book review

“Mullah Omar sat down for what would be the last meal of his life…” and thus begins Mainak Dhar’s Zombiestan. What else would you expect when yellow-skinned, ghoul looking zombies with puss and blood running down their faces stare out at you from the book cover. Being a fan of romantic and mystery genres only, I was a bit reluctant to read a book of vengeful zombies and helpless humans. But for the sake of writing this review I started reading it. Much to my surprise I was roped in from the first chapter itself, where Dhar goes on describe the killing of Taliban leaders. Yes! Osama is dead and the US Navy Seals have yet again attacked the terrorists. That is how it all begins and the Zombiestan takes birth.

People overnight have turned into zombies, or the ‘biters’ as they are being called, who seem to know only one thing – to kill humans and make them one of their own. Roads are stranded, people have fled from homes and crammed into small shops, finding every possible way of surviving. What begin as aimless killers who slaughter humans like barbarians, evolve into well-coordinated Taliban terrorists who have learned to plan, read and write. This is when fate throws together five complete strangers to embark on a journey that calls for much more than just the “spirit of adventure”. Mayukh, a 17 year old boy, Swati and her 3-year-old brother, Abhi, Hima, an old history professor but with the guts of a soldier and David Bremsak, an US Navy Seal and thus, the only individual amongst them who is likely to stand a possibility of surviving. When they discover that Abhi might be the only chance of theirs, and for that matter the world’s survival, they go on board a journey to Ladakh with a hope of finding help there.  They face challenges where they have put aside their fears and weaknesses and fight for each other. They get into deadly wars with the biters who are now after Abhi and even the human survivors who feel handing over Abhi to them would make peace. Can this odd group of survivors, an US commando, a boy who is shaken from the loss of his family, an old professor and novelist, a young girl and a three-year old make it?

As the saga unfolds, somewhere the readers form a connection with the characters and as their heart races when attacked by biters, so does yours and when they crumble with pain on seeing another human die in front of them you also feel the helplessness. Even the naiveté and simplicity of the 3-year-old, Abhi in tough situations is sure to put smile on your faces. It brings forward the essence of the small joys in life that in normalcy we tend to overlook whether it be playing video games, having pizza every other weekend or just a kiss of goodnight from your mom. Mainak Dhar’s Zombiestan makes up for an action-packed, thrilling novel with even a bit of peripheral romance for some romanticists. It is a good read although the introductions can feel quite long but it surely is gripping.

The title was catchy enough to lay my hands on this book as I kept my laptop bag on chair and found this book newly come in for review! I finished the book in two days flat, that is because, I had to sneak time from my sleep and morning breakfast. I could not have read the book in the office hence, two days.

About the author – this is Maya’s first novel and surprisingly it is good , funny, wild humour and full of masala. I must congratulate her on her work at the onset. I hope that she keeps up the good work.

The story is set in Singapore and Chennai. Of late, the Tamilians seem to be hot favorite characters of the writers, not sure though as to why.

So, we have Mira Iyer who is almost 30, single and kind of ready to mingle but the problem is that she earns well, has a mind of her own, fiercely independent and cannot seem to gel with the boys or men who are set up by her mother to meet her. Hence, the usual ma-beti tussle “when-will-you-marry” continues. It does form an important plot of the story. The boss ignores her; the pretty colleague seems to always ahead of her no matter how good work Mira does. The only person who seems to care is Vinay, a friend in need is a friend indeed. He is her team member and a friend.

After being ignored for so long Mira decides to shed her Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes image and gets a new avatar “Bitch Goddess”.  Thus begins a roller coaster ride for Mira. During this ride, she demands a promotion, some good work for her team, she shocks her pretty colleague Sanya, almost loses her friend Vinay, gets wooed by Rohan (Sanya also likes him). As if this was not enough, the plot thickens when her half-sister lands at her doorstep unannounced and insists that she be given shelter; circumstances force her to meet her estranged father too!

