Aniruddh Hirani, a rich, madly-in-love-with-his-Ducati  Stephenian with an IQ of 153 (Einstein’s was 160, or so says Ani) finds himself  at the feet – and quite literally so -of a witty albeit poor IITian from Goa, Aparajita Pinto. Thus begins a love story that most youngsters of today would be able to identify with. Dates at Dilli Haat and House of Ming, super (pardon the gaffe, I meant uber) cool bikes, holiday in Goa, loving albeit conservative parents who can’t imagine their Hindu son marrying a Catholic girl and 26/11. Yes, debut author Abhimanyu Jha picks up everyday characters and tells us their story, a story situated in a world where bullets and bombs are no longer confined to traditional battlegrounds. You, me or the person next door- anybody can be a victim. But what happens when you discover that the person you left your home and parents for, is holed up in a hotel that has been taken over by terrorists? What happens when you can hear her fear, her terror and yet can’t reach her? What happens when her battery dies out and there is no news? When all you see are visuals of death and destruction flashing across television screens, and yet not one of them shows you the face that you desire to see most?

The strength of Jha’s novel lies both in the timeliness its plot and the commonality of its characters. Apu and Ani, are indeed the guy and the gal next door. So is their love story. There is nothing extraordinary in it. It could have been your story or mine; perhaps therein lies its charm. The style of narration is also interesting. The protagonist recounts his  love story between periodic updates on the current terror situation (current being 26/11). This to and fro provides momentum and ensures that the story does not drag.

The language is colloquial – exceedingly so. It is almost as if the author has transcribed an audio tape. There is nothing literary in here – no subtlety of language, no word play, no poetry. In their stead are the cusswords, abbreviations and “cocky” slang that characterize the vocabulary of teenagers today. So you have words like baski (basketball is way to long), senti, uncomfy, coz, phattu and crud sprinkled liberally across the book.  The facebook lingo with a heavy (at times, unbearably so) dose of Hinglish is so evident that at times it seems contrived. But then perhaps the intention of the author was to produce a book for mass consumption in the language of the masses. For like it or not, Hinglish has become the language of the masses today.

If you are looking for a contemporary Indian love story that you can identify with, pick up A Dilli-Mumbai Love Story.

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With the number of Indian students – particularly middle class Indian students – hitting foreign shores these days, I often wondered why someone hadn’t come up with a book sharing their forays into the unknown. After all there is so much to tell – the excitement, the anxiety, the discoveries, the little moments and incidents that may seem hilarious to a reader, but which for a student are often life altering. I should know. Been there, experienced that. That, of course, was many years ago. Much has changed since then, I am sure. So, it was with much anticipation that I picked up Arnab Chakraborty’s der deutsche sommer or DDS, in short. And before you begin to wonder, the book is very much in English.

DDS starts on a promising note. The author recreates the feelings of a 21 year old small town guy, who even though he has experienced life in the metroes has never had a stamp on his passport before. How does this guy deal with the excitement fringed with trepidation that envelopes him as he boards an international flight for the first time? How does he handle the cosmopolitanism of the airports, the immigration queues, the sudden surge of nationalism – the overt manifestation of a natural instinct to find common ground in an alien environ? Ask any first timer who is flying abroad for an internship or a degree; he or she will identify with many of the straight-from-the-heart sentiments shared here through long winded, seemingly never-ending sentences. Yes, the book holds promise, not just because of the subject but because of the honesty with which the author has handled it. He has even tried to enrich the experience by adding doses of wiki-ed information. In the beginning, especially in the first few chapters, these snippets are carefully woven in. So even as Arnab tries to show you the various emotions splashed across the canvas of his head and heart at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, you learn that South Asia’s biggest Aviation hub started off as an Air Force base during the second world war. Interesting!

