The Food of Love : Book Review

I bought this book per TGND's review recommendation and in fact, I was a little carried away by the title and pondered a while before paying for it. The reason for having double thoughts is because I'm not a person that interested in cooking .ie, I dont have this sustained (sustained is the keyword here)  passion to cook or have consistent interest in figuring out or thinking about different items to dish out..But, I'll eat well , with gratitude, whatever is put in my plate :) I'm also waiting to see if I change over in due course.(Already I see a drastic change in me, for the person who has not even entered the kitchen before marriage, I've atleast started to think and plan meals :)) ..Anyway, enough digression . Now, back to the book. Glad that I didnt go by my useless double thoughts and picked this book and I enjoyed reading this one .

If you detach "food" from the story line, then, its a simple triangle love story that anyone can most commonly guess. But, add the "food" factor here and the result you get is an experience which is a lip smacking, enjoyable read :)

This book by Anthony Capella revolves around three main characters , Tommaso , Bruno and Laura forming the three corners of the triangle . Laura is a student visiting Rome for a year and wishes to date  someone who is sensual, creative, understands taste and texture and perhaps a "dexterous" man . Tommaso is  handsome and has a way with girls and they simply fall for him. Tommaso wants to include Laura in this list but figures that she is in look out for someone who is a chef. Tommaso is a waiter, whereas his friend Bruno is an excellent chef. The story revolves around how Tommaso makes use of Bruno's skills to be around Laura. Laura is delighted that she has found "THE " person that she is looking for , all this without knowing that it was Bruno who is in love with Laura and puts in all his passion ,imagination and creativity in all that he cooks for Laura.  Will Laura ever get to know who does the cooking? And will Bruno ever be able to put a full stop to this drama and confess his love directly to Laura? The rest of the story gives answers to these questions.

Now, the passion with which Bruno cooks every dish and the way in which the author has narrated it makes you sense the aroma coming out of somewhere near you and many a time, the description of the spice combinations makes you drool :) There are various references to pigs and all other animals/birds and  how their various organs are cooked etc, but it does not makes the reader flinch one bit (even for a vegetarian like me!) . In fact, I started craving for the dishes narrated in there just that  all those organs be replaced with something vegetarian..And wondering if this is such kind of  authentic Italian food is still being cooked/served in Italy. Lucky Italians!! Sigh!

Overall, a good read, simple one but will instigate your appetite ! 

Chocolat : Book Review

I bought this book from Blossoms based on TGND's recommendation. When I started to read this one a couple of months back, it did not hold my interest after a few pages and at that point, I wasn't sure if I would pick it up later at all. Little did I know that I would pick it up again in just a few months down the line and would actually find it to be a simple chocolaty read and also realize that nosy/gossipy people do exist in western communities too.


This book by Joanne Harris is about a single mother and her daughter who decide to set up a chocolate bakery/cafe in a small town in France. Apparently, they land up in the town and start their business during the Lent period (during the Easter season). This  irks the church and the believers,especially the pastor. So, the town kind of gets divided into supporters of the bakery and non-supporters. During this time, the protagonist arranges for a chocolate festival on the Easter Sunday and the book takes you through the different kinds of people that the protagonist comes across, how they go through their life, how she faces trials and resistance with  courage and builds her inner strength and more importantly how she makes it a point to make her customers feel at home at her cafe and tries to become one among them.The reader is treated to good amount of chocolaty treats that makes one drool and you will grab a chocolate near you for sure as you read the book. Overall, a good chocolaty simple read.

What did I read recently?

Lucia Lucia is the book I read in December. Before this, I read Grisham's Innocent Man.  

I loved reading Lucia Lucia. Thanks to TGND for her reviews. I picked this up from the Blossoms Book house after a long search. The book is about the story of Lucia's life, daughter of an Italian businessman , being brought up around a loving family in the US of A in 1950's ( I need to check on the year). I could relate to Lucia in certain aspects. And the way the Italian way of life and the values of Italian family is portrayed is more similar to the traditional Indian values. So, I could very well relate to the Italian way of life described by the author and was intrigued to know if it was true . The story has a good mix of love, loss, hatred, food and good human bonding. The plot is about Lucia's life and more concentrated around her age between 25-35.

The books that I have read which John Grisham has authored has revolved around law firms. Innocent Man was brought home by the better half borrowed from his colleague. I got to know that this book narrates a real-life incident that happened in the United States and that was the reason I picked this one. I started reading this one sometime around July or August , but repeated murders and drag till about 100 pages or so did not interest me in continuing it further. This book lay in my bedside table for many months before I picked it up late November -early December last year. I was determined to know how the plot would unfold and glad that I did.  The police are unable to solve the a couple of crimes and are pressed to find the accused. The hero of the story is a promising baseball player but gets hurt in one of the games and is declared unfit to play. Even after therapy and rehabilitation, he is unable to accept what has happened to him and goes into a spiral of drugs/alcohol and minor social accidents which earn him a bad reputation and gets noticed by the police every now and then. Just because the police are unable to solve the murders, they falsely accuse the hero (sorry, I forgot the name of the character who is the prime in this real-life incident. Will go home and edit this :) ) and he is even sentenced to death. A last minute (just days before the D-day) turn of events allows him to come out free. The book goes through the circumstances that he faces ,the trials he undergoes and how injustice is met by him . To think that this is something that happened in his life and to think that this happened in the US which from the outside looks to have a system where any injustice can be brought to the courts by the common man is quite shocking. This story happened not too long ago, may be in 70's. The first 100 pages or so are a little drag, they describe every murder, but after thatthe pace picks up and its a good read.

Beautiful Thing : Book review

I've followed Sonia Faleiro's blog a few years ago and did know that she authored a non-fiction on the Bar dancers in Mumbai, but didnt get to read it untill a few weeks ago , when I ordered the book on a whim.

The book narrates the story of Leela,  the circumstances that forced her to become a bar-dancer, the day-to-day happenings in her life , accompanied by the her friend-dancers and how the whole industry works. As you read through, you get to wonder how much of a courage and a strong-will do these dancers posses at a age as young as 13 or 15. Sometimes, when you read the descriptions of the lives of these girls who are only seen as sex symbols, you can only get irtaed at the whole society. But, in some parts, the characters reveal that they do NOT want to come out of this profession, for they have got so much of freedom in this profession which their family could not provide nor are they willing to sign up for any other job because of the pennies that other jobs would provide in comprison to this one.

What happens to Leela once the bars pull their shutters down, where she lands herself, does she come out and start herself a new life is how the book ends.

A good-one-time read. at times, you get to know how the story is going to unfold. No suspenses etc, a narration of the life of a bar-dancer in Mumbai.

Book review

The Bankster

This is the first book by Ravi Subramanian that I got to read. Based on a Indian banking setup, this story revolves around unraveling the sequential murders of the employees of the bank and the motivation behind the murders. The book starts with a good pace , introducing and acquainting the reader with some of the characters in the story and the regular day at office..But until the middle of the book, there seem to be some rhetoric keeping the reader in suspense which can border towards boring and makes the reader ask :Ok, so what are you trying to say here?" . A few pages can be boring, but from the middle of the book, the pace picks up and makes the reader curious to keep reading to know how the puzzle will be solved. This is a fairly decent thriller and I would recommend this book for a quick read set in Indian context

Shadow Princess : Book review

This is the first book that I'm reading in the historical fiction genre. This book starts with Mumtaz Mahal's death and how devastated Shah Jahan becomes after his wife's death. Shah Jahan's children are quite young during this time and the emperor goes to the extent of giving up his throne, for he is overcome with deep grief at the loss of his dearest wife.  The elder daughter of the emperor, Jahanara becomes the Padshah Begum of the harem and she has to take over a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders. Shah Jahan is too close with Jahanara that the father wishes that his daughter stay with him forever without having a life of her own.

The story goes on to describe both the camarediere and the rivalry  that the royal siblings have share among each other. This book captures the story of the royal prince and princess along with the emperor between Mumtaz Mahal's death and Shah Jahan's death. The book also has chapters dedicated to the the Luminous Tomb, aka The Taj Mahal, starting from the desire that Shah Jahan has to build a resting place for his beloved and how the architecture and the fine details are put together to build one of the seven wonders of the world.

The book gives a glimpse into the way of life for the inhabitants of the royal family in the Mughal era. This book is mainly centered around Jahanara , as to how she goes about performing her duties in the royal harem, how she adored her father that she dismissed the idea of living with her her lover and son even when she was older. How she rightfully thought that the heir to the throne was her eldest brother Dara and how she  was such a back bone of a support to her father during all those years of his grieving.

The history narrated in this book is flowing well and easy to understand and follow. Those who are sceptical about the very word "history"can rest their fears  and though this book is supposed to be the last of the trilogy by the author Indu Sundaresan on the Mughal rule in India, this book can pass on for a stand alone one. I have not read the previous two books , and I didnt feel the need to have read them before going about reading this one.

A highly recommended book. Can be read in between thriller or romance novels. 

The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks : Book review

I bought this book as a result of TGND's suggestion after reading a quick review of the book. I wanted to try out different authors and different genre of books. And I enjoyed reading this book.

