Deadly Waters: The Vietnam Naval War and Its Aftermath - Randy Miller

 Author's note: This review is my work and has appeared in Online Book Club as well. The link for the OBC review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=367989&p=2346851#p2346851

Verdict: Read it if you have experience with the navy, the Vietnam war, or the US health care system’s treatment of veterans. (Rating 3/5)

Overview: This is the first book I’ve ready by Randy Miller.  There weren’t any big discrepancies between the title and what was in the book – so no spoilers to say to watch out for in this review.

Most of us younger folks are vaguely aware of the Vietnam War. I’m not exactly young at 40, but definitely too young to remember the Vietnam Era as I wasn’t born yet when it happened. We all get the requisite history classes in school and perhaps a supplemental movie or two. As they say, to the victor goes the writing of history. I wouldn’t say that the US won the Vietnam war by any stretch of the imagination, but the US certainly loves colouring history in very specific shades.

I Enjoyed: This book is obviously written by someone that has a very similar (but not exact) experience as Zach, the protagonist of the story. I would bet the author had a similar upbringing to the protagonist as well, being from a farm or a very simple, straight forward spoken family. This honesty and candour bring a refreshing, non-politicized viewpoint. We also get to hear about the navy’s roll in the Vietnam war, something that isn’t frequently discussed in history classes. I find it very honest when service men and women are open about their experience in the armed forces. I find it important to have an open discussion about the armed forces rather than just hero worship that gets piped through politicians and the news daily.

Suggestions for Improvement:  I’ll start with the most obvious point for me, which was the accents. Not only did I find it confusing why this mattered to the plot line, trying to read the dialogue was distracting as hell as I found myself sounding out words and wondering how they fit in this or that accent. I also found myself drowning in definitions and explanations about the navy that did not do anything at all for the plot. As a fellow author, I have an unfortunate amount of experience in how this happens, especially in light of the earlier explanation of how I’m pretty sure this is a personal experience for the author. While there was a plot (I wondered for a while in the middle!), I found it too loosely structured and lacking in details that would keep the reader engaged in the plot rather than understanding the author’s experience in the navy. In fact, Vietnam seemed like a subplot to the navy experience and the protagonist’s relationship, which I find to be a shame.  I was disappointed in the lack of character development in the protagonist. Randy Miller has explained his background perhaps a bit too thoroughly, but he remains flat and unreachable on the page. I’m a stickler for plot and character development, as well as consistence. For a book about the Vietnam war, the war itself seemed like an afterthought. The accents/dialect differentiation between characters made it difficult to understand how well proofread the book was. This affected my rating as well.

Summary: Someone has done Randy Miller a disservice in terms of editing and plot development if it’s not self-published. With a little better plot and character development, this novel could be a very good read. That being said, I find his experience important to share even in the current state. The parallels between some of what’s happening in the US today is not an obvious repeat of previous experiences, which I personally find interesting as well as exasperating.  I think it would be more appealing to someone who has first hand experience with the navy.

The Solution is Political Revolution - Jillion R Rising

Author's note: This review is my work and has appeared in Online Book Club as well. The link for the OBC review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=377704&p=2365301#p2365301

After a great deal of procrastination, I finally sat down to give the review for this book. There is certainly no shortage of media criticism, both shaky and valid, for the United States political system. Depending on which way you lean politically, it is possible to find a ton of books both supporting and bashing any one political philosophy. I picked this book hoping to get an interesting angle or something new.

Just to be clear, I find political criticism as valid as any other criticism – when it’s done constructively and with a valid foundation. Unfortunately, it’s become rather a sport lately in the United States to just shout about what is wrong. You can turn on any news channel for examples. I also believe that by this point in time, there are very few people who are still naïve enough to believe that anything to do with politics or the government is one sided.