Once the author reaches Germany, however, the disappointment starts. As he puts in page after page of straight-from-the-internet information on the sights and sounds of the various places he has visited, you can’t help missing the protagonist. Perhaps, students flying to Germany, and particularly to the RWTH Aachen University will find it useful to have the historical, cultural and touristy information about their university and places surrounding it in one place; not to mention detailed information about the man who even today continues to fascinate millions, if only due to his brutality and stratagem. I, for one, was more interested in learning about how the author navigated these places. What sights did he see? How did he find them – physically and aesthetically? Did he have any interesting experiences in the much talked about Red Light District of Amsterdam? How did he handle the language issues? How different was the learning experience? The shopping experience?

Occasionally, Arnab surfaces to relate one or two such anecdotes, like the problems of being a vegetarian in the place or the excitement during the FIFA World Cup, but they are so few and so far in between that one has a tough time locating them. Towards the end, when you almost give up hope of encountering any experiences a’la Gopal from Anurag Mathur’s The Inscrutable Americans, the author reappears to take you on a stroll in Hamburg. Briefly, you encounter a bunch of 20 somethings determined to enjoy all the pleasures afforded by a foreign land, away from parental vigilance.

All in all, if DDS was edited better and if the author focused more on his own experiences than on wiki-knowledge, this one would have been a must read. As of now, it is a scrapbook of a student who spent 2 months in Germany with all the essential ingredients – snippets of feelings, friendly exchanges, ticket stubs, names of associates and dollops of information booklets. If you are a student travelling abroad, pick it up. It’ll strike a chord; perhaps even inspire you to start your own scrapbook and share it with the world.

Finally, a word of caution. If you pick up a copy of the book and find the end hanging, do not worry. Only one word is missing, drinks. Can’t the blame the author for this one -printing/ publishing mistake but it sure leaves you feeling a little cheated.

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Custody by Manju Kapur

Manju Kapur’s debut novel “Difficult Daughters” brought her instant fame and recognition. Released in 1998, the novel fetched her the prestigious Commonwealth Eurasia Region Award for the best debut novel of 1999. Born in Amritsar, Kapur studied in both India and Canada.  She attained her post graduation degree from Dalhousie University, Canada. Presently, she teaches English at Miranda House College, University of Delhi. A globe trotter at heart, she has travelled extensively .A Married Woman (2002), Home (2005), and The Immigrant (2008) are some of her other novels.

Kapur’s writings have more to do with the feministic approach. She clearly depicts the paradigm shift in a woman’s outlook in post liberalization period. Her protagonists are the independent women of today, born into a transforming socio, political and economical order. Kapoor’s latest novel “Custody”,  was released in March this year. It creates an intimate portrait of marriage and family. The story unfolds when a beautiful couple decides to call it quits. The wife is interested in another man and wants a legal separation. The story is a critique of the Indian Judicial System with regard to cases pertaining to the custody battle of children after a failed marriage. The husband’s new wife can’t conceive and is eagerly looking forward to being the step- mother . The novel clearly depicts the pain, betrayal and suffering resulting from separation. It also highlights the plight of the children whose pain often remains hidden from the public view. After all estranged couples make for good gossip, the psyche of lonely children does not.

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Reviewed by Ruth Zothanpuii

The Color Purple written by American author Alice Walker was published in the year 1982. It received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award and was later adapted into a film.

The Color Purple has also been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000-2009 at number seventeen because of the sometimes explicit content, particularly in terms of violence.

Alice Walker adopted the epistolary style, so we have the account of the story conveyed entirely by an exchange of letters.Walker has Celie write to God, Nettie to Celie and Celie to Nettie. What occurs in these letters is the story of the physical and mental abuse of Black women who are subjugated by their men in both America and Africa during the 1930s.

Celie, the protagonist and narrator of  The Color Purple, is a poor, uneducated, fourteen year old black girl living in rural Georgia. At the beginning of the story we have Celie who starts writing letters to God as her sense of shame is great and thinks that she can only write to God and has no other way to express her feelings. These letters are written in a voice that uses raw realism – the only language an uneducated girl of fourteen years old would know to convey the facts of her life. The only sentences outside the letters are the first two:“You better not never tell nobody but God. It’d kill your mammy.”