So, as readers, you will have some unanswered questions – Did Mira get a promotion? Did she get the projects for her team? What happened to Rohan finally? Who wins Rohan – is it Mira or is it Sanya? So on and so forth. I do not want to give the tidbit details of the entire story, I want people reading this to pick the book and start figuring out themselves. The book gives you a message, a little make over doesn’t harm anyone though it should not be overboard and hurt people.

Sometimes we all need to stop being always nice and make people around us notice and set the things right. The book is all about this and more. Thankfully, there is some dark humour thrown in so that a reader will not get bored.

So, all you people out there, go ahead, pick the book and read it; Oh yes! For ladies, it’s a must read book, some of you will identify with Mira.

Ginger Chai gives a “garam chai – masala maar ke” verdict for Bitch Goddess for Dummies.

“Opposites Attract – Trouble” – the tagline of the book “Just Married, Please Excuse” by Yashodhara Lal is tantalizing enough for anyone to pick the book and at least browse through it! I being an impulsive reader generally go by the title, followed by the cover page and last would be the story inside the book. When the book arrived at home for review, I was skeptical though; not because I didn’t like the title but I could not hold it amongst other books and flip it over and over again before deciding whether to pick it or not. However, the first look of the book itself was motivating enough for me to start reading it. Hmm.. I guess now, I should actually start writing about the book rather than giving blow-by-blow account of how I read it.

The book is all about marriage, literally speaking! Okay, let me correct myself, it is about love marriage which is arranged with the consent of the families. So we have our own “typical Dilli Wali” Yashodhara (Y) being married to Vijay (V) who is from good old school of thought, though not so much old-fashioned because he does pop a question to her on marriage and he does believe in love marriages. A Punjabi girl getting married into a non-punjabi family itself is a challenge; however, all said and done, they get married and settle into Bangalore later moving to Mumbai. They have some good people like Zareena (the over friendly maid – by the way there is no denying here that we literally love our maids); Vinod (the polite driver from small town with big dreams) and of course Vivi – friend in need is a friend indeed kinds (believe me we all have one of this kind in our circles). The not-so-expected arrival of the baby, Peanut (while reading I was rather wondering how moongfali would sound! ) makes the life for Y a little upside down but not so upside down for V.  The real journey for both of them as a married couple begins from here. Both of them have different views on raising the child. The seven years of age difference between Y and V doesn’t help them much, a visit to the marriage counselor also is not of much help; but then the help does come for both of them from V’s parents who have been married for ages and imagine they never fought.

The book is a reality check on the married life of the Urban Couples who stay alone far away from the comfort zone of the families. As one reads, you will find yourself laughing over smallest of the matters which are detailed out in the book. Y’s tryst with the atta is one of the fun moments which a reader cannot forget! She searching for the ready dough in the kitchen had me out of my wits! V’s character is really endearing and his “I-am-born-curious-and-I-will-ask-all-questions” quality makes him fun to read. And to add to this, the arrival of the maid from Y’s mother’s house is another feather added to all those funny moments.

The book makes a good read, and it can be finished quickly so as a reader one doesn’t have to bother much as to when-it-will-get-over kind situation. Most of the incidents or rather all of it is so much driven from real life incidents that as a reader one could immediately relate to. The cover page is kind of cute (yes, it is a female way of saying it is good).  Overall, it is a good book to spend money and time on it and believe me as a first title from the author; it does make a good read. Way to go Yashodhara!

Ginger Chai recommends this a “cool” pick.

One Day, I’ll Marry You

Okay I don’t know how to put this into words….

I’ve finished reading One Day (by David Nicholls) one year ago n and I was remembering this book now, and it’s so….it’s so fantastic, totally brilliant! I give 5 stars and it is the best book of the year.

Writing a review here is going to be difficult, you know, when you love a book this much there doesn’t seem to be enough correct words to do it justice. This is one of the most hilarious, perceptive, witty, moving and heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. I insist you guys to get this book and read it!

Spoiler Alert: Next three para contains the story knot, skip it if you want to read the story on a clean slate of mind.

