The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

 – By Kim Edwards

A very touching piece of writing. When I first picked this book, I did it out of my own frustration. I was down in a pit and I wanted to get myself out of this world and the only way in which I can do that is to catch a book. I went to Crossword and picked a few books. It was a random pick and when I read the back drop, I thought, lets see! And, it made a fabulous read.

A single act out of conviction has affected the journey of quite a few individuals. Each is right in one’s own mind. One stage or the other, we each take a decision based on our own view of a particular situation, unperturbed by the repercussions. Since we cannot predict the future, we cannot undo a lot of our actions and we think, lets face the consequences and not many have the strength to do that.

This novel is about a doctor (David), who takes a decision, which he thinks is apt, considering the situation. His wife (Norah), is in labor on a stormy day and he has to deliver his own children in his office rather than the hospital as planned. Norah is carrying twins, which neither knew! The first born was a boy, healthy and fine. The second child is a girl, a child about to change the course of his life. The girl is born with the sure features of Down’s syndrome and David, not wanting his wife to carry the grief and pain of a retarded child, takes a decision of admitting his daughter in an institution for retarded children, a task he assigns to his trusted nurse, Caroline Gill. Caroline, having seen the institution, takes a impulsive decision of bringing up the child, on her own and moves out of the city, to pick her own threads from scratch, else where.

The act of David was selfish and it changes the course of five individuals. He gets caught in the moment and is never the same person again in his life. The grief, he thinks he is saving his wife from, unfortunately is a bane on his conscience and the course his personal life takes, is sad to read.
The act of Caroline, though brave and touching, was not described in a way that did justice to her character. The every day minutiae of life that describes a person was missing, making the character tad bit dissatisfying.

The novel starts of as a collection of tiny bits and pieces of the character’s lives, but fails to carry the same detail all through the novel. It describes the inner turmoil of the characters in a splendid way and in fact, many a time, we peep into ourselves, where we fight every day demons in our lives, to attain sanity.

The theme of the novel revolves round photography, a memory captured in a still, to wring your soul in future! The author uses the photography to describe David’s emotions well and the language and the style of her writing are captivating to the soul. It sure is worth a read.

Keep off the Grass

 - By Karan Bajaj

Keep Off the Grass by Karan bajaj forms an interesting choice for any book worm. It is certainly not a classic, a long way from a romance or a thriller, and a very long way from a family saga or detective story line. It is a choice for a light and quick read, to take the mind off something, but will also raise a few thoughts in mind through the characters in the story.

It is a journey through the life of Samrat Ratan, the Yale graduate and Wall Street Investment Banker, who comes to India in search for his roots. Joining in IIM-B school, he meets an IIT student and an ex-army guy, who become his buddies through the B-School journey. The topper, conscious of marks and grades, begins to lose his way, where his self-confidence, self-belief all take a roll, as he becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol. The journey which began as a soul searching hunt for his confused mind becomes an experience of drugs, a stint in the police cell, meeting Aghoree in the ghats of Benares and finally in the end, meeting Ruskin Bond who stirred his soul.

The book focuses on rolling the story right from the word ‘GO’. Samrat embarks on a route to self discovery having been caught in a web of confusion about being an Indian or an American, as with many America born Indians. The cross culture of being brought up by an Indian family whose roots are deeply buried in the culture of India and studying in a different culture, having friends from a different culture, he struggled to find a balance always feeling belonged as well as alien in the same place. In his quest to break this confusion, he enrolls himself in the IIM-B school and begins his taste of cut throat Indian competition and to pacify himself from the self pity, he takes to drugs and drinks.

The camaraderie with Sarkar and Vinod is the highlight of the novel, as their journey together progresses with weird twists and subtle sense of humor in the dialogues exchanged by the group. The style of the author is funny, witty and easy going. The spiritual discussions between the three and the punch liners form an interesting read.

On the other hand, it leaves a lot of food for thought and the story is not something that will captivate the reader as much as the style does. And the few words of exchange between fellow B-School graduates shows that success will leave the people a bit sour and the journey to success need not necessarily be a plunge into the field forgetting human values, but it is rather a journey along with those human values. To struggle or not to struggle is a choice. And sometimes competition can leave out a lot of people, for there can only be one winner and as the journey begins uphill, he finds himself alone. Now, to take that journey uphill is the choice of that individual and the consequences are to be faced by that individual. Success is always a double edged sword.

There are quite a few thought stirring lines in the story which will make one to ponder on the quint essentials of living a life.