DANCING TO THE FLUTE by MANISHA JOLIE AMIN

Set in a rural village in India, we have Kalu abandoned and now a street urchin trying desperately to live  earning his living in whatever way he can, trying to keep out of trouble but also a boy with ambition, someone who wants to climb out of the gutter and make something of his life.

Aided by a medical man who sees hears the boy play a tune with a rolled up leaf, this Vaid realises before anyone else does that Kalu has a very rare talent and he sends Kalu on a quest which ultimately leads to Kalu being apprenticed to a Master Musician who will guide, instruct and protect Kalu in the vast music world of India.

The story of a village boy making good is a wonderful story, very simply told. Very descriptive of the world of classical music in India which even today holds sway despite the overwhelming influence of Bollywood, rap and hip hop. 

The intrinsic goodness of Kalu embodied in the story is also its focus - the other characters are revolving around him. We have Ganga the richer, upper middle class widow who decides that Kalu is also her protegee,  we have Malti the young domestic in Ganga's employ whose life changes with her marriage but who is also independent of spirit and who decides to stand up for herself and behind it all, we have the guidance of both the Vaid and his brother the Guru who support Kalu throughout. 

This is a story of a community and the story of the community is woven throughout the story.

Rural India in the present times at its best. I first heard about this book on Cornflower Books.

MAILBOX MONDAY/IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Mailbox Monday is being hosted for June by Dolce Bellezza

The books this week are 

The book may seem one track - the life of a talented flautist - one taken off the streets of a village, a boy who doesn't even know he has the talent but reading this one was very absorbing.

 

Looking for another recommended read (that's coming later as I've put a reserve on) I thought I'd pick another book by the same author. 

A story of a father and daughter reunited. 

Newly widowed Poppy feels only relief!!

Have had this one on my TBR for ages. Just glad to get to it.

This was another recommendation from Cornflower Books!

This meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

After a very long time, I have a host of reading material for me to choose from and its become quite crazy for me trying to decide which book to go for first! Trying to be systematic and failing miserably! somehow I do seem to drift to the ones with gorgeous covers........

BLACK NARCISSUS by RUMER GODDEN

I first read about this book on Cornflower Books. I love her recommendations but sadly very often cannot find the books as she does get the latest and the best. This of course is a publication of sometime ago and the author is a prolific one (one to whom I am going back again to).

It has to be my convent upbringing that draws me to anything to do with nuns, convents and the colonial past. Set in the foothills of the Himalayas, a group of nuns intrepid as always set out to establish a convent, a dispensary and a school in a very remote village. The Palace as it was called has been donated to them by a General (local aristocrat) who wishes that it be used for something good. 

The fact that a group of Brothers had been occupying the palace before and failed in their attempts to establish themselves,  though puzzling to the sisters is not a deterrent. Under the brave Sister Clodagh these sisters are determined to succeed. They are not new to India themselves but they obviously do not think of understanding the psyche of the countrymen whom they are going to work with but are only thinking of their own goals and ideals. 

Apparent from the beginning that the two communities are not thinking on the same lines and that each works with the other for their own personal gains, the book is a study of different characters who work together sometimes at odds with each other and sometimes harmoniously.

Descriptive detail of both surroundings as well as people, this was a wonderful book. I understand this is a book which is difficult to obtain but there is a film version which may be more accessible.

On another book note, I picked up a Kingsolver book thinking it was Flight Behaviour. I do not know where my mind was as it is very clearly Prodigal Summer which I have read before. So that went back to the library!

GONE MISSING by LINDA CASTILLO

This was my first read of this author and I thought it may be something like a Chevy Stevens book. Set in Amish countryside, a very peaceful and serene setting we have a murder and our Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is set to solve a puzzling case.

A missing teenager is a nightmare for all parents and the police now uncover what seems to be a long list of missing Amish teenagers going back over nine years. How the cases went cold and why none of them were solved add up to the mystery. The Amish will call in the English only when pushed to the wall. Distrust and suspicion is rife - no outsider is acceptable and the only common feature amongst all the missing teens is that they were all rebellious in some way and did not want to accept the conservative, disciplined way of Amish life.