Dexter and Emma meet in 1988. Em has just graduated from university and hooked up with that boy she’s seen around for ages. He’s Dex, handsome. They’re so different but they really have one thing in common: they’re both mad for each other. The frustrating thing is though, that however much they love each other, they maintain a “friends only” status.

Distance, missed opportunities, and even a letter that never gets sent, are all obstacles that determine their romantic fate and life that they may have led together when they’re young. They don’t always get along but they do think about each other every day in some way.

They only confess their feelings after so long they’ve been friends, and finally get married. But after 2 years of marriage, with no child, Em dies in an accident on a day when Dex wants to surprise her with a new house. Emma remains in Dex’s heart forever.

This is ultimately a love story. I would say an epic love story.

Love is really difficult, yet beautiful. Now I’m telling you, don’t limit yourself and if you truly want something, don’t hold back. If you’re in love, go for it, tell that person. Missed opportunities are hard to overcome. Don’t let the years go by in vain. You wouldn’t want to wait 20 years to be with someone you love. We never know what will happen in our 40′s. Life happens and it doesn’t always go as planned. But if you think that love would make a difference, so be it.

And for sure One Day, I’ll Marry You ♥

Titbits:

• Each chapter of the book covers the life of the Dexter and Emma on 15th July, for twenty years.
• The book was also adapted into a movie of the same name and released on August, 2011.

Book review submitted by guest writer Helen Thaila

If you liked “If God was a Banker” and “Devil in Pinstripes”, here is another fiction based on banking world. But can Puneet Gupta,  author of The Suicide Banker, bring a final balance sheet that adeptly handles various characters, their personal life and the banking environment? I am going to give the bank book audit for book lovers.

The protagonist, Sumit Sharma, makes a career shift from the safety net of public bank to the world of private bank, a working culture that can be quiet rewarding but in  pressure cooker environment. The book narrates  the upheavals both in his personal and professional life during this period.  So typically we have here a young working parent struggling to balance work and family, the protagonist’s banking principles and outlook clashing directly with his bank’s wisdom of  “turning conventional wisdom upside down” , a young assistant thrown into the picture, ambitious colleagues who considers him too old-fashioned and rigid and a banking market that can turn hot potato anytime. So the stage is set for a filmy masala story.

Sumit’s bank, Ind-Credit Bank, is on a phenomenonl growth thanks to the mega successful Agri-business venture, an out of box biz model, scripted by it’s executive director, Mohit Sharma. When the going is stupendous and with markets on a high, Sumit joins the bank as Head-credit monitoring.  Soon, he picks up holes that annoys most of his colleagues who are intoxicated by ambitions and success. Shalini, his wife, finally picks up her career again after being a house wife for couple of years and joins as a journalist in a local media channel.  With both deep neck at work, quality of family life suffers. Enter  Annie, young simple girl who lost her father recently, as assistant to Sumit. Pretty soon,  things change both in personal life and professional life and slow tremors build up only to be released with a force.

For a first time author, Puneet has digged well into his banking background to base the story. But then like Puneet mentions in the novel,  the impact of statistics can always be interpreted differently so is the impact of the story on the readers.  Average readers might find the banking industry dynamics in the novel bit dragging.  The protagonist is not your dynamic, charged up hero.  He is like many of us in real life – A middle class man with certain rigidness,  few principles that he would cling to inspite of few other weakness that might threaten his fundamentals.  The character could be a plus and minus point of the script  and it all depends how you look at the story from your perspective.  Like the characters of the story, even the author struggles to find a balance between the personal and professional side of the protagonist. After some spicy build up,  Sumit – Annie’s relation  is conveniently forgotten, so is Alec Steward, ex-bf of Annie who also works in Sumit’s team. Excusing few corny lines and a slight uneasiness while shifting between professional and personal stories,  the language and narrative style of Puneet is fluid.

GingerChai Verdict: The Banker is definitely not a God but nevertheless an affable banker with normal human strengths and weakness that you can identify with.Read it, if you are a fan of  fiction based on banking backdrop.

