Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2) : Book Review

Losing Hope (Hopeless, #2) By Colleen Hoover

‘Losing hope’ is a continuation of Hopeless Series. Where ‘Hopeless’ is written from the point of view of Sky, Losing Hope is written from the point of view of Dean Holder. This series as mentioned in my review of ‘Hopeless’ is much more than a love story.

Here’s the link to the review of Hopeless:

https://bookreviewsbyricha.blogspot.com/2018/06/hopeless-book-review.html

‘Losing Hope’ lay opens the emotional turmoil your loved ones go through when you commit suicide. It’s not only you who dies but the part within your loved ones die along with you. Your loved ones blame themselves, consider themselves as a failure as they couldn’t recognize what you were going through. Your parents, your siblings, your close friends never remain the same as they were. Something break within them which can’t be mended, which can’t be healed. They remain in the denial state for whatever happened. But after reading ‘Losing Hope’, I changed my perception that it’s not always the person who commits suicide is the weaker one. It’s not always that to hide one’s mistakes and failure to face the society makes the person commits suicide.

The essence of Colleen is retained in this book also. At one moment you will all be lost in love and then in another moment you will be all anguished while another one makes you upset, I believe that’s what the good writing is about.

‘Honest. That’s all I ever be.’ this statement still has the same effect on me as it had when I read it in ‘Hopeless’. Honesty is what I believe is the base of any healthy relationship and this had been the base of Hope and Holder’s relationship, that’s why in spite of so many ups and downs they stayed together.

Plot of the Story:

Though, storyline, lead characters all remain the same as in ‘Hopeless’ (Please go through the ‘Hopeless’ review to get a jest of story.) ,still ‘Losing Hope’ differs from ‘Hopeless’ in a way the story took shape from Holder’s point of view whose sister, Lesslie, committed suicide and who lost his dearest friend, Hope, in his childhood. And how he blamed himself for both of these incidents and what all he went through until the truth is revealed. The story came out as completely different when seen from Holder’s perspective.

But as a reader, you won’t find any disconnection if you haven’t read ‘Hopeless’ and are reading ‘Losing Hope’ first as these books are not like typical sequels which are to be read in a particular order. The books are independent of each other but still connected as they share the same storyline, and that’s the beauty of this series.

Also, I liked the way Colleen divided chapters into half and quarters without changing the chapter numbers, if they are the extended version of the same track. Also, it gives the reader a chapter break but at the same time maintains integrity.

Extracts which deeply moved my heart:

It was heart-wrenching when Holder found her sister lying dead on a bed:

‘You would think a person could only die once. You would think you would only find your sister’s lifeless body once. Once is far more than accurate. It happens repeatedly. Every time I take a breath or speak, I experience her death all over again. I don’t sit here and wonder if the fact that she’s dead will ever sink in. I sit here and wonder when I’ll stop having to watch her die.’

When Sky recalled everything about her past and remembered she was Hope, it’s at that moment Holder expressed his love for Hope and said what melted my heart to the core:

‘I’ve loved you for so long but I just couldn’t tell you. It didn’t feel right letting you love me back when I was keeping so much from you.’

Letter which Lesslie wrote for Holder before committing suicide would move you; few lines from that letter:

‘I’ve lost the ability to care anymore, so it’s hard to empathize with what you’ll experience after I’m gone. I don’t remember what it’s like to care enough about life that the thought of death could destroy me. I’m tired of losing hope.’

Lines I liked the most:

‘Vague is the same thing as dishonesty.’

‘She is the only thing in the world that can help me breathe again.’

‘The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.’

Rating: 3.5/5

Calling Sehmat : Book Review

Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka

‘Calling Sehmat’ was gifted to me by a friend who doubted whether I am going to like this book or not. But let me tell you I liked this book a lot so keep gifting me books like these :)

Most of you may not be aware, ‘Calling Sehmat’ is based on a true story and a Bollywood movie ‘Raazi’ is an adaptation of this book.

This book gave me goosebumps at several points. This story instilled more respect and gratitude in me for all those men and women (be it spies; navy, army or air personnel) who sacrifice not only comforts of their homes but leave behind their families, their loved ones to serve their country. It made me realized where we civilians are worried over petty issues be like family disputes, tensions with the boss, relationship issues, these men and women are striving and sacrificing their lives for our safety without expecting anything in return from us. And what we are giving them in return is the country where there is corruption, where communal violence happens due to petty reasons, regional and religious conflicts. We are not even capable of maintaining law and order internally and no it’s not solely the duty of government or police but every civilian has a role to play in maintaining law and order of the nation.

