7 Days 7 Books

I was ‘nominated’ to do the 7 days 7 books challenge on Facebook by a reader friend. And this is the sort of thing I like, because it forces me to revisit books and my feelings for them. I thought I’ll do books set in ‘unusual locations.’ I’ve been trying to read fiction from regions less known about for the last few years. And so here were my 7

I tried to pick books from far flung regions – ones that those in my circle may not have come across. Unfortunately, I didn’t do anything compelling from Africa or Middle East (or even Australia/NZ) but I had to pick 7. I also wanted to include female authors so that helped me hone this down as well.

In no particular order, these were Jamilia, The Hungry Tide, A Dream in Polar Fog, Zlata’s Diary, Island on the Edge, Papillon, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

What books would you have picked? Feel free to recommend some that I may not have read!

More Reviews!

I thought I’d add a quick post to say that I have started reviewing for The Wee Review based in Scotland. I have been doing this for the past couple of months and will be focussing on Theatre and Books for the time being.

Inerestingly, the theatre shows seem to tour all over the place and at the different festivals, so if you are into this sort of thing, keep an eye on my reviews!

https://theweereview.com/author/udita-banerjee/

Chance Developments: Stories … a review

I haven’t read an Alexander McCall Smith is absolute ages! It may have been close to five years, I went through a phase of reading his stuff (and it was great with all the Edinburgh references). I got this one on discount on the Kindle, and it is quite an unusual work. There are 5-6 old photographs and what he tries to do is to create a short story out of each one.

In true Smith style, there is a strong central theme, in this case ‘love’ and the author manages to weave the different kinds of love into the lives of the various characters. What I loved about the book was how the characters all seem very ‘everyday.’ They could be the people who sat next to you on the bus or served you at the till. It really brings to life the concept of everyone has a story and when we meet someone or interact with them, it really is two personal story arcs meeting briefly before diverging again.

In particular, I loved the richeness of the first story and how it presents a snapshot of the life of an ex-nun. It was beautifully crafted from top to tail and ends in a bit of a flourish. Very enjoyable reading – I may be getting into that phase again!

One Day … a review

I read this book over two long haul flights. It was a recommedation from a friend who knows I enjoy books set in Edinburgh. This one starts off in Edinburgh but then is based in some other places, depending on where the characters are.

The year is 1988. Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have woken up from having spent the night together in Emma’s flat in Edinburgh. It is the day after their graduation. As the book progresses, the story follows the lives of Em and Dex, on that day, every day, for twenty years. The characters meet, unmeet, and then go their separate ways. Life goes on, as do their individual trajectories.The book weaves in and out of their lives with each other and with other people. Many characters come and go, some stay.

There are a couple of things very good about this book. First of all, it is an unusual way to write a book. It is evident that the narrator is witness to these two peoples’ lives and that in itself is like someone has held a lens to their eyes. The other thing is that the ending is extremely believeable. It is not a rom-com ending, and it is not a typical ending. I will not spoil the ending by saying any more but I very strongly recommend the book, it is like reading the story of you or I. It is one of the very best I have read of modern fiction and I thoroughly enoyed it.

Happy Birthday, BookMark!

My blog turns five today. Thank you, readers, for keeping the reading going 🙂

I love you all and am very grateful for your support.

 

When I was a student

The first time I moved to Edinburgh, more than 3 years ago was when I decided to do a Masters degree at Edinburgh University. While completing that degree is easily the hardest thing I’ve done in my academic life, it was also the most rewarding for having brought me to the burgh. I love this place to bits and I am very lucky to have stayed on for work.

MBA Crystal Ball asked me to do a summary of my overall experience, you should read it! Here.

The #Fringe is done!

And just like that, August has passed us by. This has been the most enjoyable and productive month. I have been reviewing non-stop since the seventh and I am unable to watch something without tearing it apart dialogue-by-dialogue. If anyone asks me to pick up tickets again, I will cry. But honestly, I have no idea what to do with myself or my evenings anymore. I had gotten into a wonderful routine of work, theatre, review, polish up. Rinse and repeat. And I watch the advent of fall with mixed feelings. I have always found autumn the hardest to deal with anyway… So what did I learn?

1. Hindsight is a wonderful gift. A show that you watch today will most likely pale in comparison to the other shows you watch by the end of the month. But there is no knowing how you will feel about a show later on. I suppose it is almost an exercise in self-awareness, this knowing that I might like or dislike something in the absolute and not relative to having watched something else.

2. Fame is a brilliant thing. I have realised that fame is quite important to me. I went to the press office somewhere towards the middle of the Fringe and did *not* have to spell my name. You know when you are an Indian in Edinburgh how often that happens? NEVER. Like, never. And here I was “You should have press comp tickets in my name. It is U-D-I…”

“Yes, Miss Banerjee right? You write for Fringe Guru?”

WIN.

3. Some of my most satisfying moments have been walking into venues and seeing my comments being used for marketing the shows themselves. That is pretty cool. I’ve never reviewed before and so never had the honour of seeing my opinion validated, even celebrated. See?