Celie’s stepfather, Alphonso, beats and rapes her; he impregnates Celie twice and later steals and presumably kills both the children.She  is married off to Mr. _____ , a widower on the condition that she take care of his four unruly children, tend his house and be available to him for sex. Her husband following the custom of his race, thrashes her often in order to subdue her and keep her under control.  By illustrating such incidents, Walker draws the attention of modern women. For instance, in some society men inflict physical wounds on women, but in other societies men inflict psychological wounds on women.

Nettie, the younger sister of Celie, whose fate holds an opposite direction joins a missionary family who encourage her to read and learn; something Celie (the heroine) pines for. Nettie later goes to Africa with the missionary family. Both the sisters are estranged from one another for most of their adult lives, yet their devotion as sisters continues, and, without even knowing whether the other is alive, their mutual and unconditional love sustains them.

The interesting part in reading this novel is that while the novel traces the lives of both sisters over a period of decades, it provides us with an innumerable opportunities for thoughtful classroom discussion. For instance, the popular concept of God versus Celie- Nettie – Shug picture of God later in the novel.

The story brings to life American history, world history, women’s history, civil rights history.  It also focuses on incest, women’s exploration of their bodies and souls, wife-beating and other violence, illustrating mainly the dehumanization of women. Walker’s focus on feminist issues within the black community as well as upon intra-racial violence and oppression places her in a category of writers willing to confront the difficult problems of communities in transition, to complain about the male and female, and parents/child relationships, and to persuade their members to renew their faith in each other for the sake of community survival.

Finally, it is the kind of a story that stays with you even long after you’ve finished reading it. A must read and a must have in one’s own private library.

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If there is a book that every bookaholic must read, it is this, it is this, it is this.

84, Charing Cross Road – a weird name for a book, don’t you think? I would probably have never picked it up if I was browsing at a bookstore or a library. But this one was recomended by a very dear friend so I rented it out (the perks of working at a library!!!).  After the first two pages I began to seriously question my friend’s taste in books. I mean what would you think if you were to read two letters – one from a customer to a nondescript bookstore asking for cheap, second hand copies of books and the second, the bookstore’s very proper (read British) reply. How exciting or inspiring could it be? I was tempted to call my friend and ask her if this was some kind of a sick joke. You have a bookstore cum library, so there read this. But before blasting her off, I decided to go through a few more pages. And boy, was I rewarded. By page 5 my faith in my friend had been restored. By page or shall I say, letter 7, I was hooked. For the next hour or so I kept reading the correspondence between a quirky American book lover and a small, antiquarian book shop located at 84, Charing Cross Road, London.  Not once did I stop smiling. The book is a sheer delight. Of course, I must apologize for using the word antiquarian here, lest the author – who in case you are wondering is the woman who wrote the letters – takes offense. She categorically stateson page 1 itself that the term scares her.

Yes at first glance, 84, Charing Cross Road is just a collection of letters between a buyer and a seller, but those letters have so much spirit, so much humour and so much warmth in them. They portray a series of beautiful relationships formed between people across the Atlantic who had never met one another and who had only one thing in common -books. Who says books provide fodder only for the mind? They enrich the heart and the soul too. And the letters which start out as straight jacket formal notes that one learns to write in English classes, soon become chronicles of friendship and compassion; a treasury of good natured banter. By the end of the 97 page book you feel as if you know the author, Helene (with an ‘e’ as she points out) really well and you can’t help wanting to meet her to experience her wit and warmth first hand. Who after all sends eggs, ham and even nylons to the families of the bookstore she is buying from, when she herself is on a shoestring budget?

