_askthebookbug's reviews
1337 reviews

Outcaste.
~
"Paptikutty's inner eye opened. The purpose of her birth was revealed to her in that moment. Her weariness and inertia vanished. The concept of Illusion reared its head. The primal figure of the Mother Goddess in a graveyard, wearing a garland of skills, gleefully sucking the blood trickling from the decapitated demon's head, appeared in her mind's eye." - Matampu Kunhukuttan.
~
Originally written in Malayalam by Matampu and later translated into English by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan, Outcaste is a fierce novel about everything that's wrong with the patriarchal society. I've come to enjoy translated books lately for the fact that it is poetic in it's writing while narrating the events that are most often related to our history. Outcaste is based on the 1905 trial of a Namboodiri woman for adultery. This book is about revenge that a woman seeked while bringing down the entire Namboodiri community.
~
Paptikutty was a vision of beauty and grace but when she gets exploited by her husband and brother-in-law on the night of her wedding, she steels her heart and decides to take revenge on all the men. She seeks out 64 men from the most powerful families and lures them in with her seductive beauty. While on trail, she even lists down their names and intimate physical descriptions that they shared. The above quote refers to Paptikutty being an reincarnation of Goddess Kaali while purifying the patriarchal society. First half of the book describes the historic Kerala where the author explains about how the Namboodiri community used to work. I learnt about resident husbands, the era of prostitution being considered as high class amongst other things.
~
This book is tough to read at one go for the translation is very difficult to comprehend. There are meanings of most of the words that we aren't aware of but I'm afraid many readers will choose to abandon this due to the level of difficulty. If you're interested in learning about the ancient culture of Kerala, then I assure you that you'll love the book. I, for one, enjoyed the book for I decided to give it time.
~
Thank you @alephbookco for sending this gorgeous book :)
~
Rating - 4/5.

#bookrecommendations - Verity.
~
I finished this book few minutes ago and my head is reeling. I remember reading It Ends With Us last year and feeling the same sense of restlessness post finishing the book. Verity is a magnificent book that makes you feel terrified and excited at the same time. It's not complicated or lengthy like other thrillers but is something that you can devour in a single sitting. I began reading this book in the morning and was done within couple of hours.
~
Lowen Ashleigh witnesses a road accident on the first day she decides to step out after her mother's death. A stranger helps her in regaining her senses and soothes her nerves. She then recieves an offer to write the sequels to a famous book written by Verity who's husband happens to be the one who helped Ashleigh post the accident. Jeremy is a man who has an air of mystery around him and when he requests Ashleigh to accept the offer, she finds herself saying yes. Verity is confined to bed after she crashes into a tree and hence they decided to seek an other author's help in finishing her books. Ashleigh moves in to his family house to study Verity's work over the years. It is then that she finds Verity's autobiography in the desk drawers and discovers the ugly truth behind their daughters death.
~
In the manuscript, Verity writes about her aversion to her children and her obsession towards Jeremy. Ashleigh struggles to wrap this information and warns Jeremy about his wife's intentions and hand behind his childrens' death. As Jeremy and Ashleigh bond during her stay in their house, the danger of having Verity under the roof intensifies. It is then that the book changes into something exceptional. Pick up this book to know if Verity was truly a murderer or if she was innocent. The story doesn't really end till the last page. It makes you marvel at how superbly the author has brought this book together. A splendid thriller with wonderful character development.
~
Rating - 5/5.

#bookrecommendation - Americanah.
•
"The only reason you say that race was not an issue is because you wish it was not. We all wish it was not. But it’s a lie. I came from a country where race was not an issue; I did not think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
•
I often devour Chimamanda's books within couple of days but this took me close to two weeks. Perhaps it had to do with the intensity of the story or with the issue that it addresses. Today when I finished reading it, I sit back and think about Adichie's courage and honesty while she wrote this novel. Americanah is a take on racism, interracial relationships, immigration and the unfairness of life that has been thrusted into the faces of Non American Blacks. I found this book beautifully daunting for it made me appreciate the frankness with which she speaks about what it's like to be a black person in a country of white people.
•
This is the story of Ifemelu and Obinze, two teenagers in love who flee from Nigeria to the glittery world of America. Ifemelu moves first to get a degree and she recounts the nightmares she had to go through desperate to earn money. She talks about her friendships and relationships with white and black men and how at home she felt with them, yet feeling disconnected after a while. Obinze on the other hand describes his experience of working in England with fake documents and his attempt at marrying a stranger to get his stay approved. I especially enjoyed Ifemelu's blog references as she addresses many instances about how different people like her felt amidst others. The ending took me by surprise and I'm glad she decided to end it on that note.
Rating - 5/5.