I found this book to be very basic in it’s explanations of how the United States has reached this point. Not incorrect I would say, but definitely a surface level look. And perhaps that was the point. However, there are no perfect political systems, and every single one has reached it’s current state through a long line of decision, human judgement errors, and straight up greed occasionally. It’s not a simple scenario getting here, so taking a bit more time to delve into the causes can help the reader understand that the system is a titanic, not a speed boat that can make u-turns at the drop of a hat. It takes a great deal of time, energy, and willingness to change the system even a small bit. I get it, solving things through political revolution sounds sexy. It’s a great eye catcher on a book title. But a revolution is no simple thing to successfully execute and with the political climate in the US what it is today, getting people fired up should not be the goal. People are already far too fired up for the wrong or even no reasons.

In fairness, I really hate to pick on people who (as it appears to me) are trying to improve the condition of anything. Unfortunately, I also have very little patience for people who get worked up, or work others up, for a flash satisfaction that leads nowhere. Aside from a slightly patronizing tone, the book was well written, though as I mentioned above, I feel the ration of pages with problem and solution could have been a little more even. Overall it was written from an academic standpoint, which I can appreciate, and was well edited.

In a tide of political and government oriented books, this one just didn’t stand out in any special way for me. My verdict is as follows: Read it if you’re curious, but there are plenty of other books out there that achieve the same objective in a better way.

Chasing Dragons Between Dimensions – Matthew Emmanuel Weinberg

 Author's note: This review is my work and has appeared in Online Book Club as well. The link for the OBC review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=392967&p=2394217#p2394217

Verdict: A must-read. (Rating 4/5) I have given this rating as the book was well written, well edited, and presented the material in an interesting and accessible manner.

Overview: This is the first book I’ve read by Matthew Emmanuel Weinberg. You’ll understand the title once you read the book, but on a surface level, there are no dragons in this book.

Apart from the very alluring title, this book is about fractals. I could explain what fractals are at this point, but the author does a much better job than I could in a very elegant way. I’ll oversimplify and mention that it’s a math concept. I’m not from a math background. I’m not particularly good at math beyond the basics, and math books are the last thing that I would normally pick up to read. That being said, I’m so glad I did.

The reader would get the most out of this book by giving it a chance and being willing to explore the concept on a large-scale level.

I Enjoyed: While fractals aren’t a difficult concept to explain on a surface level, they wander in the deeper end of math, especially if one wanders out of dimensions that are seen/felt – think 4th and above dimensions. The absolutely glorious thing about this book is that after an easy-to-understand explanation, the author takes the time to encourage the reader to imagine bigger dimensions and explains some very cool practical applications that the reader can loosely identify with. This is how math should be explained! A curious reader would also enjoy taking the time to contemplate how many places they can see fractals displayed in the world and a bit of the math that nature does naturally. Well written and well explained, the author also has an obvious passion for the subject and makes a conscious effort to pull the reader into the subject and give it life.

Suggestions for Improvement: The flow was a little confusing for me. While I very much enjoyed that the author went into history and different areas where fractals are used/displayed, I needed a bit more of a structured story line. I also felt that photos of different fractal patterns would have been helpful while reading – I chose to look them up on Google to enhance my understanding. I also felt that there was a lot of repetition. I am not able to tell if this is just to ensure comprehension, or if the author was trying to create a certain fractal of his own in the work. I suspect both are correct, but it was simply too much repetition for me.

Summary: I think very few people read math books for fun or general knowledge building. I guess this is so because mathematical concept books take a lot of effort and time to read and appreciate. Not only does the author make this approachable, it’s fun and quite amazing when one takes the time to contemplate it. I would highly recommend reading this book.

The Prodigy Slave Book One: Journey to Winter Garden – Londyn Skye

Author's note: This review is my work and has appeared in Online Book Club as well. The link for the OBC review: https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=392980&p=2394243#p2394243

Verdict: Approach with caution. (Rating 3/5). I have given this rating due to the subject matter and writing style explained below.

Overview: This is the first book I’ve read by London Skye. It’s a romance novel.

I’m not new to romance novels and can appreciate the formulaic writing, cheap sex scenes, and all the glorious time-pass they entail. This novel turned out to be a bit different than I expected, both good and bad, as I’ll outline later.

