The Rosie Project- Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project

A quick, quirky, delightful read- this is the best way I could possibly describe this amazingly cute read. 

Though I love watching rom-com movies, I was quite hesitant to read one. But the constant good reviews of it on GoodReads got to me and I did decide to read it. And to my surprise, it had me laughing since the first page and soon I too was in love with the characters.

The book is written from the perspective of a Genetics Associate Professor, Don Tillman who is reticent, follow by the rules type of a person. It was refreshingly different to read from the brains of the strangely wired Professor, whose logics regarding life were humorous

and his candid approach towards all made him a living, breathing faux pas machine!!

His life is centered around his schedule and budging from it is the rarest of the rare opportunities in his life. A man of predilection for logic and reason, he only believes in science. Being a middle-aged man approaching his forties, he decides that he wants to marry and so embarks on his Wife Project. For this, he forms an in-depth questionnaire for all the qualities he is looking for in his future partner.

But then he meets Rosie. A feminist, a smoker and most of all a vegetarian who only eats sustainable sea-food, she is nothing that he had ever imagined. However, even though he had ruled her out in the first date itself, their rendezvous continued because of Rosie's quest to find her biological father of whom no one knew except her mother who is now apparently dead. Hence, began the Father Project which took them both for an unexpected roller-coaster ride.

The rest will be a spoiler as any true rom-com lover can guess the future of their relationship.

But it was definitely a  nice light, easy-breezy read after the heavy dose of All The Light We Cannot Se. Even I like the rest of the fans of this book was constantly rooting for Don and Rosie!!

All The Light We Cannot See- Anthony Doerr

All The Lights We Cannot See

A marvelous literature piece, transcribed by the award-winning author Anthony Doerr, transports us

into the era of WWII. The story begins in 1945 where the German planes have dropped bombs on the French soil and a helpless girl is trapped in her house. Parallel to it, another German with two fellow colleagues of his is also stuck in some hotel during the attack. The author then transports us back to the year 1934 before the siege and from thereon, the story develops.

The lucid writing of the author aids us throughout the transition to this year. A young girl, daughter of the locksmith of the museum in Paris, France is going to turn blind soon and there is a young German orphan who along with his sister is accepting the realities of life and beginning to live in Children's Home with his ever curious and inquisitive mind. His this curious mind helps him find a radio and repair it, in which he along with his sister listen to a man explaining them the wonders of science. The author masterfully develops the characters in the beginning.

The girl, Marie-Laure is a passionate reader who with the aid of the words can travel to far of destinations and see things which her eyes cannot see. Her father is also constant support to her who teaches her to be self-reliant. On the other hand, Werner develops a taste for physics and mechanics and becomes the most sought after boy in the neighborhood for trivial repairs. however, he knows his future somehow lies in the mines only, till a miracle happens and he gets to go to Berlin to work under famous scientists. But, his sharp mind is soon witnessed by an official with a broken radio, resulting in enlisting of Werner in the school for Hitler Youth.

With the approaching war and the changing circumstances, both the protagonists grow much before their age. Marie-Laure with her father had to flee from Paris and move to Saint-Malo to stay with her grandfather, Etienne. Werner was made to join the National Political School for training and was caught by his professor who trained him in making radios and understanding frequencies.

A gemstone, Sea of Flames, which is said to be gifted by the Goddess of Sea to her lover and was stolen by a prince, which will never let the possessee of it die, and now in captivity of the museum in Paris, was also pivotal to the narration as the story unfolds. Another character, a German official in quest of the gem found his way to Marie- Laure and Marie-Laure in trying to seek help found Werner.

The story is beautifully written and the intricate details are explained in the manner that the reader feels the emotions-glee, sadness, fear, helplessness and strength-of the characters. The author has used a strong diction which describes the 20th century in an apt manner. The most interesting segment is the interwoven ending of the lives of the characters, making the conclusion complete. A must read and a classic of our times, it will be a pure delight for lovers of the genre of historical fiction.

A Curse So Dark And Lonely- Brigid Kemmerer

A Curse So Dark And Lonely

This is the first book of Brigid Kemmerer which I have read. It is a wonderfully crafted and twisted tale of age-old Beauty and the Beast. The writer has changed the story in her own unique way but at the same time maintained the essence of the authentic tale.

