underlying issues and dissatisfaction. In fact, it seems as though, through money Ann is trying to prove to herself that life is good and she is satisfied with life. But towards the end of the book, she understands that she is not fully happy and that she needs to find the balance she is looking for.

I wasn't very happy with the way the book ended. It left me a bit unsatisfied and I wasn't ready to let go of Nate and Lauren. So I would have to give a rating of 4 on 5 for "The Good Life"

A Class Apart

'A Class Apart' is written by Susan Lewis and features four powerful, desirable and supposedly enviable women.

Each of these ladies have glamorous jobs in media, theatre  and  publishing. This book is all about their friendship and a dark secret that each of them has.

This is the first time I have read the work of Susan Lewis and for me this has been a disappointing start.

The story, though revolving around the lives of four women and their lives seemed a tad too unrealistic, in my opinion. I had to force myself to read till the end. It was difficult to believe that all four women would reach the crisis point in their problems all on the same day and at the same point of time.

So I would give a 2 on 5 for "A Class Apart". Going to try another book by Susan Lewis as some of her other books seem to have fared better on Goodreads.

Gone Girl

This book was my introduction to the world and writing of Gillian Flynn, an American writer.

I has been hearing a lot of hype over the movie and wanted to catch it TV. That's when someone told me that it was based on a book and then I found myself wanting to read the book rather than watch the movie.

I managed to get my hands on the book and found myself turning the pages...Here's my two cents on 'Gone Girl'.

A thriller novel that starts slow and then suddenly plunges you into a world of uncertainty, confusion and lots of suspense.  The novel's is based on the main character, Nick Dunne, his missing wife Amy Dunne, and their rocky marriage.

The first half of the novel is narrated in the first person by both Nick and Amy. We have Nick's thoughts and perspectives from the present and glimpse Amy's thoughts through her journal entries. While Nick discovers that Amy is missing and find things strewn over, he worries and contacts the police never suspecting that he would become the main suspect.

The first half of the novel just slides through presenting to the reader two different views. While Nicks thoughts showcase Amy to be sullen, anti-social and stubborn, her own journal entries show her to be happy, friendly and a adjusting person.

While the police hunt out clues to try and trace Amy, all roads and clues point to Nick. The fact that Nick starts his business from Amy's money, the fact that he increased her insurance, and his tactless behavior in front of the media makes him the easy target.

Just as you nod to yourself and begin to say, 'Okay, he definitely did or did not kill her...' that you find the story going on a different tangent.

The second half of the book reveals to the reader many lies and nuggets of information that throws a totally different picture. To say more would probably be a spoiler for my readers…

So all I can say is...The second half leaves you with a kind of incredulity and amazement in terms of how people can turn out to be, how weird relationships can become and the unexpected ending of the book.

'Gone Girl' is not just any thriller, it is a psychological thriller that grips you by the throat and keeps you on the toes while you keep guessing on how it ends.

When the book ended, the first thought on my mind was 'You can't be kidding! It's over...What???'.

Though I was hurrying and rushing through to finish the book and know the ending, I was almost disappointed when it finished.

So go read the book if you haven't read it already and get thrilled….

Big Girl

The image that one is fat and not worthy of attention, friendship or any of the good things in life...This concept didn't seem too unbelievable or strange.  A book on this seemed to be apt especially as it seemed to address something that is not too uncommon.

As I turned the pages of this book, I found myself getting engrossed in the characters and the story. The story of the life of Victoria Dawson, the protagonist, as she fights the battle with her weight issues.

The storyline describes the life of a chubby girl with blond hair and blue eyes. The initial description makes you imagine a beautiful young girl but the constantly reiterated is the fact that the girl is ordinary and little on the 'Big' side. Incomparable to the rest of her family who are described as 'tall and slender', 'fine-boned' and 'dark-haired beauty', she deals with disappointment of her family with her looks.

