MY FEUDAL LORD

It is an amazing book which is categorized as autobiography of Tehmina Durrani former wife of ex-chief Minister of Punjab, Mustafa khar.When a woman with brains and beauty from a wealthy background decides to take her fate into her own hands and challenge the restrictions of a male-oriented, conservative society, the consequences can be devastating.

Born into one of Pakistan’s most influential families, Tehmina Durrani was raised in the privileged milieu of Lahore high society, and educated at the same school as Benazir Bhutto. Like all women of her rank, she was expected to marry a prosperous Muslim from a respectable family, bear him many children, and lead a sheltered life of air-conditioned leisure. When she married Mustafa Khar, one of Pakistan’s most eminent political figures, she continued to move in the best circles, and learned to keep up the public façade as a glamorous, cultivated wife, and mother of four children.In private, however, the story-book romance of the most talked-about couple in Pakistan rapidly turned sour. Mustafa Khar became violently possessive and pathologically jealous, and succeeded in cutting his wife off from the outside world. For the course of the fourteen-year marriage, she suffered alone, in silence.

When Tehmina decided to rebel, the price she paid was extremely high: as a Muslim woman seeking a divorce, she signed away all financial support, lost the custody of her four children, and found herself alienated from her friends and disowned by her parents.Following the divorce, she felt she had to tell her story. When Pakistan publishers balked at the controversial nature of her manuscript, she published it herself. The book was a bombshell and shook Pakistani society to its foundations. Her at last was someone who had succeeding in reconciling her faith in Islam with her ardent belief in women’s rights. Tehmina’s story, adapted now for western readers, provides extraordinary insights into the vulnerable position of women caught in the complex web of Muslim society.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is one of the best books I have read in years. This is a page turner with complex characters and situations that will make you think hard about friendship, good and evil, betrayal, and redemption. It is intense and contains some graphic scenes; however, it is not gratuitous. A great book by many measures.

Spanning from the final days of Afghanistan’s monarchy to the atrocities of the Taliban reign, an epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, an unlikely friendship develops between Amir, the son of a wealthy Afghan businessman, and Hassan, a servant to Amir and his father. During a kite-flying tournament, an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever. As an adult haunted by the childhood betrayal, Amir seeks redemption by returning to his war-torn native land to make peace with himself and reconcile his cowardice.The story takes nail-biting twists and turns, briefly adopting Dan Brown’s story-telling style. The final chapters, however, lack Browns optimism, as the plot once again takes on a darker nature. Amir succeeds in liberating the young boy and bringing him to America, only to watch helplessly as the boy becomes suicidal and silent. He longs for his old life which Amir is unable to offer him, and the very life Amir may be responsible for ruining.

As Hosseini brings the novel to a close, his conclusions are explained in an old Zendagi Minzara saying: “Life goes on, unmindful of beginning or end… crisis or catharsis, moving forward like a slow dusty caravan of kochis.”Hosseini may have achieved a political goal by humanising a region still obscure in Western thought. He describes Afghanistan and its inhabitants as once very modern, before outside forces rendered the nation a war-torn catastrophe. However, war and political conflict take the back seat to the human dramas that occur because of and — more importantly — despite of such events.  The author’s simple language is surprisingly effective in explaining the complexity of emotions, characters and dynamics which could exist in any culture.

This is a vivid book – other novels pale in comparison – one that one puts down with a sigh and wishes were longer. Hosseini’s protagonist may be cowardly, but the novel itself is full of courage.

credits: rotten tomatoes & viennia reviews

The Alchemist

This is a lovely book, tender but profound. It is about the importance of seeking one’s own meaning of life and spending one’s life fulfilling it. Coelho calls it seeking one’s “Personal Legend.” It reminds me very much of what the Existentialists would have called “authenticity.” However, unlike the Existentialists who write rather darkly about this process of seeking one’s own meaning system, Coelho’s young shepherd boy is seeking his Personal Legend in something much like a fairly tale. However, Coelho at least gives us a process and set of obstacles we might well expect, and his hero fulfills all four:

First one must discover that our lives are dictated by custom, family, law and tradition and we must be willing to overcome these in order to seek our own unique Personal Legend.If we get to this first stage we may well run up against love as an obstacle, particularly in believing that in order to have the love of some other we must give up our own Personal Legend and live in a way that the other needs for us.

