Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling - Book Review

Publisher's write-up:

'It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.'

The Cursed Child is a supplement to the well known Harry Potter series and one thing different about this book is that the same is written as a play and not prose. The previous time I read a play was Hamlet and it wasn't a very pleasing experience to read a play and moreover, I was never one of those Potterheads to be satisfied with the mere appearance of Harry Potter (even though I am familiar with the story as per the book, not just movies) in a book and hence, I started reading the book with absolute neutrality. If you aren't familiar with the Harry Potter series and planning to read / watch it in the near future, I suggest you don't proceed with this review considering even though the play can qualify as a standalone, there might be some spoilers / references to earlier books.

This book picks up exactly where The Deathly Hallows left off; nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry is now with the Ministry of Magic; head of Law Enforcement, Hermione is the Minister of Magic and Ron is running the joke shop inherited from his twin brother. Harry's second son, Albus' fear turns real when he is sorted into Slytherin house; and he is unable to keep up with the expectations of being Harry's son and he finds a friend in Scorpius, the son of Draco Malfoy, Harry's nemesis during his school years. Albus is desperate to create an identity of his own and on the other hand, Scorpius has his own battles considering how people believe him to be Voldemort's son.

To start with, I felt this was a very well narrated play, bringing out the background, mood and emotions of the characters involved before the dialogue, helping the reader visualise what is going on. Very often, a play ends up as a dump of dialogues and it is very difficult to comprehend what is going on unless you watch it as a play. My favourite aspect of this book was the role of the two members of the Malfoy family, Draco was an extremely mature adult and in fact, he was the one who brought a desperate who was acting on impulse back to normal. Scorpius Malfoy, on the other hand, was an extremely loyal friend, was a way too pragmatic for his age which was shown through the way in which he handled people's inherent distrust in him owing to the suspicions. Usually, a revival never lives up to its expectations but I believe this book had a decent plot and at no point in time I was bored, even though, the time travel is not a concept which is new to most readers and that happened to be the crux of this book. Another excellent aspect is that it was an extremely light read,  despite the book being deceptively bulky (around 330 pages), I managed to complete the book in three hours, considering it was a play and you can read through it fairly quickly.

With that said, this book followed the same pattern that was followed in the first five books of the series, that is, Harry's scar hurts, Voldemort is going to come. I genuinely felt that the series could have been revived with something different rather than it being a case of an old wine kept in a new bottle. I read one of Rowling's interviews recently and I am glad that she isn't going to write any other book in this series, considering, I am tired of this predictable sequence of events.  Moreover, I felt that Ron wasn't adequately used in the book, and was a mere comic relief even though he had a very significant role in the first seven books but then, Draco taking that role wasn't a very bad idea either. Time travel forms the crux of the novel but then, in many cases, it ended up becoming an excuse for repeating old events mentioned in earlier books. The book also repeatedly talked about Harry being overworked at the Ministry though it was merely said and was never demonstrated; except for one instance where Harry's office is full of papers because he is not interested in paperwork; that only indicates lack of interest and not an overworked staff. There were also certain logical inconsistencies on a closer look but I wouldn't disclose it here since it would inevitably contain spoilers; however, I am open for a private discussion on the same.

This book is excellent for light reading, with a decent but predictable and ordinary storyline which would be loved by Potterheads and enough to satisfy the moderates (like myself). I would award the book a rating of six.

Rating - 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Pigs have Wings by PG Wodehouse - Book Review

Publisher's write-up:

'Can the Empress of Blandings win the Fat Pigs class at the Shropshire Show for the third year running? Galahad Threepwood, Beach the butler and others have put their shirts on this, and for Lord Emsworth, it will be paradise on Earth. But a substantial obstacle lurks in the way: Queen of Matchingham, the new sow of Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, Bart. Galahad knows this pretender to the crown must be pignapped. But can the Empress in turn avoid a similar fate?'

Pigs have Wings is the eighth book in PG Wodehouse's Blandings Castle series. I have never read Wodehouse in the past and I used to cold shoulder all suggestions saying humour doesn't humour me. However, I thought it was about time that I try something and then judge the genre and I finally heeded to a suggestion and chose Pigs have Wings considering how, similar to Lord Emsworth in the book, I have a liking towards pigs too and I chose it purely for the title.