Are you a writer? Publisher? Want to get your books reviewed here? Just write to us to get reviewed. Write to sip[at]gingerchai[dot]com or contact us here

Every book has it way of appealing to the readers. With young adult books ragging the market and imagination of budding authors running free among the clouds- readers are indeed most benefited. Ishaan Lalit’s debut book- “the Bracelet” creates a sensation of mystery and thrill- with an aura that sucks in a reader through its first few gripping pages. When we are talking about fantasy, we are essentially thinking of young Potters shuffling their lives between the Muggle world and Hogwarts. Ishaan gets into more serious business, his alternate world is the venue of intense action, fatal and threatening, conjuring levels of implied danger which only the brave hearts can survive through, yes we are talking about the Alpha and Omega levels.

Abhay, the protagonist, faints, runs a raging fever of 107 and the doctors fail to ascertain reason behind all this. Their innocence is justified to the readers because he can see what the others cannot. Imagine yourself as a witness embedded somehow in the Oscar winning movie “the gladiator” and even you will feel the elephant grass fields witnessing a pursuit, an ambush and eventually become a part of a long standing episode of a battle fought between two antagonistic groups. Ishaan involves lost brothers and loved-ones, involves politics and its dirty tricks that oscillate its power among both the worlds. A serious take is further given to the involvement of machines that transports seekers armed with an Arrow to a world where spirits would kill them in seconds and their arch rival the ArthRakshaks following at heels to overpower them. “The Bracelet” speaks volumes and weaves a plot noteworthy to keep the readers looking out for the peril the protagonist and his friends face at every turn.

But whom will you trust, your college buddy, who is faking the bond itself, or the family who keeps secrets from you? It not just a quest for Abhay to find reasons behind his frequent journeys to different world, it also a story that helps him realize his strength, understand his estranged brother, and stand by, what he believes to be the righteous. To reveal more will be a crime, for even, I want the readers to follow Abhay at close heels!! All I would request to the writer as a reader, is to pen down a magnificent sequel to the present intriguing tale, that triumphs just like Michael Crichton’s “Timeline”.

About the book author:

Ishaan Lalit is a twenty seven year old gemmologist, pilot, and adventurer form a multi-cultural background. He is an avid traveler and observer of human behaviour. He conceived of the bracelet while he was training in his flying school in Philippines. He lives in Delhi NCR along with his family and his three dogs. This is his first book and he is currently working on his second book. His Bracelet is racy and intriguing simply because he has mentors like Arthur C. Clarke, Richard Bach, Stephen King and Dean R. Koontz- to kindle his imagination through the alleys of mystery.

Author: Ishaan Lalit

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Pages: 160

Price: Rs. 150.00

Publishers: APK Publishers

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The dearth of Indian crime fiction has been partially saved by the novel ‘Six Suspects‘ written by Vikas Swarup, better known for his novel, ‘Q and A’ that was adapted into the Oscar winning film, ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ While ‘Q and A’ was a rather amateurish, not at all researched book with bits of faulty writing, ‘Six Suspects‘ is a tad bit better. While it has its own flaws, it is nonetheless a pretty good detective/thriller story that exposes the corrupt India and has a story that will be lavished by detective fiction lovers/fans.

The plot revolves around Vicky Rai’s (the son of the Home Minister of Uttar Pradesh) murder that took place while he was partying at his farmhouse in Delhi to celebrate his acquittal in a Jessica Lall style murder case(only in the book, the girl who was shot dead by Vicky was named Ruby Gill). There are essentially six suspects that are detained by the police as they were found carrying guns. Then, aptly, Swarup goes on and gives elaborate descriptions about all the six suspects and their motives to kill Vicky Rai. The six suspects are a motley crowd-including a sexy actress, an American,a mobile thief, Vicky’s own father, a tribal from Andaman and a former chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh. These stories are cleverly interconnected and intelligently converge at Vicky Rai’s farmhouse. In the end, an investigative journalist, Arun Advani, solves this murder mystery and the end is, I might say, quite unanticipated! The murderer is an unexpected one.

The story is well structured, with quite a few twists and turns that are definitely surprising.

