Charlie ... Charlie ... Charlie ...I want to meet you, get to know you, look up and admire you.I wanted to sob my heart out when I finished reading Private Peaceful.I wish I hadn't read it. It was so painful, so filled with a sense of injustice, so cruel.I feel privileged to have read it. It was so moving, so human, so gentle and so filled with love.My heart reached out to Tommo - who could have lived in Charlie's shadow, but never did. Instead, he basked in Charlie's glow. Tommo, little Tommo, is so human. He tells his story without reserve, without embarrassment. He gets angry with someone he worships. He adores without restraint. He knows that Charlie is everyone's hero. He is, and always will be, the other Private Peaceful. And he basks in his elder brother Charlie Peaceful's glowIt will take courage to read the book again. But I know I will. A powerful book like Private … [Read more...]
The Butterfly Lion
This morning, I was reading Private Peaceful before I left for school. I glanced at my watch. Okay, one more paragraph. I read about Big Joe singing Oranges and Lemons in his attempt to pray for Molly. I glanced at my watch. Okay, one more paragraph. And one more. And one more. I just about did not get late for my bus.And so I decided to reread another favourite, The Butterfly Lion, which won my heart yet again.Michael Morpurgo, as always, combines innocence with wisdom to enchant both the child and the adult in me. Love, loyalty and determination - all these are age-old values that Morpurgo never turns into meaningless cliches.I know that as a writer, I shy away from stories which are pure and good. Yet, as a reader, I love these timeless tales. I love stories of goodness and nobility. When will I find the courage and maturity to write them? … [Read more...]
The Illustrator of The Story-Catcher
I did not put up pictures from The Story-Catcher because the copyright isn't mine, but I found this on Rishi Bhardwaj's site and could not help sharing it. … [Read more...]
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Hermione Granger translates so well! I love her translations from the original runes.And of course, Albus Dumbledore's notes reveal his genius and insight, providing valuable information about interpretations of beloved fairy tales.J.K. Rowling, though, talks down to us Muggle readers, underestimating our knowledge of the magical world. … [Read more...]
Now
As usual, I judged a book by its cover and picked it up. An orange book, with two silhouetted figures - an old man and a child gazing at flames in the distance.Now promised to be more powerful than it was, or perhaps it just did not happen to me at the right time. The ideas there could have been deeply moving. A child grappling with guilt that does not have a foundation, similar to The Worry Tree I read not so long ago. An old man haunted by memories of the past, of the holocaust and the loss of loved ones. A child trying to be proud of the fact that her parents have sacrificed their lives to help people in Africa... but realising that more than pride, she feels rejection, over and over again.Now could have been more powerful, but left me with a sense of incompleteness. I wanted to be more moved. … [Read more...]
What I’ve been reading …
Yes, it's been a long time since I wrote about books, so there are three books that I've read in the time that has passed.I remember when I started reading Dick Francis. I was amazed that a single writer could have written so many books about horses and the racing world. Longshot is one of those, but I realise, once again, how much a book strikes a chord within you when you read it at a time that's right. The narrator of Longshot is a writer. A writer who has just quit a regular job to become a full-time writer. He suffers, nearly starves. Is that a message to me from the universe? The book was gripping, with the stoicism that's typical to Dick Francis. Even though parts of it made me squirm because they hit home, I enjoyed Longshot, as I always expect to when I read a book by Dick Francis.Two more books I've read and intend to write about soon... … [Read more...]
Oxford Bookstore 2002
We know we belong to the previous generation when we complain about the way children waste time."How much we used to play!" A friend and I lamented about how students at school spend more time at their laptops than at anything else. They are a generation growing up with email and Facebook; they're attached to their laptops all the time."We used to be on the ground, playing in the sun.""Tree to tree, wall to wall...""Hundreds of things. Right until the time we left school."I fell silent. During my last two years of school, I really don't remember playing much. What did I do, then? I wondered.And then, I remembered.I wrote a book.On the 29th of August, 2002, just after I finished my tenth standard, I received this mail -We are delighted to let you know that you have been shortlisted for the E-Author Version 2.0 contest this year. We will be announcing the top three … [Read more...]
I love book-sales!
I never buy books. Never. I have too many books at home that I have not read.But what can I do when I find 70% (yes, SEVENTY PER CENT) off on a Michael Morpurgo collection? The Landmark sale is here! … [Read more...]
The Goldsmith’s Daughter
Yes, The Goldsmith's Daughter is the story of a girl restricted by her gender in a barbaric civilisation that is in conflict with another world with different beliefs.It is set in a moment in history when the Aztec civilisation must deal with Spanish invaders. The Aztecs need to accept that their emperor is, apparently, not the emperor of the world because there are people with peculiar features coming from across the ocean to the Aztec world.But I don't always find history fascinating. I don't typically spend hours researching and reading. And I knew next to nothing about the Aztecs when I began to read The Goldsmith's Daughter.Tanya Landman made the story come alive. There was no judgement in the voice that told me the story of the bloodshed required to feed the superstition that the sun battled with darkness each night to emerge whole the next morning. There was … [Read more...]
War Horse
There's something about Michael Morpurgo that haunts me. I remember being blown away by Kensuke's Kingdom. I've read and reread so many of his books. Running Wild, The White Horse of Zennor, Adolphus Tips, and of course War Horse. They come to mind immediately.This was not the first time I read War Horse.I was not in a mood to read anything soppy. In fact, I began reading War Horse when I was in a rather cynical mood. I'm not quite sure why.Despite that, towards the end of the book I found myself smiling because I did not want to cry. I closed the book, closed my eyes and sighed that particular sigh that only a beautiful book can pull out from the depths of your being.I can't imagine how the movie would be. How can a movie capture the mind of a horse?I don't think I will ever watch the movie. I've already decided that the book is better. … [Read more...]