Helene’s letters are a delight – the way she waxes eloquent everytime she receives a good book and blows up Frank Doel, the man who is responsible for procuring her books at Marks and Cohen, whenever there is a delay is hilarious. There’s not much more to say about the book, except that you have to read it to believe it. This is no great piece of literature, just a book straight from a booklover’s heart. A word of appreciation for the editors. They have lett the letters be as is. No grammar checks, no effort to ensure that all’s well with the punctuation. And despite the fact that I get irritated every time I come across a grammatical error in a book, not once did I get cross with Helene or her publishers. By withholding their red pens they have retained the spontaneity of the letters; their very real, very tangible feel. Who, after all, wants to read “perfect” error free letters? Especially letters where you are holding a conversation with the writer, hearing, not reading every word.

Oh and before I wrap this review up, I must confess that I was lucky, the copy available in the INDIAreads library had not just 84 Charing Cross Road but also what can be termed as its sequel, “The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street.” If there was one dream that Helene had, one that crept up time and again in her letters, it was a wish to visit England and Marks and Cohen. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is none other than Helene herself and the book is her diary, a blow by blow account of her visit to the land of her dreams for the release of 84 Charing Cross Road. Once again Helene’s candour, her uncensored observations and effusive notes have you smiling all the way. And you realize once again, just how many friends a book can win you.

A definite must read.

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** P.S for those of you wondering at the verbose and absolutely informal tone of this review, you have to read the book. There is no way that one can do a critical, formal review of this one!

Looking for an M & B with a good storyline, intrigue and Indian protagonists? Pick up Metro Reads’ latest offering: Love on the Rocks by Ismita Tandon Dhankher. With all the ingredients of a “timepass read” this novel does full justice to Metro Reads’ tagline – ‘fun, fast and fiesty reads.’

Life promises to be a lot of fun for newly wed Sancha when she joins her husband Chief Officer Aaron Andrews on his merchant navy vessel, Sea Hyena. However less than 24 hours on the High seas she realizes that all is not well aboard the ship. Confronted with a series of disturbing occurences, including a theft and a murder, the inquisitive bride sets about unravelling the multiple mysteries. She soon realizes that nothing is as it seems and no one, including her husband or his best friend First Engineer Harsh Castillo, can be trusted. What does a woman in love do under such circumstances?Disclose her suspicions to the investigationg officer or give her hubby the benefit of doubt? And who is the murderer?

After the first few chapters you will begin to have your suspicions, but Dhankher manages to successfully keep you guessing till almost the end. The needle of suspicion keeps pointing to different characters; each time you pat yourself on the back for playing Sherlock , there is a new development. A die hard mystery lover might be able to nail the culprit way before he is revealed, but most readers will enjoy the little twist in the end; not Sheldonesque but nonetheless interesting.

The real strength of this debut novel is the voice that Dhankher provides to virtually all her characters. The story is told not from the point of view of a single person – Sancha. Harsh, Aaron, Raghav (the investigating officer), Popeye (the Captain) – everyone gets their say. This refreshing style provides the reader with an interesting insight into the mind and emotions of human beings, particularly of those who have to stayed away from land and their loved ones for long periods of time.

Dhankher’s writing is engaging, the language colloquial and humour, refreshing. The setting – a merchant navy ship – is new and interesting and the plot reasonably well developed. The book may not qualify as the best mystery novel of the year but it definitely does full justice to the “new genre” that Penguin has sought to introduce. A genre of books that “don’t weigh you down with complicated stories, don’t ask for much time and don’t have to be lugged around.”

It is a book for the youth of today who have neither the time nor the patience to indulge in “heavier” reads. Love on the Rocks may not give you an adrenaline rush and it doesn’t exactly compel you to burn the midnight oil just to get to the end, but that was never the intention of the series. Love on the Rocks sets a comfortable pace; it allows you to pick it up in between your chores and enjoy slices of it. No compulsions, no information…pure, simple entertainment. And it definitely qualifies as a good candidate for a Bollywood potboiler.

All in all a laudable debut novel and a great “light” read. Pick it up the next time you plan to catch a flight or want to unwind after a crazy workday.

CHANAKYA’S CHANT by ASHWIN SANGHI

Sometimes you pick up a book that just compels you to write a review; that agitates your mind so much that you know that you need to share the various thoughts and sentiments that it kindles in order to be at peace. This is what happened when I picked up Ashwin Sanghi’s latest offering, Chankaya’s Chant.