Along with giving massive details about the life stories of all the six suspects, which by the way takes up a large chunk of the novel, Vikas Swarup also highlights the corruption rampant in India’s politics, displays the divide between the rich and poor and the different classes, the world of powerful contacts and influences and several more such instances that reveal the sleazy side of India.

Despite ‘Six Suspects’ being a good detective read, it still has certain weak spots. Firstly, Vikas Swarup tries to put in a lot of information about India in the novel and most of it is sadly lifted from ‘breaking news’ sessions of the Indian tv channels that can get monotonous. This aspect makes it look like ‘Six Suspects was written for foreign audiences and Swarup was aiming for this book to be made into a film as well.  It seems there is a lack of originality. Secondly, certain ideas are rather stereotyped like the American’s view of India when he comes for the first time, the bit about Islamic fundamentalists is also very cliched(all Muslims are terrorists and all that crap). Although the story has an unpredictable end, there are times when the stories of the six suspects get predictable-for example, the tribal from Andaman has to be foolish and get duped by several people in India. Why can’t the tribals be intelligent for once?And there are several such examples.

There are certain creative bits as well like the English Literature professor ,which the former Chief Secretary met in jail, who expresses himself by uttering book titles only.

So the final verdict would be that ‘Six Suspects’ is definitely worth a read, a good crime novel that unfortunately shows only a newspaper version of India and does not delve deeper into India’s chaotic soul. From the writing it becomes apparent that the India of ‘Six Suspects’ though very real still has a touch of being seen from a distant lens. The lack of research shows through. So if one knows nothing about India, one can probably grab this book to know about its underbelly and get some background on all the wrong things that happened in the country in the past decade or so.

Are you a writer? Publisher? Want to get your books reviewed here? Just write to us to get reviewed. Write to sip[at]gingerchai[dot]com or contact us here

This one book is a definite must for all parents who want their kids to read Indian stories rather than just Harry Potter, Nancy Drew, Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys or God forbid Twilight series!!!!!

Its called, ‘One Hundred and One Folktales From India‘ written by Eunice De Souza. The book, as is self explanatory, is a collection of folktales from all across India-from Kashmir, to Nagaland, to Assam, to Konkan, to Kerala etc. Some tales are new, never before chronicled, or rarely narrated in such collections. While some are very popular, well known stories.The book is divided into 6 parts, each having a separate theme. There are stories about magical beings, about kings and queens, heroes, Gods, clever men and women, saints and sadhus, of famous personlaities like Akbar Birbal, Tansen, Tenali Raman, of beasts and birds and several more!

The language is simple, clear cut, easy for the youngest children to grasp and coupled with superb black and white illustrations done by Sujata Singh, these tales are sure to entice kids. The stories can also be enjoyed by adults who have little time to read and want short, simple, witty stories. Its a great book to read if one is travelling short distances. One can easily read five to six stories in about 15 minutes since most stories are one or two pages only. Its a good way to revisit one’s childhood when such stories were popular to read or get in touch with Indian folktales.

Despite its collection and marvellous illustrations, many parents would prefer buying some other folktales books like the Amar Chitra Katha or Aesop fables books. The former is in general very popular and its colourful illustrations along with the comic book style format will surely catch the eye of any young kid more than Eunice De Souza’s ‘One Hundred and One Folktales From India.’ That’s one and the only disadvantage of the book. There are just so many better, more vibrant, colourful books about India’s rich folktales and mythology that both parents and kids might prefer that. They may view De Souza’s book as just another big, fat, long, textbook type book that completely discourages them from buying it. Of course, a parent can definitely influence a kid’s choice!

Apart from that, ‘One Hundred and One Folktales From India‘ is a brilliant collection of stories, fables and folktales that allows any reader, with its simple language, to get a glimpse of India’s rich stories!

A Night To Remember

‘Night‘ by Elie Wiesel is not a book for the faint hearted or for those looking for a casual read. The book maybe thin but don’t judge it by the size. Its profound impact on the reader goes beyond its volume.

