by

Rohinton Mistry

Perhaps the first thing that catches your eye about A Fine Balance penned by the veteran author Rohinton Mistry, recipient of many accolades and whose books have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize many a time, would be the chunkiness of the book, what with the story spreading out to more than six hundred pages. A Fine Balance is undoubtedly a meticulously written novel, rich in superfluous detail, which is set mainly in the 1975 India. It has a certain charm and rawness entwined to it that would make sure that the reader sticks on to its pages which are overflowing with the naiveté of the proletariat.

The novel literally maintains a fine balance between the stories of the four protagonists who meet at one point of the book, during and after which their lives are altered beyond imaginable ways but mostly ending up at heartbreaking crossroads. At first comes Dina Shroff, a girl based in the then Bombay in a well-to-do Parsi family. Her narrative revolves mainly around her family who was shattered by the passing away of her father which culminates in her mean brother, with his hypocritical ideals, taking the control of the house. This finally leads to an abrupt end to Dina’s education. Later, she meets Rustom Dalal and turns into Mrs. Dina Dalal as she is known throughout the rest of the story. Her husband, who is too good to be real, dies in a freak hit-and-run accident at the night of their third wedding anniversary, which leaves a traumatized Dina behind. She was determined enough for a young widow to say an outright no to a second marriage and to refuse a place under her brother’s roof, probably ending up as an unpaid servant for life! But instead she strived to fend for herself with help from one of her childhood friends.

Parting with Dina’s narrative for now, the pages take us to “In a village by a river” where we are introduced to Ishvar, Narayan, later Om and the story of their ancestors. This area of the book is ostensibly nothing but a tale of woe sometimes taking on a harsher version reducing us to tears. It deals with the caste system and the outrageous brutality of the loathsome landlords who deserve to be ripped apart. The effectual and overpowering account rendered by Rohinton Mistry in his fluid flow of language enrages the reader to act against the despicable acts of the so-called upper caste men upon the destitute.

Then again as life moves on, we move on to Maneck Kohlah, a boy leading quite a carefree life up in the mountains inhaling lungful of fresh, pure air each morning, absolutely oblivious to the lives down in the cities. In this part of the novel, we are treated to the frivolities of the families in the mountains, co-existing in complete harmony and wrapped up in their personal worlds of blithe. Ishvar and Om as tailors and Maneck as a paying guest find themselves at Dina’s house. Gradually they steer clear of their prejudices and make quite a company! But nothing too good stays for long. And so the merciless hands of fate unclenched apart their bonds of intimacy and friendship and strewed them across for their own destinies to devour them.

A Fine Balance does a lot of talk on the Internal Emergency declared in India during the setting of the novel. It does compel the reader to put your thinking cap on and frown. The author is visibly taking a harsh and cut-and –dried stand against the then Prime Minister, even making a complete mockery of her at one instance of the plot. But, all the same, the opinion whether biased or not all depends on the mindset of the reader. But one thing we can never deny is the fact that Rohinton Mistry has once again proved his sinuous style of unfolding the chronicles of the hoi polloi with such passion, rawness, simplicity and candor that it is next to impossible not to keep the pages turning and finally reach 614^th page!

Reviwed by

Salini Johnson

Class: XI-A (Shift-I)

by

Anne Frank

This diary written by Anne Frank helps us to understand the views and thoughts of the teenager. Anne Frank opens her heart in this diary and writes down her emotions . In this she writes about the political situation and sufferings that the Jews had to undertake during Hitler’s regime. Anne Frank first wrote  the diary on a Sunday, 14^th June, 1942. Then she and her family went hiding on Thursday, 9^th of July 1942. In hiding also she continued to write about their hiding place, Van Daan family with whom they were sharing the hiding place, little quarrels between her and her mother etc. She also wrote about her longings for the outside world. She faced her problems with a smile and humour. Anne Frank last wrote the diary on Tuesday, 1 august, 1944. And then she was captured by the Gestopos on 3^rdAugest . This diary was her best and loyal friend.

