Amodini's Book Reviews

Book Reviews and Recommendations

Fashion and the devil

Written By: amodini - Oct• 21•05
The Devil Wears PradaJust finished reading “The devil wears Prada” by Lauren Weisberger, and while the book is not “literature” it’s one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a while. It’s about Andrea Sachs straight out of college, landig a job at the most hip fashion magazine “Runway” as Chief Editor Miranda Priestley’s junior assistant. Miranda is the epitome of the boss from hell, but Andrea decides to stick out an year with her, believing that at the end, Miranda (as rumored) can open many other journalistic doors for her. Miranda is apparently a genius at work, very influential in most circles, but a rude, spoiled, mean-spirited person. Andrea’s duties as her assistant, include getting her her meals at exactly the right temperature, dropping off dry-cleaning, finding shops ,reviews, articles, pieces of furniture Miranda asks for at a moment’s notice, and other menial tasks. All jobs must be done to the precise degree, which is often difficult for Andrea, because Miranda hates clarifying vague instructions, and is likely to lose her temper and humiliate Andrea (and others).

The book takes us through Andrea’s initial enthusiasm at “Runway”, progressively degenerating into an effort at maintaining a life outside work, and her sanity in the face of Miranda’s overt hostility. Finally however, Andrea must decide between her desire to gain a foothold in the journalism industry via Miranda, or her rapidly reducing flock of friends and concerned family.

Andrea seemed a real character with flaws, and very human (detests being made to wear 4 inch heels every day, while gallivanting around fetching Miranda’s coffee), and I’m guessing that she and the author think as one. Other characters which feature in the book are Alex, Andrea’s patient boyfriend, Lily her best friend, and Emily, Miranda’s senior assistant and devoted slave. Andrea’s worried parents and family also influence Andrea’s life, health and sanity for the better.

This is clearly a “rant” book, Miranda Priestley, as per rumors, is based on Anna Wintour, Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief, although Weisberger denies it. At one time, Lauren Weisberger, apparently worked as an assistant for her. When this book came out, it created a furore in the fashion industry, and the “New York Times” ran not one but two reviews ripping the book to shreds. I really don’t care if this is a rant, it’s a very interesting rant, and even though I have scant interest in the fashion industry, I enjoyed it. And really, if Wintour is such a nasty piece of work, kudos to Weisberger for getting it off her chest and profiting financially too!

Categories : _books
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Big B worship

Written By: amodini - Oct• 17•05
You go out shopping, you go out for any reason, and what do you see ? Gawkers, people with ostensibly no purpose standing on the roadside, gawking. And you see them everywhere. Amazingly on every Indian street-corner, so many people with nothing to do, with free time on their hands. So, I guess trouble-makers have no problems gathering up a crowd, whether it is to riot through Bombay or Gujarat, or break mosques.

Sakshi Juneja writes about Amitabh Bachhan’s 63rd birthday, and the crowds which clogged traffic outside his home. Again, large crowds with lots of time, and nothing better to do than to stand outside closed gates, hoping that the great man would deign to accept good wishes personally ?

Categories : _culture_and_society
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The interview with God

Written By: amodini - Oct• 12•05

A friend pointed me to this site. The words are true, and the pictures beautiful. Note that the presentation has audio, and takes a few seconds to load.

Categories : _miscellanous

Posted in books | 1 Comment »

The Mistress of Spices

Written By: amodini - Oct• 10•05

The Mistress of Spices: A NovelJust finished reading “Mistress of Spices” by Chitra B. Divakaruni. This is one I’d skipped because the introduction hadn’t looked too good. But apparently there is a movie now, and since I will see the movie, better read the book first. So did. The prose is long-winded, almost lyrical, a little more and it would have almost been poetry. There is no overt action, it’s thought and philosophy, a stream of consciousness narrative, all from Tilo’s point of view. Her life, and her decisions are told to us via the thoughts in her head, in a quaint, sing-song, old womanly manner, very befitting the language of a Mistress of Spices.

Tilo or Tilotamma, is a fire-ordained Mistress of Spices. Strong of resolve, she has led a cruel and haughty life, and was finally taught the art of the curative spices from the Old One – the Mother. As an initiation she promises her life to service, dons an old woman’s body, and serves the people of Oakland, California by running a desi grocery store and by doling out curative treatments as needed. Through her eyes, we see the problems of the desi, the culture clash, issues of domestic violence and disrespect. At the time Divakaruni wrote this book, she was the president of Maitri – a woman’s Domestic Violence organisation. She was also the founder I believe, so it is natural for her to weave these stories in. The rest of the book meanders around Tilo’s store-bound life, and attachment to an American and her decisions thereafter.

