Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Sir Salman Rusdhie – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘In a sad city, the saddest of cities, a city so ruinously sad that it has forgotten its name, a professional storyteller named Rashid lives with his son Haroun.

Rashid is the Shah of Blah, with oceans of notions and the Gift of the Gab. Ask the Shah of Blah for a story and you won’t get any old story. Nor will you get just one. You’ll get many stories, hundreds of stories, funny and sad stories, all of them juggled at once, complete with bits of sorcery and bits of love, princesses, wicket uncles and fat aunts, moustachioed gangsters in yellow checked pants and galf a dozen catchy tunes.

But one day things – many things – go terribly wrong. Rashid is left by his wife. Then, when Rashid opens his mouth, no story comes out: only a horrid barking sound. The Shah of Blah has lost his Gift of the Gab because, unknown to him, something very bad has occurred: somewhere, somehow, the wellspring of all stories is slowly being contaminated. Khattam-Shud – the Prince of Silence and the Foe of Speech – has secretly set out to pollute the very Sea of Stories itself.’

Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a Rushdie novel meant for younger readers and is dedicated to his elder son, Zafar (whose middle name happens to be Haroun). I read the Midnight’s Children and I wanted to read a lighter work of Rushdie after that and this seemed an obvious choice.

The story starts at a city, the saddest of all cities, where lives one happy family, of the storyteller Rashid Khalifa with his singing wife and son Haroun. However, there comes a day, when, his wife leaves him and Rashid loses his ability to tell stories, and eventually is forced to leave the city on to the valley of K to support the campaigns of a cynical politician named Buttoo. Haroun, determined to bring back the ability of his father, happens to meet a Water Genie from the world of stories, steals his magic wrench and tricks the genie to take him to the world of stories, called Kahani so that he can bring back his father’s abilities and the story is about Haroun’s adventures in this world.

To start with, I felt I got what I wanted – a novel for light reading, written by Rushdie and I guess there couldn’t have been a better choice than this. It was short, simple, but at the same time, wasn’t free from his exquisite imagination and imagery. I really loved his imagination and the way he described the world of stories – Kahani and the characteristics of the protectors of stories and the opponents of the same. It was very much an ordinary princess rescuing story (often told bed time stories) however, what made this special was the element of magic realism and the same happening in this new world (the unseen moon of earth, according to the story) – Kahani. I liked the way how Rushdie brought about the organisational structure of the army in Kahani – split into chapters served by pages (soldiers) and how, in spite of including a romantic sub-plot between Haroun and the page Blabbermouth, it didn’t affect the flow of the story in anyway and there was absolutely no digression. I also liked the names that Rushdie had chosen for the characters in the book but as I’m someone who can speak Hindustani (Hindi / Urdu), there was no element of surprise and the last page of the novel was unnecessary but for someone who doesn’t, it would’ve certainly been a good element in the novel.  Of course, like any other bed time story meant for younger readers, it has a happy ending.

The only two problems I had with this book was – some pointless imagery, especially inside the boat at the Valley of K and I felt Rushdie didn’t give enough room for the reader to interpret, either. Also, I felt the publisher gave away too many details in the write-up and also claimed this novel to be ageless which I’d disagree, for I certainly couldn’t appreciate this book as much as Midnight’s Children and I also believe that I would’ve appreciated this book a lot more had I been ten years younger.

I felt this is a very good book for anybody start their foray into books and reading considering the quality of writing you’re exposed to at a young age; and I believe, had I stumbled upon this earlier, I would’ve got into this much earlier than I did, which happened to be at the age of thirteen. If any young reader asks me a suggestion for a book to read, this would certainly make it to the top of the list that I’d be suggesting. Kudos to Rusdhie and I shall soon be reading Luka and the Land of Fire (I already have it in my shelf).

Rating 7 / 10 (I’m deducting one, probably because I’ve read it ten years too late).

