Bookshelves of Pankaj Goyal

He & She by Wayne Clark is a book which compels you to think hard. While the book will leave you unsettled, it will be in a good way. Adulthood has been described by psychologists where the individual has a maturity and an ability of independent decision making. With the use of this insight into human nature, the reading of Wayne Clark’s He & She certainly gets a new dimension. This is the story of Kit Cayman (or K) who extensively indulges in sexual fantasies. Fantasizing about sex for K is no ordinary matter. On the other hand, it is an ‘aesthetic experience’ from which maximum delight has to be drawn. It is these sexual fantasies that gave a sense of completion to him. This novel is mostly about K in various phases of his life. However, this novel is not just the story of K and his sexual fantasies. The novel is much more. This is a remarkable narrative to discover how diverse and complicated the sexuality can be. More importantly, it is in my view also the record of K’s attempt to come on to his own and to carve a niche for him in the intriguing world of adults.

You must have got an idea about the book. However, following is a better description (taken from Goodreads):

“A Web photo of a dominatrix sends a man on a last-ditch attempt to feel truly alive one more time, even if it kills him. Growing numb to life, to his on-and-off girlfriend of many years, his career, even Scotch, a man turns fifty. He is a translator who can no longer dream of translating beautiful works of fiction. He is an amateur musician who can no longer dream of expressing his life on a higher plane, without words. As he glares inside himself he sees little but his declining sexuality, his crumbling hold on life, a growing list of failed relationships, and a darkening well of loneliness. Stumbling upon an image on the Internet one night, he suddenly hears cell doors sliding open. He stares at a young woman, in profile, beautiful, unblinking, regal. Instinctively he knows that by lingering on that image he will shatter a relationship that has kept him on the sane side of loneliness as surely as if he stepped in front of a speeding eighteen-wheeler. But desperate to feel alive again before time runs out, he knows he must see the stranger behind the pixels on his laptop screen. Although it is her image that first transfixes him, his eye afterwards chances on a handful of words on the Internet page. She is a dominatrix. The word triggers something inside him, blows the dust off fantasies trickling back to adolescence, and slowly begins to re-choreograph his decades of sexual memories. Was he ever really the dominant male he thought he was? Did he have a sexual alter-ego? Was this the last card he had to play in life? The face on the screen held the answer. He would find out even if it killed him.”

To be frank, I was quite apprehensive when I started reading the book. I was not sure whether I will be able to finish this book or not. However, to my surprise, I was very soon hooked. The story slowly but steadily started to conquer my mind and I kept reading. Very soon, I also fell completely for the main character. Thanks to the craftsmanship of the novelist, K is alive as a character. The excitement and tension that prevail in K’s world are authentically portrayed. The character of K was described with such a passion that you automatically root for him in difficult situations. His sufferings quite often brings lump in your throat. His development as a character in the story is done remarkably and the author certainly deserves lots of praises for that. The women characters though could have been dealt in much better way. However, this is the story of K and there should be no complain.

This book is not a causal read as the book keeps forcing you to think on. So, keep your thinking cap on if you are planning to read this book. While some readers may complain that the book is too lengthy, this is a good length to travel on. I can ensure you that you will enjoy this sensual and touching journey. Although the book can be placed in the categories of erotic novels, there isn’t a lot of explicit sex. And it is not the sex scenes but the captivating storyline that leaves a long lasting impression. The end pages are beautifully written, particularly the last chapter. This chapter contains all the essence of the story. However, one needs to read the whole book to get that essence.

Kudos to Wayne Clark for crafting a fascinating and insightful tale…:)

(I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.) 

The ABC Murders' by Agatha Christie is another tale of Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian sleuth (with his groomed mustaches). The book was also published as ‘The Alphabet Murders’. It is the story of continuous killings happening in the English alphabetical order and Poirot’s attempt to deduce the murderer by using his grey cells. The story takes place in Britain, near London, during the late 1800s to early 1900s. The story is told from the point of view of Captain Hastings, a friend of Poirot's. While I love reading Poirot mysteries, I get irritated by the stories having the personal narratives of Captain Hastings. It is like reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries where Dr. Watson plays a similar role. The resemblance is too similar to avoid. Compared to Dr. Watson, Captain Hastings is quite a dull character. He does not seem to add anything new to the story and just seems to be incorporated to give what we may call a ‘reader perspective’.

Even though the plot of this novel is lengthy and the actual crimes are not overly interesting, Poirot’s causal wit while solving crimes keeps readers involved. I am almost always hooked whenever I pick up a Poirot mystery and this one was not an exception. I do feel, however, that the boring descriptions could have been avoided. What I liked most about this book is the end part. It was brilliantly written and the twist was quite clever. While I have rated this book less enthusiastically, this book is not at all disappointing.