I like this book very much. This is very interesting to read as this is written by a teenager in simple language. This reveals us the situation of Jews under Hitler’s rule.

Reviewed by

Rubsana N Beegum

11-A

By

J. R. R. Tolkien

The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien’s high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.

In a desperate attempt to save the middle earth, To form a fellowship of nine walkers to accompany Frodo on his hopeless mission to destroy the ring of power.

As you all must have known by now, the fellowship was broken at the end of the first part with the book one describing the events of the three companions, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who represent the three great races of Middle Earth,who set out on a relentless chase in a bid to rescue the two hobbits from their merciless captors.This part of the book is a bit slow, though it has its moments like the hobbits escaping from the orcs, ents wars,etc.

But it seems that Tolkien had saved the best for the second part.So, what has become of Frodo and Sam?They have chosen a separate dangerous path to destroy the ring.And the ever elusive Gollum is still behind them.Now i won’t spoil the fun by giving a detailed a synopsis.If you want to know what happens next, you will have to read the book for yourself. It is a grievous story of treachery illumined only by the love of Sam wise for his master.

Another nerve-shredding episode of The Lord of the Rings Ends.

Reveiwed

By

Varun.H.S

X-B (Shift_I)

by

Sudhamurthy

This is the story of Anupama whose dream marriage to Arun falls apart when she finds a white patch on her foot and discovers he has leukoderma. Anupama who is abandoned by her uncaring in-laws and insensitive husband is forced to return to her father’s house in the village. The act of a married woman staying with her parents was considered as a disgrace to the society. Her step mother’s continual spiteful remarks and her exclusion from the society forced her to commit suicide. Determined to re construct her life against all odds, Anupama goes to Bombay and she finally finds success, respect and the promise of an enduring long lasting friendship.

I liked this story because it is a very inspirational story of courage and recovery from difficult situations in a world spoilt by illusions and betrayals. This story gives a hope to the people who who became victims of prejudices that govern society.

I liked Anupama’s character because she finds hope in her life and was very courageous and efficient rebuilding her life.

Reviewed by

Amritha B Renjith

IX  B (Shift-I)

By

Jhumpa Lahiri

‘The Namesake’ written by the famous author Jhumpa Lahiri,is a book which depicts the hatred and shame towards the parents.The book portrays the Character GOGOL,an Indian boy born and grown in the U.S. He creates a hatred towards his own name which his father(Ashoke) has desperately put after a lot of chaos concerning his name.

The book which should be read and that you will remember this one forever.

Reviewed by

Mani Sankar
X B (Shift-I)

by

Thomas Harris

“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some  fava beans and a nice chianti” – Hannibal Lecter

The above-mentioned sentences are the world famous hair-raising confessions of the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter, enlivened on the silver    screen by the Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins. To be frank, it is  hard to come by a bloodcurdling novel like “The Silence of the Lambs”        with its cool style of storytelling that could leave you in utter amazement whether it was really a horror story you had just finished! That is where the real    success of this book as a best-selling novel lies in enthralling its audience, leaving behind us with a feeling of having drenched in cold water.   In my opinion this novel is incomparable and indubitably stands out among the run-of-the-mill horror fiction. The adept ability of the author Thomas Harris is indeed praiseworthy.

The plot of the story mainly revolves around Dr.Hannibal Lecter, the name  that sends a chill down the spine. He is portrayed as a psychopath, with extraordinary intelligence, secluded in a high security prison. The reader is first introduced to Clarisse Starling, an FBI agent who seeks advice from this sociopath on the whereabouts of a killer unrestrained whose modus     operandi is to leave his victims flayed. The rest of the novel is indeed    breath-taking and mesmerizing, at times petrifying, yet suspense-filled.

All in all, the book has been weaved into a smooth tale of tracking-the-murderer in a unique manner resulting in gluing our eyes to its pages throughout. No wonder “The Silence of the Lambs” has been caught on        reel to sweep off the Oscars in its time. Some horror novel this is!

