Where Love Has Gone (published in 1962) - a book that resembles a murder story

Harold Robins is one of the most prolific writers of the 21st century. Born Harold Rubin, his parents were Russian and Polish immigrants. After dabbling in sugar futures he took up a job in Universal pictures, which propelled his interest towards writing. Thus out came “Never love a Stranger” which courted controversy for its graphic sexual content. Soon Robbins would become a prolific writer churning out innumerable best sellers. He had this knack of mixing up a thriller with sex and historical anecdotes to create a taut mystery. The worlds favorite author, Harold Robins would publish over 20 books which are translated into 32 languages and are estimated to sell over 750 million copies. Many of his books were made in to successful movies, the very first being “A stone For Danny Fisher” which was adapted as “King Creole” starring Elvis Presley. The stories were also made in to mini series and were part of documentaries. Robbins also lived a jet setting life style with cars, wine and women at his disposal. His decadent life style along with those of the high and mighty of Hollywood is often mirrored in his books. Robbins was one of the authors honored with a star on the Hollywood walk of frame. This prolific writer died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 81 in Palm Springs, California.



Where Love has Gone is a roman-a-clef about the real life Lana turner and her lover John Stompanato's killing. Stompanato was stabbed by Lana's daughter Cheryl Crane and the media had gone on a blitzkrieg, covering the unfortunate murder. The protagonist in this novel is Colonel Luke Carey who is living his humdrum life with wife Elizabeth. Elizabeth is expecting a baby and Luke is an insurance sales person. Out of the blue, Luke gets the call that his daughter Danii is being tried for murder. As he dashes to his baby girl whom he had not seen for years, Luke reminisces about his earlier life. The book is entirely based on the flashback which forms the bulwark of the book. Luke, fresh in to life meets the seductress Nora Hayden who is a sculptress and the heir to a wide fortune. Nora, a spoilt child of a wealthy single mother, who just cannot control her daughter, is a nymphomaniac. A stubborn nymphomaniac, Nora goes through men as she changes clothes and gets what she sets her mind on to. Luke with his military persona is soon on her list and after a whirlwind romance are married.
But marriage brings forth the real Nora who is cruel and wayward. Soon her sexual escapades are too much for Luke who tries to stay for his daughter Danii. But Nora bringing in more men, files for divorce and uses all her clout and money to get Danii's custody and phases out Luke out of her life. A heart broken Luke descends in to drunkenness and chaos until a lucky break brings in Elizabeth. But Danii with a rich spoilt mother whose boyfriends abuse her goes through hell. Her sessions with her psychiatrist throws light in to her deprived childhood. So Luke has to get her out from the clutches of a dysfunctional sexed up mother and her own demons.
Robbins for a change changes track to delve in to the issue of child psychology and is really successful. The are graphic sexual encounters but the story over powers you by its vulnerability. The reader actually feels for Dani and Luke and of course Nora is the devil incarnate who gets no sympathy. A good book, worth a look.

The Other House (published in 1896) - By Henry James, the story of a murder

Henry James was one of the greatest literary figures of the 19th century and his works are considered mini masterpieces of the time. He was born in New York City into a wealthy and intellectual family. Young James was tutored in the many learning centers of Europe and also studied at the Harvard Law School for some time. But he liked his literary pursuits to the study of law. James preferred living in Europe than in America and even renounced his American Citizenship for its refusal to enter in to World War I. He was a regular contributor to literary magazines and started his first novel “Watch and Ward” in his early twenties. His masterpieces like “Daisy Miller” and “Portrait of a Lady” quickly followed. His protagonist are complex individuals battling personal and provincial prejudices and many a time bring about the complexities of American and European lives. Henry James died at the age of 65 and his ashes are interred at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The other house is a dark murder mystery by Henry james and a one of a the kind from his stable. James never wrote a dark tale again and none of his upright characters ever could commit murder. This tale of raw passion between three women and a man resulting in the death of a child is somewhat disturbing in its essence.
The tale starts with two houses separated by a river, one being East-Mead, presided by the matronly widow Mrs. Beever along with her slow witted son Paul, the other house is the Bounds where the newly wedded couple, Tony and Julia Bream live. Julia is often haunted by the abuse at the hands of her stepmother and dies while giving birth to her child. On her death bed she extracts a promise from Tony that he would never marry and give her daughter a stepmother. Tony in his grief promises and brings up Effie his daughter on his own.



