Book Review : Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree Series

I was recently invited for a little girls birthday and remembering the lovely time I had reading the Faraway Tree series as a child, I decided to get all 3 books for this little girl.

By a strange set of circumstances, I could not make it to the party and the books were waiting to be gift wrapped, so I decided to quickly re-read them myself. Oh what fun it was, I was promptly transported back to my childhood. Of finishing up homework quickly so I could read the next chapter of Joe, Beth & Frannies adventures. Of checking to see which land would arrive atop the Faraway tree next.

In the Enchanted Wood, the children move to the country where their house borders a wood which seems strange and exciting. They soon realise that there is magic in that wood and at the centre of it is the Faraway Tree with its strange inhabitants and the new lands in the clouds that periodically appear at the top of the tree. While some lands are fun and exciting, some are more trouble than they bargained for.

Moonface, Silky the Fairy, the Angry Pixie, the Saucepanman, Mr Whatzizname, Mr Whiskers, Dame Washalot are all characters that are just so much fun.

In the The Magic Faraway Tree cousin Rick comes to visit and share in their adventures. (This book was voted No 66, in BBC's Big Read 2003) and in The Folk of Faraway Tree the daughter of their mother's friend - Connie comes to visit.

So while its fun to read all 3 books as a series, you can even pick out just one from the series because each book covers the basics.

The tales are quite fantastical in the fantasies that they create, I can't think of anyone who will read these books and not long to visit the land of toys, the birthday land, land of take-what-you-want, land of do-as-you please. There are also moral lessons to be learnt. Actions have consequences. Rudeness and destructive mischief will be punished and good behavior has its own rewards. I also really wish, I could cook some of the goodies that they enjoy in these books: goggle buns, Pop cakes, toffee shocks and the like.

Enid Blyton has had to face a lot of flak in recent times about being politically incorrect and gender stereotyping (racist and sexist are the terms used for her writing). But there's also a lot of nostalgia attached to her books and I'm most clearly in the 2nd category. I loved the books as a child, they took me and my imagination to far off places and re-reading them as an adult transports me back to my childhood.

Here's to many more Enid Blytons/Mary Pollocks.

Book Review: Following Fish

Following Fish: Travels around the Indian Coast is Samanth Subramanian's debut novel and what a debut! Samanth is a journalist by profession and  he uses the narrative version of journalism to full efect in "Following Fish"

India is a country with a long and diverse coastline and as the author says Fish inhabit the heart of many worlds - food of course, but also culture, commerce, sport, history and society" The author travels to 7 locations spread across the Indian coast (+ Hyderabad which is landlocked), interacts with locals, investigates a story special and specific to that location and then pens it down for our reading pleasure.

Any book which covers an aspect of my hometown Mangalore favourably, will definitely be recommended by me. :) But "Following Fish" offers 8 more reasons (chapters) for me to recommend it!

Starting with West Bengal, where he sets off in search of the perfect Hilsa ("If Bengali cuisine were Wimbledon, hilsa would always play on centre court"), he is initiated into the differences between Bangladeshi & Bengali hilsa as he traipses across Howrah fish market & Kolaghat market and eats at places as diverse as The Park in Kolkatta, Oh Calcutta, an eatery on Mirza Ghalib Road and a shack in Diamond Harbour. He does throw in a few recipes from Chef Vasanthi of The Park (Warning" most of them don't mention any quantities) for good measure.

In Hyderabad, he visits the Bathini Goud family - dispensers of the annual "Goud fish treatment" for asthamatics. Exploring the history of the treatment and the myths around its origin, as a good journalist, he also investigates the naysayers theories and facts and chronicles the entire event from the initial pooja at the ancestral Goud house to the public dispensary at the Exhibition grounds in Nampally.

In Manapadu in Tamil Nadu (TN), Samanth researches the dynamics of social relationships between Parava Catholics and Kayalar Muslims since the 16th century, how historical Hindu customs are still followed by the Paravas with a Catholic veneer and the declining importance of the Jathi Thalaivan in society. It is here that the author encounters Aruni - a researcher of fish as a food in TN who introduces him to fish podi - a dried fish powder peculiar to that part of the country.

His quest to discover Kerala through its toddy (local alcohol) shops is delightful. "We stumbled onto the most ideal method (to root out the best toddy shop in town) by chance - commandeer an auto rickshaw and solicit its drivers guidance.  The driver will be so struck by appearance of people after his own heart - people who will get out of an early morning train, exit the station & ask for a toddy shop - that he may even forget to inflate his rate." The cuisine of toddy shops in Kerala has a style, nature and flavour of its own, normally consisting of extremely spicy fried food which would necessiate the consumption of even more toddy. While the Karimeen/Pearlspot is the most famous fish in Kerala, there are a lot of other varieties on offer too.

In Mangalore, he initially flounders in his quest for the perfect Manglorean fish curry, but soon with the help of friends he discovers eateries that are hidden gems, known to the locals and discovers tawa fried fish, rawa fry and other delicacies too. His encounter with Vasudev Boloor (President of multiple fishermens associations) leads to an impromptu meal of home cooked Manglorean fish curry which any Manglorean would know is infinitely better than anything that a restaurant can ever serve.

In Mumbai, he meets with anglers Baptista & Danny Moses. He joins Baptista & his adult nephews on a fishing trip to their favourite ocean spot in quest of the elusive and highly spirited sailfish. He also interacts with the original settlers of Mumbai - the Koli fisherfolk who are more weloming of "outsiders" than the more violent political parties of this age. The kolis also initiate him into the subtle differences between Koli, Gomantak & Malvani styles of cooking.