Kate herself is Amish and speaking Pennsylvanian Dutch seems to bring her a tad closer to the missing teens mothers at least who are able to open up to her in a way they would never have done to a male Detective. 

The story is also a description of the not just the serene side of Amish life but also portrays that like any community, there is always a dark side. There are characters that are really vile but I also got the impression that the Amish will like to protect their own, and also mete out their own forms of discipline or punishment and not seek justice in a broader spectrum of set norms.

That such a community can still exist in mainstream America is amazing (for me!). Obviously ties of family and community bind everyone together but that youngsters still abide by these rules, stringent as they are was an eye opener for me. 

A very good book and if you do like thrillers this is one for you. 

THE PERFUME GARDEN by KATE LORD BROWN

Told in alternating bits between 1936 and the present day, between the cities of Valencia of the past and the present and Cornwall of then and now this story kept me on the edge.

Emma Temple holds the key to opening secrets buried for decades. Buried for so many reasons - security, safety, embarrassment, anger, shame, suspicion, love affairs best forgotton, traitorous actions which have not been forgotton. An absolute can of worms.

And can Ms Lord Brown write! the story telling is evocative, spell binding, mesmerising. Descriptions are so alive that you feel the actual action happening on the page. It was almost like watching a movie because words brought everything to life. 

Emma inherits a house in Valencia from her mother who has just passed away. Bereft after a disastrous love affair which has torn her faith in human beings (her lover and her best friend) she also discovers she is pregnant. Emma decides to go to Valencia and take up residence in this dilapidated house which has to be rebuilt. During this arduous process, Emma discovers one by one facets of her own life being revealed to her linked to her grandmother Freya in Cornwall and how and why the secrets of Valencia were kept unrevealed for so many, many years. 

The Spanish Civil War - brutal and inhuman, the enormous loss of life, how it turned Spaniard against a fellow Spaniard is brought to life in this story. Alongside it the story of Emma's ancestors and it brought to my mind that any war civil or otherwise has such untoward effects on the everyday life of the average man in the street.

A compelling read and one I would highly recommend. 

THE PARIS WIFE by PAULA MCLAIN

Right now for me the 1920s are everywhere. Even the book I picked to read after this one is set in this time period, we have The Great Gatsby peeking at us at every turn so it was quite coincidental to me to discover this book also set in the same era.

The story told from Hadley - Hemingway's first wife narration details the struggle and the way life for the Hemingways was at the very beginning. The very origins of the story in St. Louis is detailed and descriptive. From Hadley's own family to Hemingways and then their journey to Paris where it all began.  That Hadley was Hemingways biggest inspiration is apparent and that she was the wife who supported him at the time he was most needy is also very apparent. His other wives had it when times were much better (financially at least!).

Hadley's role as Hemingway's wife was not a bed of roses. The principle of free love and not having to tie yourself to a single partner was strictly weighed in favour of husbands who like Hemingway and his contemporaries took advantage of this without any qualms feeling that it was their God given right as such brilliant writers and thinkers. How the wives, girlfriends felt seemed to be a very secondary thing. 

The book emphasises the theme of love and loyalty. Support of a husband through thick and thin. Not very well reciprocated by the husband however brilliant he was. He supposedly loved his wife to the exclusion of everyone else, she was his inspiration and support but that did not prevent him finding solace elsewhere.

A story beautifully told. Poignant, sad and very introspective. 

MAILBOX MONDAY/IT'S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

After weeks of empty mailboxes this week's one is a nice one

I also have five other books due on Wednesday - all recommendations from the book blogs.

This meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

The book I am currently reading and almost done with is The Paris Wife. Intriguing with history and details of Hemingway's life.

Melbourne is freezing cold (for me) but its a change certainly from Colombo.