The book is about a duel between the Empress of Blandings and the Queen of Matchingham and notwithstanding the fancy titles, these are two oversized pigs. The former, belonging to Lord Emsworth has won the Fat Pigs contest twice, in the past and Emsworth's brother, Galahad and his butler Beach, place their bets on the Empress winning it for the third time in a row. However, Sir Gregory Parsloe, brings in a pig from Kent and Galahad feels threatened and thus, plans devious plots to ensure that the Empress wins it yet again. Added to that, there are also certain romantic sub-plots involving people at the Blandings Castle and Matchingham House.

The premise of the plot certainly did seem interesting and a lot of scope for humour was available but then, I felt that the author ended up writing a book where the majority of the book was the romantic sub-plots and tries to create something in the name of comedy weaving a tangled web around them, attempting a romantic blunder. For starters, I felt that there were a way too many characters introduced within the first twenty pages that I found it difficult to follow and took me a while to realise that it was Galahad and not Clarence (Lord Emsworth), who was the lead character.

I felt that while the story could have been narrated well, considering the publisher's write up does provide a reasonable scope for a good story but then, the author has it completely messed up with the absolutely below average narration and no noteworthy writing. I have read certain books which, despite not having a great plot, I end up enjoying for the sheer way in which it was presented by the author but this book neither had the story nor did it have the panache in terms of narration. Moreover, I found that the characters in this book were a way too simple with absolutely no depth and the only reasonably built character was Galahad but frankly, with all his tirade against Parsloe, he himself didn't behave in a very honourable way for the reader to actually get behind Galahad.

I understand that usually, it is considered sacrilege to not like Wodehouse, let alone criticise, perhaps I had the wrong expectations expecting a meaningful plot (not even deep, merely meaningful) with some content or some excellent writing but then, I can't bend my expectations for the sake of giving positive reviews for the sake of the author who wrote it; for a book that I would have otherwise not liked.

All that aside, I feel happy that I decided to read a Wodehouse book, it does increase the diversity of genres that I have read (not necessarily liked) and yes, in case I wish to criticise Wodehouse in the future, it gives my criticism some amount of credibility considering how I genuinely tried a book with an open mind and didn't like it.

I give this book a rating of three on ten.

Rating - 3/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - Book Review

The Five People you Meet in Heaven is a novella roughly around 120 pages and I have no clue as to what genre to put it under. Anyway, for starters, I would say that I picked this book as a light read during a short travel that I undertook and yes, I have never completed a book in its digital form and I thought this would be a decent start. While I am not a subscriber to the concept of life after death and in fact, I don't agree with a lot of things the author has talked about, in this book but then, I would not let my personal opinions influence the review of the book.

The story is about a maintenance worker at an amusement park, named Eddie, who is not too satisfied with his life and felt he was stuck doing mundane things and never lived to his potential. At the start of the book, he was living his last moments and dies to protect a young girl from an accident in the amusement park. He then goes to heaven, meets five people, each of whom, have had some impact in his life, directly or indirectly and the book is about his journey in heaven.

I liked the first meeting in heaven, where the author brings out how there might be people whom you come across, who seem so insignificant, but you've had a huge impact in their life and you aren't even aware of it. The central theme of the book was the fact that every event in life has a purpose and every person in the world has a person and no life is ever wasted and the author brought it out well through the five people.

Anyway, with that said, I felt after a good start, some of the other four meetings was not as impressive, predictable or totally random. Sometimes, the simplicity of the language could be a strength but I felt the narrative here was a way too simple and I sometimes felt that was a turn off to an already short book. Moreover, I felt the story need not have gone back and forth between his birthdays during his days alive and life after death and in fact, I didn't even find a point in why those birthday bits had to come in, perhaps an attempt to take the book beyond hundred pages.

I found a lot of negative reviews on this book, but then, I guess it is a problem with expectation more than the book; I merely wanted a light read for a short journey and this book delivered what I wanted and my suggestion is, don't read this book looking for some great underlying story or philosophy, just a light read with some interesting bits. In fact, I feel this book is very similar to that famous book by Richard Bach; Jonathan Livingston Seagull - owing to the popularity of the book, I had huge expectations on that book but then, I found it a way too horrible that I gave it a very bad review, three years ago. While this book is similar to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, I find this to be a much improved version of the same and while in Jonathan Livingston Seagull, I had perhaps set the wrong expectations; here, I got what I wanted, as I already said, earlier.

So, on the whole, purely considering my own experience with the book, I give the book a six, provided you, the potential reader also have an expectation similar to that of mine.

Rating - 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

Horrible Histories: Frightful First World War by Terry Deary - Book Review

Publisher's write-up:

'Want to know:

• Why a pair of old socks gave away top German secrets?
• Why sniffing your own pee could save your life in a gas attack?
• What the 'Fat King' did with food scraps and dead horses?

