Book Review of "THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY"

 BOOK- THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY

AUTHOR- MATT HAIG

PAGES- 288

BLURB-

‘Between life and death there is a library,’ she said.

‘And within that library, the shelves go on for ever.

Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived.

To see how things would be if you had made other choices…

 

‘Would you have done anything different,

If you had the chance to undo your regrets?’

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK-

This is my first time reading a fictional story by Matt Haig. The cover of the book 'The Midnight Library' depicts a Library and a cat which is quite relatable to the story's plot. The cat probably is Voltaire, owned by Nora and the library is where she ends up after trying to end her life.

Nora who was thirty-five, was fired from her job right after Voltaire died the night before. She barely had money to pay her rent, lost her best friend, and was distant from her brother after she left the band Labyrinth. She felt like a loser. Living felt like a great task for her and she had no hope to stay alive. This void became much apparent after the loss of Volts, her cat. Her life felt hollow as she moved through it and so, she decided to end her life.

Nora took an overdose of antidepressants she was on and slowly the world goes blank.

When her eyes open, she looks up at her watch which shows 00:00:00 and she finds herself in the Midnight Library, a place between life and death. She hung in there and experienced the endless possibilities of her life.

“Every life contains many millions of decisions. Some big, some small. But every time one decision is taken over another, the outcomes differ. An irreversible variation occurs, which on turn leads to further variations…”

The library had an infinite number of books and it existed because of Nora. Each book in the library was about Nora's life. Her regrets from her life were so deep that it was hard for her to get rid of. 

Mrs. Elm was the Librarian who helped Nora choose the books she wanted to live. Nora would take up the books she desired and disappear into the world of possibilities.

In one life, Nora was a successful musician, in one she was a good pet owner, in one she was a glaciologist, in one she was an Olympic medal winner, in one she had kids, in one she was married to Dan, in one she was married to Ash and it went on…

Dining in the most exquisite restaurants, indulging in every sensual pleasure, performing on stage for a crowd of twenty thousand, experiencing the thunderous applause of a cheering audience, travelling to the farthest corners of the Earth, achieving Olympic glory— all these accomplishments held no meaning without love. Reflecting on the core of her existence, the fundamental issue that had made Nora vulnerable was the absence of love. She was left alone, she had no one to talk to, no one to call her own, no one to go to. Even her brother did not desire her presence in that life.

But, Midnight Library gave her hope to remain alive. The library was designed in such a way that it undergoes a collapse whenever Nora loses hope, but when she rediscovers enthusiasm for life, a sense of calm is restored to her surroundings and the library becomes still again.

Nora realized that one could be as honest as possible in life, but people only see the truth if it is close enough to their reality. As Thoreau(since she is a graduate in philosophy, she goes through most of his writings and in one life she was a writer and writes about Thoreau too) wrote, ‘it’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see’

In one life, Nora gave a TED talk where she expressed that- ‘If you aim to be something you are not, you will always fail. Aim to be you. Aim to look and act and think like you. Aim to be the truest version of you. Embrace that you-ness. Endorse it. Love it. Work hard at it. And don’t give a second thought when people mock it or ridicule it. Because most gossip is envy in disguise.’ This was probably the strongest version of Nora I’ve read in the book. Or else Nora in her actual root life was filled with the wrongs, the should-not(s) and the would-not(s) of life. She was so full of regrets that she barely wanted to live.

Soon, Nora realized that she hadn’t tried to end her life because she was miserable, but because she had managed to convince herself that there was no way out of the misery.

We tend to wish what would have happened if we did things differently? what would have happened if we could change the decisions? what would have happened if we took over the things we liked? what would have happened if the ones we loved, loved us back in the way we did? There are endless possibilities of things that could actually happen if we took different decisions and to live the endless possibilities, death isn’t the answer. The only way to experience the endless possibilities is to live.

So, in this book, what happened to Nora at the end? Did she stay in the Midnight Library? Was she dead? Was she alive? Was she still full of regrets?

These are the questions I would leave for you! And to get the answers, you've to read the book.

The book was truly captivating and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

 P.S.- I received this book as a gift and I am glad I got hold of it, or else the possibilities might be, I would never get to read this masterpiece :) 

Overall rating- 4.8/5

Unexpected

 Sometimes, you have no control over the things.

They just happen. 

How? Why? You don't even know.