Have a nice day,

Andy

Chosen by Howard Barber – Book review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The End Times are almost here, inevitable and predicted by astrology, numerology, and ancient wisdom. Humanity needs a savior…but who will it be? As civilization begins to crumble, senior citizens from around the world unite to promote peace, and to help ensure that all people around the world unite to promote peace, and to help ensure that all people have water, food, and shelter. Their calling, and their sincerity, lead them to be anointed by God to identify and train the next Avatar, the next Messiah, a new Lama. Like the Essenes of old, they accept, but their quest threatens religious leaders worldwide, who try to stop them…as is another mysterious individual who will stop at nothing to destroy them. Into this whirlwind of intrigue and danger step Howard and Bonnie, who have embraced their destiny to identify the next great spiritual leader. Will they succeed in finding and protecting the child who must lead the world, or will the forced arrayed against them win in the end? The future of humanity is at stake… who will be chosen?’

Chosen is a spiritual novella with a good mixture of elements of normal science fiction. The story is presumably happening at a time in the future where a group of senior citizens (SASCs) led by Howard and Bonnie and they’ve a very important task; choosing the next great person who could set things right in the world and bring them in line with the will of god.

However, their task is not that easy and their mission isn’t well conceived by established religious institutions and one of the identified candidates of Howard – Emily, that is, comes under attack. The story revolves around the recovery of Emily – who is taken care of by SASCs and a part of her body is replaced by a robot and subsequent to that; her self-realisation and then, moving towards the mission of attaining enlightenment.

I did like the concept of this book – of merging science fiction and spirituality in the same story, which is rather unusual and I felt the author didn’t drag it too long and came straight to the point. I really liked the parts of the book, where Emily was still recovering from the accident, how she had to learn to use her abilities and use it towards her mission and it was brought out very well. Moreover, unlike other stories surrounding spirituality, the mission of the protagonist was rather unambiguous and there was no digression from the author and last but not the least, the story was short and sweet.

However, with that being said, I’m someone who personally believes that it is nearly impossible to bring science and religion in line with each other and most often, are contradictory to each other and I found the idea of a scientist believing in a chosen one to be … rather unusual and illogical. Moreover, I felt the, book required some consistency – for a while, the entire story was in third person and after the departure of Howard, it shifted to first person from Emily’s perspective and eventually, towards the end of the book, it became a first person from her brother, Curly’s perspective. Moreover, there were a lot of editing issues – such as using spellings such as ‘genious’ or phrases like ‘principle mission’ but I’m willing to overlook all those as those are errors for which, I'd always give the benefit of doubt to the author of possible oversight. Moreover, I felt the references to Christianity are difficult for someone from other backgrounds to appreciate, including myself.

On the whole, I felt this novella is good for light reading on a short journey and could be enjoyed by those who do believe that science and religion can get along with each other. On the whole, I had a satisfying experience reading this book.

Rating – 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The Exclusive Biography, Isaacson provides an extraordinary account of Jobs' professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson has conducted with Jobs as well as extensive interviews with Jobs' family members and key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation.’

We all know about Steve Jobs and the company that he created. I’ve never been a fan of the company that he created and in fact, till date, the only Apple Product that I use is iTunes which is free; nevertheless, I’ve been an admirer of Steve Jobs, for the enterprise that he has created – considering its origin, his ouster and the marvellous turnaround and I always wanted to know more regarding the same and hence, this book was an obvious choice. 

The good thing about this biography is that I believe it is fairly accurate, considering it is Jobs himself who has asked Isaacson to take up this project and the latter claims to have come up with this book after a hundred interviews with Jobs, his family and friends. But then, before I chose to read this book, my respect for Steve Jobs was quite high but then, as I started reading this, it was crumbling apart – he was a highly arrogant, self-opinionated who did not accept anything other than his point of view (someone with whom I’d certainly not like to work with). Another problem that I found was that he had this nature to keep everything under his control and that attempt often leads to a lot of problems (this attitude of his could be seen in his products too – where Apple does everything – hardware, software, OS, and everything else). In a way, I felt, Steve Jobs’ story could’ve very well been a case study in management schools on how not to be if not for his success. 