The story is in the form of a narration where we hear the incidents rather than see and feel them. The parents are depicted as self-centered, out-spoken and with a narcissistic outlook where they leave no stone unturned in belittling and ridiculing her, little realizing what they are actually doing.

The entire book repeatedly talks about how her parents belittle her and pass remarks which chip away her confidence bit by bit till she is absolutely low on self esteem and confidence and feels that she doesn’t deserved to be loved.  Victoria's struggle and her constant fight with her weight seems very realistic. But after a point one is frustrated by Victoria's non reactive nature to her parents remarks.

Victoria's character is depicted as that of a very nice girl, good in whatever she does, having a lot of accomplishments and rarely has she ever seemed to have done something that is not right. She come out a someone who is flawless. The only flaw in her is her lack of self-esteem and this is supposed to have been caused by her parents. This flawless depiction of Victoria where she never loses it or confronts her family seems unrealistic at this age and time.

Victoria's sister Grace, the beautiful anger and the perfect replica of her parents is at the center of attraction in this family. Both Victoria and Grace, though brought up by the same parents seem to have undergone two different childhoods. This difference in them and their childhood has not affected their love and bond. Despite the tension with her parents, the two sisters are close and it is a pleasure to see it.

Victoria is also shown to meet a shrink who helps her with understanding her issues and realizing her worth. The book shows her a someone who is desperately trying to lose weight and is also worried and wanting to find a man who can love her. But it is unfortunate that the book depicts that Victoria only makes some leeway with her esteem issues once she has a nose job done. She also seems to come into own her own only when she finds that perfect guy for her, which happens towards the end of the book.

Does this tell readers that you need to get some external enhancements or get a guy for recovering some of that self-esteem? Can it not be developed from within or only by yourself? These are some questions that would come into the readers mind as we continue reading...

The story moves on to her sisters engagement where  she has selected a man who is a replica of her father and Victoria is worried that Grace would become like their mother, under the constant shadow of their father. This incident and Victoria's efforts to dissuade her sister from what she believes is a wrong step brings about a slight estrangement between the two.

The book moves towards closure as the sisters solve their issues, the younger sister gets married. After the first serious estrangement, it was unfortunate that the book ended with the sister getting married to the "wrong guys". Things end well in the book otherwise…

I loved her friends especially Harlan and his boyfriend who seem very supportive of her. While I enjoyed this book and wanted to complete, it is not something that I may pick up again...

The summer we came to life...

I started with this book unsure of whether I was gong to read the entire book or discard it after a few pages. The name of the book hadn't appealed to me and neither had the cover. But since it was already on my kindle I decided to give it a try.

The first few pages were a difficult read. I wasn't really able to make up my mind, did I want to complete it or let it go. The book hadn't called out to me yet. After all it stated out with Samantha in such a horrid state over Mina's death. Her initial doubts, her overwhelming grief and guilt at being alive just didn't sit right with me. But now I am running ahead too soon. Suffice it to say that, my initial doubts were wrong. I went on to finish the book eager to know how the future panned out and how the past made the characters what they are...

"The Summer We Came to Life" has been written by Deborah Cloyed and is her debut novel. The book revolves around the close friendship between four friends - Samantha, Mina, Isabel and Kendra. Though these four are very close a pattern emerges that Sama and Mina are closely knit just as Isabel and Kendra. But these friends have borne it all together and are inseparable until cancer robs them of Mina. A death of a close one leaves everyone lost and everything feels wrong. But the most hit seems Samantha who is unable to come out of her shell of grief. But Isabel and Kendra and the assorted set of parents decide not to allow Sam to wallow in her misery. The trio and the parents set out on the annual vacation...

This vacation brings the past to the present where each begins the journey to understand each other better. And within this all this is Sam's never ending search in science, physics and realism where she tries to and almost succeeds in bringing Mina back.

The book isn't a easy read. It makes us think on many levels. Towards the second half, I wasn't really sure if appreciated the sudden twist the story took, though anything is possible as one really does not know much of life after death. Regardless of that, the moving narratives by the parents, the characters, the ending and the second chance are good. And as all good stories end, it reminds us, life does go on...