The first time I felt someone's shoulder resting on my lap, I didn't expect.

I was just sitting casually when you shifted your head from one side of the bed into my lap.

Not knowing what to do with my restless hands,

I just prepared myself to cross them over my chest .

I didn't expect when you asked for my hand to fill the gap in yours.

I didn't expect you to hold my hand the entire time. Asking for it again if at times I leave yours, somehow.

I never expected anyone to offer their arm for resting my head in them. 

I was hesitant. Fearing about the closeness.

Because I am afraid of being a total stranger again.

The first time I could hear someone's breathe closer to me,

The first time I felt someone's lips touching mine,

The first time I felt the soft caressing on my cheeks,

The first time I felt someone's hand on my bare body,

I was not able to process it. 

I was not even able to differentiate if it was a dream or the reality.

But, I did notice your eyelashes,

Dark and long perfectly fitting your eyes.

I noticed your fingers, that fitted mine perfectly.

I noticed how you looked without your specs.

Even though things moved quickly, more than I've imagined,

I guess I've fallen for you and probably I am going to keep it a secret. 

I didn't expect holding you around your chest, engulfing entire you with my arm.

I didn't expect you holding me into your arms before you were leaving, 

One thing you've missed was a kiss on the forehead.

To perfectly end the fairy tale. 

Perhaps, now ,I would try to wake up from my fantasy into the reality.

A reality where I am afraid of being myself.

A reality I've lost myself for. 

Book Review Of 'YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE?'

 BOOK- YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

AUTHOR- STUTI CHANGLE

PAGES- 179

 

 

BLURB:

What if you ran away from your life today?

Twenty years later, three people are looking for you.

One is dying to meet you again.

The other wishes you had never met them.

The third wishes they could have met you at least once.

You are one person. Aren't you? But you are not the same person to each of them.

Find the answers about your own life in this story about searching for love and discovering yourself. Join a broken but rising YouTube star Alara, a struggling but hopeful stand-up comedian Aarav, and a zany but zen beach shack owner Ricky. Together, take the journey to seek the truth behind the famous singer Elisha's disappearance somewhere by the deep sea in Goa.

Will you be able to find Elisha? Or will you end up finding yourself?

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

You Only Live Once by Stuti Changle is a fictional story about three characters - Alara from Prague, Czech Republic; Aarav based in Pune and Ricky who is from Goa. Three completely different characters,  yet somehow interconnected.

I loved how the author narrated the story from the perspective of each character. One could relate to each of them, each one has a story to tell, a journey to witness. Aarav a stand-up comedian, Ricky the owner of Ricky's beach shack and Alara a rising Youtube star.

The plot of the story is wonderful, filled with mystery, love and affirmations.  Yes, this book has some life-changing lessons. The author expressed the story of each character in a beautiful way. Be it, unrequited love of Sheen or Aarav's fear of Quitting a job and following his passion or Alara's decision to stay in Goa.

How they crossed each other paths, how they came together for their love for Elisha. Just like the shades of sunset, this book has its own shades of love. The well-developed characters and engaging writing style keeps the readers hooked throughout. From standup comedy scripts to Alara's songs, it has all. Not to forget, Ricky's style of living in Goa.

It's a smooth paced story with simple language and crisp narration. A story of love, passion and friendship that ANYBODY will definitely enjoy. A light read full of fun and crazy time in Goa.

What I liked even more are the quotes from the book. Everytime I read a book, I keep track of all the beautiful lines I come across. So here’s some of them--  

“Bleeding dreams isn’t just crying. It is not even bleeding, exactly. When you’ve cried so much that your eyes become red with blood, this is when you’re bleeding dreams. When you’ve tried your best to believe that your dreams will come true but can’t walk any further, or even crawl any further; this is when you’re bleeding dreams.”

“Maybe, ‘love’ her is correct. I don’t know. Maybe I did tell her as much in bits and pieces but she never reciprocated. That’s the worst part of life. You can’t make someone who doesn’t love you, love you.”

“The worst thing about unrequited love is that you start to compare and make a list of all the things that you could have to get this person. And then realizing that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t make the other person love you the way you do.”

“Choose carefully what you believe in. your beliefs can either limit you or set you free. You’re only as good as you think you are! You have the capacity to make people laugh and cry as an artist. Visit me when you feel better. I might have something for you!”