Why did I pick up the book from the horde of new releases that pass my table every day? Not sure really apart from the fact that the synopsis on the back cover seemed interesting and different. Also as one of our regulars on the blog pointed out, I do seem to have a soft spot for historical fiction. But Chankya’s Chant is different from the other books in the genre. It is both historical as well as contemporary. For there run through the book, two parallel stories – one that is based in current times and another that dates back 2300 years. Taken individually both these stories are complete and do full justice to their own genres. And that is one of the strengths of the book. None of the narratives leave the reader feeling short changed. Both are fact paced, compact and use the language of the era they are situated in. In Chankya’s Chant they come together as two equals, their union sanctified by the (un)holy quest for power that consumes the main protagonists. The reader is left with the distinction impression that when it comes to politics and power play, not much has changed in the last two millenia.

So 2300 years ago when a young boy is forced to flee after his father is insulted and beheaded for protesting against the excesses of a philandering king he pledges revenge. He distances himself from every emotion and relationship and embarks on a single minded quest for power. He chooses a young, eager and promising boy – Chandragupta -to instrumentalize his revenge and to save Bharat from the clutches of the Macedonian conqueror Alexander. And as “ends justify the means” he uses any and every trick conceivable – and mostly inconceivable – to get to his goal. No price is too large, no sacrifice too big and no relationship sacrosanct.There is only one rule in his game- winning. So he willingly sends off the only woman he loves in to the arms of men he detests; forces his protegee to seduce a Macedonian princess; poisons a well used by common people and cattle with white arsenic; plans political assassinations; encourages kingdoms to fight one another, creates religious differences that lead to the murder of many innocents – all in the name of the greater good. Of course, having followed his actions through the book one can’t help wondering if his purported goal of unifying Bharat is simply a guise to hide his all consuming need for revenge and power; to keep his force of “righteous and wronged” would be emperors on his side.

The second story revolves around a history professor from Kanpur who uses the exact same tactics that Kautilya employed 2300 years ago to wrest power in today’s world. From being a mere professor Pandit Gangasagar Mishra goes on to become the most powerful man in the country. How? The answer is quite simple – by doing whatever it takes. He firmly stands by what Chanakya told his beloved students: “In the world of politics you can ill afford luxuries such as a clear conscience.”

Reading Gangaprasad’s story is like watching the politics of today. From deals with corporations and scams that topple governments to fake and real assassination bids; from liaisoning with mafia dons to bribing the judiciary everything is part of the script. At times you can almost draw parallels with contemporary events and people. The characters, settings, maneuvers are all very real and this is what makes Chankya’s Chant a very compelling read. It is much akin to reading a blow by blow account of Indian politics today. Of course as Chanakya’s story so aptly shows, it is not very different from Indian politics 2500 years ago either. So really the scams, scandals, corruption, collateral damage, war mongering, innocent deaths, communal riots – all the ills that we accuse the modern day politicians of -are nothing new. Nor is their use for gaining power a particular characteristic of our “depraved” leaders. Power has always come at a price and the price as Chanakya points out is not just one’s emotions but one’s conscience as well. This is the message that flows out of Chanakya’s Chant. Every page of the book builds towards this message and carries many interesting pointers calmly stated by the astute Vishnugupta aka Chanakya and the wily Gangaprasad. To cite a few:

“Politics is war without bloodshed and war is simply politics with bloodshed.”

“Everything is always all right in the end. If it isnt all right, then it isnt the end.”

“Worry is like a rocking chair; it keeps you in motion but gets you nowhere.”

“Chanakya loved anger. It was a wonderfully productive emotion that could be used very productively if channeled in the right direction.”

“It’s foolish men who die for their country. The intelligent ones make others die for their country instead.”

“War is all about deception. Direct force is a poor solution to any problem. That’s why it is used only by little children.”

“You can only stab someone in the back if you are standing behind him.”