Rose Armiage is Julia's childhood friend, who nurses a deep love for Tony. She views Effie an impediment for her goal as Tony is duty bound not to bring in a step mother. Tony loves Jean Martle a simple girl next door. She too returns his ardor and understand his predicament. Rose is engaged to Denis Vidal a energetic world traveler. She keeps Denis on tenterhooks, by not accepting or rejecting his proposals, trying to woo Tony for a commitment. Rose in love almost becomes deranged when she realizes the presence of Jean Martle in Tony's life and love turns into lunacy.
Rose drowns little Effie and tries to frame Jean for the act. But an alert doctor and couple of inquiries actually help others to zero in to the culprit. But here lies the agony and twist in the tale. Rose is sent away with Denis and everything is hushed up. Tony and Jean get to marry as the only obstacle in their way is removed by Rose.
This dark tale without a trace of justice for poor Effie is dreadful and scary. Rose's lunacy horrifies even the toughest of men and even Tony's sense of justice “Her doom will be to live” does not hold water. Sometimes the reader is forced to believe that Tony is relieved about the murder as no sense of attachment is shown towards the child. This book was also pillaged by the critics for tis lack of depth and lack of relationships. You can read it for once but there are better books written by Henry James.

Washington Square (published in 1880) - Originally published as a short story by Henry James

Henry James was one of the greatest literary figures of the 19th century and his works are considered mini masterpieces of the time. He was born in New York City in to a wealthy and intellectual family. Young James was tutored in the many learning centers of Europe and also studied at the Harvard Law School for some time. But he liked his literary pursuits to the study of law. James preferred living in Europe than in America and even renounced his American Citizenship for its refusal to enter in to World War I. He was a regular contributor to literary magazines and started his first novel “Watch and Ward” in his early twenties. His masterpieces like “Daisy Miller” and “Portrait of a Lady” quickly followed. His protagonist are complex individuals battling personal and provincial prejudices and many a time bring about the complexities of American and European lives. Henry James died at the age of 65 and his ashes are interred at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Washington Square is a tragi-comedy by Henry James which tells the relationships and conflicts between a father and his dutiful daughter. This short novel appeared as a monthly piece in the Corn-hill Magazine and Harper's New Monthly Magazine.
Dr. Austin Sloper is a widower who resents his plain daughter Catherine and still mourns the death of his wife and a brilliant son. He considers Catherine to be a dull and boring personality devoid of any personality. His house is maintained by his sister, widowed Lavinia Penniman who is a hardcore romanticist. She is a brash old thing who pokes her nose in to other's affairs.



Catherine meets Morris Townsend, a penniless gold digger who sweeps her off her feet. Townsend woos her and proposes marriage. Mrs. Penniman who loves romance and melodrama encourages and aides Townsend's actions. But Dr. Sloper sees through him and forbids Catherine to have any relationship with him. Townsend moves back to live with his sister and Sloper takes his daughter away.
Catherine, for all her waify ways has an iron will and she decides that she wouldn't not throw away her love on mere suspicion. She goes with her father on a twelve month grand tour of Europe. All through the journey Sloper mentions Townsend only twice signaling his contempt. His threat to disown Cathrine also does not have any effect on the girl.
On the final leg of the journey Slopper broaches the subject of Morris Townsend and Catherine firmly refuses to give him up. Her loyalty enrages him and he refers her derogatorily as a “pig fattened for slaughter”. This is the last straw for Catherine who has put up with his contemptuous behavior and she distances herself away from her father.
Upon her returns Catherine convinces Townsend about her loyalty and love, but he breaks off the relationship when he discovers that she has been cut off from Sloper's money. This breaks Catherine's heart which would never mend again. She rejects suitors and lovers as the injury despairs her soul. Dr. Sloper passes away with out leaving her all the money for the fear of Townsend making an appearance again. His suspicions are proved correct. Townsend indeed makes a return after a long time, smelling money. He tries to rekindle the relationship. But Catherine sees through his ploy and refuse to be led down the garden path again. At the end of the novel she picks up her life and resolves to live it as it unravels.
This novel was not very much liked by James and he had fought its inclusion in the New York Edition of his work. But it still proves one of Henry James's popular novels. Its breezy romance and the ever suffering heroine does evoke sympathy. It has all the ingredient of a tragic love story which brings a lump to your heart. Read it for its poignancy.