However, as I read on, especially after his ouster from Apple, I began to regain the respect, considering his tenacity to stay on the top and creating a successful enterprise in a considerably different field (animated films) not that his personality ever underwent a change despite all that he has been through. The eventual turnaround he achieved with Apple was also well narrated but then, in the last part of the book, my admiration was falling apart yet again, considering him hitting out at competitors for plagiarism, considering he himself believes that great artists steal thereby indulging in such blatant hypocrisy (regarding Google’s Android and Microsoft in general). In a way, you could say that the respect I had for Steve Jobs moved like a cosine graph as I was reading this book. 

Coming to the book as such, as aforementioned, I believe this would be the most credible biography on Steve Jobs ever, and I believe Isaacson has done a good job in presenting the same, in terms of language and also structure – where it was fairly chronological rather than moving backwards and forth. But then, I felt it was too long a description of events that occasionally puts you off, especially, in cases where you know what was going to happen (regarding Steve Jobs’ ouster or Apple taking over NeXT). Moreover, I found some of the facts to be repetitive during the course of the book, being Jobs not believing in the idea of products being customisable or the fact of Jobs being a perfectionist. I guess that is all I’ve got to say about this book – it is a very good book for all those Apple fans, Steve Jobs admirers or even for those interested in reading on influential people. I choose to not comment on Jobs’ personal life for that is not why I admire him and also, it is not my concern in anyway and as a result, I don’t comment on the personal aspects of the book. 

I’d conclude saying that this is a good read, just too long (and I’m not a fan of Apple but Jobs and I’m not sure of that either, now).  I’d say that it is a good book to read and hence, award a rating of six on ten. 

Rating – 6/10 

Have a nice day,

Andy

Midnight’s Children by Sir Salman Rushdie – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘Born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, at the precise moment of India’s independence, the infant Saleem Sinai is celebrated in the press and welcomed by Prime Minister Nehru himself. But this coincidence of birth has consequences Saleem is not prepared for: telepathic powers that connect him with 1,000 other ‘midnight’s children’ – all born in the initial hour of India’s independence – and a uncanny sense of smell that allows him to sniff out dangers others cannot perceive. Inextricably linked to his nation, Saleem’s biography is a whirlwind of disasters and triumphs that mirrors the course of modern India at its most impossible and glorious.’

I’d start with a brief summary of the plot before moving into the review – it is narrated by Saleem Sinai who was born when the clock struck twelve, marking India’s independence from the British Empire. Saleem is narrating his story to Padma – his companion and caretaker under the fear that his death is near and starts narrating the story from the time of his grandfather, Aadam Aziz’s young days back in Kashmir. Saleem has telepathic powers and in fact all children born during the first hour of 15^th August, 1947 have supernatural powers, and Saleem with his abilities, is able to connect to all such children leading to the Midnight’s Children’s Conference – which gives the book its title, Midnight’s Children. This is not just the story of Saleem but also of the nation that was born along with him and their individual ups and downs mirror each other during the course of the story.

I’ve been an admirer of Sir Salman Rushdie for a very long time and I’ve enjoyed reading his articles, listening to his speeches, often dumbstruck by his ingenious use of the language and also, he stands for the idea that I very strongly believe in – that is, speech and expression is a freedom that can’t be compromised under any circumstances. I quote him too often, including the header of this blog but then, I had not read any novel of his and it was then that I had decided that it is time I pick a book of his and Midnight’s Children turned out to be an inevitable choice, considering it is one of his most critically acclaimed works.

However, when I got into the book, I was continually wondering whether I made the right choice for, at the outset, I felt the prologue was too long and it was beginning to test my patience. However, there is Padma, with the reader for company, who isn’t much different from us and cuts Saleem short whenever he is digressing too much. If digression was a crime, then perhaps Saleem should be imprisoned for life.