Red Rising.
~
"'I killed their pack leader,' Sevro says when I ask why the wolves follow him. He looks me up and down and flashes me an impish grin from beneath the wolf pelt. 'Don't worry, I wouldn't fit in your skin.'" - Pierce Brown.
~
I admit that I'm not usually very keen on reading SciFi fantasy novels but having heard a lot about Red Rising from @badphoto_goodbook , I decided to give it a try. Red Rising is a book starring a 16 year old kid Darrow who lives in Mars. People are divided according to their colours, Gold being the highest and Red being the lowest. Unfortunately, Darrow belongs to the lowest of the low and has no access to enjoying the perks of life. After being told to work as slaves in the mines, Darrow faces a tragedy which undoes his life. He grows overnight from a teenager into a force to be reckoned with.
~
He is then sent on a mission to bring down the Godly Golds for having kept the Reds under a thick veil of ignorance for centuries. Darrow is transformed into a Gold by a set of highly qualified professionals to give him access to the most prestigious institute where leaders are born. What follows next is his journey through the competition with all the odds stacked against him. It is then that I truly started enjoying the book. I had to struggle for the initial few chapters to gain momentum and keep myself interested in the book but the pace increased significantly after 30% of the novel. There's a lot of SciFi words which comes as no surprise considering the genre it has been shelved under. This might prove to be a bit difficult for people to read. But it gets easier with every chapter.
~
I'm unclear as to why this has been grouped under YA because it's much more than just that. The characters are brilliantly mastered and there are so many unexpected twists that I didn't see coming. The writing is splendid with no flaws or glitches. I came to enjoy this book thoroughly as it marched to the end. A gripping read to those who want to try their hand at this genre. There are three more books post this and I'm going to read them all :)
~
Rating - 4.3/5.
~
Have you read this book? Who's your favourite character? Mine is undoubtedly Sevro ♥

The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die - #bookrecommendation
•
The Aunt Who Wouldn't Die is a book that brings forward the idea of feminism. Written originally in Bengali by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and later translated into English by Arunava Sinha, this novella is a strangely comforting read. Set in the post-independence era, this book focuses on three generations of women in an Aristocratic family. The translation was what made it appealing to me. I finished it in two sittings and immediately chided myself for being so greedy. This book focuses on how the responsibilities and freedom of women shift through the years.
•
The story begins when an 18 year old Somlata marries into a dwindling aristocratic family. She immediately realises the false facade of being affluent that the family has been portraying over the years. The men of the family are useless and detest working. They insist on selling their assets and gold to run the household. Somlata cajoles her husband into opening a store despite being openly opposed by the rest of the family. Over the years, the business brings in a handsome sum of money and Somlata gains respect in return. She's assisted by rest of the men in the family to look after the shops. Though Somlata is a polite woman, she is often unnerved by her sister-in-law who rules the house with an ironclad hand. Pishima, who is a child widow is a bitter woman for not being allowed to enjoy life the way she wanted. When she dies suddenly, she comes back as a ghost to haunt Somlata and torture her endlessly. She orders her to hide her jewelry box from the greedy eyes of the family.
•
When Somlata gives birth to a beautiful daughter, people in the family believe that she's pishima's reincarnation. Boshon is a feminist who has been doted on by the family. She craves independence and freedom while being headstrong. The story shows stark changes in the way that these women live. Pishima for being shunned from enjoying her life, Somlata for being a smart businesswoman and Boshon for being modern. A simple yet invigorating read. Gifted by @badphoto_goodbook