“Walking away from anything in life is easy. But to stay resolute, to hold on, to wait for the sunrise is difficult.”

“You don’t choose to all in love with someone, neither do you choose to fall out of it. If it was as simple as taking a decision, are all these statements like ‘it was love at first sight’, ‘I could not help but fall in love’, ‘ love just happens’ bullshit? Void?”

“The thing you’ve come to form a bond with will not be by your side forever. Neither will you. Again, that’s nature- veer changing yet magnificent. But the love that you’ll receive and give back will last forever.”

 

Well! I love the bond between Ricky and Sheen J why I am saying so? You have to read the book to know that!

If you are thinking its a love story, let me make it clear it's not. So, now go get a copy and leave your opinion

P.S.- All of them are in search of Elisha, a singer who has disappeared 20 years ago.

What connections they have with Elisha?
Will they be able to find her?
Read the book to find out the mystery about the Elisha and how they are interconnected.

 

Overall rating: 3.8/5

 

 

Book Review Of 'JOY 24x7'

 BOOK: JOY 24 x 7

AUTHOR: JITENDRA JAIN

PAGES: 133

BLURB:

Joy 24x7 is a very simple but unusual exploration of  joy. There is no religion in this book. There are no rituals prescribed here. There is no deep meditation being described here and neither is there any mention to any spiritual practice.

This is not a guidebook. This is not a “self- help” book. It is not going to give you “an instant formula for joy”. But it will surely make you explore your Joy for yourself in a very direct way. The simple, short snippets of daily lives connect with what Sadhguru has to say about Joy, will take you on a wonderful roller coaster ride on Joy with the Master himself.

With Sadhguru’s incredible clarity of expression, his brilliant wit and sense of observation, his ability to bring the most profound aspect in a very simple and direct way,  this book is for any human being who seeks to be Joyful.

No matter who you are, what you are trying to do, Sadhguru’s words will touch a wonderful wave of Joy inside you and you will soon be restless to seek Joy 24x7

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

Let me begin with how I got hold of this book first. It has been a year or so I saw some of the interviews of Sadhguru with different personalities, and the answers he replied with were something I really enjoyed. And few months back when I was strolling with my friends, I discovered this book and instantly decided to buy it.

To be honest, we all seek for joy at some point of time. When someone dwell too much upon the expectations and validations of the society, it tends to be the case that the person is living to achieve the expectations and not what he actually want from his/her life.

Joy can be found in little things. Like, I was really happy when I called one of my teachers form college and she said she has been waiting for my call. I was really happy when I heard the voice of a person I haven’t in a long time.

A person can’t be happy all the time, it isn’t possible but the thing that is possible is that we can allow ourselves to gain experience and move ahead. We can allow ourselves to not hold on things and to let go. Life isn’t full of happiness but a balance between everything. So, finding positivity is what can make you happy.

Well, the book has small stories at the beginning of every chapter and exploration and explanation of the facts thereafter. The stories mentioned are of Dev, Lila and their son Arya. (which is very much relatable)

This book isn’t any fictional novel. Perhaps it is a book that will help you in realizing what you are lacking in life.

P.S.- It is a book with very few pages but it will strike you really deep. If you want to discover yourself, go for this book J

Overall rating- 4/5

Book Review of 'THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN"

 

BOOK: THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN

AUTHOR: MITCH ALBOM

PAGES: 231

BLURB:

‘All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time…’

On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie, a lonely war veteran, dies in a tragic accident trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. With his final breath, he feels two small hand in his—and then nothing. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were in it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path for ever.

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

‘No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river.’

Well, it is my second read and the first time I’ve read this book, I didn’t start reviewing books.  And you know? everytime I recall this book ‘The Five People You Meet In Heaven’ a smile curves up in my face.  Because if not for a dear friend of mine, I would have never encountered this book.

What I like the most in this book is the ending. Where it says, ‘The life of each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.’

The book starts with the first chapter titled ‘THE END’  and it is because the book is all about Eddie’s life and more about his death.

NOW WHO IS EDDIE?

Eddie basically followed the suit of his father and ended up working as a maintenance guy for the rest of his life in Ruby Pier which was an amusement park. He longed to leave this place, find different work, build another kind of life. but the war came, his plans never worked out and in time he found himself graying and wearing looser pants and in a state of weary acceptance, that this was who he was and who he would always be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters.

