Author: Karan Mahajan
This book has won several awards and received recommendations from the New York Times, Washington Post, Buzzfeed, Esquire and a whole list of other publications. The title seems like a mouthful and is awkward to say the least. The story however, seems very realistic in its portrayal of middle class Indians of both Hindu and Muslim persuasion. While I haven’t any direct experience with bomb makers or terrorists, I felt the narrative compelling and for the most part, believable.
Karan tells a great story that is easy to digest and is a quick read. In the final chapters, the story goes off-road, and Karan seems to lose control of the narrative. He has a bunch of wild ideas, but is lacking the patience to develop them into meaningful stories. Thankfully they are over quickly and he doesn't trickle them down over another 200 pages. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it entertaining.
Author: Tina Fey
I read “Yes Please” by Amy Poehler and “Bossypants” by Tina Fey in quick succession and am having a hard time in differentiating the two. They both have similar themes. Amy and Tina are talented young women who broke into the male-dominated Improv culture in the late nineties and early 2000s. Their books chronicle the first half of their life — since the second half has not yet been lived out. While their early upbringing was different, it did not stand out in any particular way from the experience of millions of young girls in suburban American. What set’s them apart is that they were not afraid to challenge the status quo and embraced the Improv culture that was just coming of age in the US. They both got their first taste of a national audience with the Saturday Night Live show. SNL shaped their careers and gave them an opportunity to express their talent and get noticed. Amy went on to make Parks and Recreation and Tina Fey went on to produce 30 Rock, which accumulated a total of 112 Emmy Nominations over the course of 6 years.
Tina is known for her self-deprecating humor and the book is a veritable testament to her style. You would never guess that she was once ranked in the Hot 100 list in Maxim Magazine, who named her the “thinking man’s sex symbol”. The book has some very down-to-earth advice and home truths that are both funny and sobering. I couldn’t help be both shocked and amused when I heard Amy say, “Now every girl is expected to have: Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits.”
Amy uses her comedic skills to make us aware of the double standards that we have in society today especially around women. She says, “The topic of working moms is a tap-dance recital in a minefield.” To learn more about these landmines, I recommend listening to the audio book to hear Amy tell it like it is.
Editors: Etgar Keret & Assaf Gavron
I had enjoyed the “Seven Good Years” by Etgar Keret and mistakenly assumed this was another book by the same author. When I got my hands on it, I realized it was a set of short stories by several up and coming Israeli authors. Etgar had one story in there and I didn’t care much for that one. However, there were many others that were outstanding. All of the stories are set in and around Tel Aviv and bring out the vibrancy and excitement of the city life. Interestingly the stories are listed in the contents with the street names or area in Tel Aviv that they are set in.
The first story “Sleeping Mask” by Gadi Taub had me riveted and holding my breath as I flipped the page to see what comes next. One is about playing detective at a startup, another is about the boring life of a person who works in grocery store and a third is about a tour guide. Every single one of them brings out a facet of the culture that is unique to Israel. When you have a few moments of spare time, pick up a random story in this book and give it a read.
Author: Amy Poehler
Amy has written this book like she is doing Improv, which in case you don't know, is a live form of theater where you make up things as you go along. The book reads more like a stream of consciousness than a story or message for the author. The most endearing part of the book is that Amy is authentic and tells it like she sees it. I listened to the audiobook which has Amy tell it in her own voice and she is super entertaining. There’s some learning moments and there’s a bunch of zingers that are oh-so-true. Here’s a sample of the ones that I am saving for the right occasion:
- “I believe great people do things before they are ready.”
- “Anger and embarrassment are often neighbors.”
- "Stop whining about getting old. It's a privilege. A lot of people who are dead wish they were still alive."
- "Nobody looks stupid when they are having fun."
The parts of the book that fitted a more traditional biography were the most appealing to me. When Amy was recollecting her childhood days, I could personally identify with all the descriptions. The lack of ubiquitous cellphones, the reliance on the answering machine, believing MTV was the greatest thing, etc. all brought back fond memories of my first few years in the U.S.
Overall, this is a romp through the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first as told by one funny and spontaneous woman.
Author: Deborah Levy
The Man Booker Prize for 2016 is going to be announced at the end of this month (Oct. 25th) and this book is on the short list. It tells a rather offbeat story of a young girl Sofia who is caring for her mother’s mysterious illness. The book is weird in many ways. For instance, the word “caring” is mostly about getting her mother a glass of water, which see seems to be very picky about. Her mother seeks out a medical facility run by a quirky doctor on a remote beach town in Spain. The narrative hurtles along with one hallucinogenic chapter after another that might make more sense if I was smoking something.
On the positive side the book is well written and Ms. Levy does a great job of holding your interest to turn the pages. It is a quick read and I did learn a thing or two about Jellyfish stings.