The novel brings us through the journey of a female slave, Lily. She is ripped from her mother’s arms as a child, finds a childhood friend who she thinks will betray her again, is given a chance to foster musical talent, and finally becomes successful.

As I mentioned, romance novels are generally written only for entertainment. I found myself hard-pressed in this novel to keep the reading at a surface level. I’ll avoid political commentary in this review, but as a reader, it will be difficult to avoid if the reader is aware and introspective.

I Enjoyed: The author has made a strong attempt at a non-cliched, talented, female main character. She has also tried to tell a different slavery story and highlight that perhaps there were times when white people supported people of color and tried to change the system. There is a clear plot line that isn’t just sex. Many of the cliched, ridiculous romance novel misogynies were also pleasantly absent. I enjoy stories when the timeline jumps around and this novel does that well.

Suggestions for Improvement: Spelling out accents in dialogue is extremely distracting. I got stuck trying to re-create accents and wondering if I was in the South, North East, or Southern Midwest where I grew up. The phonetic spellings only occasionally appeared for certain characters, increasing my confusion. Informing the audience that the scene takes place in the South, or that a character is from London is sufficient; the reader can imagine the accents as he or she will. I also found there to be too much repetition of ideas and scenes. While the author did make a successful attempt to weave a story with intersecting timelines, I wished I could skip sections because the point they were making was already long-established. I stretched to the outside of my patience for glossing over facts and realities. While I understand that romance novels are meant to be fantasy, this novel tried to take a horrific historical occurrence and gloss over it. I could not enjoy it because I could not get around the re-engineered political and social implications. The author also seemed to tire of the project at the end and told the audience the ending, rather than finish weaving the story. While I can understand this as a writer, it wasn’t ideal.

Summary: This was a hard read for me. While it was well written and the author thought through and put a lot of effort into the work, I’m not certain it’s possible to change the rhetoric on some topics; slavery is one of those topics for me. A clear attempt was made to avoid ethnic and gender-related “savior” cliches, but they ended up coming out in the end anyhow. The imposition of current socially aware thinking (such as asking for permission to have sex with someone in that era, not to mention someone whom you’ve been conditioned to not think of as a human being) struck me as improbable and rang false. The point I’m getting at here is that it’s too much for a romance novel. Expecting a social examination from a historical romance novel doesn’t fit the genre. Read it if you’re curious and able to turn your analytical thinking off.

The HandMaid's Tail - Margret Atwood

Fiction

Verdict: Not Worth It (2/5)

Overview:

This is one of those novels that you can't even avoid hearing about. I'm not usually a fan of popular English Fiction, but I thought to give it a try. Just FYI - I didn't see the TV series.

The novel is a dystopian version of society where class and gender determine social standing and who breeds.

What I Enjoyed:

The story was easy to read and only took me a few hours. 

What I Disliked:

I understand the attempt at social commentary and feminism, but I was severely disappointed in this novel. The misogynistic cliches weren't anything new and I was again disappointed in a female author using them, even to make a point. There are plenty of opportunities to point out similar injustices in the real world, there really is no point in catering to sadistic wet dreams about subjugating women. 

Summary:

I know it's popular, and people are enjoying talking about it, but that doesn't make it a good novel. This pseudo-feminism and women buying into the weird romance of this type of crap helps no one evolve. Not worth it in my opinion.

 

~Becky~

Beloved Delhi: A Mughal City and Her Greatest Poets - Saif Mahmood

NonFiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview:

I picked this up from Bookworm. It is the first work I have read by Saif Mahmood

I have a horrific fascination with Delhi. It's a complex city with an intricate history of amazing and terrible things. Poets are one of the geat things to come out of the city. I especially enjoy reading about Urdu poetry, though it continues to escape my comprehension if not appreciation. 

Saif Mahmood goes on a tour of Delhi and some of her most famous poets. It's a history and cultural lesson neatly wrapped up.

What I Enjoyed:

Saif Mahmood has a gift for bringing to life poets. His insight into them as people and in their time context is excellent for understanding where the poetry they wrote came from. Each section is digestible and while related, it is not necessary to read any other section to understand; you can come and go as you'd like.