In Goa, he encounters different kinds of fishermen - those who indulge in it purely as a hobby, (angling is a Goan pastime) and those dependent on it for their livelihood. His conversations with the locals only seems to emphasise that the governments greed and inefficiency is completely destroying the fisherman's habitat.

The boat builders of Mangrol and Veraval in Gujarat are his last stop.Their long history of boat design is even suspected to extend to the Indus Valley civilisation. While the principles of boat building appear unchanged, modern technologies have been put to good use to help speed up some of the processes while others like caulking the boat for water tightness have remained unchanged for hundreds of years..

Samanth Subramanian has a wonderful, distinctive style of writing with a wry sense of humour and an eye for detail. There is an investigative depth to his research and a passion for the subject he covers.

This book is an easy read but don't let that mislead you into dismissing it lightly. It contains a wealth of useful information for the foodie traveller and a cook who is comfortable with grandma style recipes (a pinch of this, a dash of that etc)

If you love food or travel or reading about food or travel, this is a book you will thoroughly enjoy and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I look forward to more books from him.

Book Review: The Cobra

The latest novel from Frederick Forsyth, this one deals with the cocaine trade. An industry worth billions of dollars and which ruins millions of lives.

Paul Devereux an ex-CIA special ops is called out of retirement by the American President himself, to stop the drug trade at any cost.

The drug trade across the world, from suppliers in 3rd world countries to end users in developed nations flourishes in spite of the strictest laws, because they operate outside the law and international govenment agencies have to follow every rule in the book. What can happen when the forces against the drug cartels do not need to follow the strict guidelines of the laws is what forms the crux of this book.

While the story line sketched out by Forsyth, makes one wonder, why it can't be put into practice, one is forced to reconcile that such a solution can only happen in fiction. The basic hypotheses on which the "solutions" work in "The Cobra",  is that there are just a handful of cartels who control the bulk of the global cocaine trade.

As usual, Forsyth is a master storyteller and once you are a few pages in, it is impossible to put the book down until you have finished. Another wonderful piece of fiction from one of my  favorite fast-read fiction authors.


           

Book Review: Curses in Ivory

Curses in Ivory traverses three generations of women as seen through the eyes and memories of Sreya. The 3 main characters are Sreya, her grandmother Hansabati and mother Regina. The minor but still important characters are her mothers sister Queenie, her Fathers brothers wife Brishti and her sister-in-law Nilima.

The curse supposedly has its origin in the time of Hansabati's mother-in-law Kamala and carries on in various forms through the Rai Bahadurs family.

This novel is a subtle yet wonderful exploration on the status of women across 4 generations in West Bengal. Societal norms, the prevalence of purdah, the British influence, the lowered status of women who lost their mothers or were orphaned, the overwhelming obsession for a male heir all of these are explored in this novel.

Curses in Ivory is a relatively easy read but will leave lasting impressions on the reader. The slow decay of once wealthy households holding on to their past. Family secrets - explosive if revealed but even more destructive if concealed. Arranged marriages where pre-teen spouses grow up together and office romances that lead to marriage. The changing fabric of society reveals itself in the course of this book.

While Curses in Ivory is not chicklit, women readers will be more appreciative of the subtleties in the story telling and the implications of events.

Anjana Basu's story telling flows very smoothly and there are minor differences in the flow depending on which characters perspective is being put forth. The poetic turn of phrase around Brishti is the most palpable.

While not in the league of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay or Satyajit Ray, she still succeeds in bringing an older Bengal to life.

Book Review: Disgraced by Saira Ahmed

Picked this book up on a whim, as it seemed to be in the vein of Jean Sasson's books. It promised a glimpse into the life of a young British-Pakistani girl growing up in a traditional Muslim immigrant family  in the 1980's.

Was it a good book? Well, it won't win any awards for the writing, but the story did make me empathise with her. It created an emotional response in me and isn't that what good writing is supposed to be about?

Saira is brought up in an ultraconservative Pakistani muslim family that lives in Britain, where the entire extended family is involved in the family garment business. Men rule the household with iron fists and women are treated as property to be used and abused.

The danger for someone unfamilar with Islam reading the book, is seperating what stems from religious practice and cultural practice,  since Saira herself is not sure of the distinction. Bullied into submission from a young age by all the men in her family, it is not possible for her to question any of their actions or decisions.

However, after being forced into an abusive arranged marriage with a distant family member on a trip back to Pakistan, she slowly summons her courage and uses all her wits to escape back to Britain where she finally lands in a safe house. It is here that she glimpses an alternate way of living her life and starts working outside the family business and outside the traditional ghettoes.

Unfortunately this respite is only temporary as she loses her job for no fault of hers and is forced to come up with money to pay off the debts incurred by her family. Her parents who keep sending money to relatives near and distant, back in Pakistan and her older brothers drug addictions.

The only way she can make money fast enough to repay the interests on the debts of the loan sharks is by selling herself as an escort. It is during this phase that Saira oscillates between guilt of doing something haram, even though her intention is halal - to help her parents.

The story ends abruptly  when she stops herself from committing suicide for the sake of her daughter and manages to follow her original dream of designing fabrics and textiles. A more "respectable" job.

The book gives the reader a glimpse into a slice of Saira's life. There are definitely a lot of questions, I would have liked answered. How does her family travel so frequently between UK and Pakistan if they are constantly in debt and money is tight?

A reader unfamiliar with the "extended familial responsibilities"  concept in the sub-continent, would have many more questions as to why a lot of the personalities in this book, behave or react the way that they do. In that manner, Disgraced isn't very illuminating. But it is a story that might have been repeated in a number of immigrant families from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka to the UK. It is a story that deserves to be heard.