So if you haven't tried out the book, don't be skeptical, and if you have put it down as I intended to, I recommend you try reading a bit further till you get hooked.

So wishing you a happy reading, Adieu!!!

Tuesdays with Morrie...

I had heard about the book 'Tuesdays with Morrie' and had heard about 'Mitch Albom'. I had wanted to read 'The five people you meet in heaven' and 'Tuesdays with Morrie', but somehow I had never got the time nor felt the urgency to read it.

A few days ago, I saw the book on Pradeep's table and picked it up. It was finally time for me to read 'Tuesday's with Morrie'... I enjoyed the book and wanted to put down a few excerpts that I found wonderful and did not want to lose from the  book.

So here goes...

"Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do...Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it"

"There are some morning when I cry and cry and mourn for myself. Some mornings, I'm so angry and bitter. But it doesn't last too long. Then I get up and day, 'I want to live...'

"Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted. A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle"

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love and to let it come in...Let it come in. We think we don't deserve love we think if we let it in we'll become too soft...Love is the only rational act"

"Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever gong to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too - even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling..."

It is important "to learn to detach. Don't cling to things because everything is impermanent. Detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That's how you are able to leave it....If you hold back on emotions - if you don't allow yourself to go all the way through them - you can never get to being detached, you're too busy being afraid  You're afraid of the pain, you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails..."

"Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won't be dissatisfied you won't be envious, you won't be longing for somebody else's things. On the contrary, you'll be overwhelmed with what comes back..."

"He looked you straight in the eye, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world. How much better would people get along if their first encounter each day were like this...believe in being fully present..."

"...There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person you're gonna have a lot of trouble If you don't know how to compromise you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values n life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike..."

"As long as we can love each other and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on - in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here...Death ends a life, not a relationship..."

And so here I stop...with a few excerpts put down, a few thoughts to think about and a resolve to atleast make an attempt to imbibe a few of them...

Eve Dallas and Kate Beckett

For all those Castle fans and avid readers....

My mom had many people recommend Eve Dallas to her. She read quite a few books in this series when she recommended the same to me. She had been telling me to try out this series by J.D. Robbs. I, on the other hand, have been gong from one book to the other, not looking at Eve Dallas for the simple reason that it wasn't in my Kindle.

A few weeks ago, I decided to clean up my Kindle and re-stock the books in it afresh. I deleted all the book and while I was adding, I also added the 20-30 books that we had on Eve Dallas.

And I began reading...

To say that the books are un-put-downable would be accurate. These books were murder mysteries and I expected run-in-the-mill stories. But I found that the stories were really well written, gripping and absolutely involving. All the mystery and adrenaline with a hint of romance as well...As one read, one became so drawn and involved  into the plot and the characters that it was difficult to put the book down without finishing it.

As I read the first few chapters of the first book, I realized that the character, Eve Dallas, seemed very familiar. As the read more I was convinced that Eve Dallas and Kate Beckett were one and the same or could be called doppelgangers who were existent at different periods of time.

Being a avid fan of the Castle, it was a pleasure to read about a character so similar. Castle could be considered set in the 21st century whereas Eve Dallas is set in the future. Kate seems more feminine and has a dad who could be considered as family. Kate's family circumstances has compelled her to be the cop she is. Eve on the other hand is more intense and aggressive and comes out as a more forceful character. She has no family to speak of and is a self-made cop. She is someone who underwent trauma at a very young age and is an orphan. But both the characters are amazing at what they do...

A depiction of what Eve and Roarke would look like....

The counterpart for Castle is Roarke. In the series, Kate and Castle work as a team. Though Castle is besotted with Kate and vice versa (the indications are there), their relationship hasn't yet moved into the next phase. In the book, Eve Dallas meets Roarke in the first book itself where he is a suspect. But as one book ends and the other begins, there is a huge change in the relationship between Eve and Roarke. Here, they both are in love and get married, though Eve is still uneasy about being so much under the spell of an other.