4. There is nothing worse than coming out of a show and thinking that it is going to be a 2* or a 3*. Everyone is trying so hard and everyone is trying to put on a great show. But sometimes, a show just doesn’t do anything for you and as a reviewer, you have to analyze what your audience might or might not want to see. Still, always hard, no matter how clinical your approach is.

5. Logistics. I really wish they gave you a leaflet with the venue info about the temperature and the food/drink quality. I have been roasting hot to freezing cold. The temperatures in venues have had nothing to do with temps outside. And I have had some terrible overpriced food and some rather love coffee. Have I ever picked a show because I know the coffee at the venue is fab? What do you think?

A special shout out to:

1. All the venues who has water, unlimited water supply with lime in them. And ice!
2. All the venues who had posh hand cream in the ladies ❤
3. The usher at Spotlites who said Uttoradhikar properly

My top three shows are

Cell, The Ascension of Mrs Leech, The Trials of Galileo

All my reviews are all here.

Edinburgh is back to its quiet self again. I can have her back to myself. I am all for tourists and sharing my lovely city with them. But it is nice now that I can stand and stare at things for as long as I want.

Three Cheers! I’ll be watching the fireworks from my living room tonight.

Reviewing at the #EdFringe

I do not know how many of my readers have heard about the Fringe. But those in the arts industry would have. So the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. The Fringe is a showcase for the performing arts, with show categories including Cabaret, Children’s shows, Comedy, Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus, Events, Exhibitions, Music, Musicals and Opera, Spoken Word and Theatre.
As you can imagine, various publications, online, in print, and newspapers run reviews of shows to watch (or not to watch) throughout the month. Late last month, I applied for a position as an official reviewer of theatre for an online magazine called Fringe Guru, and got it!
So I’ve been watching a lot of theatre and reviewing it for the general public audience. You can read my reviews here. Or if you follow me on Twitter, @effervescencia, I have gotten more active there as well.
Understandably, my reading has taken a backseat for the month of August, but with this chunk of good work, my writing is flying. Do let me know your thoughts – have you watched any of the shows? Do you enjoy theatre? Did you like any of my reviews?

Entry Island … a review

I enjoyed reading The Lewis Trilogy greatly. And so I picked up this book, quite pleased that it was a standalone read. It is a long book, and so it was good that it was one-off. I was not wishing to be caught up in a long saga-like tale just now, as I have a lot of TBR on my plate. Anyway, this book is about our protagonist and police detective Sime (pronounced Sh-ee-m) who is sent to Entry Island because, like the islanders, her speaks English. Other islands in the area are part of the Qubecois Canada and so, speak French.

A man has been murdered and suspicion falls on his wife, Kirsty, who has no other alibi and has enough reason to want to kill her husband. But from the very first meeting, Sime wants to believe her. And strangely, feels that he knows her, even though both of them agree that they have definitely never met before.

Also part of the police team on the island is Sime’s ex-wife Marie-Ange, and when was that ever a good thing!? Caught in between these two women, one of whom might be a murderer, Sime goes through bouts of insomnia. Interspersed with the scenes in his dreams are scenes from his ancestor’s diary, which he has started reading.

Personally, I loved the ancestor’s story. It begins in the highlands of Scotland, centuries ago. The backdrop is the potato famine followed by the highland clearances. And as always, a poor farmer’s boy in love with the landowner’s daughter… I had not read much of either of those bits of Scottish history and so I really enjoyed reading about them. Well, no so much enjoyed as be distressed by, but you know what I mean.

Overall, I thought this book wasn’t as riveting as the earlier trilogy, but the interspersed stories, dream sequences, evil ex-wife, I enjoyed this book a lot!

Letters from Skye … a review

The title of this book contains two favourite words, so even before I began reading it, I knew I would like it. The entire book is written in the form of letters – between a poetess Elspeth from Skye and her pen pal David from America, and parallely Elspeth’s daughter Margaret’s letters to various people. Elspeth and David correspond during World War I and Margaret’s letters are based around the Second World War. It all begins when, upon the publication of a book of poems, Elspeth receives a rather sweet letter from a ‘fan’ in America. The story spans two generations, about two decades, two wars, and two continents – finally reaching culmination at the St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh (it’s on Palmerston place on the West end, it’s beautiful).

The book is very well written. There isn’t much surprise in the way of the plot because the letters alternate between the two women’s stories and Margaret’s story fills us in on the gaps left in Elspeth’s. So, no surprises, really, but I enjoyed the concept and the backdrop of the war and of life on Skye. Skye is stunning and the idea of a poetess penning her thoughts as poems and letters and slowly but surely falling in love with a man she’d never met is just my type of thing. Let me warn you, however, it might not be everybody’s cup of tea; which is possibly why this book has got mixed reviews on websites etc

But like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought scenes from Skye, Edinburgh, and London quite vividly in my head. The writing is atmospheric and evocative; the emotions expressed are very natural and believable. I’d recommend it.