Book Review: The Undomestic Goddess

The Undomestic Goddess is a book by Sophie Kinsella published in 2006. I found this book on Goodreads and got it after seeing high ratings and great reviews. Its a 400+ pages fiction.

The story revolves around a lady called Samantha, who is a successful lawyer working with a top firm in London. She's a workaholic, works for 14-16 hours day, including weekends and is awaiting a partnership at Carter Spink, her organization. She makes a mistake, and comes to know about it after the deadline has crossed. She is fired from the organization, and ends up reaching someone's place where is mistaken for a housekeeper. She doesn't know how to cook, how to use an iron, how to operate a washing machine or to clean loos. The story is about her struggle to learn the domestic work, and her realization of what she had been missing in life. She realizes that there is more to life than just office work, that is, relationships, weekend offs, going to pubs, and a lot more. She consequently makes life changing decisions.

The story is narrated in first person, is comic from time to time, leaves a smile on your face. Its difficult to put down the book and you feel like reading a few more pages before closing it. It gives me a feel of Hindi movies. One can also relate it to Govinda's famous Bollywood movie Hero No. 1, where Govinda belongs to a rich family but works as a housekeeper in the house of his beloved, to pursue everyone in the house.

However, I felt that the end is too slow, and redundant. It could have been shorter. The last few pages could be reduced to lesser number.

Overall, I rate this book as 3.5 on 5, and recommend it for those who enjoy light-hearted humor and women's fiction.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

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रविवार

अब तो हर वार है सोमवार,

सुबह से करते हैं शाम का इंतज़ार,

लड़कपन के वो दिन थे ख़ुशगवार,

आता था एक दिन कहते थे उसे रविवार,

साईकल पे पीछे बैठने का आनंद था अपार,

सुबह उठ के हो जाते थे हम तैयार,

मोगली, रंगोली और देखते चित्रहार,

चंद्रकांता, तरंग और कृष्णा लगते त्योहार,

चंपक और चाचा चौधरी थे मज़ेदार,

मिट्टी की गुल्लक तोड़ने का इंतज़ार,

होमवर्क देख कर आ जाता बुख़ार,

लगता अब जल्दी बड़े हो जायें यार,

बरसात में कागज़ की नाव बनाना,

सितोलिया और साँप सीढ़ी से मन बहलाना,

दोस्तों संग लुका छुपी खेलना,

कट्टी करना फिर एक हो जाना,

गली में क्रिकेट खेलना,

आउट हो जाने पर नोंक झोंक करना,

रविवार कहो या संडे उसे कहना,

बचपन चला जाए बचपना नहीं खोना।

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Book Review: Faqeera Chal Chala Chal

"Faqeera Chal Chala Chal" is a book by debut author Sunil Sapra. I thank the author for sending across his book in exchange of an honest review.

This book is a collection of 84 poems in Hindi. It is a quick read. Upon reading, one can relate to some or the other poem. It is written in simple language, but at many junctures plants an urge to read certain poems over and over. There are some poems which let you meet yourself. They make you think twice about you and your life. The writer aptly says in the foreword, every person has a faqeera hidden within them. Discovering that faqeera is all you have to do.

I was not able to relate to each of the poems, but I won't comment by saying that I disliked them. It is just that the mood of those poems don't match my frequency. There are however, some poems which are worth reading. I especially bookmarked them to read and re-read in future.

The poems are set in various moods, or various aspects of one's life. For instance, हसरते, meaning desires. In this section, I specially loved चाहते and पंछी. These poems depict the desires of a human mind, and how each individual has different desires and expectations from life. And even after getting everything, how one remains dissatisfied at times.

I liked some lines from a poem -

चुप रहने वाले को,
दुनिया है भूल जाती,
अरे, रोये बिना तो,
माँ भी बच्चे को दुध नही पिलाती |

To me, these lines mean a lot. I have practically experienced such situations in life where it is not always about being good and pretending that everything is well, or waiting for situations to turn in your favor. Sometimes it is you who has to stand for thyself and express your will. It works!

I have read all the poems in the section मैं many times. Simply speaking, all that is penned in the poems is known and obvious, but the words in these poems are perfectly woven to reiterate the existence of these emotions in you.

If I mention further, it would be a spoiler for other readers :)

I give this book 4 on 5 and recommend it for those who have a different perspective on their life, the surroundings, their present, past, their family and often get nostalgic. I also recommend it for those who are fond of writing poetries. This bunch of poems is a motivator for writing.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

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मोबाइल

झुके रहते है सर आजकल हर पल,

लगता है सबका ख़ुदा बदल गया है,

हाथ जोड़े है हर कोई शान से,

प्रार्थना का ये नया ज़रिया निकल गया है,

बातें अब होती कहाँ है आपस में जनाब,

कमरे में हर व्यक्ति चैटिंग से बहल गया है,

मिल आये दुनिया से ऑनलाइन अभी अभी,

अपनों से मिलने का वक़्त बंट गया है,

गिल्ली डंडा खेलना ना जाने ये पीढ़ी,

बचपन अब सेल्फी स्टिक में जो अटक गया है,

कागज़ की कश्ती कहाँ तैरती अब बरसात में,

मोबाइल पर उंगलियां दौड़ाने में जो मन भटक गया है |

(Disclaimer: This post does not intend to harm, defame, or hurt the sentiments of any person, gender, religion, political party, news channel, religious belief, god or to whomsoever it may concern. I sincerely apologize in advance if it is so.)

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Book Review: Train to Pakistan

Train to Pakistan is a bestseller by well known author Khushwant Singh. It was written back in 1956.

This book is a fiction based on the time when India got independence along with the curse of partition. 

Even though its a fiction, it is very much inspired by reality. For a reader like me who has shallow knowledge of what had happened at that time, this book is informative too. The crude truths were never detailed out in our textbooks and we had no clue of the after effects of this political game. This book led me to think upon the unknown sacrifices that had been given willingly or unwillingly on the both the sides, before present day India and Pakistan stabilized. And how the innocent had to lose their lives in the process.

The story revolves around one of the villages called Mano Majra, near the border of India and Pakistan, and the surrounding areas. Mano Majra is a fictional village located in Punjab. Sikhs and Muslims lived peacefully and with brotherhood in the village irrespective of the ongoing riots between the two religions. This novel depicts the daily activities of the people in the said rural area.

It shows how after partition, Hindus and Muslims both faced atrocities while travelling in trains to the land they were supposed, to as per their religion. How both the sides were killed, all the passengers of trains massacred, raped, tortured. Revenge took over humanity and Kalyug had started in literal sense. But also showcases how humanity still exists, and how a robber Jugga saves the train sacrificing his own life. He does it for the sake of his lover Nooran who is on a train going to Pakistan. Humanity prevailed when morals and love inside Jugga took over his bad character and hatred for the other religion. Iqbal, who had been against the killings throughout, did not take part in stopping it when he actually should, all because of his overthinking

Overall, it is a depressing story. You may hardly find any entertainment or cheerfulness throughout. 

The characterization is perfect, the story telling is such that it feels like a movie is being played in front of you, the narration is descriptive yet concise. The dialogues are flawless. It is free of biasness towards religion (Hindu and Sikh or Muslim) and country (Hindustan or Pakistan, as they say)

There is a movie from year 1998 based on the book. I watched the movie soon after finishing the book, and again the reader in me justified being a reader! The movie misses out a lot that can be read in the book.

I rate it 3.5 on 5 and recommend it for those of my age who are untouched of the partition time tales, and are interested in fiction.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or 

degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing this review.)

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

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