Kate and Castle

Being somebody who has seen the series and read the books, the similarity of the characters hits you strong. I don't know if Eve Dallas was inspired by Kate Beckett or vice-versa...

But for those who in love with Castle or Eve Dallas, do try out the other as well...You are in store for a Treat....

She Walks in Beauty: A Women's Journey

I came across this book. The title seemed intriguing and I turned the pages. It was a book with a collection of poems.  I don't make it a point to read many poems, though there are a few that catch my attention and rivet me to the spot while I savor the beauty of the words.

As I flipped through the pages of the book, I realized that the author had actually compiled poems of different poets and segregated them in categories. The write up on the categories and the poems put in seemed exquisite. After going through a few poems, I have decided to slow down and and savor the poems and share those that I really enjoy.

To start off, and to end this post, is one poem that I came across in this book. As I read this poem, I realized that I had come across this years ago and it was something that had stuck to my mind. This a poem by Christopher Marlowe who was considered the foremost Elizabethian tragedian. A dramatist and poet, he has a few plays and poetry to his name. The poem I read,

From Hero and Leander,

It lies not in our power to love or hate,

For will in us is over-rul'd by fate.

When two are stript, long ere the course begin,

We wish that one should lose, the other win;

And one especially do we affect

Of two gold ingots, like in each respect:

The reason no man knows, let it suffice,

What we behold is censur'd by our eyes.

Where both deliberate, the love is slight:

Who ever lov'd, that lov'd not at first sight?

I understand, this is but an excerpt of the entire poem. If such beautiful lines are just a part of the entire poem, then how would it be in its entirety. Shakespeare too has used the same lines in his play As You Like It.  Looking forward to a days spent reading the poem and Shakespeare's plays in entirety...and also to rest of the poems from this wonderful book.

Sybil...

I came across the book "Sybil" by Flora Rheta Schreiber as I walked up and down the aisle searching for a book on 'Proactive Personality Behaviour' for my Dissertation. 

My eyes saw a book that looked like a novel, nestled among all the non-fiction books. And I pulled it out and the rest is history.

The cover page of the book claimed that it was "the true story of a woman possessed by sixteen separate personalities" and reading this I was hooked. I couldn't put back this book and I suddenly didn't want to. I decided that I already had two books to read for the dissertation and that it would be better if I finished those books and then issued the third one. 

I returned to the hostel and when I got time I started on my book. This was day before yesterday. Unfortunately I have been having classes the entire day and yesterday too we had some program in college, so I was held back till around 9:30 p.m. 

These three days, it has been like agony. I started reading the book and I just couldn't put it down. With snatches of time from here and there, I was able to finish the book today and it has left me in awe.

Sybil's entire life seemed to come to life in front of my eyes. I was fascinated, scared, repulsed and tormented by the kind of life she had had.  I couldn't imagine that anybody could have suffered so much in a life time. The fact that she dissociated into these multiple personalities helped her to live and one can't help but admire her for her courage. 

I always believed that there were different facets to one's personality. The way we behaved or acted in different circumstances depended on our mood and what we wanted to express. After all one wasn't the same in all situation, one acted and reacted in different ways at different times. But the concept of creating another personality to handle a particular aspect of oneself seemed so....for lack of a better word I would say 'extreme'.

To be not able to know that you had dissociated from yourself, that you had another you in another name doing things which you never remembered or even dreamt of doing seemed very scary. 

Despite losing time to her other selves whose actions she could never remember, she who initially rebuffed the idea that she had such an issue, actually got to know and talk to her other selves and reintegrated to a whole person. This is just a tribute to 'Sybil' for having faced it all and even then being able to come back to herself and coping with life.

It just goes to show doesn't it...Nothing is impossible...No mountain ever hard to move...If you want it..You can really do it....even if it seems a impossible case like Sybil's.