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Herman Koch is a Dutch writer whose writing certainly has a class that can stand on its own. Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch is an exquisite prose whose characters impresses strongly on our mind. The lively human landscape Koch creates seems innocent of any big comment on life and he wisely refrains from putting to use denizens of his fictional world or the logic of their fortunes to an illustrative purpose. Koch’s attitude is of complete detachment. He watches his characters’ actions bemused and without a wish to alter them. Against this, a pattern seems to emerge out in the form of struggle with circumstance. And then, these is always the little germ, the impulse towards enlargement, at first only dimly felt as a stirring within the bowels, without conscious direction or force. 

Most of the characters of this book are far from perfect. These characters slip in and out of focus as the reader watches the morally complex individuals fade or glow into the simpler but interrupted outline of the legendary type. These characters are not merely morally but aesthetically imperfect, incomplete. 

The main protagonist of the novel is Dr. Marc Schlosser, a general practitioner. The book begins with Dr. Schlosser being suspected of a medical misconduct supposedly contributing to the death of a famous actor named Ralph Meier. Ralph has been depicted as one who sometimes was having strong appetite for the female body. The opening pages of the book tell us that something had gone terribly wrong between Dr. Schlosser and Ralph Meiser. So, was Dr. Schlosser really responsible for the death of Ralph Meiser? Well, one has to read the book to know the truth behind Ralph Meiser’s death. The one thing that I can disclose though is that the book is much more than just exploring the reasons that led to the death of the famous actor. After reading the book, we become aware of various submerged layers of interests of which the characters of this book get involved. While the mingled mockery of this surface spectacle in which characters’ little souls get involved invite scrutiny from reader’s side, at another level the same forces the readers to think hard. The aspect of time present or time passing in this book seems to have the evanescence of waves on water, but the permanence of object impresses itself strongly on our mind. 

Let us talk something more about the main protagonist of this beautifully crafted novel. Dr. Schlosser is a doctor who views his patients with contempt and shows utter disregard for the human body. He examines his patients using strategies to avoid any contact with human flesh. While this doctor may make some readers to detest him strongly, the thoughts that go through this doctor’s mind will certainly fascinate them. From the moment Dr. Schlosser enters in the story, he suggests something of his fickle identity. That is why it becomes easier for readers to accept the way he is portrayed. 

A notable feature of Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch is the shifts of focus, not only in the movement from detail to detail in single episodes, and between successive episodes, but also between large chunks of storytelling. Narrative is very smooth and operates in more thematically expressive ways. While some readers may get disappointed with the ending, the rest of the book is just brilliant. I would definitely be reading more of Koch in future.

Strongly recommended….:)

A Note of Caution: The book contains some graphic scenes. 

(I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through Bostick Communications in exchange of an honest review.)

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‘And The Sun Always Sets’ by Danny Odato is one of those books that directly touches your heart and leaves a long lasting impression. The author really deserves compliments for writing such a fine piece of heart touching tale. This book certainly deserves all five stars. 

This book is about Mariyam (an ordinary Pakistani girl with no extraordinary qualities) and her soul mate Faisal. It is about their journey to live by their own merits and on their own terms in a world of corruption and oppression. The story is based in a small village in Pakistan where women are still not treated with the respect they deserve. The story brings light on the struggle by society in this village to accept new modes of living. The women characters of this story are being presented very subtly and delicately by a series of external contrasts and counterpoints between older and younger women, and also between different class values. The story is also presented through a series of symbols which reflect or suggest the inner conflicts of the women protagonists themselves, who, although they are markers of change, are at the same time aware of the devastation such a change might bring. Most importantly, the book mirrors the bafflement of a traditional, largely male society, in face-to-face encounter with the new notions of selfhood, and particularly, of womanhood. 

‘And The Sun Always Sets’ is a world of commoners and ordinary folk. However, many of the characters of this book possess extraordinary qualities that lend themselves to the very stuff of Odato’s art. Not all the characters are mild and vague about their future. We have Mariyam and Faisal, who hold dynamic notions of themselves, and in wanting to achieve their private goals, which are opposed to the norms of the society, they fail. The characters of both Mariyam and Faisal have been portrayed authentically by the author. Mariyam is placed carefully in the book, by a number of minor portraits of women, who, by contrasting with her in various ways, provide the reader with a reasonably complete picture of women in an orthodox milieu of Pakistani society. The core of the novel examines Mariyam’s attempt to assert her independence and her failure in this. The most interesting aspect of Mariyam’s character is the depiction of her struggle in searching her self-definition. Her father assigned her a secondary place and kept her there with such subtlety and cunning that she herself began to lose all her independence, her individuality, stature and strength. However, it is her struggle against her own father that defines her role in the story.

The stuff in this fiction is life as it is lived on the road, in market and homes. The individuals merge into society without much ado, implying a philosophical acceptance. This amounts to the traditional emphasis on the community, which is the ultimate principle in governing the destiny of individuals. It seems that the author had a very clear idea of what he wished to achieve in this novel, and it is certainly one of his most tightly structured work. This novel is also unusual in having so definite a social message. Mariyam, the main protagonist of this work, provides the main perspective and point of view in the novel. The author presents her as rebellious, but in the end, too powerless to subvert. 

(I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review.)

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