And here I am not talking about India only but it’s the duty of civilian of every country to maintain peace within his country as it's the least we can return to these men and women whose lives are always at stake for the safety of their respective countrymen.

The book is worth a read to experience the journey of a spy whose only mission in life is to save his or her country. The book can be read in one go itself without any breaks or disconnect.

Plot of the Story:

P.S.: Please take it as a story of every spy. What Sehmat did for India, every spy would have done the same for his or her country. For every spy and every soldier the only motto is ‘Country comes first.’

‘Calling Sehmat’ is a story of a girl named Sehmat, who was half Hindu (maternal) and half Muslim (paternal). Her mother name was Tej (Tejashwari Singh) and father name was Hidayat Khan. Hidayat was a rich Kashmiri businessman who was always easing tensions between Hindus and Muslims and spread harmony between the communities. His enterprise and large-heartedness catapulted him and his business to the other side, called Pakistan. He was soon approached by senior officials of RAW who sought his help in establishing an information-gathering network inside Pakistan. He had been very loyal and dedicated to his duty towards his motherland and his network became a major source of information gathering which saved the lives of hundreds of Indian soldiers. 

All was going fine until that dark day when Hidayat was diagnosed with incurable cancer and due to his medical ailment, he was forced to call off his duty. It was not that dreaded disease but who could replace him and gather information from across the border bothered him to the core. After pondering over his thoughts, he came to a decision that only Sehmat, his only daughter and only child could take this baton from him and carry on the good work for the nation. Sehmat, a young college going Kashmiri girl studying in Delhi University was shaken and heartbroken as she learned about her father’s medical condition. She couldn’t even get over when very next moment, Hidayat talked his heart out with her and asked her to take the responsibility from him and asked her to continue doing what he had been doing until now for his country and countrymen.

Understanding the gravity of what he had handed over to her, Sehmat agreed to her father’s last wish. Within a short span of time, her world changed completely. It etched her to the core, she lost the only two men she had ever loved dearly: her father who soon left the mortal world, and Abhinav (the love of her life) whom she met in college as she was soon married off to Captain Iqbal Sayeed, son of Brigadier Sheikh Sayeed. (Sheikh Sayeed and Hidayat Khan had studied together at Lahore College and were close friends. Post partition, Sayeed had helped Hidayat expand his business.)
Before her marriage to Iqbal, Sehmat underwent one month of intensive training at the hands of intelligence officers.

Thereafter, the journey started displaying the heroic act and courageous fearless efforts put by Sehmat how Sehmat in carrying out the spy activities. She sent vital information to her country on a frequent basis which helped India in winning the war with Pakistan in 1972.

This book is a must-read for several reasons:

1. The turmoil of emotions that Sehmat went through is nerve-wracking
2. The number of times she risked her own life with only a single motto in her mind: ‘Country first’.
3. How she overcame the trauma and accepted her past after returning to India.
4. This book not only tells the story of Sehmat but few chapters are completely dedicated to the heroic tales of our naval force. Be it how Lt. Commander Sunderjeet Singh and his team protected INS Vikrant (first aircraft carrier of India) from getting destroyed, which was one of the major goals of Pakistan forces, or the act of bravery put forward by Captain Jitendra Kumar and Lt. Commander Rana at Arabian Sea coast of India.

 Lines I liked the most:

• ‘There is no greater reward than to live and die for your country.’
• ‘Fish is caught not with the hook but with the power of one’s mind.’
• ‘Whenever you suspect that your cover is exposed, assume it is so and act accordingly.’
• ‘Some issues should be best left forgotten.’
• ‘We know when we have accomplished what we were sent down here to accomplish. We know when the time is up and will accept death when it comes.’
• ‘Fear is a waste of energy. It stifles you from fulfilling what you were sent here to fulfil. Fear can’t reach your soul. And that is where we must strive to reach.’
• ‘The most natural state of being is being in a spiritual state. People don’t stay in the spiritual state because they are pulled by maya. They think that is the only truth. They don’t realize the physical world is only an instrument to get to the spiritual state.'

 Rating: 3.5/5

The Spy : Book Review

The Spy by Paulo Coelho

It’s a story based on the life of a woman, whom history knew as ‘Mata Hari’ and who was falsely accused as ‘The Spy’. The only crime she did was that she dared to follow her dreams fearlessly in the world where men ruled. And the result was, she was convicted of espionage even though the only thing she traded was the gossip.

This story or a historical instance is another example depicting that no matter in whichever century we are and whichever zone of the earth we live, whenever a woman dares to be different and wants to follow her own path and marks her own destiny, society will let her down.