What I Disliked:

I wanted more information! To be fair, it's a good-sized book and more information would have been overkill.

Summary:

This is a good read if you're feeling indulgent or romantic. Urdu poetry could bring romance even out of the dead. Understanding the poets and city that produced it helps you appreciate the poetry even more. Read it!

 

~Becky~

The Blue Scarf - Anu Singh Choudhary

 Fiction

Verdict: Read It (5/5)

Overview:

This small and cute book was recommended in the newspaper.

Anu Singh Choudhary has put together a collection of stories that highlight the experiences of women. I'm always a sucker for reading those and this didn't disappoint.

What I Enjoyed:

The stories were short, but invested in. The experiences were both unique to different parts of India and similar to women everywhere. 

What I Disliked:

There wasn't anything I didn't care for in this book.

Summary:

Small, easily digestible, and telling of what it means to be a woman. Grab your tea, sit in a sunny corner, and enjoy womanhood. Read it!

 

~Becky~

Then Came the River - Debapriya Datta

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview:

This also was a random pick from Bookworm. It is the first novel from Debapriya Datta that I have read.

This is the story of a small tea plantation worker's daughter. She grows up and builds a friendship with a foreign friend. The plot line works through some of their life and the friendship that ensues. 

What I Enjoyed:

It's not often that Indian authors broach the subject of cross-cultural friendships. The mindfulness in which it was done was a very pleasant surprise. I've often said that books from different parts of India have different flavors. Assam and the North East are the two places I truly struggle to understand and identify with. That's not to say I dislike stories from these places, but they are exotic and truly stretch my comprehension of India. The story also gives an honest view of the ups and downs and natural lifespan of friendships. It doesn't paint a rosy picture but rather a realistic one where closeness levels don't always match, friendships peter out, and everything doesn't wrap up neatly like a movie.

What I Disliked:

There were parts of this novel that were slow. Then again, I've found that to be the case in most books I read from the North East and Assam; the rhythm and pacing just work differently. Aside from that, the friendship examination bothered me a bit too. I understand that a character can only tell a story from one side, but as someone coming from the other side of similar friendships, that would have been nice to see as well. 

Summary:

This is an easy novel to read and not too large for comfort. Enjoy the easy pace and the in-depth search of friendship. Read it!

 

~Becky~

 

Taatung Tatung - Vaishali Shroff

Non Fiction

Verdict: Read It (5/5)

Overview:

I believe I picked this book because of a recommendation in the paper. 

Revolving around language in India, this collection of short stories sheds light on some very interesting aspects of different languages that exist in India. 

What I Enjoyed:

The stories are short, but well-written. Covering a variety of different topics, there's something for everyone to learn.

What I Disliked:

There was not much I disliked in this book.

Summary:

I'm a sucker for stories, long and short. Cultural trivia and how things came to be also interest me a great deal. I would recommend this for anyone to read.

 

~Becky~

 

Shut the Lights - Smita Bhattacharya

 Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Smita Bhattacharya is a new author for me. 

Set in Mumbai, this is a Covid Era mystery that unfolds like one of those plays that has only one set. A servant's child goes missing and it's puzzling how. The children are surly and secretive, the marriage is on the rocks, and COVID is adding a crazy pressure to everything.

What I Enjoyed:

The format was different. You're left guessing a million different ways it could have happened. The author does a good job of keeping you wondering until the very end.

What I Disliked:

Unfortunately, Covid sucked. Big time. I did not want to read a novel about Covid time - I remember it too well and the murder mystery didn't alleviate that. The culprit, and I won't give away who it is, was pretty obvious if you ask me. The response to the culprit was also pretty disappointing. 

Summary:

Murder mysteries aren't really my thing yet I seem to keep finding them in my book stack. I'm not sure anyone wants to revisit covid, even in the form of a good murder mystery. It was well written, but still not my cup of tea.