Roderick Hudson (first serialized in 1875) - Written and later revised by Henry James

Henry James was one of the greatest literary figures of the 19th century and his works are considered mini masterpieces of the time. He was born in New York City in to a wealthy and intellectual family. Young James was tutored in the many learning centers of Europe and also studied at the Harvard Law School for some time. But he liked his literary pursuits to the study of law. James preferred living in Europe than in America and even renounced his American Citizenship for its refusal to enter in to World War I. He was a regular contributor to literary magazines and started his first novel “Watch and Ward” in his early twenties. His masterpieces like “Daisy Miller” and “Portrait of a Lady” quickly followed. His protagonist are complex individuals battling personal and provincial prejudices and many a time bring about the complexities of American and European lives. Henry James died at the age of 65 and his ashes are interred at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Roderick Hudson is a novel where Henry James found his niche in literature. He wrote about the complexities of human relationships and the proclivities of American and European culture. Rowland Mallet is a wealthy man and an art connoisseur who sees the sculpture of Roderick Hudson and realizes that he is a gifted artist. He offers to fund his travel through Italy so as to improve his artistic talents. Mallet meets Roderick's Mother and Cousin Mary Hudson with whom he falls completely in love. As he is about to confess his feelings Roderick reveals to him that Mary has accepted hid proposal for marriage. Mallet suppresses his feelings and moves to Italy.



In Italy Roderick flourishes as an original talent but his bad behavior and tendency to gamble makes him a despised man. Mallet meanwhile dates an upcoming artist Augusta Blanchard to try and forget Mary. Roderick on the other hand finds a scintillating beauty Christina who is a gold digger. Roderick is swept off his feet and manages to win her approval to sculpt her bust. Soon his interactions with Christina increases and his infatuation drives him to insanity. Mallet tries to intervene for Mary's sake and informs him that Christina is engaged to a rich Neapolitan Prince. He also informs Christina about Mary and in-spite of his mental duress brings in Mrs. Hudson and Mary to try and save Roderick.
But Roderick's flip flop continues as he fails to complete his assignments. Christina has him in her snares and toys with his emotions. She even berates Mary at a party and Mary treats her as a fake. Rowland advises Christina to stay away from Roderick as she has married the Prince. In the meantime debts have mounted for Roderick who is unable to undertake any work. His mother and Mary ask him move back home, but Mallet asks them to move to Switzerland so that he can be close to Mary. Roderick in the mean time says that he is giving up on Mary and a chance meeting with Christina fans his desire. He begs money from mallet to join Christina in Interlaken in-spite of her married status.
Roderick dies in a storm on the way to Interlaken and a grief-stricken Mary and his Mother return home. Mallet too follows them and hope for a better day. A very complex novel and a a superb narration which makes you feel the emotions of the protagonist in your midst. A must read for all classic lovers.

Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1993)

Isaac Asimov wrote a huge amount of science fiction over the years, and is known for many of his books such as the Empire Series, and most famously for the Foundation Series. The 3 main Foundation books were the 'Foundation', 'Foundation and Empire', and 'Second Foundation'. It was later, in order to try and fill more details, that Asimov wrote more books for the Foundation, that include books that were both prequels and sequels. The last such book that he wrote was called 'Forward the Foundation', and was released in 1993, a year after Asimov died. Forward the Foundation was a sequel to 'Prelude to Foundation', carrying on with the story of Seldon's search for how to develop the story of psycho-history.



In end of Prelude to the Foundation, Hari Seldon learns that Otto Demerzel, the powerful advisor to the Emperor 'Cleon 1' is actually a robot. He solicits Demerzel's help for continuing the research into psychohistory, and Forward the Foundation continues into that effort, and is meant to show 4 different time stages in Seldon's life. The novel starts 8 years from the end of Prelude to Foundation, as Seldon gets more involved in politics, helping Otto fight off attempts, and then moves a further 10 years down the line. Demerzel has vanished, and Seldon is now First Minister. However, after the assassination of Cleon 1, Seldon slowly starts losing his family members. His wife, Dors, is killed when trying to save him from an assassination attempt, his adopted son (the 12 year he met in Prelude to Foundation) dies elsewhere in another violent act, his assistant Yugo Amaryl dies of over-work, and it is left to Seldon and his grand-daughter Wanda to try and set a process in place to guide events when Seldon is no more. And so starts the story of 2 different Foundations, one of the physical base, and the other, a society of mentalics.

