What Happens One Day (Or the Next)

Rick Riordan's writing is known for a million different things: the plot twists, the story, the action, the style of narration, the way mythology is interwoven with the story he is writing. The cardinal feature, however, is probably the humour he manages to insert in the book in some manner or the other. Whether it is overly dramatic scenes clearly intended to be farcical, or just witty off-the-cuff remarks in conversations, his brand of humour is definitely one of the most easily understood and liked. Having said that, it is now time to refer to the book at hand: Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods. Of course, we know about the Greek gods from the Percy Jackson series, but this one's different. In this book, narrated as Jackson would have, we are told of some of the more well-known and lesser-known tales of the gods. One thing is made clear right away, of course: Percy wrote the book purely for the pepperoni pizza promised to him. Now, however, we get to know about the Greek gods...

Ang Lee got everyone’s attention when he directed “Life of Pi”. The movie is a beautiful experience, filled with stunning visuals, thought-provoking narration and soothing music which lends a continuity to the production. In spite of all that, much like innumerable instances, the book is better than the movie. The author, Yann Martel, does a fantastic job of lending a touch of reality when he writes the book. For those who are unaware, the book is written in three parts, each with a distinct narrative style. In the first part, we flit between the viewpoint of Pi Patel in Pondicherry and that of Yann Martel as he meets Pi in Canada. Themes of religion, rationality, atheism and base practicality are explored beautifully in this section of the book. Pi’s origin story, as one might say, is narrated with a kind of humour which seems to stem from a deeper injury. The nature of this injury, however, is explored much later. One facet of the novel which is consistent in all three sections o...

The art of writing adventure novels is much like Mozart’s music: easy to learn, difficult to master. Those who do master it, however, earn themselves a place in the pantheon of globally distinguished and loved authors. As one might guess, it is not a mean feat. Having said that, we now come to the book to be reviewed. “She: A History of Adventure” was written by H. Rider Haggard in 1887. The book opens with an account by the publisher of the story, who recounts his first encounter with the protagonists, Horace Holly and his ward, Leo Vincey. Vincey, an extremely handsome young man, forms quite an incongruous pair with his guardian, Holly, who is said to forcibly remind the publisher of a gorilla. The manner in which Holly came to be Vincey’s guardian is one fraught with history and sadness, but an engaging account. Leo’s father, who happened to be a fellow inhabitant of Cambridge, appeared on Holly’s doorstep one night, ill enough to be coughing up blood. He declared his decision to ...