 However, as I moved on, I got used to it and I started enjoying the way the story was developing (one suggestion to the reader – please read the first book as Aadam Aziz’s story), the way in which he was developing every character – it was enjoyable to read Aadam’s musings which were way ahead of the time in which he lived in, whose ideas are vehemently opposed by his wife Naseem, later referred to as Reverend Mother by Saleem. The story when it moved to its next phase – of Ahmed Sinai and his wife, when they had just moved to Bombay months before Saleem’s birth and India’s independence – and for me personally, the setting in Bombay was the icing in the cake, thoroughly enjoyable to read the description of the city in the 40s and the early 50s.

My favourite aspect of the novel however was the authors extremely clever use of allusions, linking most of Saleem’s events with that of what was happening to India at that point in time – be it the 1965 war, the Bangladesh war or the emergency (where he made his antipathy towards the Gandhis very visible – a stance which would please a substantial majority of the present day Indians). Moreover, I felt a lot of work has gone into the research on the two nations political history – those who are familiar with it can easily connect to it and recall your history and those who don’t, it is a very interesting for I’m pretty sure many are parts of history that are unknown to most. The uncertainty of the novel was another very good part of it – to what extent was Saleem making it up for there is nobody to verify his account in the present day and Padma (who, in my opinion is the personification of the reader) has not met any of the other Midnight’s Children and hence for all you know, this whole account could entirely be Saleem’s own imagination.

However, despite my praise for the author’s allusions and the subtle digs, I wonder to what extent it could be appreciated by a person who isn’t very familiar with India and Pakistan’s political and cultural history. Moreover, while I also appreciated the deep research of the author, there were some factual errors that could have been avoided – Ramayan wasn’t dictated to Ganesha and as per the myth, it was the Mahabharat (the irony being, Saleem goes on to praise himself for his knowledge using a similar parenthetical comment such as this one) and also, Annadurai was not the founder of the party ADMK but you never know whether these were factual errors committed by Salman or Saleem. Last, all said and done, this book was long, and in some cases unnecessarily long and some of the parts of it was extremely boring, especially the stage of Saleem’s adolescence – that was where the story seemed too petty and yes, I found the excessive use of nicknames irritating, at times (Reverend Mother, Brass Monkey, Eyeslice, Hairoil, etc.).

I’d conclude my review saying that this is a novel that’d test your patience, but it is worth undertaking the test and coming through it.  It took me nearly three months to read this book but I feel it is three months very well spent. It was a book with an excellent story, with the characters, language of the author and the narration of Saleem outdoing the excellence of the story. It is an excellent read for anyone provided you’ve that one ability – perseverance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book in these three months and I’d give it an 8 on a scale of ten (somewhere between 7.7 – 7.9 to be precise).

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Ajaya: Roll of the Dice by Anand Neelakantan – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘The Mahabarata endures as the great epic of India. But while Jaya is the story of the Pandavas, told from the perspective of the victors of Kurukshetra; Ajaya is the narrative of “unconquerable” Kauravas, who were decimated to the last man.

***

At the heart of India’s most powerful empire, a revolution is brewing. Bhishma, the noble patriarch of Hastinapura, is struggling to maintain the unity of his empire. On the throne sits Dhritarashtra, the blind Kind, and his foreign-born Queen – Gandhari. In the shadow of the throne stands Kunti, the Dowager-Queen, burning with ambition to see her firstborn become the ruler, acknowledged by all.

And in the wings:

·   Parashurama, the enigmatic Guru of the powerful Southern Confederate, bides his time to take over and impose his will from mountains to ocean.

·    Ekalavya, a young Nishada, yearns to break free of caste restrictions and become a warrior.
·     Karna, son of a humble charioteer, travels to the South to study under the foremost Guru of the day and become the greatest archer in the land.

·     Takshaka, guerrilla leader of the Nagas, foments a revolutionby the downtrodden as he lies in wait in the jungles of India, where survival is the only dharma.