Finally, when one has embraced all the hardships and fought for and discovered one’s Personal Legend, then one is likely to run into the fourth and last obstacle: guilt. We look around us and see that so many others have not achieved this Personal Legend and we become embarrassed that we have and tend to want to deny it or hide it. This too is an obstacle we must overcome. And so we follow this shepherd boy in sort of a pilgrimage from stage one through the final achievement of his Personal Legend. It takes him far from home, through many adventures, failures and successes, and changing notions of what his own Personal Legend is after all.

Coelho writes a beautiful and moving legend of the boy’s journey and enlightenment. I did find the title rather odd. There is an alchemist in the novel whom the shepherd boy meets and who, indeed, helps him in many ways and actually sort of makes the shepherd boy into an alchemist himself. But the use of the definite article “the” in the title seems a bit confusing. It would seem, on Coelho’s account, that anyone who actually achieves his or her Personal Legend becomes “an” alchemist, changing the baser life we have from birth into the gold of our own Personal Success. But this is a journey upon which any person may embark.

credits: Bob colbert

Veronica decides To Die

How can I forget to share about a book which has been all time favorite for quite a time. In his brilliant novel about the aftermath of a young woman’s suicide attempt, Paulo Coelho explores three perennial themes: conformity, madness, and death. Twenty-four-year-old Veronika lives in Slovenia, one of the republics created by the dissolution of Yugoslavia. She works as a librarian by day, and by night carries on like many single women ‹ dating men, occasionally sleeping with them, and returning to a single room she rents at a convent. It is a life, but not a very compelling one. So one day, Veronika decides to end it. Her failed attempt, and her inexplicable reasons for wanting to die, land her in a mental hospital, Vilette.

Veronika’s disappointment at having survived sucide is palpable. She imagines the rest of her life filled with disillusionment and monotomy, and vows not to leave Vilette alive. Much to her surprise, however, she learns that a fate she desires awaits her anyway: She is destined to die within a week’s time, of a heart damage caused by her suicide attempt. Gradually, this knowledge changes Veronika’s perception of death and life.The protective walls of Vilette are liberating to its patients, allowing them to explore their “madness” without criticism or harm. What they discover is both natural and startling. A novel that starts out as contemplation on the expression of conformity and madness, turns into a dazzling exploration of the unconscious choices we make each day between living and dying, despair and liberation.

it is an eye opener book for all the people who don’t value their life. the book explains the feeling when you want to live each moment of life but your decision to suicide ruins it.

credits: Reading Group Guides

Moth Smoke

Moth Smoke portrays a contemporary Pakistan as far more vivid and disturbing than the exoticized images of South Asia familiar to most of the West.  it is written by a Pakistani writer, Mohsin Hamid. He has shown the dark side of Pakistan and its natives. The book has described the social evils that strangles the common man and arouse their desires. This debut novel establishes Mohsin Hamid as a writer of substance and imagination.

When Daru Shezad is fired from his banking job in Lahore, he begins a decline that plummets the length of this sharply drawn, subversive tale. Before long, he can’t pay his bills, and he loses his toehold among Pakistan’s cell-phone-toting elite. Daru descends into drugs and dissolution, and, for good measure, he falls in love with the wife of his childhood friend and rival, Ozi—the beautiful, restless Mumtaz.Desperate to reverse his fortunes, Daru embarks on a career in crime, taking as his partner Murad Badshah, the notorious rickshaw driver, populist, and pirate. When a long-planned heist goes awry, Daru finds himself on trial for a murder he may or may not have committed. The uncertainty of his fate mirrors that of Pakistan itself, hyped on the prospect of becoming a nuclear player even as corruption drains its political will.

To tell Daru’s story, Hamid employs multiple narrators, each with a distinct voice, none entirely reliable. This variety is, to my taste, a flaw, since none of the others is as finely pitched as Daru’s tragic, ironic voice. When Daru isn’t speaking, the prose tends to the flamboyant, with overworked metaphors and relentless punning, adding up to a bad Salman Rushdie impersonation. All in all, though, Hamid has turned a beautiful trick: He has made an old formula — man, woman and cuckolded husband — into something fresh and luminous. Rather like a moth turned into a butterfly.