When I read the synopsis, it’s the subject which grabbed my attention and made me read the whole story. The book started off well, however, I found the story disconnected at few places which made me lost the track of the story at times while reading.

I would recommend this book so as to know about the history of this epic woman ‘Mata Hari’.

Plot of the Story:

One week before her day of execution, Mata Hari started writing a letter addressed to Mr Clunet (her lawyer) in the hope that one day her only daughter might read it to find out who her mother was, and the kind of life her mother dared to live and price she had to pay for that.

Mata Hari’s, real name was Margaretha Zelle. She was the daughter of Adam and Antje Zelle, who sent her away to school in another city with the objective that she had the finest education. There she met an officer named Rudolf Macleod, who was 21 years elder to her and an officer in Dutch army stationed in Indonesia then. She married Rudolf and moved to Indonesia in the hope of exploring and voyages to new places. Nothing of what she thought happened, rather she was humiliated, insulted and was left alone by her husband. Margaretha was extremely beautiful and due to this she was always envied by other girls in her school and was now constantly kept tabs on by the other officers which made Rudolf so insecure that he kept her under house arrest. In between all this, she gave birth to a daughter.

Until one fine day when Andreas, Rudolf’s senior hosted a party and all officers with their wives were invited. Rudolf left with no option, took Margaretha there. The incidents that happened in the party instilled new confidence in Margaretha.

And then, one day she left for Paris leaving her husband, daughter and everything else behind with the changed identity of Mata Hari, who was from the East Indies and an oriental dance performer. Over there in Paris, she met the first person named Mr. Guimet who gave her first chance to perform at his private museum in exchange for sex. Mata Hari never considered it a wrong thing in exchange for favors, money, luxuries, jewelry, and gowns, pricey accommodations she used to get in return for this. And this was how she was connected to all-powerful, rich and wealthy men of the society.

During her first dance performance, she took off her clothes veil by veil with artfulness and with seductive and orgasmic dance moves. And as her dance performance ended, each member  of the audience was left enthralled and applauded her and gave her standing ovation except one woman Mrs. Guimet, who invited her next morning for a walk and gave her a piece of advice :

‘Never fall in Love. Love is a poison. Once you fall in love, you lose control over your life- your heart and mind belong to someone else. You start to do everything to hold on to your loved one and lose all sense of danger. Love, that inexplicable and dangerous thing, sweeps everything you are from the face of the earth and, in its place, leaves only what your beloved wants you to be.’

Overnight she was everywhere in the media and within few years she became a public figure and was desired by all rich, wealthy and powerful men of the society be it an artist, lawyer, businessman, officer.

But as years passed she was getting older and articles started publishing demeaning her and soon people considered her nothing more than a whore who stripped in public under an artistic pretense. During this time, Astruc helped her gained the confidence back and soon she signed a new contract with Franz to perform in Berlin, Germany. And it was during this that war was about to begin between Germany and France which led to the cancellation of all scheduled events, and she was given money by Franz and was asked to return to Holland as it was a neutral country in war. A year passed, soon Mata Hari was running out of money and then a person named Karl Kramer from Germany came and kept a proposal in front of Mata Hari. She was given twenty thousand Francs and a ticket to Paris, in return or exchange of any information to help Germany during wartime. Desperate to go to Paris, she accepted the proposal, though she never exchanged a single piece of information with Germany, suspicions aroused and without any concrete evidence, she was accused of espionage. And since, no one wanted their name to be associated with Mata Hari in the fear of spoiling their reputation so no powerful or elite man came to help and stand by Mata Hari. And thus, Mata Hari was accused of espionage- someone who was spying for Germany.

Lines from the book I liked the most:

‘Men love to explain things, and they have opinion on everything.’

‘Memories are full of caprice, where images of things we’ve experienced are still capable of suffocating us through one small detail or insignificant sound.’

‘Memory is a river, one that always runs backward.’

‘Flowers teach us that nothing is permanent: not their beauty, not even the fact that they will inevitably wilt, because they will still give new seeds. Remember this when you feel joy, pain, or sadness. Everything passes, grows old, dies, and is reborn.’

‘Love kills suddenly, leaving no evidence of the crime.’

‘When we don’t know where life is taking us, we are never lost.’

‘A lady of class does not act on impulse.’

‘Love does not obey anyone and will betray those who try to decipher its mystery.’

‘The man is not only what he thinks, but mostly what he feels.’

‘There is a time for every intention, a time for every deed.’

Rating: 3/5