It's Trevor Noah : Born A Crime.
~
"As a kid I understood that people were different colors, but in my head white and black and brown were like types of chocolate. Dad was the white chocolate, mom was the dark chocolate, and I was the milk chocolate. But we were all just chocolate." - Trevor Noah.
~
Such a stunning book. Born a crime is a splendid autobiography about the famous South African comedian Trevor. As I write this, I can't help but struggle to put few words together about this glorious piece of work. There are a lot of things that this book focuses on, the biggest one being the Apartheid. A severe racial discrimination that went on for about forty years in South Africa, Apartheid is one of the cruelest rights that white men exercised. As the author walks us through his life, he makes sure to let the world know how bad things were back when people were segregated into different colours. White being the most privileged. Born to a black mother and a Swiss- German father, Trevor often felt the brunt of being different.
~
The book is extremely funny while addressing serious issues. That's a given considering how wonderful a comedian Trevor is. He talks in detail about his childhood, about how he never fit in anywhere for being light-skinned. My favourite parts were when he spoke about his mother, Patricia. She was a headstrong woman who made her way through poverty and taught wonderful values to her son. Her lessons are something that even I would follow for they're all spectacular. Trevor paints a picture about how tough times were back when black people did not have enough opportunities to move forward. There are a thousand quotes by Trevor that affected me more than I thought it would.
~
This book is not all rainbows. It has the darkest stories of South Africans but the author gracefully narrates everything with a slight tone of hilarity to it. That's what makes it a superb read. It'll probably be one of my favourite reads of this year. It's important that people read and know about Apartheid for we are not taught about it in schools and colleges. A must read for all age groups.
~
Rating - 5/5.

The Joy Luck Club - #bookrecommendation
~
"And even though I taught my daughter the opposite, still she came out the same way! Maybe it is because she was born to me and she was born a girl. And I was born to my mother and I was born a girl. All of us are like stairs, one step after another, going up and down, but all going the same way." - Amy Tan.
~
There was not a single moment when I drifted from the story. It truly is difficult to put together a review for a book as magnificent as this but I will try. The Joy Luck Club is the lives of eight Chinese women who now live in America. It's about mother-daughter relationships that sometimes appears jagged and sometimes seem as smooth as a pebble. This is the story of all mothers and the fate that they pass on to their daughters. This was Tan's first book and to come up with something as beautiful as this is truly magical.
~
The book is split into four parts with four stories each. Each story is narrated by a mother and her daughter respectively. The mothers who move to America either due to war or due to other circumstances, try hard to make their children a perfect mix of Chinese and American. Each story is brilliantly narrated with amusing Chinese quotes where all of them think back to how their mothers were. Mothers are irritated by the fact that their daughters are forgetting their Chinese roots while the daughters struggle to live upto their mothers' expectations. It speaks of what a generation gap can do these women.
~
It may prove a bit hard to remember all the names but you'll catch up soon. The stories brim with emotions which made me teary-eyed. There's warmth, pain and tragedy written all over the book. It makes me miss my mother when she's right next to me. I guess that's what counts when you read words that are as powerful as Tan's. The beliefs that are mentioned in the book are unique. Here's one example. When An-mei's mother cuts off a piece of chunk from her finger and drops it in the herbal soup that's to be served to her grandmother, it is believed that daughters must peel off a piece of them to pass on the love to their mothers. It's about connection that keeps them binded.
~
Rating - 5/5.

No Exit.
•
I have loved thriller and crime mysteries ever since I can remember. When No Exist came out, it received raving reviews from all the critics. It was then that I decided to read it. There are few things that I absolutely loved about this book and then there were few that seemed a bit too much. There's a strong female lead which I appreciated but her character traits seemed over the top. No Exit for me was a moderate thriller but I cannot speak on behalf of everyone.
•
Darby Thorne hits the road one snowy day to make it to the hospital where her mother is being treated for pancreatic cancer. In her battered car with barely any food in her stomach, Darby makes way to Utah to clear the air between her mother. But a blizzard forces her to take a break at a rest stop out in the wilderness. Darby finds herself amidst a preppy student Ashley, two middle aged cousins Ed and Sandi, and a rodent faced awkward guy called Lars. Things seem normal and mundane for a while until Darby accidentally stumbles upon a young girl of seven locked up in Lars's car. Jaybird is kidnapped and has been held as a hostage.
•
Darby now knows that she needs to save the girl at any cost. But she needs to do it quick and stealthily before the criminal finds out about her plan. She has a plan in place and knows she'd require help from the others to make it work. Little did she know that she would later confide in the criminal himself. What follows next is a series of shocks and betrayals as she struggles to risk her life to save the kid. It's a gripping read which puts forth one twist after the other when you least expect it. For a thriller, this story does complete justice. Considering all this, the book should have been a five star read for me except it wasn't.
•
Darby's character begins as a rebel daughter who was always a disappointment to her mother. She's not beautiful but modest. She's fiesty, smart and hates socialising. She trusts the wrong people, makes one mistake after the other and yet manages to come out clean. I found this all a bit too hyped. It's clichéd which is why it failed to score 5 stars from me. But a good read nevertheless.
•
Rating - 3.9/5.