A tale of 2 cities by Charles Dickens

One of the most brutal revolutions in Europe in recent times has been the French Revolution; it had many phases and can be taken to mean the period between 1789 and 1799, when the army finally took over in the form of its leader, Napoleon Bonaparte. In the interim period, there were many struggles, many twists and turns. A new instrument of murder, the guillotine, was the main execution tool. People condemned to death for anti-revolution fervor, for their thoughts, and because getting them condemned to death removed them from the scene, all would be brought to the public squares where they would be executed with the guillotine.
'A tale of 2 cities' was published in 1859, and is set during the time period of the French Revolution. It shows the sheer terror of those times, where you could be condemned to death for even sympathizing with the fate of an earlier executed 'enemy' of the revolution, where a person could be condemned based on the written statement of a person (even if the person wants to take the statement back). The terror of the French Revolution evolved during a complex stage in which the excesses of the nobility and the church had crushed the poorer part of the population (Wikipedia), and this was almost pay-back time.



The book led to a very remembered opening statement, starting with these incredible words, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness". The book covers the conflicting story of many people, including arrogant aristocrats who were condemned, humble and good aristocrats who were also condemned, people taking revenge using the medium of the revolution, and how the revolution eventually also condemns those who were its proponents earlier. The book has been used as the base for a number of movies over the years, and was itself based on the book 'The French Revolution: A History' by Thomas Carlyle.
The novel covers the story of the following main characters:
- Dr Alexandre Manette: A prisoner in the Bastille for 18 years, and the father of the lady who is one of the main characters
- Lucie Manette: Young lady loved by both Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, and also the daughter of Dr. Manette
- Charles Darnay: A young, and good-natured French nobel. He never liked the cruelty of his family towards the peasantry and abandons the family name (Evrémonde), and fled to England after assuming his mother's maiden name
- Sydney Carton: A complex, but depressed English barrister. Loves Lucie, and promises her that he will do whatever he can for her and her family. Eventually does so in the end with a supreme act of self-sacrifice.
- Monsieur Ernest Defarge: Took care of Dr. Manette, also a closet revolutionary
- Madame Therese Defarge: A dark-natured closet revolutionary and wife of Ernest. She is also bent of taking revenge for the extermination of her family at the hands of Darnay's uncle

1984 by George Orwell

This is an epic novel published in 1949 by George Orwell (real name, Eric Arthur Blair). The book is seen as a landmark work, used extensively for teaching, and also as an example of a Government and society heading on the totalitarian path. The book has had a tremendous effect on the mass culture dealing with the rights of individuals versus the tyranny of a Government that believes in keeping an eye on all its citizens, governing their thoughts and actions. The novel led to the popularity of many terms such as 'Big Brother', and 'Orwellian'. It depicted the horror of a society where the Government controlled all aspects of life, and knew everything about every citizen. Soon after, a state came into being where this concept was very close to being achieved. It was in East Germany, a state that had an extensive network of internal spies, and for whom it was claimed that fully a third of the population informed on other people.



