A few book reviews - really mini ones!. Sarah Waters, Philippa Gregory & Roopa Farooki

In the midst of wedding preparations which seem to have overtaken everything in the house more like a typhoon and a whirlwind combined, my sanity is being saved only by my reading habit.

Affinity - Sarah Waters was a book I brought back from Chennai. I am so glad I did. It took me a bit to get into the swing of the book but I never could see which way it was going to turn out. I was of course wanting a happy ending for Margaret who seemed to have got the wrong end at every turn from her family, other than her beloved father but fairy tale endings dont happen all the time. I never imagined the last few chapters the way it unfolded and this is Waters clever, clever use of plot, imagery and creativity. This is my second book of this author and both have involved me in different ways. The story lingers in your mind as the imagery is so very vivid, long long after the book is over.


The Little House - Phillippa Gregory. I have always associated this author with historical fiction. I did not even know he wrote about ordinary, normal people living in the present times! The book dealt with the relationships of families, the ties that bind and that can also destroy and how insular we can become in looking at a situation purely from an angle that would be advantageous only to us. This is a story that anyone who likes family sagas should read. Its not a big book, can be finished in one go (which I did) and its unputdownable! You want to know how it is going to finish. An unexpected rather dramatic end which solves quite a few problems very neatly!!!! I hope this is a teaser for anyone who reads this post to go look for this book.

My final book was Roopi Farooki's Corner Shop. I like stories of immigrants settling down in another country, the stories that evolve out of these uprootings and I did think that this was what I was going to get. Though the book starts with Bangladesh immigrant Zaki and Nadya the story is simply one of a young man achieving his dream of playing football for England. A very ordinary dream for so many young men and how Lucky achieves this - the family behind him, his own life and the relationships involved in reaching this milestone are the crux of the story. The book was different - it never emphasised the immigrant background - it was very matter of fact over it in fact and the storyline of Lucky's success and achieving his dream was the highlight. A different read.

I think I have done quite well with the reading but that is only because I cant sleep!! Am now in the middle of a P D James so that should be next.