Post no. 9

I read two completely different books than I usually read and hence found it pertinent enough to review them on my blog :) 

Srividya Natarajan's No onions, nor garlic is a humorous take on the caste issues in India with Chennai City being the background. The book is loud and hilarious from page one. Though the book almost exclusively uses casteism and untouchability to entice emotions from its' characters, it's the writing style that ultimately wins in eliciting the laughs. I found that the Brahmin/Non Brahmin war taken a little bit too far- all the villainous characters are conspicuously from the so called 'higher' caste. I can understand what the author is trying to portray- that the whole concept of higher and lower castes is a farce, but she somehow succeeds in making Hinduism as a whole look like one too. I read another review of the same book where the reviewer mentions that an uninformed reader might draw wrong conclusions about Brahmins in general, and I tend to agree. Still, if you are willing to ignore the obvious and instead focus only on the humour, it is definitely an enjoyable read. I only hope that the author refrains from using a similar theme in her next novel, for I prefer to enjoy humour without having to feel uncomfortable. My rating: 3.5/5

The other book that I read during the week- Oliver's Story by Erich Segal. I would like to state at the outset, that I am no fan of romantic novels. I have never read a Mills and Boon and I probably never will. It's just that.. they all seem so sugar coated and superficial. I did manage to read Oliver's Story till the end and let me say this.. I have never been as impressed with a love story ever before! There is a certain touch of sadness associated with the lead character, Oliver Barrett and his journey to find the happiness that he lost after the death of his wife, Jenny. It's certainly the most romantic story that I have ever read. The ending was perfect; and the hopeless romantic in me could not have hoped for a better ending. Segal is also a master in subtle humour. I am almost certain that I will never read Erich Segal's Love Story which is a prequel to this book (maintaining my tradition of not wasting time on soppy love sagas) but hats off to Mr. Erich Segal, your Oliver's Story is a work of art! My rating: 4/5