The Chetan Bhagat Saga
Yes, Five Point Someone had a shimmer of what a bestseller should be like: An intelligent storyline, a backdrop you find it hard not to connect with, characters that form a varied spectrum you can relate to. When the author is an IIT-ian, you find it hard to question his Intelligence. But I found his imaginative skills poor, if not completely pathetic. The major flaw in his books is the inconsistency. One well written portion can’t cover up countless glitches in the storyline that are littered throughout the book. His books are just an apt example of what a bestseller should not be: A banal story that gets tiring after a while. His books are not sheer trash, but I couldn’t bring myself to jump across the loopholes his storyline presented with every turn of the page.
P.S I love you
For some reason, I haven’t come across a girl who didn’t like it. The truth is, I WANTED to like it. I found the storyline irresistibly unique. But I just couldn’t get past the first couple of pages. I had a hard time trying to decipher why the book appeared to be downright boring. Maybe I was expecting something exquisite, and coming across an unadorned storyline was a let down. Or maybe it is just overrated.
Sidney Sheldon
I haven’t come across anyone who is into novels and doesn’t like Sidney Sheldon. The truth is, I actually like his books. I love them for the sheer perfection his characters spell. Maybe it is the way they are drawn out-bit by bit- it is like a stroke of artistic beauty I have always found fascinating. Combine it with a mediocre storyline and something which I can’t call anything else but pornography and you have a Sidney Sheldon book in your hand. Of course, there are a couple of books with well etched storylines that surprise you every once in a while.
The Monk who sold his Ferrari
You can only like this book if you KNOW you are being preached and you don’t mind it. If you are reading this book with a naïve state of mind-not knowing what to expect, I would seriously doubt your common sense. I won’t deny that the book has an interesting aspect to it. There were certain portions that were breathtaking, things I knew all along but the book made me see them with a different perspective. But you have to actually skim through the book to pick out those rare gems. Besides the author maintains such a monotonic tone throughout the book, that all I could do was yawn and put it away. Maybe I would read it again when I’m ready for the preaching but as of now, I have had more than my share of self actualization.
Paulo Coelho
There is a certain beauty to ‘The Alchemist’ I couldn’t find in any other book of a similar genre. The sad part is, I couldn’t find that beauty in any other book by Coelho. Every other book of his is a desperate attempt to match up to the original bestseller. And the attempt is not just evident, it is pathetic.
No comments:
Post a Comment