One Wintry Night – A Review

It'd been sitting on the To-Be-Read shelf for more than a year. I'd bought it because I have a thing for collecting books by favourite authors and Ruth Bell Graham is definitely on the top of that list. I knew it was a children's book, so kept putting off reading it until this year. It's that time of the year when everyone is thinking “CHRISTMAS”. Seemed appropriate in a way, so I picked it up nonchalantly and sat down to read, not expecting anything dramatic. However, I'd reckoned without Ruth B. Graham's skill with words.

The story seamlessly blends a present day setting with a bird's-eye-view of the reason Jesus came into this world. It's a story for children, true, but will appeal to adults too. I know I was; spellbound and engaged, turning each page with excitement. The readers are led from Creation all the way to Resurrection. The story clearly and simply points us to Jesus and the reason Christmas ought to be celebrated.

You must be wondering why I'm so enthralled by a children's book. The story of Christmas is well-known. We've heard it all and read it all. There's nothing new to discover. But believe me, seeing the entire story of God's redeeming love for all of humanity, moved me to tears. The story shows us how He has been seeking us constantly – all through history – seeking to bridge the relationship that we severed through sin. He came after us, loved us and restored us to Himself by paying the ultimate price. Oh what love!

The story beautifully weaves the past and the present. But the intricate design that emerges is a tapestry of God's agape love for us unworthy sinners. The description of Christ on the cross, crying out to His Father - “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” - broke my heart. The Father's love for us – I cannot even begin to explain! All I can do is kneel in adoration and gratefully accept His gift – the best gift I could ever receive – a restored relationship with my heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.

I'd like to leave you with a portion from the book that touched me deeply -

“There she was – the woman with the radiant smile! She was lying on soft hay piled beside one of the stalls...And...in the feeding trough for the cows, lay the baby. He seemed so tiny, wrapped tight in a long linen band and sleeping soundly like any other baby. He slept as though the world had not waited thousands of years for that moment. As though (the) lives...of everyone on earth were not wrapped up in His birth. As though all the sin and sorrow of the world was not His concern.

Aaron wondered if he dared speak to the young mother... He wanted to ask her if he could touch the baby. Not to wake Him, but just to touch Him. Then Aaron looked at his own grubby hands. He couldn't remember when he had last washed them. So he tucked them behind his back and just looked.

Aaron glanced at Anna. Little Anna was on her knees, her hands clasped together, a look of surprise and joy on her face. Tears were trickling down her grimy little cheeks.

Aaron knelt beside her.”

May we all kneel in adoration this Christmas season!

Never Judge A Book By Its Genre!

So I was asked to review Swimming Through Clouds by Freeze-Dried; and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s been years since I’ve read YA fiction and I had some misgivings about whether I’d really appreciate and enjoy the content and style. To my everlasting surprise, I found it quite “un-put-down-able”!

So what makes this unassuming novel such a page turner? Many reasons not least of which is the lovely story that unfolds. We have the boy-meets-girl scenario all set up, but instead of descending into a morass of clichés and annoyingly unessential angst-y plotlines, we begin to take one step at a time, from a dark world, up, into the light. And slowly, beauty shines through the ashes and there is hope in the bleakness.

The readers are taken on the same journey from despair to surprised delight as the troubled young protagonist Talia. And that kept me glued! I found myself rooting for her, hoping with her, worrying and fearful, alternately teetering between joy and fear. It’s been a while since I’ve empathised with a character to such a degree!

The only issue I had was towards the end when I felt there wasn’t enough closure. I’d gotten so involved in Talia’s quest for freedom and life that I wanted to know, in detail, how things panned out! Especially the story arcs about her father and brother, I would have loved if they’d been resolved in some way. Not happily ever after! Please! But just to show the repercussions of Talia’s actions. Personally, I could have done without the Epilogue because it left me slightly confused. I wasn’t sure if it was a dream or reality and even in reality, what it actually meant!

YET! Despite this, I’d still recommend the book, especially to those of us who think we’re past the age of reading YA fiction! It’s a beautifully written tale of heartbreak and love and finding joy in the midst of pain.

Two thumbs up, Rajdeep Paulus!

