The power to Forgive: Avinuo Kire

Fiction Short Stories

Read it!

This book wasn't what I thought it would be from reading the back. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I did. Immensely. 

The North East of India has its own brand of writers and literature, a very distinct flavor that is different from mainland India. Different experiences and culture I guess. It's challenging for me to read, but I enjoy it. This book is written from a Naga viewpoint and was an interesting counterpoint from the army book in Mizoram I had mentioned in a recent post.

The stories are very reflective and abstract. They're also quite relatable on a human level and address basic human emotions. I feel that looking back and wondering if you handled a difficult situation in the best way is a very human experience.  There's not too much else I can say but this without getting into the individual stories, which I never do in my reviews. Definitely a good read.

Read it!

~Becky~

The Intolerant Indian - Gautam Adhikari

As per my penchant for learning about Indian culture, I was curious about the author's premise.

Gautam Adhikari explores some of the history that has resulted in many Indians becoming xenophobic and overly concerned with religion in order to exclude others. The author explores fanaticism without resorting to the usual suspects or blaming one party over the other.

He also explores how religion has, and continues to shape politics. There is an idea floating around that Indians are extremely tolerant because India hosts a society that is comprised of multiple types of people with different religions, creeds, and outlooks. Unfortunately, he solidly debunks this myth.

Verdict: I wouldn't recommend this for someone who hasn't had any real time exposure to life in India. It's a hot confusing mess to understand, even for people who have had exposure. If you are interested/have had exposure, it's a very interesting read on India's view on itself and in relation to the world. The level of intolerance will shock and possibly sicken you. 

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Why yes, my head is hung in shame – thanks for noticing. I had no plans what so ever for reading this series because I usually avoid touching pop lit with anything but a 10 foot pole. However, my husband bought it for me to read and I find his encouragement of my literary adventures beyond cute – so we both read it.

I’m not going to bother giving you a review – you can feel free to look at one of the 10 gazillion other reviews floating around.

I will say this for the writing – the subject material is difficult to process if you’re the contemplative type – but that’s one of the major draws for the book. For material written for a teenaged reading level, it’s incredibly deep subject material. I’m actually curious as to how some teens have reacted to it after reading it.

Verdict: If you’re up for some contemplative thinking about humanity, dig in. Don’t expect the reading to be difficult, but take it for what it is and spend the extra time contemplating the what ifs of the world coming to this type of behavior.

Becky