Denise is a young single mother to little Kyle and works night-shifts to make ends meet with her income . Little Kyle has developmental problem with speech comprehension and talking fluently. One day, Kyle gets lost during an accident and Taylor, a fine fireman rescues Kyle. An unexpected meeting between Denise and Taylor in a departmental store gives a fresh start to their relationship. Kyle adores Taylor and Taylor fills in perfectly for the role of the father whom Kyle has never had . Taylor is unable to commit himself into this relationship . All his previous relationships with his ex-girl friends also have broken abruptly due to unknown reasons. The story goes around unfolding day-to-day life in their neighborhood and Taylor's past which is haunting him , because of which he is unable to commit himself to any relationship and the circumstances that lead to how Denise and Taylor make a happy family for their kids.


A very simple story, beautifully narrated. The Rescue can be any boy-meets-girl, fall in love and get married types. But , the everyday life in a small town , the emotions of characters in the story are well described. Though at some point of time while reading the book, one can be sure that there will be a happy ending, there is something that makes you want to know under what circumstances would everything in teh story fall in place..This remains the suspense element. More than everything, the love between Denise and Taylo, though a well-mature one is very good. The character of Taylor is well portrayed as a handsome lover and a beloved father.

I would highly recommend to read this book.

P.S: I wanted to jot this down here for posterity : That I stayed home on a working day (aka work from home)  in order to finish this book. If it was not possible for me to work from home that day, who knows I would have taken the day off too ..

Thank you TGND for the recommendation. 

The Kite Runner

Hasan and Amir grow up in the same mansion , while Amir is the resident of the bunglow, Hasan stays with his father in the outhouse. Amir is in the company of Hasan when he does not find any one else to play with.  Hasan's dad works as a house-help in Amir's house. apparently, Hasan's and Amir's fathers were childhood friends and this friendship continued to the next generation too. Amir's dad never forgets Hasan's birthday and always gets gifts for little Hasan. They grow up together in Afghanistan in a pretty atmosphere. Hasan belongs to the Hazara community, the less/under priveiledged class. Amir loves to write stories and shares his stories with Hasan. Hasan has a sharp intellect and inspite of not havinga  formal education, he picks up things quite well from what he hears from Amir.

Hasan and his father are very devoted to their masters that little Hasan protects Amir from the little fights that erupts between children. Amir always has a feeling that his dad likes Hasan more than him. Amir sees the difference in the way his dad talks to Amir and how he moves along with Hasan. He doesnt like this behavior of hid dad. So, he is looking out for ways in which he can impress his dad and win his heart. A kite flying competition is fast approaching and Amir sets his heart on winning the competition and delighting his dad. Amir and Hasan pair up and indeed they win the competition. Once gets to be a winner only when he brings home his kite . Hasan promises that he would return home with the kite only to be caught by a group of boys who wanted to take a revenge on Hasan for protecting Amir in an earlier tiff. As night draws close, Hasan does not return , so Amir goes in search of Hasan and sees that Hasan is being bullied and stones and beat by these young ruffians. Hasan also sees Amir while he lay down with the kite , but Amir stops himself from defending Hasan. Hasan comes back home with the kite and bruises all over him.

Hasan, being whom he is, doesnt complain, instead goes about his chores.But from then on, Hasan and Amir cease to play, Amir stops narrating stories to Hasan. Amir knew that he didnt stand up for Hasan on the day of the incident. He was a troubled self from then on , hence wanted to get rid of Hasan. he stealthily hid some money and a watch that was given as a birthday gift in hasan's house and complained to his dad that Hasan has stolen the same from him. When the money and watch were found in Hasan's hosue, Hasan's dad decided to leave the place. Everyone knew that Hasan has not taken it , but no-one spelt it out..Amir's dad cried and pleaded with Hasan's dad not to leave him alone, but Hasan's ada did not relent.

War breaks out and Amir and his dad flee from Afghanistan to Pakistan and then to America, where Amir finishes shcooling, falls in love with a girl, marries her . Amir's dad is bed-ridden and eventually passes away. The story continues with a phone call from Rahim Khan, a friend of Amir's dad asking Amir to come and meet him in Pakistan. The rest of the story deals with what Rahim tells Amir and how Amir goes back in search  of Hasan and how he returns to America.


The story beautifully captures the emotions and behavior of Amir. His possessiveness, the insecurity, the aching to be his fathers pet,the way he takes Hasan for granted, the way he takes advantage of Hasan   etc can be very much related to. Hasan on the other end makes you shed tears..As I read through the pages, tears invariably welled up..The story is set in the backdrop of the tumultuous years in Afghanistan.  A very moving story. A must read