 

~Becky~

 

The Lives of Others - Neel Mukherjee

 Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Another Bookworm find this novel is the first one I've read from Neel Mukherjee

This novel covers a great deal about Village Life. It is one of the multigenerational stories that I very much enjoy. 

What I Enjoyed:

As with most multigenerational stories, there is a lot of detail that comes along by chance as you continue to meet characters. The different roles and statuses of children become obvious as the reader understands the structure of the house and the placement of the inhabitants. It's a very crude but accurate commentary about India's obsession with status, even among families. 

What I Disliked:

Because there were so many characters, there wasn't as much effort taken to develop them into well-rounded personalities. Perhaps that was the point, but it feels rather like watching a series of photos go by rather than watching a movie. I am either hit or miss with Bengali authors/writing flavor and this just missed with me. 

Summary:

There are other novels that portray the same themes in a better manner. It's a heavy book to just be a so/so novel, but that's simply my opinion. 

 

~Becky~

 

The City of Good Death - Priyanka Champaneri

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview:

Another Bookworm find this novel is the first one I've read from Priyanka Champaneri.

The book opens with a family that has chosen to run a death hostel in Banares. As we come to understand what that means exactly, a long-lost cousin turns up dead, a ghost inhabits the hostel, and the guy who runs the hostel is forced to confront his past. The family he leaves behind, the girl his family told him to marry, and the love he had for his cousin are beautifully woven into the main plot.

What I Enjoyed:

Indians have a penchant for excellent storytelling, and this was indeed an excellent story. The story slowly unwinds, all the way until the end, leaving you contemplating many things along the way. Death rituals fascinate me (I'm an atheist) and the idea of a "Good Death" also was a new one for me. The author effortlessly captures what it looks like for an Indian who doesn't necessarily have the same beliefs but must cater to those beliefs no matter how silly it may seem. The slowly revealed flashbacks are an interesting insight and make the reader wonder how the protagonist appears so....normal. His background is nothing short of traumatic and his brother's death brings that to the forefront, as new trauma is known to do. It also highlighted the distinctly unique phenomenon of family lies that have long-standing consequences that come back out and haunt people. The characters do not seem well-developed at first, but the author has taken the time to unravel them by giving clues about family background as the novel goes on. Indians view trauma and its reappearing effects with a much more natural view than the Western world. It was refreshing to see trauma appear in a book in a non-forced, non fake way.

What I Disliked:

The supernatural element of a ghost rattling pots to make a point was something that was never explained. I'm not usually fond of the supernatural explanation when a simple one might do, but this episode did serve a purpose in the plot, so I'm inclined to excuse it. There were a few spots that dragged a bit, but in light of the entire work, I'm willing to excuse that as well.

Summary:

This was a contemplative read, as is anything that deals with existential matters. Even so, it's an extremely enjoyable read. It's not a tiny book. It will take a while, especially if you take the time to absorb the details and consider some of the non-obvious things the author is trying to say. Read it!

 

~Becky~

 

The Mountain Shadow - Gregory Roberts

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview: 

The Mountain Shadow was a surprise find at Bookworm. It's the second novel from Gregory Roberts, following the infamous Shantaram. I read Shantaram as well, so this would be the second novel. As Shantaram was influential in my decision to relocate to India, I definitely wanted to read the follow up.

Lin Baba makes his return appearance to continue bringing us through the life of crime, love, and friendship in Mumbai. 

What I Enjoyed:

Gregory Roberts is a good writer (or has an excellent editor!) and has interesting experiences to share. I think most of the fascination for me was a follow-up for the first novel and to see if his story resonated with mine. While the plot meandered quite a bit, the pacing was good. The characters are well-developed and entertaining. 

What I Disliked:

While I liked the epic romance story with Karla, it got a bit much at times. I also got the distinct impression that Lin Baba thought himself quite the Bollywood hero at times. Not a turn-off exactly, but it was amusing. This novel also had me questioning if anything new was coming to the table, or if the author was simply capitalizing on previous success. Nothing wrong with that of course if the story is good, but the plots were similar enough to make me wonder.

