Book Reviews - November 2014

Persepolis is a humorous and haunting memoir written by Marjane Satrapi. It is the first time ever that I read a graphic novel and realized that plain text books do not take advantage of the massive processing power of our minds. The pictures in Persepolis are absolutely stunning and tell so much more than words do. I have also seen the movie based on this book but I must say that this book is hundred times better than the movie based on it. It is a must read book!

I read 2 books from George R.R.Martin's book series 'A song of Ice and Fire'. The books are way too lengthy and there is lot of information about characters in it than I cared to know or even equipped to remember! HBO TV show 'Game of Thrones' has done more than justice to this book series. 

Other two award winning books that I absolutely didn't like - A wrinkle in time - Madeleine L'Engle (may be it’s a children's book and I happened to read it at a wrong phase in life) and Old Man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway. 

Some Really Good Movies

A Separation - Asghar Farhadi makes us roam endlessly in complicated lives of a group of people. There is no essence no meaning, just like life... simple and pure. His films are like onions, they peel one layer at a time - of characters, their situations, story and the complications. A Separation is not about sex or violence, there is no sentimentalism or philosophical pretense nor is it a morality tale AND yet an extremely beautiful, engaging and a very well deserved Oscar winning film.

The Past - This is one more by Asghar Farhadi. Whatever we are today - our judgement, opinions, decisions and perception is all because of our past. In fact the minute we say "I am" the next moment we become "I was" and though the movie shows what is happening in the present in a way it is all about past, just like our lives. While the viewers wait for a judgement there is no end to Farhadi's movies. To our angst film stops leaving us dismay. There are no epiphanies no miracles no preaching. As a director he doesn't lead us to show who is good who is bad. The viewers get the task to do that! A very beautiful film!


Lucia - There was a time when I didn't miss watching any hit Bollywood film. Since almost 7 years I have seen hardly one Bolly film a year. My thirst to see Indian movies is quenched by watching regional cinema. Lucia is a Kannada film which I thought is loosely based on Murakami's book 'Hard boiled wonderland and the end of the world'. I feel Indian regional films have touched a milestone with Lucia. The conquest of Lucia lies in the twist that overturns the entire story and in its color treatment (colored/ black & white). I strongly recommend this film.