Book Review: Lajja

Lajja by Taslima Nasreen is a story of a Hindu family- Sudhamoy, Kironmoyee and their children- Suranjan and Maya. They live in Bangladesh which is ridden with religious and political conflict.But their lives take a turn for the worse when Hindus in India demolish Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. With already burgeoning Muslim fundamentalism, this incident added fuel to the fire. The event which happened in India had repercussions in Bangladesh.

Hi people!! This is my third read of the year. It has been on my TBR for so long and I am so happy that I read it. The story is gut wrenching and it left me emotionally drained. Find out the detailed review on my blog. The link is in the bio. #bookblogger #bookstagramindia #bookstagram #books #bookphotography #bookporn #booknerdigans #booklover #bookaholic #lajja #tbr #readersofinstagram #reading #instabooks #picoftheday #penguin #bookstagramindia #lake #nature #trees #naturelovers

A photo posted by Ravneet Kaur ll 21 ll India (@the.crazy.booknerd) on Jan 25, 2017 at 3:06am PST

The story depicts their life over a series of thirteen days- how each family member feels and reacts to different situations. The narrative is very powerful.  The language is simple yet impactful. Several themes pertaining to religion, secularism, patriotism are explored throughout the narrative which makes you think what is right and what is wrong. It left me emotionally drained. 

 The characters are wonderfully written. Sudhanmoy is patriotic and idealistic. His idealism gets very irritating when he fails to see the reality. Suranjan comes across as careless and detached. But his thinking undergoes a lot of significant change. 

Throughout the story, there are a lot of facts which recount the horrific incidents of lootings and killings in Bangladesh. That threw me off a little. Other than that, the book is worth reading. 

I highly recommend this book. 

My Rating

Book Review: The curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

Hola! This is my first read of 2017. So many of my friends recommend me this book that I had to read it. The review is up on my blog. Link in bio. QOTD: Have you read this book? How did you find it? #bookstagramindia #bookstagram #books #bookporn #bookphotography #currentlyreading #tbr #mark #booknerdigans #readersofinstagram #reading #mystery #dog #instabooks #picoftheday #booksofinstagram #igreads #bookstagramfeatures #blogger #bookblogger #book1 #readingchallenge

A photo posted by Ravneet Kaur ll 21 ll India (@the.crazy.booknerd) on Jan 20, 2017 at 11:47pm PST

This book  came  highly recommended by so many people that I snagged it as soon as I spotted in the World Book Fair. Upon reading it, I did not understand what the hype was all about.

The book is written from the point of view of a boy named Christopher who suffers from Asperger Disorder. He loves prime numbers and Sherlock Holmes. He makes sense of the world in the form of patterns and diagrams, so he enjoys making lists.  His mother is dead, and he lives with his father. One day, the neighbor's dog gets killed, and he takes it upon himself to solve the mystery. But during uncovering this mystery, he unearths a lot of other secrets. 

The pace of the novel is just right- neither quick nor very slow. The author does not indulge in giving unnecessary details. He has done a good job getting into the mind of a person with Autism and interpreting the world around him. There are various illustrations which add an extra element to the book. 

I didn't like the plot of the novel very much. While the first half looks promising, the author didn't do very well in building suspense. And in the second half, the author drifted off to some other direction. The mystery is solved and then the real struggle is reaching London all by himself. Why London, you will get to know when you read.

In a nutshell, it's an interesting one time read but I would not recommend it.

Leaving you with my favorite quote:

“On the fifth day, which was a Sunday, it rained very hard. I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.

My Rating: