Pygmy- Chuck Palahniuk

'Begins here first account of operative me, agent number 67 on arrival mid-western American airport greater _______ area. Flight ____. Date ______. Priority mission top success to complete. Code name. Operation Havoc. Fellow operatives already pass immigrant control, through secure doors and to embrace own other host family people. Operative Tibor, agent 23; operative Magda, agent 36; operative Ling, agent 19. All violate United States secure port of entry having success. Each now embedded among middle-income corrupt American family, all other homes, other schools, and neighbours of same city. By not after next today, strategy of web of operatives to be established'

Agent Number 67- Dispatch First, Pygmy

What's the story? The diminutive 13-year-old agent of a totalitarian homeland is sent to the United States to enact Operation Havoc, the sole aim of which is to destabilise the most powerful country in the world. Along with his fellow operatives, he masquerades as a foreign exchange student and moves in with a typical nuclear family, learning more about American life as he goes. Trying not to be seduced by the lifestyle he abhors, Agent 67 (nicknamed Pygmy) dispatches reports back to his homeland and begins to plan something terrible.

How does it read? From the outset, I should say that Palahniuk employs broken "Engrish" throughout the novel to reflect Pygmy's speech. It's a clever technique that might take some getting used to- I read the book a chapter (or "dispatch") at a time for a few days before devouring the rest in two sittings. As for the rest, all the hallmarks of Palahniuk's writing are there- the man is unflinchingly blunt in his writing. I'm sure he's a well-rounded human being so I can't suggest he thinks nothing of the anal rape of a middle-school bully by our hero as he chants Communist mantras. Somehow Palahniuk's writing has always been able to get under the skin of his readers, providing a remarkably visceral and cerebral reading experience every time you pick up one of his books- I'm thinking of course of the famously faint-inducing "Guts" in his short story anthology, Haunted.

The story zips along once you adjust to reading Pygmy's brand of Engrish, but you may come to realise that while the central concept is more or less unique, there are more than a couple of undercurrents that echo Palahniuk's most successful work, Fight Club. The attitudes to consumerism continue, but here it's specifically focused on the land of the free and the home of the brave. I'm actually wondering how this has fared in America, because even though Pygmy's opinions on the States are inflated and distorted by his totalitarian origins for comedy effect, the book is fairly anti-American. It centres around a terrorist as a protagonist and throws out harrowing statistics about 5% of the world's population (Americans) consuming 75% of the world's wealth. Quotes from political and historical figures are employed to great effect, and I was amused to see those attributed Adolf Hitler crediting him as a "renowned huckster", but they're there to move the plot forward as well as amuse, a balancing act that Palahniuk achieves well.

Pygmy isn't Chuck Palahniuk's best work. Nonetheless, it's definitely an enjoyable read, if a little difficult to decipher at first. Nevertheless, Palahniuk continues to prove himself to be a master of the craft, and I eagerly look forward to his next works.


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Next time: The Dark Tower Volume I- The Gunslinger, by Stephen King

A SHORT COMMENT ON SYDNEY SHELDON'S-BLOODLINE

the book is again a thriller,full of suspense which keeps us rooted till the last page..it consists of the hit sheldon formula...suspense,drama and sex in the accurate proportions.
its about a soul heir to a billion worth pharmaceutical company...a young girl called elizabeth roffe.. and the only daughter to sam roffe.. the current owner of the company..as rhys williams..a help to sam roffe...most trusted..really efficient man finds out about sam roffes death due to a fall during mountain climbing..he sends out a notice to all the board members and stock holders of the company..that is..all the roffes..as its a privately owned company..no stock goes out of the family tree...untill sam dies and the whole company management starts to tumble down...with this everyone at the board presses elizabeth to make the company public by selling the privately owned stocks...some out of pure neccesity of money..some out of greed..but who goes beyond the lines to ensure another death...elizabeths...to make the company go public??who is desperate enough for money to kill again???find out for yourself...HAPPY READING.!!!!

Special Needs Autism Recommended Booklist

Best Books on Special Needs Children
April is Autism Awareness Month. When I graduated with my BS in pyschology and special education, these book list was part of my inspiration. Here is my recommended reading list for special needs educators, parents and caregivers. My copies are dog-earred and torn. And I treasure them like Croesus's gold. Great for those interested in helping special needs adults and children!
Click for full review...

Medieval Mystery: A Vein of Deceit-Susanna Gregory

Book Review: A Vein of Deceit by Susanna Gregory
If you read nothing else but the back of a cereal box this summer, I insist that you read Susanna Gregory's newest Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael book, A Vein of Deceit. Medieval murder mystery at its best!
Read entire review...

Handle with Care

Willow O'Keefe is born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It's also known as brittle bone disease. In other words, she can break a number of bones through her lifetime. It's a disability in that she is short statured, has to use a wheelchair and suffers innumerable breaks. It's like taking two steps forwards and one step back. On the other hand, she is extremely smart for a 6 year old. She has the vocabulary of an adult and absorbs information like a sponge. She is funny and witty. She is loveable.

Her mother however, decides one day to lodge a wrongful birth suit. There are a couple of problems with this:

1) she has to say that she would have aborted Willow had she known about the disability in advance

2) the doctor she is suing is her best friend.

Throughout this turmoil, relationships are affected. Willow's parents are divided over the suit and their relationship is in turmoil. Willow's older sister, Amelia, aged 13, is neglected. And she takes to extreme measures to make herself feel better.

And what about Willow? How does she take the fact that her mother would have gotten rid of her had she known she would break?

The book is presented to us through the voices of some characters, each of them talking to Willow. They include Charlotte (mother), Sean (father), Amelia, Piper (the doctor) and Marin (Charlotte's attorney). We don't hear Willow's voice in first person unlike everyone else.

This has a shade of 'My Sister's Keeper' and the ending is just as emotional (although I didn't sob...only cried).

There is no winner in this legal case because either way, something or the other is lost.

Something that cannot be repaired.

It also questions a lot of issues:

Abortion of an 'imperfect' foetus

Disabilities --- how many parents will decide what is 'too disabled' and therefore abort a child? Will there be a time when someone may choose to abort if they know their child is not going to be a supermodel or a genius?

Ethical issues in medicine

How do siblings of disabled individuals cope when everything revolves around the other child? What about support systems for them?

It asks all these questions and a whole lot more.

This book, in my opinion, is a must-read.

It's Jodi Picoult at her best. Once again.

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

We need to talk about Kevin

This is a book about a high-school murder by a teenager.

Sounds familiar? Well, it's actually quite different.

'We need to talk about Kevin' is written in the form of letters from a wife to her absent husband. Their son is in jail serving time for killing seven of his classmates, a teacher and a cafeteria worker.

The book is from Eva's point of view starting from the time of his birth to the actual incident. Eva tries to find out what went wrong. Was it the fact that she never wanted to have Kevin in the first place? Or was he just born with a mean evil streak? Or did he somehow learn this? Or was this all just to get his mother's attention?

The book asks the biggest question --- the nature v/s nurture debate.

It also makes you question Kevin's motives. It makes you wonder about him --- he's such a dark character. Why did he do it? He was never bullied. Was he just born this way? It makes you question what is required of parents. It makes you question whether Eva's point of view is the actual truth.

It doesn't answer all of these.

However, it does have a sense of emptiness and leaves a void.

The book is good and well written. However, I would like to caution anyone who is feeling a bit low --- this book will make you depressed. I felt very empty and depressed after reading it.

On that note,

Until next time,

Cheers!!!

Airman- Eoin Colfer

Conor Broekhart was born to fly, or more accurately, he was born flying. Though Broekhart's legend is littered with fantastical stories, the tale of his first flight in the summer of 1878 would be the most difficult to believe, had there not been thousands of witnesses.

- Prologue, Airman.

Airman is the story of Conor Broekhart, a young man born on the Saltee Islands near Ireland in a time of great discovery. From his dramatic birth on a hot-air balloon called Le Soleil, Conor is obsessed with flight, and the innovation of the late 19th century could just make his dream a reality. As he gets older, Conor is taught under a great swordsman and scientist, Victor Vigny, and begins to realise his dreams of building a device or machine capable of flight. However, his idyllic life is shattered by the assassination of Great Saltee's monarch, Nicholas, and he is caught in the crossfire of an age-old feud between two families- the Trudeaus and the Bonvilains. Conor is framed for Nicholas' murder and sent to the prison on the neighbouring island of Little Saltee by Marshall Bonvilain, who assumes power over Great Saltee. Soldiering through his incarceration, Conor awaits the day he will fly away from Little Saltee, clear his name and ultimately have his revenge.

The book is penned by Eoin Colfer, the celebrated author who writes the Artemis Fowl series. He was inspired by the idea that the smaller of the Saltee Islands, (which do indeed exist, even if this book gives a more fantastical view of their history) would be a perfect prison, and by a frightening sky-diving experience. The two combined puts Conor in prison on Little Saltee and it's around this point that the story seems remarkably like a children's equivalent of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Such a comparison is by no means a bad thing, because the story is quirky and original enough to avoid being cast as a rip-off of the literary classic, and it's infused with Colfer's compelling prose and versatile characters. Getting away from the revenge element of the story, Conor mostly longs to be free. At a point early in his incarceration, Conor is persuaded to accept what has been done to him by his very own Abbé Faria in the form of his cellmate, an old blind musician called Linus Wynter. It's from here that Conor really becomes a character you root for, and who you care about. If before you felt bad that his childhood had been so cruelly snatched away by Bonvilain, you now root for him in his dreams of a second chance at life and plans to escape Little Saltee by means of his flying machine.

Colfer's prose is as nuanced as ever, and filled with the same gleeful humour that characterises the Artemis Fowl books. Marshal Bonvilain's evil is, as with Colfer's other villain characters, simply for the sake of being mean, and you just have to laugh at some parts of his own demented inner monologue. By the same token, Conor is just as flawed a hero as other protagonists of Colfer's works- without the criminal inclinations of Artemis or Meg from The Wish List, Conor is still willing to consort with and occasionally abet criminals in order to achieve his goal of escaping. Conor is not some great big hero by nature, and although he has all the skill and physical prowess to rectify the depreciating situation on Great Saltee, his past isn't necessarily something he wants to regain after a few years in prison. It's this manner of characterisation that persuades me Colfer will get along just fine writing about one Arthur Dent in And Another Thing...- his sequel to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy"- which is released later this year.

To conclude, Airman is a terrific action-adventure novel with a fine balance between the historical liberties taken, (the Saltees didn't necessarily have a royal family) and the realism of human nature to entertain both children and adults. I'd recommend it particularly to other fans of Colfer's work- while it's not his best, it's certainly something you'll enjoy. You will believe a boy can fly.


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Next time: The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made by David Hughes

Watchmen- Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

'The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the trains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!" And I'll look down, and whisper "No."'

- Rorschach, Chapter 1, Watchmen

First time posting here, so you may well feel I'm someone who doesn't quite know what they're doing reviewing books, so went for the "safer" option of reviewing a comic book. Anyone who does wanna be snooty about it, I refer you to the fact that Watchmen was the only graphic novel to appear on Time's 2005 list of "the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present", and I assure you that I'll be reviewing prose in any future posts. If you're still unconvinced, I enjoy a challenge.

Watchmen is a story set in an alternate 1985- Richard Nixon is still President, at the beginning of his fifth term in office, and tensions with Russia are at boiling point as the Cold War intesifies. The only thing holding back nuclear war is the presence of super-being Dr. Manhattan, who ended the Vietnam war in a brutal show of American military power and has the ability to manipulate objects at an atomic level. This is all merely the backdrop for a conspiracy theory surrounding other costumed heroes, now outlawed by an act of Congress. When one of their number, Eddie Blake (alias The Comedian) is murdered, a morally rigid and sociopathic vigilante called Rorschach begins his investigation and uncovers something much more disturbing than he initially suspected. A plan that will bring the world to the brink of destruction and end millions of lives...