Reviewed by

Salini Johnson,

Class: XI-A.

by

Paulo Coelho

The first thought that comes to our mind , when we read this book is “are we brave enough to live our dreams .” This book gives us strategies and inspiration to help to follow our path . ‘Manual of the warrior of light’ is an invitation to each of us to live our dream ,to embrace the uncertainty of life , and to rise to meet our own unique density . In his inimitable style,Paulo Coelho helps us to discover the warrior of light within each of us. the statement I enjoyed is "A warrior of light takes every opportunity to teach himself.” This book contains inspiring short passages.

Moral:Live your dreams with determination.Appreciate the miracle of being alive.Accept failures and try to become the person we want be.

I liked the book very much .It is so interesting and inspires us to follow our own path in a troubled world.

Reviewed by

Beegum Rubsana .N.

XI- A, Shift-I

by

Manjula Padmanabhan

Urmila was ugly from her birth. But she was very intelligent. She learned  to read in her age of two and was champion of chess from age four. Yet she didn’t get the admission in any school because she was ugly an every one feared seeing her. She was only five and didn’t had any friends. Instead of school, thus her parents decided to leave her to the ministry of defense and as an agent of Mass horrification. Thus in that year, the soldiers led by Urmila won  as she fired up all her enemies. Now she became famous. Nobody considered about her ugliness and she have a lot of friends now !

In this book I met Urmila, who is so ugly that she makes people swoon. Kavita, who can take on gaints more competently than any friends and Sayoni, who has a power to tame even the wildest nightmare. Mrs. manjula padmanabhan tells the story beautifully.

Reviewed by

Prathibha G.

IX A, Shift-I

by

Sue Leather

This book is one among the series of fiction titled “Cambridge English Readers”. With such an intriguing heading, the book beckons one to read it. This novella hangs around a London-based news reporter Kate Jensen who is determined to bring to light the culprits behind the brutal murder of her friend-cum-mentor, Max, whose cadaver was disclosed from the streets of Amsterdam. This event literally kick-starts a whodunit which is what “The Amsterdam Connection” is primarily all about. The rest of the story trails along with all the usual elements characteristic of a murder story attached to it. At length, Kate does manage to find the murderer and en route she unearths an evil plot concerning a prominent Football Club in Amsterdam and a huge financial scam attached to it. What most struck me apart from the suspense-filled nature and the unique style of story-telling is the rich geographic description of the city with its canals, making it look more real and like that of a place of the countryside. To be candid, I never thought Amsterdam was this beautiful! And that’s where the real power of an author lies in impressing upon the readers, what they want to believe. This book is ideal for light reading.

Reviewed by

Salini Johnson,

Class: XI- A,(Shift-I)

by

R. K. Narayan

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Narayan was born on 10^th October, 1906 in Madras.  He was educated at the Collegiate High school in Mysore and at Maharaja’s College, Mysore.  Narayan worked as a teacher and journalist before he published his first novel.  He had published numerous novels, five collections of short stories, two travel books, four collections of essays and a memoir.

In this book, “The World of Nagaraj,” Nagarajs’s world is quiet and comfortable.  He is staying in Kabirstreet with his wife Sita.  They had no children.  Nagaraj filled his days writing letters, drinking coffee, doing some leisurely book-keeping for his friend Coomar’s Boeing sari company and sitting on his veranda watching the Kabvir street and planning the book he intends to write about the life of the great sage Narada.

But everything is disturbed when Tim, the son of his ambitious landowning brother Gopu, decided to leave home and come to live with Nagaraj, because Gopu called him a bad word.  Tim had very bad habits; Nagaraj was forced to take responsibility for the boy.  Tim used to come late at night.  But Sita waited for him all night till he came back.

One day when Tim came late at night there was a strong smell of spirits.  Tim got married to Saroja.  Saroja played her harmonium all day without any stop.  Nagaraj found his days, suddenly filled with unwelcome complication and turbulence, which threaten to alter forever the contented tranquility of his world.

I liked the book, and in my opinion it didn’t have a proper ending that the readers wanted.

Reviewed by

Hemant S.

Class IX B (shift II)