·     Jara, the beggar and his blind dog Dharma, walk the dusty streets of India, witness to people and events far greater than they, as the Pandavas and the Kauravas confront their searing destinies.

Amidst the chaos, Prince Suyodhana, heir of Hastinapura, stands tall, determined to claim his birthright and according to his conscience. He is the maker of his own destiny – or so he believes. 

While in the corridors of the Hastinapura palace, a foreign Prince plots to destroy India. And the dice falls…’

Roll of the Dice is the first book in the Ajaya series written by Anand Neelakantan. The author already having tasted success in his earlier counter-perspective novel Asura, featuring Ravana as the protagonist contrary to the ancient Indian novel Ramayan, he does it yet again, with Ajaya, featuring Suyodhana (mocked in the victor’s version as Duryodhana) as the lead character and the whole story is from the perspective of the Kauravas.

Note: I’m going to assume that you’ve some knowledge on Mahabharat and hence, I believe I’m not giving any spoilers in the subsequent paragraphs.

The prologue starts with Bhishma, the Grand Regent of Hastinapura ransacking the Kingdom of Gandhara and taking Princess Gandhari as the bride for the blind Prince of Hastinapura, Dhritarashtra and ends up committing the blunder of leaving the Princess’ younger brother, Shakuni alive which was going to backfire several years later. The story immediately shifts early days of the Pandava and Kaurava princes, their mischief, their schooling, the rivalry between the cousins, etc. Prince Suyodhana is not satisfied by the way things are run at Hastinapura owing to the misery of the poor, the prevalence of the caste system, suppression of talent among several other reasons and is determined to succeed his father and change the way things are run at Hastinapura.

To start with, it was a very courageous attempt from the author; while it isn’t too difficult to write a book featuring Karna despite him having sided with the antagonists in Mahabharat since a lot of people have a very positive opinion on the character and in fact have a lot of sympathy towards him but it does take some courage to feature Duryodhana as the lead character, someone who has only been portrayed as the very personification of all evil deeds and considering that, it was certainly a challenge to make the reader like this character as the protagonist and see things from his perspective but the author goes about the task very well. For starters, he made the character oppose all the systems that most of the members of his target group hate, that is, the caste system, an unquestionable authority, having no value for merit and of course, an education system which doesn’t encourage any freedom of thought. I wouldn’t say that there is anything particularly noteworthy about the plot considering that it isn’t something that needed any deep though; however, I’d appreciate the author for maintaining the crux of the story of Mahabharat despite narrating it from a counter perspective. One more thing I liked about this book, purely from a personal angle was the portrayal of Krishna, whose actions, I totally don’t approve of, at all, in the original work and at times wonder how despite such actions of treachery, deceit and manipulation, people still see him as someone divine and the author brought out these characteristics of Krishna so explicitly which I so thoroughly enjoyed. The author’s pragmatic view over the whole novel was another thing that was very interesting, the way he saw the so called divinity of the Pandavas, the way he narrated the supernatural incidents of the original text in a perfectly logical way, was certainly very enjoyable to read. It was also good of the author to give a background to the story, as to why he decided to write a story on Duryodhana and substantiating the same with his personal experience in Poruvazhy, in his native state, Kerala. The last I’d say is that, he writes with a lot of flair which is sadly lacking in most of the popular Indian authors of the present day (barring a couple of editing issues which I shall gladly overlook considering that the alternatives are authors like Chetan Bhagat and Amish Tripathi).