The first person Eddie met in heaven was ‘THE BLUE MAN’. He made Eddie understand the fact that ‘there are five people you meet in heaven and each of them were in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at that time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life at earth.’

People think of heaven as a paradise garden, a place where they can float on clouds and laze in rivers and mountains. But scenery without solace is meaningless.

The Blue Man tells Eddie a story and then viewed it from two different angles. It was the same day, the same moment, but one angle ends happily at an arcade, with the little boy in tawny pants dropping pennies into the Erie Digger machine, and the other ends badly, in a city morgue.

The Blue Man died because of Eddie, and when Eddie shook his head uttering it wasn’t fair, the man replied saying ‘Fairness, does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young.’

The second person Eddie met was the Captain. What he learnt from the Captain is that ‘Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious, you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.’

The third person Eddie met was Ruby, the woman who was the one the Amusement park was named after. What Eddie learnt from her was – ‘Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves’

The fourth person Eddie met was his beloved wife, Marguerite. She died at the age of 47. What he learnt from her was that ‘Life has to end but love doesn’t’

When life ends, memory becomes the partner and we nurture it, we hold it, live with it. Life will end one day but memories will stay till the end.

The fifth person and the last person Eddie met in Heaven was the little girl. The girl who was burnt in the yellow flames when he was held as a captive in the war. With the little girl, Eddie admitted that he was sad. Sad because he didn’t do anything with his life. accomplished nothing.

But the answer he was seeking since the time he reached this newfound land  made him feel better. He lightened up to know the fact that he saved someone.

Who was that someone? how did he save? What all Eddie suffered in life? how did he die? And how he played a role in the life of each person he met in heaven?

I am leaving it to you.

P.S-  Can I call it a mystery book? May be I can! Well this book has a special place in my heart. And I would be glad if you give it a try and let me know if you liked it.

 

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Book Review OF ' THE KITE RUNNER'

 

BOOK: THE KITE RUNNER

AUTHOR: KHALED HOSSEINI

PAGES: 327

BLURB:

Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realizes that one day he must return to Afghanistan under Taliban rule to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

The first book I’ve read of Khaled Hosseini was ‘And the Mountains Echoed’ and I still remember the entire story. That’s the thing with the stories of Khaled Hosseini, they leave an imprint on you, perhaps the kind you will remember for a long time.

Amir’s father is a well known and respectable man in Kabul. He had always stood up against the wrongs but his son, Amir lack the qualities of his father. Whenever someone troubles Amir, he never stood up for himself. It was always Hassan who stood for him. Hassan considered Amir as his best friend but he was just the son of a servant for Amir. And when Hassan needed him the most, Amir left him alone. This guilt stayed with Amir for the rest of the life.

Amir’s father molded the world to his liking. The problem, of course, was that he saw the world in black and white. And he got to decide what was black and what was white. You can’t love a person who live that way without fearing him too. May be even hating him a little. Amir struggled to get love and affection from his father and it took him a long time to achieve so.

The only way to get Baba’s attention was by winning the kite flying tournament. There were no other viable options. Winning the tournament and running for the last kite to show Baba how competent his son was, was the only way Amir thought.

He won. But as he won, he lost something forever. (What he lost? Was it a person or a possession or anything else? That you have to find out from the book !) 

Ali, the servant who worked in Amir’s home had a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles, a condition that rendered him unable to smile and left him perpetually grim-faced. It was an odd thing to see the stone-faced Ali happy, or sad, because only his slanted brown eyes glinted with a smile or welled with sorrow. People say that eyes are the windows to the soul. Never was that more true than with Ali, who could only reveal himself through his eyes.

Hassan kept trying to rekindle things between him and Amir, but Amir doesn’t have the courage to face him. It hurts, when you try to get back the bond you shared, but what you get in return is only series of disappointments. Amir has always been harsh with Hassan but Hassan never took it the wrong way. He always stood for his Amir Agha. And when Amir told him to go away, to stop harassing him, he left.

Once, Amir took Hassan to a hill top where they climb and read stories. That day, Amir threw a pomegranate to Hassan shouting ‘what should you do when someone hits you?’ he repeated it again and again and then answered ‘you should hit them back’ sobbing in between. The love and brotherhood shared between the two can’t be explained. I wish Amir wasn’t that rude or harsh with Hassan. May be things would have been different if he never participated in the kite flying tournament.