One of the many much-acclaimed aspects of Watchmen is that it confronts the conventions of superhero stories and turns them on their head. Parallels can be drawn between characters here and the characters that have become hugely valuable properties. Dr. Manhattan is essentially a Superman who doesn't care about humanity- his passive attitude to all that is going on and his own admission that everyone is a puppet and that he is the only one who "can see the strings" summates him as a character left cold by his ascent to godhood. Another character, Dan Dreiberg (alias Nite Owl) is the closest approximation we have to Batman, but Dan is out-of-shape, past his best and in the apex of a mid-life crisis- more like an impotent Clark Kent. Counterpointing this is his mutual attraction to Laurie Juspeczyk, (alias Silk Spectre) a much younger woman whom he is unable to sexually satisfy without the later stimulus of resuming costumed hero work. These characters are in the course of the first six chapters fully sympathetic and fleshed out, springing off the page and surpassing the traditional comic book story.

Two characters who go beyond the DC Comics parallels though are Rorschach, whose disturbing past has given him a sense of absolute morality and utter resistance to compromise of any kind, and Adrian Veidt, a genius former hero obsessed by the life of Alexander the Great and dedicated to matching or surpassing his achievements. These two represt a conflict in morality that proves integral to the story's climax. Rorschach looks on life in black and white without any shades of grey, much like the inkblots of his namesake, whereas Veidt sees nothing but shades of grey, and is very much forward thinking and takes his ideas to the logical extreme. To simplify, Rorschach is uber-right and Veidt is uber-left. Dr. Manhattan's absence is a key plot point that begins the global sense of impending catastrophe that looms over most of the novel, and it's fitting because it gives Veidt the upper hand in this dynamic. Rorschach wants judgement to be taken out of the hands of ordinary fallible people and dishes out retribution how he deems fit, and with Dr. Manhattan missing, being as he is the closest thing to God, fate seems to be in Adrian's favour.

The fact that I can write two paragraphs on the characters and their dynamics should prove that Watchmen is far more than just a comic book adventure. Across nine panels a page and around four hundred pages, the plot is complex, intricate and full of twists and turns, flashbacks and foreshadowing. Any prose version would have twice as many pages if it comprised the same amount of detail and plot, and this is one of the many reasons it's taken so long to arrive on the big-screen, as it finally will in March- it's considered by many to be unadaptable. Dave Gibbons' art perfectly compliments Alan Moore's writing, yet leaving enough to be inferred or imagined by the reader to qualify this as a story as opposed to a picture book. In turning the superhero conventions on their head, Moore has created a world where nothing is sacred and presents a scenario in which it's unclear whether or not heroes make the world a better place. Instead they inspire fear and paranoia in those they seek to protect, and ultimately this leads to catastrophe.

Watchmen is a story of morality, to be taken seriously regardless of what you think of the comic book/graphic novel medium, because it's truly a masterpiece. Whether the aforementioned film adaptation can match this remains to be seen, but nevertheless, the book remains one of the best pieces of literature of the last century.


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Thanks for inviting me to contribute- sorry it took so long to do a review. If people don't totally abhor this one, I might alternate between reviewing a graphic novel and a prose novel each time.

Next time: Airman- Eoin Colfer

The Inheritance of Loss

Have you ever fallen in love? With a book. Or with a tutor. Or maybe just with the rough texture of the pages of a book, the words inscribed on them, some italicized, others blown-up like the rising crescendo of the horn of a fast moving train as it approaches the platform in all its might...

I first bought the book in it's blue cover avtar with abstract clouds and egrets flying below them. It was a pirated copy - seventy five rupees - super cheap of me, but that's discountable because I wasn't into reading then. I picked it up just because my mentors preparing me for CAT had told that I had to develop a habit of some serious reading. In next Sunday's Life tabloid, I read that a Kiran Desai had won the man booker prize of the year 2006. That must be something. I bought it, and read it forcefully, full of breaks, before sleeping, or in those boring afternoons when I had nothing interesting to do. I put it down after reading a few chapters and forgot it.

Four years later, I bought it again. Original of course.

About the book: