Book Review : Narasimha by Kevin Missal

Title: Narasimha ( The mahavatar trilogy book 1)

Author: Kevin Missal

Plot: As name indicates the book is about three characters: Narasimha, Prahlad and Hiranya Khashyap

Narasimha is a warrior of Indra, who leaves war and want to lead a normal life. He thinks peace is only way to save the world. He joins the war again in enivitable conditions of threat to innocents. But keep on help questioning his deeds. What changes happen in Indra's army after his rejoining. Will he able to establish peace by rejoining army?

Prahlad is prince of Asuras, demon by birth but not by nature. Prahlad follows his father instructions as he feels it's his duty to fulfil his wishes for being a good father.  When he actually senses what his father doing wrong, he will be in dielemma whether he has to follow his rules or not.
Hiranya Khashyap is king of demons who wants to establish Asura kingdom completely by defeating Indra. Is it really for good reasons?

By taking the characters from puranas, the author tried to show the current social problems like violence, fight for power, brothels and etc. He even pointed how innocent will be hurt when government spares bad people for the source of money. He showed how normal citizens face calamities when nuclear weapons are used for show casing their power. The author succeeded in narrating story interestingly and showing minute details.

Note: The author took only characters from puranas. The exact story is very different than this. There are so many differences like pasupatastra is not a nuclear weapon, Prahlad is devotee of Lord Vishnu by birth, Rudra and Bhairav are not dead. In fact, they are lord Shiva himself, so there is no question of death to me them and many more.

Rating: 4/5

BookTalk at CornerShelf with Author Devika

On third episode, today we got chance to welcome author Devika Das for a short chat session.

Devika is an award-winning author and poet, Devika's successful title The Mind Game talks about emotional intelligence and how to find the purpose of life. Creative Writing liberates her from daily activities and helps her explore herself as a person. She pursues her passion for acting and is an active theater artiste in Hyderabad.

CornerShelf: When did it dawn upon you that you wanted to be a writer?

Devika: It happened by chance. Wasn’t a conscious decision    

CornerShelf: Do you have a set schedule for writing, or are you one of those who write only when they feel inspired?

Devika: I write when I feel inspired or passionate about a topic

"MIND GAME"-- Completely a different genre, it's like exercising your mind and shape perfectly to live happily. 

We are living a fast-paced life today; you need to find a balance so that you can assess your performance and find your purpose in life. That is possible only when you are stress-free. 

CornerShelf: What makes this genre you are involved in so special?

Devika: Self-help is in high demand now because people are so busy that they have forgotten to focus on their priorities. In this way, you will find yourselves asking, “what am I doing and for what?” If I can help people become happy and accept themselves as they are, then why should I leave a chance. 

Writers are often associated with loner tendencies; is there any truth to that?

It holds true for me. My best works are a result of the emptiness inside me. 

CornerShelf: Do you feel new generation is missing an experience of reading paper book and enjoying it?

Devika: The joy of holding a paperback and the smell of fresh pages of a book is something young readers miss today. First, how many among the youth read nowadays? You have different sources of entertainment nowadays online. 

CornerShelf: Any tips you would like to share to overcome it?

Devika: Reading habit must be inculcated since childhood... Parents have a great responsibility in developing interest among their children to read paperbacks. I used to read picture books as a child. Still, I have not developed an interest in eBooks J

CornerShelf: Do you read and reply to the reviews and comments of your readers? What is the best review so far you have received?

Devika: Yes. I follow the book reviews on Amazon and Instagram regularly. I was overwhelmed with this review.  I have interacted with the reviewer as well on Instagram. 

CornerShelf: Romantic Fiction is very popular topic, when we may expect a book on same topic?

Devika: Not soon as I am not much fond of this genre. 

Would love to meet and interact with you again :) 

Book Talk at CornerShelf

On our episode II, today's guest is Sarang Kawade, author of  'You begin where I end'. We shall talk about how is his experience , why he has chosen pen rather than camera to express his words.

Cornershelf: Tell something about yourself and what you do other than being an author.

Sarang: Hi, I'm Sarang. I'm a software engineer by profession, but a writer at heart. I'm 27 years old. And I have recently published my debut novel - You Begin Where I End. Oh, and I love cats (something you should definitely know about me).

 Cornershelf:   When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

Sarang: I used to write poems and put up my insights about life on Facebook, when my childhood friend encouraged me to write more. I had gotten into reading serious literature around the same time, and thus began my journey towards being a writer. I believe, I was fated to become one. 

 Cornershelf: Being a debut author how difficult it was to get published copy?

Sarang: My first two books were self-published anthologies. So, I’m not exactly a debut author, rather it was my debut novel with a traditional publishing giant.If you have a good story to tell which can be commercially viable, your manuscript proposal is bound to be accepted. I didn’t face difficulty in that part of publishing. Marketing a book has been my weakness though, and I have learnt a lot of lessons after my debut novel. Will hopefully use these lessons for the next book

 Cornershelf: 'You begin where I end' exposes same conundrum in two different generations. How tough it was to blend two generation together?

Sarang: It was tougher for me to differentiate between the two generations rather than blending them together. Because the blending of stories was already part of my plot when I had thought of it. But when I began writing, I realized I’ll have to include elements that distinctly separate the mother’s story from 90s and the daughter’s story in 2015. Apart from explicit details like the women's issues now and then, I employed language modulation as well to show the generation gap between mother and daughter.

 Cornershelf: What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Sarang:  Playing with my cats, reading, exploring music, movies, chess

Cornershelf: What was one of the most surprising things you come across in creating your books?

Sarang: The most surprising aspect for me was to learn how the same cover, story, and the intentions are interpreted by each reader in their own way. I have received bricks and bouquets both for my book. And it was quite overwhelming at first to see such polarizing reactions. Gradually, I accepted that a book once released is more about reader’s interpretation rather than author’s intention.

Cornershelf: Who is your favorite author?

Sarang:  God of small things by Arundhati Roy

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Kafka for his ideas

Bukowski for his poetry

Cornershelf:   Last question, when you may expect the next novel?

Sarang: I am not working on a book yet, brainstorming for ideas as of now. Will start once I find a good story to share with the world.

      Till then, you can follow my work on Instagram where I write poems and prose. My handle is: @powerpuffwords 

 Thank you so much.

SO CALLED LOVE STORY

Title : SO CALLED LOVE STORY

Author: Nitin Kumar and Diksha Gupta

Publisher : Redgrab Books

"It's insecurity that is always chasing you and standing in the way of your dreams."- Vin Diesel

"Ego is the only requirement to destroy any relationship. So. be a bigger person skip the 'E'

and let it 'GO'." How insecurity and ego can disturb a well-going relationship, is described in this book,'So called love story'.

This is romantic love story but doesn't end with happy faces. At first look Vivek awes by the simplicity and beauty of Virali. Virali was vacillating between love or infatuation, finally accepts proposal of Vivek.

Ananya and Siddharth belong to same friend zone, where Vivek and Virali find each other who have contribution to evolve Vivek-Virali relationship and as well as breakdown.

For every incident there are different story in each viewer's eyes, here also first part has been described according to Vivek's view and second part narrates how Virali contemplates same relationship. Due to uncomfortable circumstances Virali starts ignoring Vivek, but his insecurity generates a gap. In the mean time Virali shifts herself to different part of town wishing their relationship will blossom as previous.Grab the book if you would like to know how they recoup their loosing trust.

The language of the book is easy to grasp. But the book cover doesn't go with title or contents. Over all I have enjoyed the concept and setting up the plot.

Rating : 3 out of 5

FOREVER is not ENOUGH by Reecha Agarwal Goyal

'FOREVER is not ENOUGH' is inspired by a true story where Anay and Rhea are protagonists. How their relationship evolves, how their journey draws curves.
"Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans"---Lennon

In reality everyone endure problematic life, but it comes in different shape at different stages. Anay and Rhea are one of those couples who also encounter snags. Their relationship very easily gets accepted by both parents, but the speed breaker comes when it is discovered that Rhea is being suffered from lymphoma, a type of cancer. Everything around them fade away, their priorities gets changed. A sudden court-marriage, Anay's relocation to Delhi in order to better treatment, follow one after one. When everything seems perfect, the tragedy happens and the happy ending relationship becomes pale.
The characterization and plot of the story is very much appreciateable but the story is too fast and transition between one phase to another jumps easily. Title and Cover page undoubtedly go with content of the book. I would recommend those new readers who are bored of repetitive happy ending stories.
Rating: 3 out of 5