The year is 1984, the place is called "chief city of Airstrip One", a part of the large region known as 'Oceania' (the place where the protagonist works is actually London, but a London that has been wracked by civil war after World War 2 and was eventually made a part of Oceania). Oceania is one of the 3 totalitarian states, the other 2 being that which was formed by the USSR, and the third from East Asia. Oceania is a territory or a country that runs through terror and a deep desire to control every citizen. Photos of the leader called 'Big Brother' are everwhere with the caption 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU'. Every place has a two-way television (the telescreen) in order to make suer that nothing is secret, and there can be no voices raised against the state (people believed to be working against the state are first re-educated so that they start to love the Big Brother, and then they are executed). In addition, society is divided into 3 separate classes: (i) the Inner Party, (ii) the Outer Party, and (iii) the Proles (upper, middle and lower classes, respectively).
The members of the Inner Party and Outer Party were subjected to a thorough control (with the Proles being deemed to be the worker class, with not much worry being given to whether they needed to be indoctrinated). In the midst of all this, you had the protagonist, Winston Smith. Winston works in the aptly named Ministry of Truth where his job is to modify all records such that the Government is always shown to be true (and this includes removing people from photos once a person is deemed to be a unperson). Winston had lost his parents in the civil war, and the English Socialism Movement ("Ingsoc") had raised him up. However, he was beginning to have his doubts about the system (even while knowing that if these thoughts ever got out, he would be re-educated and then executed).
He meets Julie, a mechanic in the Ministry of Truth. He feels in her a partner in his feelings, and they start having a secret affair (hopefully away from the watchings of the Ministry, which would have believed this affair to be a betrayal and akin to treason). However, they are soon caught, and sent off to re-education in the dreaded Ministry of Love. There, Winston is subject to monologues from O'Brien, a functionary of the Ministry. There you come face to face with the true horror - the Party has only one aim; it has to keep itself in power, and the only way it can do that is by breaking the traditional friend and family bonds a person has. The person can only have a bond with the party and with Big Brother.
In the despairing end, both Winston and Julia are re-educated. You get to feel the absolute sense of despair when you read about when they meet again, with no feelings for each other (not even anger at each other's betrayal). They are well and truly successful citizens of Oceania now.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations is a great book, an all-time classic. The book is set in a period from 1812 to the winter of 1840, in the England of that time. The book was actually a series in the 'All the Year Round'. Charles Dickens has always been considered a writer who can write about a whole gamut of human relations, but there has always been a strong element of pathos, of pain, of despair, and totally shies away from portraying life as rosy. Charles Dickens has also been known to write elements from the story of his life in his novels, weaving his life and experiences through the medium of the story. When he wrote this magnificent novel in the form of a series, he had to ensure that each episode was gripping enough that people would wait for the next part of the series to arrive.



The book is divided into 3 stages of the life of the orphan Pip, his young life when she stays with his sister and her husband. He is comfortable with his life, and has no great expectations from it, until the time he meets a very bitter elderly woman Mrs. Havisham (who was jilted on marriage and becomes very bitter towards men) and her adopted daughter Estella. Mrs. Havisham hates men, and has accordingly inculcated a strong feeling of coldness in Estella, something which is to stay with her in life. Pip continues his life, then becomes an apprentice to Joe (his sister's husband). However, his life is turned upside down when he is informed that he has been bequeathed a large sum of money by an unknown benefactor. Pip's expectations are now increasing, and his earlier contact with Mrs. Havisham had made him want to be a gentleman when he grows up, and this wealth will help him a lot.
In the second stage, Pip is now living the fine life in London. He is rich, and adopts the customs of the rich and the cultured, very different from his earlier life. In this life, he pursues Estella, who is now a very beautiful, but very cold person (not caring much about his feelings); he has a rival in the form of Bentley Drummle, whom Pip despises and cannot understand why Estella sees him. Pip has assumed that his provider is in fact Mrs. Havisham, and this also creates a lot of jealousy in her other relatives who are looking forward to her property. However, this Pip has now developed a class attitude, and is ashamed of the lower status of Joe, and is embarrassed when Joe visits. And then he learns that his benefactor is in fact a former convict (who Pip had helped many years back), Abel Magwitch.
In the third stage, this is when things start going downhill. Estella does not acknowledge his advances, and Pip is repulsed by the knowledge that his benefactor was a former convict, and he starts to acknowledge that the allowances will now stop coming. He plans a way to get Magwitch to leave the country, since if he is caught, he will be sentenced to a harsh term. He creates a great plan, but the plan eventually fails and Magwitch is caught and sent to jail, where he dies (but not before Pip visits him and has already warmed to him). In the end, all of Pip's Great Expectations come to naught, and he learns to live a life without such high expectations.

Interpreter of Maladies By Jumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of nine short stories by Jumpa Lahiri. It won the prestigious Pulitzer prize for fiction in year 2000. It is Jumpa Lahiri's debut and it tries to capture the dilemmas of Indian immigrants and their identity crisis with themselves. The stories are mostly set in America and India.



