The Sounds of Poetry by Robert Pinsky----Sunday Salon II

Title: The Sounds of Poetry
Author: Robert Pinsky
ISBN-13: 9780374526176
Publisher: Farrar, Straux and Giroux/1998
Pages: 117

Robert Pinsky is a poet of US, who teaches graduate writing programme at Boston University. Here in this book, he takes up poetry in the vocal form. He wants that we shoud how to read out poetry loud, where should we pause and where to stop. He gives stress on diction, syntax, accent, verse form..ie..rhymed poetry, metric poetry, free verse and blank verse.

He takes up numerous examples of poems by great poets, breaking the lines for us, teaching us the right intonations for each word, line and whole poem. He believes that poetry has to be vocal and should be peformed in order to comprehend it fully.

I am not saying that I understood it all at one go. This book is to be read very slowly, savoured in the way and should be followed the way he wants us to. He expects us to read aloud all kinds of poetry to understand those better. He says,"Poetry is a vocal, which is to say a bodily, art." This book can be read by those who are seriously into poetry and also those who are amateurs. To say, I liked it, is an understatement. This book is for keeps!

Weekly Geeks #5---Tell a story!

This week's geek is about story telling. This one is kind of interesting as it can go into many directions. In books, I like first person narrations as well as dialogue writing. It truly depends on what kind of stories I am interested in.

However, I am not going to talk about books here. Or Movies or TV. I like theatre very much. The kind, which is live and involves all our senses. One can almost feel as if one is a part of it.

As a teacher, we conduct street theatres for children. To get across certain social issues. This truly has an impact on the young minds, even more than that of larger than life movies. Children identify with the characters and are much interested to follow the message through. Involving others in story-telling is very fulfilling too. When children are assigned role playing , they get totally engrossed in it.

This form of peforming arts is much preferable to plays/dramas on stage. One does not even need to get elaborate costumes and one can participate impromptu! Children too are very innovative and can get props out of virtually nothing. Even as a drab mathematics teacher, I love being part of it!

Sunday Salon I: Update on past week and plan for the next one!

I would call this a fruitful week in the sense that I finished two difficult books. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood, which took me a long time to finish. However, when I finally completed, I felt it is worthwhile. I have a good mind to re-read it again and I know I will savour it.

I also finished The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. This I read, while travelling to and fro for my seminar being conducted in another part of Delhi. I liked this very much. This is Eco's first book and he has done a great job of it. I look forward to read more from him. I will check out his other works. What I loved about this book is that it is entirely based on a library and revolves in and around it. By the description one can almost feel as if one is inside that mysterious library.

Another cherished book, which I plan to finish and review today is, The Sounds of Poetry--A Brief Guide by Robert Pinsky. It is a birthday gift from a fellow blogger, who knows my love for writing poetry. I am into a few pages and already loving it. This book is worth keeping and reading again and again. Thanks Alex, for gifting it to me!

Another on my TBR pile is The Roots by Alex Haily. I plan to complete it this week along with The Russia House by John le Carre. Both are different from each other. Now I am simply reading what I want without giving much thought to reading challenges.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Title: The Name of the Rose
Author: Umberto Eco
ISBN: 0749397055
Publisher: Vintage/1998
Pages: 502


The Name of the Rose is the first novel by Umberto Eco. I have had it with me for a while now. But got around reading it only now. It is a fairly engrossing book after some pages. It is narrated in first person by a character named Adso of Melk, who has been taken from history. But this is a work of fiction which makes use of historical facts to a large extent.

It is based in an abbey run by Benedictines consisting of gardeners, cellarists, herbalists and young novices. A learned Franciscan, Brother William along with his disciple, Adso of Melk, is sent to investigate a unnatural death in the Abbey. While he is there trying to solve the mystery, we see more murders being commited and William is wholly embroiled in it all. He has great acumen and solves the mystery of the deaths. He has to decipher meanings from words, symbols, ideas, codes, signs etc.

