The Highway Man by J Alchem : Book Review

THE HIGHWAY MAN : Book Review

Once in a while we all come across a book or a story in some magazine or newspaper that perfectly cures our reading appetite. The Highway Man by J Alchem is one such collection of three stories which are linked with each other in some ways but not directly -- the way R. K. Narayan's stories used to be connected with each other.

Like most books, The Highway Man begins with an Acknowledgement, which you ought to read. I repeat, do not leaf through the Acknowledge and Preface, they are not to be left unread if you get a chance to read this book. You can thank me later.

The author has got imagination of Rushdie and writing skill of Bhagat. Which makes the book very pleasant to read. All the three stories are beautiful and conclude with surprises.

The only negative point of the book is that it has got several grammatical errors, which disappoint.

Overall, The Highway Man is a winner, a good read, and a real page turner.

   

ALSO READ : Parrot Under the Pine Tree : Book Review

Parrot Under the Pine Tree : Book Review

PARROT UNDER THE PINE TREE : Book Review

Parrot Under the Pine Tree is a love story written by Surendra Pratap Singh. Let me at the very outset clarify that the title of the book has little to do with the story. However, the name correctly creates the impression of what kind of a read one must expect from the book. Parrot Under the Pine Tree is story of a guy named, Vedanta, and his soul mate, Saranga who meet in a village during a visit – often their names expressed as Ved and Sara.

The story begins with a brilliantly beautiful description of the village named Kausani near Himalayas where a number of tourists arrive each year. Much of the story is based in the very village. Almost all the chapters of the book begin with lovely description of nature, making the novel soothing to read, telling less of story and more of the beauty of the place it is set in. 

Vedanta comes to Kausani in search of his soul mate and sees Saranga one day sitting under a tree, after a little suggestion of a hotel receptionist falling for him. Vedanta tries to find out who the girl is and gets to know about lore of the valley about a haunt. Finally, he gets to find the girl out and they fall in love.

Vedanta and Saranga marry and have a child who they name Dhruv. They start living in Bangalore and gradually their passion for each other begins to fade, which leads Ved to commit adultery.

One of the best things about Parrot Under the Pine Tree is its smoothness of language, with perfect choice of words. It is an example of professional writing where even the unknown words do not burden the reader. The flow of the story is smooth. Scenes have been described with perfection. The story puts forth several ingredients in the beginning which do not get satisfied till the end. 

Overall, the book is a neat work of fiction, expressing vividly what love means to a man and what it means to a woman. Several matters which the story touches in the beginning and in the middle do not satisfactorily conclude. In some ways the book falls short of expectations that it creates, but is a nice read nonetheless, and one of the best love stories I have read so far (I rarely read love stories).

I would suggest every reader of the Romance genre to pick Parrot Under the Pine Tree for once and experience the beauty of a type of love story which hardly anybody tells anymore. 

 

ALSO READ:  Birds of Prey : Book Review

My Name Is Darkness

 My Name Is Darkness

 

Image source: images.clipartpanda.com

___________________________________________________________

Now lie my little orphan child,

Lie with me to sleep.

Forget your pain,

Give up the heartache,

Cut off from the bond of worldly mess,

If no one is there to by your side,

I am to defeat that ugliness.

I am the parent of the orphan,

I am his mother and bride.

My name is darkness,

I am though feared,

For the despised I’m a source of pride.

-- Asif Uzzaman

ALSO READ: My Grave Being Dug