The book deals with the Holocaust-one of the brutal genocides in  20th century. Wiesel was just a teenager living in a nondescript town of Sighet in Transylvania when the Nazi troops came and bullied all the Jews into ghettos and eventually the concentration camp. Wiesel was separated from his mother and sisters and had only his father along with him.

‘Night‘ is a heart wrenching autobiographical account of Wiesel’s own horrifying experience in several concentration camps-from Buna to Auschwitz and eventually to Buchenwlad. It talks of unimaginable horrors that Wiesel himself suffered and saw all around him, being meted out to countless Jews in the camps. It records Wiesel’s own struggles, his gradual disillusionment in God, his numbness towards all the suffering around him, his love and support for his father and the eventual disappearance of that support, of innocence and the appearance of a self centered thinking that was sowed by the brutality he witnessed in the camps.

The reader sees the transformation that Wiesel went through and how life in the concentration camps made animals out of humans, how it sapped the hope of the most optimistic person and sapped the most devout person of his faith.

Page after page will make the reader cringe, force him/her to feel the pain, ponder on how anyone could survive such colossal pain, ponder on how such a mass genocide was allowed to take place. Hopefully the book will etch the story in the reader’s mind forever so that they never forget-Wiesel’s aim in writing this book in the first place. Hopefully, readers will remember the Holocaust, because as Wiesel puts it,”to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”(pg. XV,’Night‘ by Elie Wiesel,Hill and Wang Publication, First Edition,2006).

Moreover, what I hope the readers will take away from this book, is that we, as readers, should intervene if and when such genocides happen because Holocaust is by no means the last such genocide. They keep happening and continue even in the 21st century-the so called progressive age. It is imperative that we learn from history, from one man’s ordeal that such horrors must never be allowed to happen because that strip humans of the humanity that we are all entitled to.

So you are in the final year of college and awaiting campus interview? And then the day comes and you got recruited after a teaser of an interview. Your days have arrived. You proudly join the company and then you realize reality could be quiet different. Nevertheless, the journey of reality could enrich you with valuable experiences to build the foundation for the future.  Corporate Atyaachaar is one such journey of a twenty four year old financial advisor, freshly recruited from campus interview and posted in a new city where his new journey begins.

The protagonist, the young freshly minted financial advisor, lands up in Bangalore to join his first company, Wealth Capital Advisors with full of dreams and energy only to learn the non-financial sides of his Boss , The Human Ball Scratcher the very first day. Yes, that is how the author has chosen to nick-name him for some obvious reasons and the other colleague is nick named Sweet Lady.  This three along with an office assistant and driver comprises the Bangalore team nested in a pigeon hole sized office.  The story takes you to their journey in one eventful year that saw the stock market euphoria of 2007 and the subsequent market crash of 2008 and the High Net worth Individual clients the young financial advisor meets in his first year of work – an old business man, an inflated ego man, tough speaking ex-wall street banker, a CFO and a truly happy family man.

To be honest, the book is just a gist of one year of the protagonist first year at job. A quick summary told in a comical way of his one year at work and the clients he met. Stay clear, if you are allergic to finance and stock markets even if laced with comedy. Also I am not sure to call it a plus or minus point, there is no romance angle in the story, except for the love of stock bulls and bears. In that sense, the author deserves a mild pat for not getting tempted to introduce a love story into an otherwise a treaded path.

GingerChai Verdict: Of late, the racks of the book houses are filled with a genre of novels that is typically low priced (read under 100 bucks) and light on subject. The authors and the publishers make no pretence of selling a highly literary content but a very casual, time pass read while munching snacks or on a go. It is like our Indian masala flicks. Some movies are super hits, some average and some flops but new movies continue to hit theatre. Some make it big like Chetan while some goes unheard. Corporate Attyaachaar belongs to this school of Indian masala novel.  It is average, don’t boast an arty treatment, has a mild comedy elements thrown in.  Some may like it for one time; some may not but for Rs.100 (you get it for a further discounted price in some online shops) it won’t hurt your pocket much for a casual read.

Are you a writer? Publisher? Want to get your books reviewed here? Just write to us to get reviewed. Write to sip[at]gingerchai[dot]com or contact us here