The short stories are titled as
A Temporary Matter
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine
Interpreter of Maladies
A Real Durwan
Sexy
Mrs. Sen's
This Blessed House
The Treatment of Bibi Haldar
The Third and Final Continent

This is a remarkable collection from one of the most promising Indian American writer. The way Jumpa Lahiri makes the reader relate to her stories characters is hard-to-believe and need-to-read-to-understand. To write a short story is not an easy thing to do - there is such a short time to build a story and take it to its peak. But Jumpa Lahiri does this wonderfully. Although her message is through the lives of Indian immigrants but it could be globally related - that is the beauty of it - you do not need to understand Indian culture, aspiration, society and mentality to understand her stories.

Surely, worth a read. Short story-telling at its best in some of the stories.

A thousand splendid suns - Khaled Hosseini

This is another wonderfully narrated novel by Khaled Hosseini. For those, who have read his first one, The Kite Runner, and appreciated it, would not be disappointed with this one. It is a great read. Written in his usual story telling manner - where he tells some unbearable events with so ease that they become readable – he tells a lot about human relations and how the will to survive is much bigger that the destiny to perish. This is a novel where at some point of time, you feel like putting the book down and crying our heart out. And for me, it is just a wonderful feeling – there are very few writings which can do this. He also has a way of making Afghanistan very real and its people come live in front of your eyes while you read his books.



“A Thousand Splendid Suns” is a female centric novel. It makes the reader feel the plight of women in the conservative societies. It also highlights the impact of civil unrest on women specially. The story begins in 1964, ends in 2003, spanning over the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, the defeat and withdrawal of the Russians that led to the warlords in-fighting, followed by the rise of the Taliban, and ending with the beginning of democratic rule in which the warlords are given legitimate posts in the government. It is primarily set in Kabul with some early incidents in Herat and later ones in Pakistan. It traces the life of two women, alternating between their points of views. First one, Mariam is from Herat, born as an illegitimate country girl to a wealthy businessman, married to a 30 years older Pashtun man in Kabul, and unable to conceive a child (victim of domestic violence due to that). Second one, Laila is a Tajik from Kabul itself, born to a literate family, looses her family in a rocket attack & brothers fighting for freedom over Soviets, and agrees to become second wife of Mariam’s husband due to his extremely calculated manipulations. The two of them, are initially repulsive to each other. But in due time, they gain each other’s sympathy and trust, and become inseparable. After living their lives like rats, as an act of desperation, Mariam kills her husband, allows Laila to run away to Pakistan with her true teenage love along with her kids, and goes to hell as per Taliban’s law. After Taliban’s fall, Laila comes back to Herat & Kabul to pay visit to Mariam’s place and starts a new life in Kabul working among kids affected due to civil war & Taliban rule.

It is an extremely moving piece of writing – well narrated. It is surely worth a read.

Leon Uris: Trinity (1976)

Right at the start, let me say it, and then you can read the review keeping this in mind. I simply loved the book. I have read it a few more times since the first time I read it, and one can't help but be moved by the book. Let me cross-relate something I read in a Tom Clancy (Patriot Games). Even though that book is about renegade Irish terrorists, there is some dialogue in the book about the origin of the 'troubles' and how a lot of this was mishandled due to British politics. And then I read Trinity soon after, and this book has done a great deal to explain the issues related to the Irish problem, especially the history.
To an outsider, the conflict in Northern Ireland seems strange, what with it being viewed as a battle between 2 Christian faiths. The source of the conflict and current issues seem hard to comprehend. This problem is further compounded by the fact that in the present, in Northern Ireland, the Protestant population is in a majority, and the Catholics are in a minority, an exact reversal of the population mix in Ireland, which is where the root of the problem originates. A conflict that seems so small to outsiders is actually many centuries old, reaching a peak with the conquest of the Catholic Irish king by the Protestant English kingdom in the 17th century, and the bitter conflicts after that.


