Sunday 16 January 2011

Not Worth It.

Caution: It's my list. It's my list. It's my list.


You Don't Agree- Great! The Door Is That Way.


Books that are, as the title says, NOT worth it. (according to me)


1. Alchemist : So much hype , that when i got hold of the book I thought I had found the Kohinoor. It was gripping in the beginning. All along an anticipation of something great that was going to happen and then in the end the guy stands on a hill and talks to the elements. Well, I am not that elemental. 


By the end of it, I could have jumped into a lighted fire. The whole experience was like being told that I was going to meet SRK and then I am gifted a portrait of Tapas Paul. Sorry, the book didn't change my life. Not one bit. It did not lead to self discovery. You think, look in the mirror if you want to discover more about yourself, you do not. DO NOT  read about sheep, deserts,and  a mysterious man on a horse.


2. The Da Vinci Code: Sidney Sheldon getting a copy of some really controversial arguments, a handbook of secret societies could have created a Langdon. Hating the book and then being forced to watch a favourite actor play a character of the book was doubly painful. Next time Lang-please-don't.


3. Coolie: Read it as a part of my syllabus in my undergraduate years. It was solely responsible for my apathy for that particular paper for the entire year. Mr. Anand clearly had no "anand" in his life. He forgot this was not literary social commentary but literature. Pathetic.You feel bad at times for the character during some poignant episodes. Rest of the time I felt bad for the author.


4. Chandrashekhar: I was never a Bankim Chandra fan but still I read Kopalkundola and Debi Choudhuraani with interest. While Kopalkundola was thrilling, somehow I found the author totally superficial in every sense. No one can take away from him his very deserved accolades for being the writer who gave the bengali novel a new direction , but somehow I feel in terms of views, perspective, he lacked that vision which marks a great artist.  


A mastery over language: yes - oh yes ! A superlative hold on tight-knit structure: yes. BUT content: sadly I was far from impressed. Chandrashekhar was the final nail in the coffin, it was regressive and totally sensational. The Shakespeare quotes , which he used in his novels display the most superficial sense of Shakespeare's lines.


If you say , you did not like Bankim Chandra, the first conclusion drawn is that you did not understand the language. So it was very heartening to find that Sunil Gangopadhyay , an author whose works I love ( the little that I have read) had written an essay on Bankim Chandra saying how he rediscovered their flaws much later in life. I was encouraged. Hence this entry !


5. Sherlock Holmes: I like idle , intelligent beings. Poirot fits the bill. Holmes ran around, fought,did what not while Poirot only thought. That's sexy, That's style, That's class.


Done!


Tata.

5 comments:

Harish P I said...

Great list. agree on all except Holms. Poirot is also a favorite.

Nivedita said...

Coolie put me off from the whole paper itself. That's the main reason I took up American Litt

Moo Moo said...

@ Harish..thnks..amazed that you disagreed on one of them only..i thought ev1 wd be mad at me !

@ NIvedita... u tuk a timely decision my dear... I took up Indian lit....even the very interesting Dattani couldn't save me from the Coolie trauma!

Priya said...

1. Alchemist: One word, sucks.
2. Da Vinci Code: I kind of liked it! Loving a character, and watching an actor totally not do justice to the character was kind of painful for me!!
3,4. Coolie, Chandrashekhar: Haven't read, won't now!
5. Sherlock Holmes: Confused. Not confusing, confused!! Poirot fan to the core :)
Awesome post! Loved it!!! :D
Cheers
Priya

Moo Moo said...

@Priya..God you agreed on so many .. :) thanks for reading !