Before We Visit the Goddess : Book Review

Before We Visit the Goddess By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

It depicts the journey of three women of three different generations from three different locations: grandmother: a village girl moved to city, mother - a city girl moved to another country , daughter : girl born n brought up in another country.

From surface level, it seemed they all went through different situations different challenges but as you go in depth you would find they all faced same problems in a different way and then came a phase in life of each of them when they lost their identity, their zest for life and they gave up their everything.

But then a moment came in the life of each of them, when their lives turned around and they claimed their identities back whether it was in the form of Durga Sweets or Bela's Kitchen.

Chitra has emphasized on the importance of education through out the journey of a woman's life and what does satisfaction mean for a woman: 

"Satisfaction of achieving something by yourself, without having to depend on anyone."

Last but not least , she truly explained the meaning of :

'What it really means to be a fortunate lamp.'

Rating: 3/5

Confess : Book Review

Confess By Colleen Hoover

For the 'Romance' genre, I have always read Nicholas Sparks' books. It was my first time that I read any other author's book in this genre but I can definitely say, the experience was refreshing.

It's about Auburn Reed who walked into a Dallas art studio in search of a job but didn't expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who worked there, Owen Gentry.

The book kicked off well in the beginning, I liked the concept of confessions being converted to paintings. However, as I was reaching towards the end, climax seemed predictable, antagonist blackmailing protagonists, then, things went around and it was a happy ending, as a typical Bollywood or Hollywood love story of the '90s, until a twist came in the last chapter of the book and I was taken aback.It made me believe in fate again.

And the quote which stuck with me after I finished the book:
"I'll love you forever, Even when I can't."
Last but not least,  the title 'Confess' is apt as the storyline keeps revolving around confessions.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Secret of the Nagas (Shiva Trilogy, #2) : Book Review

The Secret of the Nagas By Amish Tripathi

Exemplary writing.. glad this sequel could touch the bar set by triology1# immortals of meluha

Every chapter was revealing one mystery while creating another side so the curiosity to keep moving to next chapter was intact.. didn't loose interest anywhere.. every chapter kept adding twist to the story..

Special mention to Ganesh and Kali's characters along with Daksha's revelation which held the grip
And none the less Anandmayi and Parvateshwar love story added spice in the story ..

And the parts which I liked the most are
One where how beautifully masculinity and femininity are explained and the pre-conceived notion of linking masculinity and femininity to genders i.e. It has nothing to do with man and woman

And the last where it has been explained that hate is not opposite of love, apathy is.

Looking forward to red the final book of this series!

Here's the review link to the first one:

Immortals of Meluha:

https://bookreviewsbyricha.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-immortals-of-meluha-shiva-trilogy-1.html

Rating : 4/5

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept : Book Review

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept By Paulo Coelho

I have read 7 books written by Paulo until now,
Out of which this one is not one of his best writings
Still, there were few extracts in the book which were captivating.
None the less I did like the extract about the magic moment the most:
"It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane... but that moment exists, a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles."

Last but not least, lines which did leave an impact on me:
"Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering."

 Rating: 2/5

The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad : Book Review

The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad By Twinkle Khanna


After I read the book instant thought which came to my mind was Why is the book named 'the legend of Lakshmi prasad' when journeys of all 4 of them (Lakshmi Prasad, noni appa, Elisa Thomas and bablu) are equally inspiring and legendary.

This book reminded me of our school days' book 'Panchatantra ki kahaniyan' which used to give us a feel-good factor after reading.
Our parents used to tell us stories from the Akbar-birbal collection or 'Panchatantra ki kahaniyan' , whereas we can now definitely add these 4 stories also in our story-bank and narrate it to our kids.

Overall, enjoyed reading the book.

Rating: 3/5

The Zahir : Book Review

The Zahir By Paulo Coelho 

One line to describe Zahir is that it did become my 'Zahir' as I started reading.

There are so many quotes thoughts to grasp from this book but the one which influenced me the most
'The story has to reach its end !'

I started quoting instances mentioned in the book in my day to day conversations. It did increase my belief in my inner voice or as I say in the language of Zahir understand the signs. There is always someone greater than u guiding you to follow the signs, divinity comes to our aid preventing us from making a mistake. All the instances mentioned in Thursdays' meetings have a lot to ponder over.

I would definitely recommend this book if something or someone occupies your every thought until you can think of nothing else. And that's what the 'Zahir' is!

Rating: 3/5

The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy, #1) : Book Review

The Immortals of Meluha By Amish Tripathi

One word: a 'page turner' book

The way Shiva character has been projected is mind-blowing. Shiva is not at all been projected as Hindu Lord whom we worship but as a human being and the roller coaster ride of emotions he went through (or I would say going through) in order to be a 'Mahadev'!

It has definitely set the bar high for how mythological fictional writing should be.
Prior to this the book which highly impressed me in this genre was 'Palace of Illusions' which set the mark high enough and I am glad this book met that mark.

I wonder why didn't I read this book earlier.
I just hope remaining parts of this trilogy also at par with this expectation.

Rating: 4/5

                                                                                                                               

The Palace of Illusions : Book Review

Palace of Illusions By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

One word : exquisite writing

Loved the way Mahabharat has been described from the perspective of women of that era..
Whether it was Draupdi's feelings or Kunti's or even Duryodhan's wife..

Character of every woman Their flaws their strength are carved very beautifully
It won't be an exaggeration to say that to me it seems as if Chitra had a conversation with these women and then penned down their feelings.. it came so lively...

Would definitely recommend it for history fictional lovers..

Rating: 4/5