A significant disappointment of mine in this book was again, the character of Suyodhana. While this point might seem contradictory since a while ago, I had praised his characterisation but, I found his behaviour to be contradictory; like how he backs merit in all other cases barring in his own considering how he himself had acknowledged once that Yudishtira was more capable than he was, however, he was strongly of the opinion that Yudishtira had no legitimate claim to the throne considering he didn’t have the paternal lineage. In a way, he supports merit for everyone else barring him making him an ordinary hypocrite and not the ‘Mr. Perfect’ he tried to be. Moreover, it is also surprising that someone who is so assertive, who could didn’t hesitate challenge the authority of Bhishma or Drona, could so easily be drawn into the devious plot of his uncle Shakuni. Barring this, I found the emphasis on Jara completely destroying the flow of the novel. For starters, Jara wasn’t even a significant character, had absolutely no role in the main plot, sings blindly in praise of Krishna despite his idol having no respect for him and his kind whatsoever. Jara was certainly a digression that could’ve been avoided and also something that could’ve shortened the book by at least forty pages.

On the whole, I’d say that this was a very good read and was a real pleasure to go through a book that mirrors your thoughts on something where you hold a view contrary to the view of the majority, in this case, Mahabharat. This is a very good read and could be enjoyed if you’ve a fair idea of Mahabharat (though, it is not a pre requisite, just that if you do, it could be enjoyed more) but if you find this review in any way blasphemous to your long held beliefs, I suggest you to not read the book. Based on the start that the author has given to the story, I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel.

Rating – 8/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Capitol Limited by David R. Stokes – Book Review

Publisher’s Write-up:

‘Long before they famously debated each other during the 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debated the merits of the new Taft-Hartley labor law in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, in April 1947. But their minds were clearly on bigger things.

As fate would have it, Kennedy and Nixon shared a Pullman compartment on a famous train called The Capitol Limited, the pride of the B&O Line, for an overnight trip back to Washington. They stayed awake all night talking about their lives, hopes, and visions for a better world. Capitol Limited is based on a very true story.

Bestselling Author David R. Stokes imagines how the conversation might have unfolded that long-ago night. Based on extensive research, and complete with a lengthy and unusual-for-a-novel biography, Capitol Limited gives readers the change to eavesdrop as two men have an animated conversation about history, world leaders, and the brewing geopolitical issues they would one day face as leaders of the free world.

It was the dawn of the Cold War, and these two formed naval officers were developing a vision for the world, one that would be “tempered by a hard and bitter peace”. And years later, the political torch would be passed to John Kennedy and Richard Nixon, who represented “a new generation of Americans”. They would become America’s premier Cold Warriors.’

Capitol Limited is a book written by the American political commentator, broadcaster and columnist, David R. Stokes. It features the two newly elected members to the US House of Representatives post the Second World War, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy.

The story begins with the news of Kennedy’s assassination and Nixon recollecting his past experiences with Kennedy. It goes back to 1947, when the two newly elected Congressmen had to visit the Pennsylvanian mining town, McKeesport for a debate on the Taft-Hartley Labour Bill. While the debate was hardly the highlight of the novel, it was the return journey of the two, back to Washington, from McKeesport, where they have a conversation over nearly every contemporary issue, personal, what is best for the country, the incidents around the world, Israel, the rise of communism in Eastern Europe, et cetera.

I was really keen on reading this novel since historical fiction is my favourite genre and I’m highly passionate about politics. Moreover, my knowledge on the political environment of The United States till 1990 is rather superficial especially on Richard Nixon, on whom I had known nothing about barring Watergate and him being the only American president to have resigned and despite that, I’ve been told by some of my American friends that he is the best President that they’ve ever been under; and hence, I thought this could be an excellent read. True to my expectations, I had an extremely well written and well-presented novel with adequate actual historical references (marked in bold and italics, during the course of the novel).

What I really liked about this novel was how he the author brought out as to how Nixon and Kennedy are different in every way barring the fact that they had both served in the navy but are still such close friends. Nixon and Kennedy had come from totally different backgrounds, while Kennedy was from a well to do family whereas Nixon had to struggle to come up the ranks and despite this, both of them represented political ideologies contradictory to their background which was brought out well during the debate at McKeesport. I also really loved the way in which the author had brought out the personality of both the future presidents, with Nixon being the shrewd dedicated politician who thoroughly researches on something before making any statement whereas Kennedy is more of a politician by accident relying more on his innate abilities as a journalist but living the dream of his deceased brother.  The friendship between the two of them was something really good, considering how it is nearly unimaginable today, especially when the rivals run such bitter campaigns, particularly the 2012 election between Obama and Romney.