The film apparently hasn’t recieved rave reviews in the festival circuit. Directed by Paul Mayeda Berges (husband of Gurinder Chaddha) it stars Aishwarya Rai as Tilo. Beautywise she might fit the role (as the young Tilo is very beautiful) but acting wise am not so sure. As I’ve said before, Ms. Rai can’t act, so to carry off the role of Tilo would surely be quite a hard task for her. In a book, you get many details that a film would miss, you get the whole picture. To convey the whole picture via celluloid takes a lot of skill and a director/actors who know what they are doing. Haven’t see any films of Berges, so don’t know about his skill, but I sure have seen Aishwarya in Raincoat.

Cracking India: A NovelSphereI read “Cracking India” before I saw “Earth”, and the pleasure only doubled then. Of course Earth ends towards 3/4th of the book. –SPOILER AHEAD– We see Aamir Khan engineering Ayah’s capture, we do not see (in the film) his later remorse, nor Ayah’s hate for him. Again in “Sphere” (the book by Michael Crichton) the female scientist (I forget her name now, Beth ?) keeps her memory of the Sphere, she does not keep her side of the promise. In the film however, all 3 scientists are shown to have erased their memories of the sphere.

So, it’s interesting if you have read the book, sort of gives you an insight into the film. And the best reads/films are those in which I can’t recall whether I’ve seen the film or read the book (the details are that clear in my mind).

Categories : _films , _film_reviews
Posted in bollywood, food, india, movies | 1 Comment »

Flight Plan

Written By: amodini - Sep• 29•05
Flight plan released this past weekend, and its getting good reviews. Went to see it, and one of the theatres sold out right before my eyes. Made it into the second one. This is a Jodie Foster film – Panic Room was another. Foster in this film is the mother of a 6 year old, and has just lost her husband. She’s travelling with her kid, and husband’s remains to the US from Germany, when her daughter dissapears. She’s on a plane which is pretty high above the earth, so it’s not as if the kid walked out. She’s on here somewhere, only no one except Foster’s character seems to remember her getting on, or seeing her. Quite an intriguing plot, although you can poke a few holes in it.

I’m comparing this to “Panic Room” which also had a similar story. Of course no plane there, the action takes place right on earth, in an eccentric millionaire’s home. Foster there, has a diabetic son, and is freshly divorced if I remember right. So again no strong man to lend a shoulder to her troubles. She has rented this huge home (couple of floors, with an elevator), which has a panic room, a sort-of vault with cameras etc. because the millionaire who owned it feared attacks. To Foster’s character and the kid, the Panic Room is an interesting oddity, and on their first night in the new home, they don’t fancy ever using it. The do and how, when a band of thieves breaks in after some moolah supposedly buried in the Panic Room itself.

Foster as an actress seems perfect for these suspenseful, intriguing plots, where we fear for the protagonist’s sanity, because she seems to exude an angst, a restlessness, which is a definite part of a person under stress. She’s afraid, yet gritty, and has brains to boot.

Panic Room was definitely more intense, and drawn-out, stretching out the suspense, and giving rein to Foster’s character’s grit and ingenuity. FP on the other hand, displaying yet another woman’s self-belief and courage, comes at us too pat, comparatively. I still liked it though, well worth the time and money.

Categories : _films , _film_reviews
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Delhi Police and “real” men

Written By: amodini - Sep• 08•05

In his article, Sorit Gupto presents a Delhi Police advertisement printed in the local newspaper :

“There is a scene of a bus stop where two young persons are teasing a young lady. In that frame, five persons are also there but they are just mute spectators of the event, in which one of them is an elderly lady.

The copy of the advertisement says,’ There are no Men in this Picture.’

At the bottom of the main visual the copy continues as, ‘Or this would not happen’.

It again says, Suerly you can’t let a women be teased in front of you?

You are a real Man.

You know how humiliating and embarrassing it is for her.

So protect her. And help her.

Escort her away from the scene. Or inform the nearest PCR van.

Save her from shame and hurt.

Help some one in need.