This novel is based in and around a library which is more of labyrinth than anything else. It contains rare books and is jealously guarded by the librarian and the Abbot. Certain rooms are closed to the monks too. One can't enter those parts. Permission is not forthcoming either. It is not given to brother William who has come to imvestigate the murder. However, that does not stop him and Adso to find ways and means to enter it. Most intersting was how they finally find the ways to do it.

Now the question why are all those murders being committed? Which book/s is/are being so jealously guarded and by whom? Why is it so important to keep it away from prying eyes? What is the Abbot scared of? How does one define sin? Why shouldn't the secret vices of the monks be revealed? What is definition of lust? And many more question...

Solving the mystery is only part of it. Learning about history, philosophy and sciences along with arts of those times is but a bonus. It is also a political statement of those times. Very intriguing and filled with wisdom. A great book for all those who do serious reading.

If you have read and reviewed the above book, type your name, and please copy/paste your post link in the URL field. I will then link it in the body of this article. With the link exchange, we will be both be benefitting. That way I and other interested readers can visit you too! Thanks!

Booking through movies?

Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

How can one even think of comparing books and movies? Both are entirely different mediums. I am not much of a movie person. I seldom even watch a movie. I prefer reading anyday. When a book is made into movie, no doubt it gets better publicity, lot more people watch it then reading the book. However, I find most of the movies that have been adapted from a book, leave me wanting more. In a book, everything is happening inside your mind. You form certain opinions about certain characters. I would rather escape the world reading a book than watching a movie. Most of the times, I get distracted from a movie but not while reading a book.

A case in point is, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azbakan or any other one, for that matter. I do not know what the director was thinking when he made the movie. The books are much better to read. In the movies, the scenes have been reduced due to time constraints, mainly. Frankly, I preferred the books. Then, I had loved reading The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum than watching the movie.

However, If I have not read a book and watched the movie, I might have liked it. I am not sayin movies are a bad thing. A few times, the movies might have been better. But give me a book any day. Leave the movies for the masses, who do not read. If the movie follows the book as closely as possible, I might go for it. It seldom does.

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Now a giveaway:

C.B. James is having a book giveaway contest. He is going give a cult book to the winner of his or her choice. No last date mentioned. Do check it out.

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Tittle: The Blind Assassin
Author: Margaret Atwood
ISBN: 1860498809
Publisher: Virago Press/2001
Pages: 637


After reading The Handmaid's Tale by Atwood, I decided to read all her books. I mooched it from bookmooch long time ago. I started the book in January but somehow or the other, I could not finish it sooner. The beginning is very slow and tends to ge boring too. I have had moments of giving it up altogether. I am glad I did not. Yesterday, I started from page 81 and after reaching halfway through, I just couldn't leave it. I am damn glad I persisted.

The Blind Assassin is a story about two sisters, Iris and Laura Chase, the lives they shared and about their relationship, bonding and secrets. It is a novel within a novel within a novel. It has many layers. It goes from present to past to future. Initially it gets a bit confusing as I can't keep track. Then each and every detail gets at me. What starts as a story about Laura, who had committed suicide at the age of 25 years some 50 years ago, ends with her sister Iris' story being told. Why is Iris recollecting all this. That too, after 50+ years?

Because she cannot leave it unsaid for her grand-daughter Sabrina, who needs to be told about her legacy. The grand daughter who knows nothing about her. And who truly deserves to be told the truth.

The memories of Iris go hand in hand with writing or reading of the novel, The Blind Assassin for which Laura Chase is acclaimed later, much after her suicide. This is about a woman and her two unknown lovers. By letting her novel published, Iris has kept Laura's memories alive.. It ruins her(Iris') husband, Richard's political aspiration. And drives him to death. Does he deserve it?

Despite Iris's stocism, we see her shimmering anger. Her precise revenge. She is calculated too in what she is doing. When she is telling her story, we get to hear her inner voice too and her introspection. Or her reasonings. Her explanations about why must a certain event happened in the past. Itis like getting inside her mind.

It also has a love story, two girls loving the same man but differently. How differently? Iris might have been the older sister, Laura has always been mature one who understood things much beyond her age. Laura can't lie, she can't hide, she is very honest in her likes or dislikes. She completely abhors Richard. She can see through him. Unlike Iris, who only realises after it is too late. After she has lost everything, her sister, her daughter. However, she sees to it that Laura should live on forever. She owes it to Laura. All the three stories converge in the end effortlessly.

This book also touches child abuse. Implies that Laura might have been abused by more than one person while still a child. First by her tutor, next by..well..I can't say it without spoiling it for you.

Like in The Handmaid's Tale, here too, the heroine/s is/are shown to be helpless, almost powerless which they overcome. I think they should have done that much before. I truly loved the sisters.

Atwood's prose is superb. The use of various colours is brilliant. which denote various moods. To understand what and who is the blind assassin, one must read this book. I know it is a fat book and has a slow start but well worth the effort. Atwood never disappoints.

Also reviewed by:

Rhinoa
Juli
Kim L
Aria
Wendy
Trish

If you have read and reviewed the above book, type your name, and please copy/paste your post link in the URL field. I will then link it in the body of this article. With the link exchange, we will be both be benefitting. That way I and other interested readers can visit you too! Thanks!

Sunday Salon 2: My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

Title: My Name is Red
Author: Orhan Pamuk
ISBN: 0375706852
Publisher: Vintage International/2001
Pages: 413

I had started this book in January. For some reason, it stayed at page 43 for a few months. I again picked it up in April. I only read upto page 59. However, finally I decided to finish it this week. Today I did. You can say that I plodded through the book. It could only hold my interest after I had read it half way through.

This book has many layers to it. A murder mystery, a love story and also speaks out about Islamic society. One can feel the tensions throughout for the rise and fall of various empires which is told by the way of miniature art. At some point in the book, we do not care who the murder is but get involved in the treachery of politics, the love affair and want to know more about the Islamic society. Being an Indian, and knowing a bit about Islam did help me.

There is clash between cultures. Between spirituality and materialism. Between getting fame at whatever cost and bowing to art. Between God's will and man's doing. How does one define sin? Can one justify it? Does it merge somewhere? Is there really a fine line? These are few of the questions one asks while reading. A few get answered, a few don't. That does not take away anything from the book. We can see the eternal conflict between the old and new, and tradition and change i.e., that of East and West. Then there are those artists who only depend on copying, others who want to take in the western influence to show other perceptions.

This book has been narrated in many voices, mostly human. However, a few include a horse, a dog, a tree and a coin. Also we see voice of death. One tends to get different perception in this way of speaking. The novel begins with the voice of a dead person, the recently killed Elegant Effendi. His murderer is a recurring character, telling his story both anonymously and also as a character not identified by the others as being the killer, until the end.

The setting of the book is the late 16th century, in Istanbul. Elegant Effendi and his murderer are both artists: miniaturists and illustrators. Other important characters are Enishte Effendi, a master artist, his nephew, called Black, who too is a miniaturist, and his daughter Shekure. Black had fallen in love with Shekure, but it was not possible for them to marry. Black left Istanbul and returned after twelve years. Meanwhile, Shekure got married three years after he left, and has two sons. However her husband disappeared years ago and is presumed to be dead. Now her husband's brother Hasan, wants to marry her as does Black.

Pamuk's descriptions and evocations are like the miniatures he describes. Very detailed, very pictursque and paying attention to finer nuances which can be used to for different effects, at different times. It is a fascinating read, no doubt. However, it is very slow in the beginning. One has to literally plod through it to get to the end. That is worthwhile. I must mention it again, that this is not an effortless read. I am in no hurry read other books by him!

If you have read and reviewed the above book, type your name, and please copy/paste your post link in the URL field. I will then link it in the body of this article. With the link exchange, we will be both be benefiting. That way I and other interested readers can visit you too! Thanks!

The Sunday Salon 1: Last week's reading and reviews

In this week I could manage to review only one book, that too a Tintin one, The Lake of Sharks. Comic books take less time to read and review. A new house entails a lot of work. Although I am nicely enconsed in my new home, all those paperwork for banks etc has to be completed. In India, nothing gets done by telephone or the internet. One has to go there and get things done.

Anyway, I am in the middle of a few books. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (This is taking me ages!). My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk...I plan to finish reading this today and post my review. And I finally found my half read copy of On Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham. I am into a few pages of Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and The grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I have started a Travel Anthology too.

Although I have joined too many reading challenges, I am reading what I please without giving much thought to all that. If it comes in a challenge, well and good. If not, thats ok with me!

Weekly Geeks #4: Social Issues---Child Abuse

This week’s theme: Choose a political or social issue that matters to you. Find several books addressing that issue; they don’t have to be books you’ve read, just books you might like to read. Using images (of the book covers or whatever you feel illustrates your topic) present these books in your blog.


There are so many issues close to my heart. However, I feel very strongly about child abuse. I work for such children too, girls. But boys too are equally vulnerable. One book that comes immediately to mind is , The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini. This deals with sexual abuse of Hassan, son of Amir's father's servant. Amir carries this guilt forever that he watched it happening and couldn't do anything.




Another book touching this, is The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. In this novel within a novel, it is slowly revealed that Laura Chase was molested by her tutor as a child.






The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison deals with child sex (incest). Pecola is a black girl who is raped by her father, and whose child from the rape dies in infancy.



In Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult, Nina Frost is a DA who tries to prosecute child abusers. When her five-year-old son is sexually abused, the world around her crashes down.



To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, needs no introduction. Here a black is accused of raping a white girl.


There are many other books dealing with this issue. A few of those I can recall now are:

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memory of my Melancholic Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Autobiographical)

I have not read all of those. But I will. I think I will give a rest to reading challenges and tackle books that really speak out on social issues. I might do another geeky post on another social issue.

Booking through manual labour redux

Scenario: You’ve just bought some complicated gadget home . . . do you read the accompanying documentation? Or not?
Do you ever read manuals?
How-to books?
Self-help guides?
Anything at all?

Anything I get, I do read the accompanying manuals. Very thoroughly. That really makes me understand the workings of it better. I even look at the circuits too. (*I have to as I do not have a husband to help me through!)

I love reading certain How to books too. Like craftbooks, sewing, embroidery, carpentry work, cook books etc etc. It does not mean I do any or all of the things. I do like to paint and paint mixing manuals are a big help. I even like beauty tip books. Only to go through! Travel guides, I have to read!

Self-help guides, no! Somehow those put me off. Although I did read one a while back. The second Journey by Joan Anderson. Thats becos the publisher sent it to me for review purposes.

For anything at all, I can read even shampoo labels. I always make it point to read about medicines. I have to know what chemicals I am ingesting. Even if I do not understand a word.

I do go through mathematics project books. As a math teacher, I have to.

Tintin: The Lake of Sharks

This is not writen by Hergé. This is based on a animated film on Tintin which was later made into a comic book. This starts with a pearl being stolen from a museum and is replaced by a forged one. Meanwhile Tintin, Captain Haddock, The detectives, Thomson and Thompson go to an estate in Syvadia where Cuthbert is Calculas is doing some research work of duplication various objects.

Unknowingly, they end up discovering a large criminal gang in a base on the bottom of the lake ruled by Tintin's old enemy, Rastapopoulos, who goes under the name of King Shark. Tintin befriends two local children who are held captive in the submerged base and escape in an underwater tank. Rastapopoulos tries to steal that duplicating machine to use in an art forgery racket. He tries to drown Tintin along with the children, but Tintin escapes with the help of Captain Haddock. Rastapopoulos is finally apprehended by Tintin and Haddock.

This is not a patch on the original ones. For