Do some of these sound familiar? Don’t worry towards the end of the book Sanghi not only acknowledges that many of these pithy sayings are inspired or taken from others, he even cites sources. Nonetheless these “strategy pills” administered at frequent intervals in adequate doses – the author does not over do it- keep the reader engaged and engrossed.

With well etched characters, tight writing and an intriguing storyline that is bound to appeal to a generation disillusioned by the 2G and other scams, Chanakya’s Chant is definitely a recommended reading. It touches upon many contemporary issues – from communal riots to guerrilla warfare. In fact in one scene Chanakya patiently explains to his student what guerrilla warfare is and why it is a good strategy (and not an unhonourable one). It even has some very interesting and innovative suggestions for managing contemporary problems – like use of enunchs for debt recovery and handing over salaries to the wives of bus drivers to prevent accidents due to drunk driving. Are these solutions practical? Will they work or will they simply reinforce stereotypes about heterosexuals and lead to an increase in domestic violence? I do not know but they are definitely worth mulling over. Yet for all its strengths I found Chanakya’s Chant to be oddly depressing. Perhaps it was the tone of inevitability in the book. The suggestion that the scams, the killings, the power plays that continue to make headlines in our world are here to stay. That everything in this world is about give and take – there are no free lunches. That those who are honest can not be a part of the system -they are either converted or bumped off. That success can only be attained by carefully studying people, identifying their weaknesses and then playing them; by backstabbing and lying. That even the “good” deeds carried out by politicians are really just means to an end- the end being power. Perhaps I am too much of a romantic. Perhaps I still believe in the innate goodness of human beings – in their ability to not just hurt but to heal. Perhaps my discomfort is born of the fact that the book very effectively- and at times, almost cruelly -destroys all illusions. I do not know.

Before I end the review however, there is one more thing that needs to be acknowledged – the sheer strength of Sanghi’s main protagonists (at the expense of other characters like Chandragupta Maurya, for instance). The two characters are so real that even as one loathes their actions one can’t loathe them. Yes they are ambitious, yes they are ruthless, yes they are wily. And perhaps a little strangely they are always successful. Yet they are human. So even the seemingly heartless professor who did not hesitate to get his own protegee shot twice or to get one of his dearest friends arrested could not help exclaiming, ” As God’s my witness, I loved the rogue.” Perhaps therein lies the hope.

All in all a must read. Buy/rent Chanakya’s Chant by Ashwin Sanghi from INDIAreads Online Library cum Bookstore.

Cameron Dokey’s Wild Orchid is the retelling of the Ballad of Mulan, the story of a young Chinese girl who disguises herself as a boy and goes to battle to save her aged father from conscription. The original ballad is believed to have first been sung in the fourth century.  In Wild Orchid Dokey successfully fleshes out the original ballad and adds romance to Mulan’s story. This book is part of the Once upon a time series brought out by Simon and Schuster. The series itself is a very interesting idea wherein old fairy tales and fables from across the world are retold with a new spin. These books provide you with a rare opportunity to look at tales from your childhood from a new perspective.

But back to Wild Orchid. The novel is named after the main protagonist.  Mu-lan in Chinese means Wild Orchid, or so the author tells us. The daughter of China’s greatest general, Mulan does not meet her father till a little before her 14th birthday.  Her mother died giving birth to her and this broke her father’s heart. So while he was busy fighting the Huns for China, young Mulan grew up into China’s most unconventional girl. Yes, she could sew and embroider like all dutiful girls (though she hated the later),  but she could also climb trees, read, write, ride a horse, shoot with a bow and arrow and fence with a sword. In other words, she could do what most Chinese lads could – and in most cases much better than them – thanks to her childhood friend Li Po.  Mulan’s carefree life changes when her father returns home after a battle injury. Soon China is under attack from the Huns again and every Chinese family has to send a man to fight. To save her father, 14 year old Mulan steals his battle horse and rides into the war where she meets the youngest Chinese prince. Together they endeavor to save China.