Protect women from eve teaser.”

Solution to eve-teasing : Men, become “real” men. And women, alas what can you do ? Remain helpless, in the absence of law-order. If this is the mentality of Delhi Police no wonder the law and order situation doesn’t improve.

Read the full article here.

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Tenuous tennis

Written By: amodini - Sep• 08•05
Watched Sania Mirza’s US Open match this weekend. Unfortunately, Sharapova made short shrift of her. Mirza plays well and is a powerful hitter, but is erratic, and double faults like crazy. Of the few serves that do go through, the first one is faulty, and the second one is such a lollipop, that she doesn’t stand a chance. It’s amazing that she’s gotten where she has with the amount of unforced errors she makes.

Of the match, Outlook says :

“…For Sania, it was neither the abdominal strain nor the foot blisters but her weak second serve that proved to be her undoing…”

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Job description

Written By: amodini - Aug• 30•05

A friend mailed me this. Don’t know who the original authors are, but they sure thought this one out !

POSITION:
Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy, Ma

JOB DESCRIPTION:
Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:
Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:
None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:
Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

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Bookwise II

Written By: amodini - Aug• 19•05
Lost LakeI am a big “review” person. Well, duh ! I read film reviews, book reviews and whatnot. I attempt to remove the chaff from the wheat before I eat it, or read it or see it. However, there is stuff out there which looks pretty attractive, but turns out to be just the opposite. A recent book I read, “Lost Lake” by Philip Margolin fits into that category. Its a very urban defense-America type plot, all about generals, and secret units, and trained mercenaries etc. However a plot needs to be couched in effective words to make an impact, and here Mr. Margolin fails.

“Lost lake” read like the first draft of a novel, no polish, no finesse, no positioning of words; like a work not yet done. Words plodding after one another does not a novel make. There must be a twist and a weave, a nuance here, a subtlety there ! Card-boardish, one-dimensional characters did not elevate the plot quality any. I read “Lost Lake” fast though; I had other (good) books to read. There’s this quote which goes “It is better to read a little and ponder a lot than to read a lot and ponder a little”. Apparently I read a lot, and pondered little.

Vanishing Acts: A NovelAlso read Jodi Picault’s “Vanishing Acts”, which was a big dissapointment after her “Keeping faith”. The plot of VA didn’t hold much suspense, you knew what had happened, and quickly too – it’s revealed pretty much in the begining. As the shock factor wears off, and I read through anecdote after anecdote, mixed with a Native American woman’s homespun philosophy, the going gets tedious. This is a book which depicts the impact of alcoholism, but I’m not sure it made interesting reading.

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Of kung-fu and film

Written By: amodini - Aug• 17•05
Kung Fu Hustle [UMD for PSP]Recently saw 2 chinese martial arts films : “Kung-fu hustle” and “House of Flying daggers”. The first is more recent (as in release date), and is not dubbed; i.e.; you must read the sub-titles. The second, which is a much acclaimed film, has been dubbed in English. I enjoyed both films, although they have vastly different storylines.

KFH is a story set in what looks like modern day China, and is the comically told story of the “fight” between the notorious Axe gang and the night-gown clad landlady of a poor Chinese chawl. Don’t get misled by the night-gown though; the landlady has it in her to terrorise local residents, beat her husband to a pulp, and emit yells so shrill, they crack glassware. Into this war comes our hero, a happy-go-lucky, never-do-well wastrel with a heart of gold. Getting involved in a vicious fight, leaves him almost fatally wounded. However, all is not lost yet….

House of Flying DaggersHFD is a more “Serious” film. The story of the struggle between governement policemen, and an underground organisation – the flying daggers, in 8th century China, this film presents a love triangle, and the fate of the three involved in it.

Both films have martial arts. While KFH is snappy, and more urban, HFD is slower and more “poetically” told. HFD’s cinematography is something to watch out for ; beautifully enacted fight scenes in green bamboo forests make for scintillating cinema. Slow motion is used to emphasize martial techniques and the exquisite precision involved. Most characters in this film wear decorous costumes, while performing martial manoevres, and swirling sleeves and long skirts only serve to increase the beauty manifold. As far as the martial arts are concerned, KFH seems to have more “technique” (and I’m no expert) as evinced in the one-to-one fight sequences, while HFD has better presentation.

Posted in hollywood, movies, recommended | 1 Comment »
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