Discover all the foul facts about the Frightful First World War - all the gore and more'

The facts known about First World War is very little, especially considering how it was completely overshadowed by the woeful Second World War (an allusion to Deary's subsequent Horrible Histories book). I consider myself to be fairly enthusiastic about history but looking back, I have read very little literature on the First World War as compared to the Second World War and hence, starting off with a Horrible Histories book is a good way to do it.

This book maintained the standard that was expected out of Horrible Histories; weird facts, interesting stories surrounding the war filled with jibes about teachers and school; bringing out the life of the people during the war and above all, managing to convey what exactly took place during the First World War. Moreover, I loved the way the book ended; after all, the first World War was expected to be the last great war when it happened and the end of it was expected to bring peace, but then? (look below)

The key demerit that I found in this book, which is common to many other books in the Horrible Histories series, there is more to the world than the UK, which the author must understand. Agreed, the author also did talk about Germany and the life in Germany but he covered no other belligerents of the war, barring some passing references to the United States. It would have been all right even if it had increased the size of the book by another thirty pages, but given a more clearer picture.

I'd say that the book makes an excellent light read, and is fairly informative, on the first world war, but then, I can't overlook the fact of the author completely turning a blind eye to the other belligerents. So yeah, my rating for the book is a six, considering it was a good read, but could have been a lot better.

Rating - 6/10

Have a nice day,

Andy

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - Book Review

Publisher's write-up:

'In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us into the thrilling and surprising world of the scientific study of habits.

He examines why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. He visits laboratories where neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. And he uncovers how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr.

The result is a compelling and an empowering discovery: the key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive or even building revolutionary companies is understanding how habits work. By harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.'

I started reading this book from Charles Duhigg having no clue as to what he was going to talk about and considering his background, I thought this was going to be on habits of business and purely a business related book. However, as I started reading, I realised that he touched upon habits in general and in fact, habits of successful organisations was only a part of the book, which is split into three; habits of individuals, habits of organisations and habits of societies and thus, this is a part self-help book and partly business related.

I liked it how the author started off explaining habits and formed a very simple equation for it, cue --> leading to routine --> leading to reward. The author then uses stories of how habits were created, with examples everyone could relate to, such as how Pepsodent's marketing in the early 20th century led to creation of a habit among the masses; regarding the success of Alcoa and Starbucks and finally, the spread of the Civil Rights movements in the United States and why the arrest of Rosa Parks' impacted whereas the arrests of other black women earlier didn't. I found it that the author had used all contemporary examples and not of obscure companies that people could not relate to.

The author also addresses certain habits that people have which they are unable to control, such as smoking, drinking and gambling. While I, personally need not be concerned about any of them, like anyone else, I also do have certain habits that I am not too proud of and am unable to control and in that way, some of the tips given by the author was useful; especially, the appendix to the book. Giving all these examples is one thing but then, that would have been just another motivational speech. How to identify that 'cue' is always difficult and the author tells how one goes about it and gives tips, taking himself as an example.

I also found some of the facts that the author said really interesting - especially regarding how the retail chain in the US, Target, find out what the customer wants even before she or he comes to know of their requirements. Yes, I have been to shops and have filled out 'privileged member' forms and cards and I even knew to the extent that they are least interested in offering you rewards for loyalty but then, little did I know that they used the data to understand your habits, develop algorithms and make bounty out of you.

Moreover, considering that the author doesn't have technical expertise on the subject, with regard to neurology, the use of jargons was minimal and I could easily understand as to what point he was trying to make; though, I understand that the same could be a demerit for someone from the profession as they might have felt that the author was oversimplifying the matter, I maybe wrong but usually, what a plebeian loves is loathed by an expert.

However, coming to the other side, I felt that the author gave a way too many examples. He had already successfully established the power of habit in the minds of the reader with the first few examples but then, he went on giving these examples for nearly 275 odd pages which was a little too much. Moreover, I felt that he over simplified the turnaround by Paul O'Neill for Alcoa; I agree that creating a culture of safety would have a domino effect on some of the other functions but then putting the entire success down to a single factor is akin to the single solution devised by the Communist Utopia for a macro problem and we all saw the dismal results it had yielded towards the end of the 20th century.

With that said, I would say that it is an excellent self help book, has got some really interesting facts and now that I think of it, I myself would have to implement some of those aspects into my life. A very good read, I give the book a seven on ten.

Rating - 7/10

Have a nice day,

Andy