Ayesha At Last.
•
I purchased this book on a whim in Kochi. This book has been circulating across Instagram with mixed reviews and I had to see it for myself what all the hype was about. The cover is beautiful, that of a Muslim woman in her traditional hijab. The blurb already reveals that this story falls along the lines of modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice so in a way we do know what to expect. It's a fast paced novel which I managed to finish in just two sittings. The author clearly has a flair to write gracefully. Though I enjoyed this read there were few obvious flaws.
•
Ayesha is from a traditional muslim family who now lives in Toronto. After the mysterious death of her father, she moved with her mother, brother and grandparents to Canada to lead a better life. With the constant support of her uncle, her family finally finds roots in the new country. Ayesha is a simple woman in her late twenties with dreams of becoming a poet but settles for being a teacher instead. From a very young age she starts taking responsibility of looking after her uncle's children. Hafsa, her cousin of 20 lives in la la land and wants to marry a young and wealthy man while Ayesha holds no such desire. But her needs change when she meets 26 year old Khalid.
•
Khalid is a religious young man who dresses in white robes and grows a beard as part of his religious requirements. Though he feels at peace in the attire, he only manages to draw stares from his fellow employees. Growing up with a controlling mother, makes him an introvert who leaves all the decision making responsibilities to her including choosing a bride for him. He believes in love after marriage and lives by the rules but soon enough his plans go awry as he finds himself falling in love with Ayesha. The storyline is quite simple where love blossoms between shy Khalid and bold Ayesha but the problem starts when the plot begins to look too filmy.
•
I had no problem with Khalid's attire or his beliefs in Islam teachings. He seemed confident enough to embrace his individuality but when he gets a makeover at the end, I wasn't sure what to make of it. What was the need to change his clothes and hair-do? While the author has maintained a steady pace throughout the story, tiny blips like these made it a bumpy ride. Khalid's personal and family life seemed too complicated with his nagging mother and a desolate sister. While Farzana, his mother was initially portrayed as someone who wants to comtrol her son, she later turns into someone more monstrous. Few scenarios were dramatic, something that would happen only in soap operas. What could have been a lovely read fell short of a solid structure at the end. If you're looking for a good one-time fun read, this one's for you.
Rating - 3.8/5.

The Kiss Quotient.
•
The last erotic fiction that I read was Fifty shades of grey series few years ago. Never did I think that The Kiss Quotient would fall under the same category. When I read the blurb of the story, I did not expect it to be so graphic in narration. Though the storyline is quite predictable, the writing flair of the author is what truly matters. It's easy and fluid and before you know it, you're done with the book. I'm not one to appreciate romance novels much but this one was a fun read.
•
Stella Lane is a successful woman in her late twenties who has trouble sticking to relationships. She hates the idea of touching, kissing and especially hates sex because she's autistic. She has had couple of dates which fizzled out into nothing very quickly. With her parents pressuring her to get married and give them grandchildren, Stella comes up with a plan to get her acquainted with sex. She goes through a male escort service and picks a man to teach her how to become proficient in having intercourse. But she soon forgets about her practice relationship when she meets the guy for the first time.
•
Michael Larsen is a stunning man who works as an escort to pay for his mother's medical bills. When his father abandons the family, Michael steps up to look after them immediately by shelving his dreams. Never has he ever enjoyed the escort services that he provided but it all changes when he meets Stella. Stella with her sweet and shy personality pulls Michael towards her with a stunning amount of force. The book encloses their sexual encounters in vivid colours. It's detailed but not so vulgar. I especially loved how the author paints a detailed picture of what autism feels like.
•
A surprisingly light read that one can enjoy to take a break from all the heavy reading. I'd recommend it to those who enjoy romance and are looking for something that's funny and quirky.
•
Rating - 4/5.