Midnight's Children

I am currently in one of those out of body moods perfect for reading Rushdie. The man's a genius. If anyone can ever put down dreams in words, its him. Reading him is akin to a psychedelic experience. You get washed off whatever you were previously. You begin anew, afresh.

This is the second book of Rushdie's that I am reading. The first one was 'The Moor's Last Sigh'. What hit me the most about the book was how it ended. That is what left the indelible mark on me. It stays completely true to the line 'It's not where you start, but where you finish that matters'. I guess that's also why a lot of respected sportsmen choose to retire at the peak of their careers. Well that last line was totally off and random. But then you get the drift. Anyways, I am hoping this book too will end with a bang what with each of Saleem's revelations being more shacking than the previous one.

As an aside, it after reading Rushdie that one realizes how much he has inspired modern day authors. Of course no one has the guts or talent to be as radical as him, but they aspire to his greatness and a lot of works do have lingering whiff's of Rushdie in them.

More than a year later....

Hmmm... It has been more than a year since my last post. I had been waiting till now to set up my own site to restart blogging. But seeing as how that plan has not materialized as yet, I think I will resume blogging here till whenever I decide to wake up from my soporific state and get my site up.

I just finished reading 'The Toss of a Lemon' by Padma Vishwanathan. 600 pages in about 10hrs. A marathon reading session. The book describes very elaborately the complex caste system as it existed in Tamil brahmin society from 1896 on. Very strangely, the book seems not to have had much of an emotional impact on me. Or I do not know if it was because of the particular mood I was in. Because I still havent had the guts to finish 'Family Matters'. I am too scared to find out what happens to poor old Nariman.

Maybe it has also to do with the settings of the characters. Sivakami, the matriarch does not want for anything materially in contrast to Nariman's near penurious state. I guess '.. Lemon' was also predictable in large parts. Even the writing style could have been better. In many parts, Vishwanathan simply rattles off details in a very monotonous tone. There were very descriptive bits I skimmed through. I guess I am just upset because after 600 pages, I still don't feel anything for the characters. Or maybe I should wait a day to ruminate over the book and then write about it again.