Summary:

If you enjoyed Shantharam, you'll enjoy this as well. It's not a short read, it took me a good amount of time. I personally liked Shantharam better, though it's been so long now I need to go back and read it again. If you've run to India for some reason you might resonate with this novel. Read it!

 

~Becky~

  

Blood Brothers - MJ Akbar

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Brief Note: Ironically, I read this before and didn't even realize it until I was making my entry into my list of books read and checking if I read anything from MJ Akbar before. This is what happens when you read too much. I'm going to review it anyway because I don't think I did before.

Blood Brothers is yet another novel that I picked up from Bookworm. I'm not sure what made me pick it up. This is the first book I've read by MJ Akbar

The time just prior to and during partition is well-tread ground for good reason. This book is a multigenerational novel about a family that has moved to Bengal outside one of the famous Jute Mills and how the events unfolded around them during and after partition. They are decently well off thanks to a smart grandfather. The family has influence in the community and helps to avert the community tensions that plagued many other places in Calcutta during partition. 

What I Enjoyed:

The novel is well-written and easy to understand. MJ Akbar does a masterful job of splitting his attention between character development and historical events. While a little out of the ordinary, Akbar managed to find a balance between hope and being believable in terms of avoiding community bloodshed. 

What I Disliked:

I would have liked a little more detail on the family relationships. While the importance of the historical events is undeniable, the effects on families and their relationships can't be ignored either. I felt the father's character development could have gone into more depth. There were a few slightly slow sections.

Summary:

It took me quite some time to finish this novel for the 2nd time. There are very few novels I will voluntarily read twice. I would not read this a third time. That being said, this is a suitable contender for a reader who is not familiar with Calcutta and partition. Read it!

 

~Becky~

  

A House for Mr. Misra - Jaishree Misra

NonFiction

Verdict: Read It (5/5)

Overview:

I Picked up this very small book from Bookworm. The cover artwork is very nice. This is the first book I've read by Jaishree Misra.

This novel revolves around an Indian couple that has moved from Britain back to India. The main character, whose name is not disclosed beyond Mr. M's wife, is a Malayali from Kerala. her husband is vaguely from "North India". They purchase some land and proceed to deal with the idiocy that is India anytime anything official or bureaucratic happens. 

What I Enjoyed:

I think anyone who has purchased a home of any type in India can relate to some (or all!) of the struggles that the Misras' went through. I certainly could. Trying to do things both by the book and with a workaround will never go as planned, and will possibly become very difficult. A well-written and edited book. 

What I Disliked:

I wanted this novel to be longer and have more details. While I could appreciate the beauty of a short story about an isolated subject, I really wanted to know more about the Misras and the process of their house. 

Summary:

Another rainy afternoon delight, it's short but entertaining and worth it. If you understand India, bureaucracy, and property, this is a book for you. Read it!

~Becky~

Black River - Nilanjana S Roy

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview:

It seems I haven't been diligent about writing reviews since I returned from the US some 4 months back. Shame shame and all that jazz. Now I have a stack of books to complete and this was on the top.  Ahem. Anyhow.

Black River is a novel that I picked up from my fav bookstore, Bookworm. This is the first book I've read by Nilanjana Roy.

 The novel opens with a pastoral scene that quickly devolves into a very unfortunate murder of a young girl, Munia.  What ensues is a murder mystery that doesn't follow the typical Sherlock Holmes/Police Detective template. The details are slowly revealed whilst wandering around in memories. 

What I Enjoyed:

A very simple read in terms of language and plot, the book still delights in that it is well-written and well-planned. The murder mystery is like the end of a ball of yarn that takes the entire novel to unravel. A host of characters, tied together by odd relationships, bring us through present and historical side plots. The characters were simple and easy to identify with, yet not shallow. I know I didn't mention much here, but the beauty of this novel is how it unravels and  I don't like spoilers.

What I Disliked:

There wasn't much I disliked about this novel. 

Summary:

A light read, this mystery is a great companion for a rainy afternoon. It won't take long to read, and the characters and plot are simple and enjoyable. Read it!

~Becky~