The Fault in our stars- A sad love story

The Fault in Our Stars is a novel by author John Green. It is a tragic love story depicting the lives of cancer patients. the writer has described the feelings of such humans. The story follows the main character, Hazel Grace Lancaster, as she battles cancer. Not only is Hazel trying to live the normal life of a 16-year-old girl, but she is also struggling with what it will be like for her parents after she dies. While Hazel attends a church support group for cancer survivors, she meets a boy that is one year older than her, Augustus Waters. While Augustus had a type of cancer that causes him to lose his leg and wear a prosthetic, it also has a survival rate that is much higher than Hazel’s death sentence.

The basis of their relationship ends up being Hazel’s favorite book, An Imperial Affliction. She requires Augustus to read it and in turn, he requires her to read the book that is the basis of his favorite video game. Hazel relates to the character in her favorite book, Anna, because Anna has a rare blood cancer. Augustus and Hazel bond over the book because both of them of a burning desire to find out how the story ends because the author stops the book before providing conclusion on what happens to each of the characters.Augustus joins Hazel’s pursuit of the book’s author, Peter Van Houten, to provide the answers that they need. Augustus even uses a wish foundation to fly him and Hazel to Amsterdam, where the author lives, to talk with him in person. While Hazel is the one that is doomed to die, Augustus ends up telling Hazel that at his recent scan, the doctors discovered that his entire body is filled with cancer. Hazel spends the last months of Augustus’s life caring for him and loving him. For all emotional people, it will drown you into the tears as it dd it t o me.

Breaking Dawn

the last part of twilight saga brings happiness along with sad moments. in this part, the life of Bella takes a big turn.Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella’s life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed…

the story begins with the wedding of Bella and Edward. Then Bella faces the challenges of being a vampire. the Jacob is by her side. The crucial part is that the Volturi is against the Cullen Clan. A battle is called upon. The battle thoughts are overwhelming. The part also reveals the gift of Bella like all her vampire is blessed with. This book is soothing, romantic , hilarious with a bit of suspense. Go ahead don’t miss it.

Eclipse

The third novel of twilight saga is named as eclipse. It is more intense and thriller than the previous books. In this book there is a very serious situation. It is matter of life and death for Bella. Firstly she had to choose between her human life and becoming a Vampire. The second aspect is disappearance of Bella’s clothes. later revealed through the plot is the new born vampire Army is trained to hunt Bella to take revenge.

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob – knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

The battle between werewolves and new born vampire Army is explained in a very descriptive manner. the suspense is created to an extent that takes away your breath away for a moment. Throughout the battle I was worried that Edward  should be safe, he should not die. this part is more thriller than romantic. it is a must read.

New Moon

New Moon is the sequel to Stephenie Meyer’s remarkably good debut novel Twilight.  This novel works well enough as a stand alone but I think that you will get a better understanding of the story and maximum enjoyment from reading it if you have read Twilight first.

New Moon is always going to be compared to Twilight and people who are expecting this novel to be essentially the same as Twilight may be disappointed.  Twilight had an almost dreamy, fairy tale quality to the writing, which this story lacks.

The pain that Bella feels when Edward abandons her is extremely well written and is really what this story is about.  Most of the things that happen to Bella in New Moon are as a result of the overwhelming loss that she is trying to bear.  Her friendship with Jacob has a doomed quality to it not only because he obviously loves her while she is in love with Edward but because he is a werewolf and he naturally hates all vampires.

For fantasy fans New Moon isn’t all about Bella and her emotional pain.  The rogue vampires Laurent and Victoria return to Forks.  They are looking for revenge against Edward but they only find Bella.  The Quileute werewolves are an exciting addition to the story and it will be interesting to see how this plot line is developed in the next novel in this series.

Twilight

twilight is vampire based love story that has won over many heart. it is written by Stephanie Meyer. After the magical story of Harry Potter series another magical effect was created with this series. The book is written in a simple language with a mysterious and thriller love story. It is great book who love to read about vampires.

The story revolves around Edward (vampire) and Bella (human). When Bella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.What Bella doesn’t realize is the closer she gets to him, the more she is putting herself and those around her at risk. And it might be too late to turn back. She unknowingly falls in love with the perfect handsome vampire i.e. Edward. she thinks that he might be a threat to her life but there are other evil vampires who are after her.

The book is a perfect recipe to generate a good mood. the reader can enjoys it alot with the little humor talks between the characters. Through this book you really get to know about vampires in a positive way. It is good book to lighten up your gloomy day.