Wild Orchid is Mulan’s story and Dokey brings out her character beautifully. Her writing is simple and her characters real. Through her pen the reader experiences the heart ache of a child craving her father’s love, the confusion of a young girl when a stepmom is thrust upon her, the rebellion of a spirited lass determined to learn all that a boy could and the yearning of an individual to just be herself and follow her heart. The friendship between Mulan and Li Po is depicted beautifully. Dokey spends considerable time taking the reader through Mulan’s childhood. Thus she ensures that the reader understands every action and nuance of this fiercely loyal and brave girl. This is not a war story though one cannot be blamed for thinking thus initially. After all, the story begins by saying that it is the story of the girl who saved China. Yes, there is a war, one in which Mulan proves her mettle but the battle only takes up a few pages as does Mulan’s love story. In fact at times, the reader can’t help but feel that the author should have spent a little more time in developing the love story. Also at times, Mulan’s constant awareness of her being different gets annoying.

Does the Wild Orchid do justice to the original ballad? That is difficult to say. However it is highly recommended for those looking for a simple, light hearted and warm story.

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Laughter is precious but what if there was a machine that would make everyone laugh – how precious would it be? Very, as little Jeffrey and Ben discovered. Working in a junk shop they found a machine that produced rip roaring jokes that sent everyone, including their temperamental neighbour, into splits.  And theirs is a story that will bring a smile on the faces of our young readers as well.

In The Joke Machine, McCall Smith does not preach. Nor does he get naughty and suggest pranks or deride elders. No, just by using his imagination he creates a book that will enthrall children with its imaginative plot, simple writing style and whacky illustrations. At the same time, Smith manages to convey some important messages. Messages about laughter, joy, and friendship. Messages about curiosity, about not giving up, about letting the children tinker about with machine parts. Messages which are delivered so simply that one does not even notice them. And at the end of the book, the reader gets up wishing that he or she too had a joke machine that would enable to him to laugh away life’s troubles and to fill the lives of those around him with joy.

A must read for children in the 5-10 age group.

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A quick witted, hot tempered, “i-will-do-as-I-please-the-world-be-damned” heroine; a high handed, roguish and equally temperamental hero; Regency

England replete with its gossip, glitter and graces. The Bath Tangle has all the ingredients that have made Georgette Heyer’s romances instant best sellers. The main protagonists are  intelligent, and therefore in the language of regency romances, “unconventional”, hot headed and egoistic. Their battle of wits and egos leads to a series of misunderstandings, mistaken engagements and an interesting tangle. And the setting for all these misadventures is, of course, as the book name suggests, Bath.

When 25 year old Serena Carlow discovers that her eccentric father has entrusted the Marquis of Rotherham, the man she jilted and therefore publically shamed, as her guardian she is furious. As if that is not sufficient, the old Duke also willed that Serena would get all her entails if and only if, she married with the consent of the “infuriating” Marquis. To cope with her changed circumstances Serena escapes to Bath with her step mother, the soft hearted, albeit dim witted and very young, Fanny. Here she meets an old flame and promptly becomes engaged to him. What follows is a series of misadventures till all is set right in the end.

The Bath Tangle is above all Serena’s story. The male protagonist is present but more in Serena’s  thoughts and reflections than in actual scenes. In Serena we once again find the almost “stereotypical” Regency heroine – daring, intelligent, unconventional, proud and loyal to those that she loves. Yet Heyer’s writing ensures that there is not a dull moment in the book. The characters of the hero and the heroine may seem somewhat familiar, but their exchanges and indeed their interactions with others are so lively that nothing in the book seems repetitive. The Bath Tangle is full of Heyer’s trademarks- vivid descriptions of life in Regency England, strong characters and brilliant characterization, charming if somewhat obsolete Regency vernacular and lots of sarcasm and witticisms. Of course some times the reference to the politics of the era leave the modern reader a bit bewildered but then these are minor distractions.

An interesting read for those who enjoy well written historical romances.

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