Although Amir and Baba toil to create a new life for themselves in the US, the past is unable to stay burried. When it tears it's ugly head, Amir is forced to return to his homeland to face the demons and decisions of his youth, with only a slim hope to make amends.

"When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, Rob his children of a father. And when you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. There's no act more wretched than stealing" The way Baba explained this lines to Amir couldn't have been more realistic and relatable. 

The final chapter of the book is perhaps my favourite, and one that I have found moving even when rereading it. The message behind the very ending could be interpreted differently by different readers, but personally I feel that it offers a small sense of hope for both the future of its characters, and perhaps for the war-torn Afghanistan as well.

I loved how the story kept unfolding with time and I assure you would love it too.

How Hassan and  Amir got separated? What made them do so? Did they ever meet again? Why Amir remained thirsty for the love and affection of his father? What happened the night following the kite flying tournament?

I am leaving these question for you.

P.S.: the books I've read of Khaled Hossein so far always had a connection with Afghanistan and so does this book.

Let me know if you liked this book as much as I loved it :)

Overall rating: 4.3/5  

 

Book Review of 'NEVER LET ME GO...'

 

BOOK: NEVER LET ME GO…

AUTHOR: SACHIN GARG

PAGES: 239

BLURB:

What made Samar abandon everything he had- an engineering degree and a drop dead gorgeous girlfriend- and flee to Goa instead to start life afresh?

On being kicked by life, harder than he could ever imagine, Samar had three options:

He could look life in the eye and fight back. He could succumb and do something that would haunt him forever. Or he could flee, to a place where there were no traces of the blow he had received.

So Goa it was. In search of solace, perhaps, by working in a small shack at an unknown beach.

Dealing with the local police, resurrecting a dying shack, and managing rowdy parties, risking having his bones and jaw-line broken, does Samar get what he was seeking?

 

MY TAKE ON THIS BOOK:

“SOMETIMES,  YOU JUST LOOK AT THINGS YOU KNOW YOU CAN NEVER HAVE”

The book begins with Samar being locked in his room.

The story is basically of Samar, Roy, Navya, Maansi and Kanika.

Based on my point of view, the beginning of the story truly doesn’t tell you what is there inside. You need to go deeper and deeper to unfold the reasons. And for me, I was truly satisfied with the story.

The way Navya confessed her feelings and asked Samar if he was too falling for her.  What Samar replied was a genuine one and at that one moment I fell for him :) . He compared what he felt for Navya to what he felt for Kanika. And he knew the answer. There was no comparison. He was definitely not in love with Navya and even though he barely even thought of Kanika, she was what would always rule his heart.

Samar made a promise to himself that whatever happens, for the rest of his life, he will take care of Navya no matter where he was. This girl was special. He felt the urge to tell her what the real reason was but then it would change the way she looked at him. He was happy being an outcast. And perhaps it was fine.

The way Samar turned and looked at Navya and his heart told him that she was special and she was who he waited for all the time, she was the one who he wanted to talk to, she was the one he thought about unceasingly. But she wasn’t someone he loved.  Samar was polite and knew his limits.But he was quite selfish, by wanting her to stay.

When Navya told that they should separate their ways if there was no future, and also when she told if he wanted her to stay or just tell her to ‘stay’ she might just stay and not leave. And the reply Samar gave is STAY.

If she left suddenly, quite frankly she was what Samar was living for then. He would have been clueless with the departure and being dependent of her, he had no other choice. He was being selfish for wanting her to stay. And he knew that it would be hard for her- to love him and know that he can never love her back. But he could not let her go. He couldn’t exist without her.

‘MAY BE SOME CHAPTERS SHOULD END IN LIFE, SO THAT THEY REMAIN A SPLENDID MEMORY FOREVER’

Navya leaving WoodStock Village was the moment Samar hated the most and the way things changed for him was so sudden that it began hurting him.

Thimappa’s character was also a strong one. The way he took up things on Christmas eve was commendable. And I pitied on him for his childhood bullying episodes. But where he was at last gave him satisfaction. What else do you need?  

Joseph, Zeeshan and Arshi too played a good role.

Go and read this book and know the reason Samar left Delhi and stayed somewhere else with zero penny in his pocket. How he stayed? What he did? What were the reasons? You have to find it out yourself.

Overall review: 4/5