The novel 'Trinity' is focused on a time period between the 1850's and the Irish uprising in 1916. The book is pretty long (over 700 pages), but is extremely gripping and almost forces you to try and read as much as you can over one sitting, and try and finish reading the book first, getting higher priority over other things that you may have to do. However, if you are of English origin and not of Irish origin, you might consider the novel somewhat biased since it presents the outlook from an Irish point of view, with the English not being portrayed in the most positive of light.
The book is the story of the intertwining lives of the Larkins (Catholic hill farmers from the fictional town of Ballyutogue in County Donegal), the Macleods (Protestant shipyard workers from Belfast), and the Hubbles (representatives of three centuries of Anglo-Irish aristocracy).
The novel describes in some depth how the cultural and religious differences between the Protestant and the Catholic communities are exploited so as to drive them further apart, to the extent that any inter-action between the 2 communities is severely prohibited. The depiction of the treatment of a Protestant girl by her own community women, who is involved with a Catholic boy is horrific.
The book moves towards a Irish movement against the English occupation, culminating in a plot against a fort occupied by the English. The book ends in a failure that is converted to a victory; however, the message of despair in the Irish problem is ever present.

Sherlock Holmes: Hound of the Baskervilles

This is a classic tome from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. For Sherlock Holme's lovers and for the lovers of detective novels, it is a must-read. Set in the moors of England, you can get a feel for the desolation of the place and for the suspense hanging. It is considered to be one of the best works for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and was released in 1902 in book form.
What is the story about? Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are in their Baker Street lodgings when they receive a visit from Dr. James Mortimer, who is due to receive the last heir of the Baskerville Mansion, who is returning from abroad. He is very apprehensive about taking Sir Henry Baskerville to Baskerville estate in Broadmoor; when pressed, he reveals that this is due to the circumstances of the death of the last lord of Baskerville Hall, who died in his garden with a sign of acute terror on his face. Examination did not show any apparent physical reason for this death.
There is apparently a family legend about a huge and terrible hound that killed one of the previous owners of the Hall, Sir Hugo Baskerville, a couple of centuries back. Holmes is not exactly a believer of the supersititious, but does not dismiss anything outright. Dr. James Mortimer is more likely to believe it because of the death of Sir Charles Baskerville. In addition, near the body he had found the footmarks of a giant dog.
What begins is a cat and mouse game between Holmes and his unseen adversary. Things start happening before Sir Henry Baskerville even leaves London, with his shoes being stolen. Holmes sends Watson to Baskerville Hall, but refuses to come himself. Watson does his end of the investigation, and finds a few things, such as a convict being loose on the moors, and being related to the house-keeper who sends food to him. Sir Henry becomes acquainted by the brother-sister pair of Stapletons who are naturalists, and starts developing an affection for the sister. All attempts are made to keep him away from the moor, so that even if they do not believe in a giant dog, still no reason to put him in harm's way.
When things start heating up, Watson pursues a figure in the moor, who turns out to be Sherlock Holmes, who has been living on the moor. He had learnt a lot of things, but in order to get proof, Holmes needs to offer Sir Henry Baskerville as a bait to the hound, and when a sudden mist arrives on the scene, can they prevent the bait from being accepted? It is a suspenseful climax, but well worth the reading.

Erich Segal: Love Story - Romance with tragedy

This is a pretty short novel. I have known people to read it one sitting, but nobody who has read it has forgotten this book. Written in 1970, it has been made into a great movie. Even though this book is a tragedy, it is widely acknowledged as a master-piece in romance. 2 famous phrases from the book - The starting "What can you say about a twenty-five year old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. The Beatles. And me." & the line that stays throughout the movie "Love never means having to say you're sorry". The movie got a host of nominations, but won one Oscar only, due to its musical score.
Storyline is simple: Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O'Neil in the movie), studying in Harvard Law, from a wealthy family, meets a girl Jennifer Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw) who taunts him and otherwise does not seem too impressed by his wealth. He in turn is smitten by her and does not treat her like any other conquest. They figure out that they are in love and want to marry each other.
Oliver's father is not very impressed, and cuts him off. They marry, and struggle through his college, while she pays by teaching at a private school, thus supporting the family. Life is fun, and when he graduates, they are in a better financial position. Planning for a baby, when talking to doctors, Oliver learns that she is ill and will die soon. He struggles to keep the information from her, but she soon discovers the truth.
They are going through cancer therapy, hoping for a cure. Oliver, for paying the medical bills, borrows money from his father by making an excuse, but time is running out. Jennifer is ready to face death, and consoles her father and husband to love her a last time, and then she dies ...
By this time, Oliver's father has learnt the truth, and reaches the hospital after Jennifer has died, trying to console his son.