The only thing that I found on the flipside was that, I found Kennedy to be someone too weak who was just trying to be a shadow of all the other world leaders he had met so far (like Churchill, where Kennedy was continually referring to Churchill’s mannerism to justify his own, including for eating a boiled egg!) whereas I believe the reality is far from it. Probably, I got under this notion because during the course of the novel, I agreed more with Nixon than Kennedy, owing to my personal capitalist views.

I’d conclude saying that this was an excellent retelling of a historical event clubbed with an excellent imagination and could be enjoyed by anyone who is interested in politics and considering the aforementioned points, I’d award this book a seven on ten.

Rating – 7/10

Have a nice day,
Andy

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry – Book Review

Publisher’s write-up:

‘In wartime Copenhagen, the world is suddenly a scary place for ten-year-old Annemarie. There are food shortages and curfews, and soldiers on every corner in the city.

But it is even worse for Annemarie’s Jewish best friend, Ellen, as the Nazis continue their brutal campaign. With Ellen’s life in danger, Annemarie must summon all her courage to help stage a daring escape.’

Number the Stars is a Newbery Medal winning novel written by the American writer, Lois Lowry. It is based in Copenhagen during the Second World War, featuring the ten year old Annemarie Johansen and her Jewish friend Ellen Rosen.

This happens after Denmark falls into Nazi control and Copenhagen is stationed with German troops all over. Like any other day, Annemarie was walking back from school along with her sister Kirsti and friend Ellen and as always, they were racing back home, only to be stopped by two German soldiers and being strongly reprimanded. Eventually Annemarie is informed by her parents that Jewish shops are being closed and the Germans are planning to arrest all the Jews in Denmark and Ellen would have to stay with the Johansens. The story’s main theme is to move the Rosens and other Jews to Sweden till the war is over.

There are a few things I liked about this book; to start with, its simplicity (I’ve never read a simpler holocaust novel) and how you can actually read the whole book in hardly three hours. Another equally good aspect of the book is that of Annemarie’s character – determined and smart, especially when she pulls the Star of David necklace off Ellen so that the Nazis fail in identifying Ellen as a Jew. Her determination was also seen when she had put her life on the line to deliver the package to her Uncle Henrik on time so that he could ferry the Jews over to Sweden. Another aspect I liked about this book was how the author was able to convince the reader that there are occasions when it is better to be ignorant (something continually told to Annemarie by her Uncle Henrik).

The problem for me was, when I chose this book, I didn’t know that Lois Lowry is someone who is into children’s literature. Moreover, I got it at a throwaway price of 29 INR (roughly around 30 pence) since a bookstore that was closing in my locality was offering discounts and I thought it might be worth a try. I was carried away by the write-up behind the cover and expected a wonderful holocaust novel along with an excellent Scandinavian touch but then, this was too childish and a way too straightforward to an extent where the simplicity was a drawback. Also, there was no other noteworthy character barring Annemarie and her deceased sister’s fiancé, Peter Neilsen. I also felt that the author could have researched Denmark better – while I’m no connoisseur when it comes to knowledge on Denmark, I’m pretty sure that the name is spelt ‘Nielsen’ in Danish and also that cupcakes were popular in America for a long time but spread to the rest of the world only after the second world war (just to confirm this point, I found that it was introduced in Denmark in 1990) and Annemarie longing for cupcakes that they once had seemed to be rather inappropriate.

On the whole, I’d conclude saying that this is a below mediocre holocaust novel and you can read this if you wish to have a light read with a happy ending.

I’d give this book a rating of 4/10.

Rating – 4/10

Have a nice day,

Andy