Can’t Quite Put My Finger On It!

I've read three P. D. James’ novels so far and I still haven’t been able to make up my mind about whether I like her lead investigator – Adam Dalgliesh – or not. There are times when he is an absolutely unlikeable character. Not unlikeable in the charming-devil-may-care-cocky-ne'er-do-well sort of way, but rather in the annoyingly intense, introverted way; the kind who dislike others just for being around! He isn't an action hero – rough round the edges with a heart of gold – but rather a well-read, gentleman detective, who writes poetry in his spare time! He’s intelligent and witty, apart from being aloof and sarcastic. Yet there is some elusive quality that renders him indefinably ambiguous.

James’ style is interesting; the descriptions, detailed. They evoke the atmosphere so perfectly that one actually feels, emotively, a sense of place, person and event. The characters are etched carefully, no detail is too tiny; most have no redeeming qualities. There is a sense of pessimism that pervades. No character is good or bad; each is a blend. There is a very realistic edge to her style; quite chilling in its ordinariness.

The books have no action-packed scenes, car chases, fistfights and so on, but rather, are filled with intelligent dialogues that are littered with cunningly masked clues. The novels themselves are lengthy, so don’t pick one up unless you’re planning to spend at least three days with it!

Though I can’t quite put my finger on it, I’ll still pick up a P. D. James novel when I see one!

Tragedy, Martyrdom And An In-Depth Look At Upper-Caste Life In Pre-Independence India

During my research on South Asian Women Writers, I thought, why not ‘start at the very beginning...a very good place to start’! So I found a copy of Kamala and got down to it. Kamala: The Story of a Hindu Child-Wife* has the distinction of being written by the first Indian woman author to ever fictionalize in English. Also being one of the first works of Indian fiction in English (with a female protagonist), it had a lot riding on its shoulders.

And, I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! Once I got into the book, I found it hard to put down. At one point I even found myself tearing up, and that has to make it one exceptional book! As a rule, I cannot cry. But truly, for this one, I did!

Anyway, moving on from my soggy reverie, Kamala is well written and fast paced, and given that it was written in the late 1880s, that makes it positively speedy! However, there are portions where Krupabai Satthianadhan, inserts descriptive observations, which slow down the plot but serve to paint a brilliantly detailed panorama. One gets the sense that the author writes from intimate knowledge of upper-caste traditions and given that she was born in a Brahmin family and her own mother was a child-bride, it makes the story all the more real.

Though Satthianadhan’s parents later converted to Christianity and her own life was very different from Kamala’s, there is a sense of objectivity that weaves through the story, and though every ritual and tradition is lovingly described, the author constantly seems to step back and allows her characters to voice various points of view. There is never any sense of condemnation, but rather a deep empathy for the very real plight of women in those times.

Interestingly, all the “villains” are female. There is no “hero” who rides in to save the day, nor are any of the male characters very strong. The entire plot is driven by the female characters and their blind perpetration of cultural and generational traditions. In fact, it is the women who make the life of the heroine miserable and bearable (in turns)!

Kamala as a character is flawed. When the reader first meets her, she is a child roaming on the hillside. As a wife, mother and widow, her innocence and goodness seem to increase her sense of martyrdom! (Which, honestly, I found annoying!) There are glimpses of independence, but she immediately squashes them with selflessness. There is one point in the story, where she turns on her husband’s mistress and physically pushes her out of the house, after yelling at her to get out. Then she shouts at her husband for abusing her. I was SO pleased! I almost whooped and had a big, silly grin on my face! Of course, to my everlasting sorrow, this beautifully sensible course of action did not last for very long.

Satthianadhan was a feminist and her views are voiced through various characters in the novel. However, in keeping with the highly realistic portrayal of the status of upper-caste women in pre-independence India, the protagonist doesn’t break with tradition, but rather, within the confines of the restrictions imposed, lives as best she can. The novel ends on a sombre note and though I would have loved to see Kamala finally find some genuine happiness for herself, that was not to be.

All in all, in spite of the martyrdom, I found it a satisfying read!

*The book was originally titled Kamala: A Story of Hindu Life. It was first printed in 1894 and later translated into Tamil in 1896.