The story takes place in the Kingdom of Emberfall which stays on the other side of the normal world. In this Kingdom, a prince, Prince Rhen is cursed to repeat his 18th birthday again and again along with the autumn season. However, at the end of each season, he becomes a monster, ready to kill anyone who will come in his way. The curse can be broken only when a damsel truly falls in love with this handsome prince and loves him as a person, beyond the wealth and the titles he possesses.

The other protagonist to the story, our damsel who is in no way in distress, is a strong-willed girl named Harper. She has been brought to this Kingdom by the King's guardsmen from Washington DC to help him break the curse. Though suffering from cerebral palsy, which affected her left leg, she is a determined girl who is unstoppable for her desire to return home. Her character is portrayed as a girl who though belongs to a modern city yet has traits much more than those of a normal city girl, who is much beyond her illness, who easily adorns the role of a princess to save the people of Emberfall from the clutches of an evil queen trying to acquire their lands but makes her intention clear of never falling in love with the Crown Prince. But the unbroken curse will turn the prince in a monstrous killing machine, so would she weigh her options after knowing the truth or give it all to her heart to decide.

The vivid details explained by the author of the castle, the cities of Emberfall, the music played, the food and the attires of all the characters make the readers literally feel as if they are transported from their places of reading to the Emberfall, just like Harper is transported from DC. The book unravels many mysteries of the castle walls and the curse haunting the Kingdom, dooming it. Just as the tale is about to conclude with a note with of a Happily Ever After, another trouble awaits the Crown Prince and His Lady, only to be unraveled in the next book of the series!!

Turtles All The Way Down-John Green

Turtles All The Way Down 

John Green is a master when it comes to the genre of Young Adult. His writing is so refined and the emotions so well explained that one can literally feel it all. This book Turtles All The Way Down is his newest one dealing with something which we normally hesitate to discuss- mental illness. John Green himself also suffers from OCD i.e. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, whereby one becomes obsessed with cleanliness that finds germs and bacteria in everything. It's more than just simple Mysophobia.

The Protagonist of this book, Aza Holmes suffers from OCD. She has a habit of pricking a wound on her finger with her nail till it bleeds cause of her fear of infection being in it as she feels that she will die if she does not let the blood out. This simple habit of thinking and overthinking of the wound and the infection and the bacteria push her into a spiral of thoughts which she cannot explain to anyone and from which she has no escape. Even the doctor fails to help her in this regard let alone her mother or friends.

Along with the story of her battle with her mind is another parallel story running where there is prize money for catching a big businessman who is absconding because of non-payment of debt, whose son named Davis was Aza's childhood friend. The story focusses about how Aza along with her friend Daisy tries to rekindle her friendship with Davis again, only to light up a romance between the two.

John Green has done a marvelous job in writing things which revolve even in our minds and have given them words. Reading the problems which people like Aza feel and the attitude of the world towards them makes us introspect about how understanding are we towards people suffering from mental illness. It is my personal favorite of all the books he has written.

The Affair- Lee Child

Lee Child is the famous creator of this Hero named Jack Reacher, who is basically a strong army man solving all the mysterious happenings. This book, The Affair, is the 16th in the Jack Reacher series.

Set in March 1997, it centers around the murder of a white woman named Janice May Chapman, the third murder in the mysterious murders of young women happening in the town of Mississipi. The problem arises that there is an army training base around the area, Kelham, with the war returned soldiers, but with the pending unsolved murder mystery of Janice May Chapman, the fingers of doubt are pointing in all directions, even towards the unsullied reputation of the army. The story centers the murder mystery along with the ever-going dispute between the civilians and the military. With a shadowy force lurking in the dark near Kelham, Jack Reacher has to solve the mystery in a few days time and is faced with the dilemma of delivering justice to the victims but ensuring the untainted image of the military.

This was the basic spoiler free background of the novel. Being set in the 20th century, it was a fascinating read as our Hero had to conduct the investigation without the modern day sophisticated mechanisms to the aid. It was humorous the way he over exaggerated his show of strength by calling 6 men against him in a fight an insult to his strength. His true sense to deliver justice until the end kept the readers engaged with him till the end. The writing style of the author is also simple yet descriptive to make the readers understand the surroundings but in no way over amplified. This book will keep you hooked from the first page itself. An action-packed mystery novel, a true delight for the readers of the thriller genre, this book will you guessing till the very last page.