New Blog

This blog will be live for the foreseeable future, but I will only be posting on this new blog:
https://sravaniwrites.wordpress.com/

Review: Born Confused

Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tanuja Desai Hidier crafted a brilliant coming of age tale that is still relevant fifteen years later even after the landscape of the Indian American diaspora has changed so much. Dimple Lala's self discovery is interwoven with the rediscovery of her heritage through enchanting metaphors like photography, music, and dance. Dimple's relationships with each character are intricate and grounded in reality. Though it's categorized as a young adult romance, it is so much more than that. I first picked up Born Confused when I saw a bindi on a book cover in Barnes & Nobel but as a 13 year old, I was too young to recognize it as a masterpiece. I'm so glad that I gave this novel another chance and would highly recommend it.

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Review: Nectar in a Sieve

Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A brutally honest portrayal of rural Indian society, the effects of colonialism, and the lives of village folk who endure endless tragedies. It examines the life of a woman in a patriarchal society and her relationships with her husband, children, and various other women and men in her life. Rukmini, the narrator, reflects on her life filled with tragedy, loss, poverty, and love through immersive and palpable language.

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Review: Leviathan Wakes

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Exciting space opera about the future of the human civilization. The characters were interesting and realistic, so the alternating narration between Holden and Miller worked well. The beginning was a little confusing as some of the characters kept moving from ship to ship to ship and I had a hard time keeping them straight, but once the pieces were where they need to be, the mystery unravels at an exciting pace.

My favorite part was how well the authors extrapolated the development of various cultures, nationalities, and even physical traits centuries into the future. I love how the planets and moons and corporations are part of a complex political system and almost become characters of their own. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

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Review: Q & A

Q & A by Vikas Swarup
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An interesting blend of fatalism and determinism, that explores the intricate stitchwork of patterns and colors that make up the tapestry of modern India through compelling characters and captivating narration. The book is quite different from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" but each works very well in its own medium.

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Review: Wave

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was difficult to review, because at first, it is full of unbridled raw emotions following a tragedy. I nearly abandoned it several times because at times it was such a painful read, but I’m glad that I trudged on. Sonia Deraniyagala details the bitter experience of losing her entire family in one day and seeing their memories everywhere for years to come. Even though she appears callous and hateful toward others, we have to understand that she was describing true events and emotions that transpired as a result of unimaginable loss. Everyone processes grief in their own way and in their own time and Wave is an honest depiction of the loss that she felt for years afterward. Not only does she express the pain of the loss but also the pain she feels at the lost possibility of her sons’ lives and what might have become of them had they survived.

Unfortunately, the readers who abandoned it after the first few chapters missed her transition from a angry, guilt-ridden, grieving mother and wife who could not come to terms with her identity without her family to someone who was able to revitalize herself after years of depression and suicidal thoughts.

This memoir is heartbreaking and difficult to read, but also a brutally honest representation of loss that we are often denied. Sonia Deraniyagala does not gloss over her trauma or grief or mask them under a metaphor, but presents her experience with clarity and honesty. Perhaps since, as readers, we want to assign metaphors to the subject matter to help us process it better, we can look at her journey as a tsumani that causes total destruction and cannot be understood through any logic to a tranquil and meditative ocean. In doing so, we must not forget the full truth of tragedy and recovery. We cannot look at the narrator as a fictitious protagonist with whom we can empathize, but a real mother, wife, and daughter who suffers an unimaginable tragedy and dares to open up with unfiltered and shocking sincerity about the human emotions that consumed her on her path to recovery.


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Review: Zahrah the Windseeker

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zahrah the Windseeker is thrilling adventure story of a young woman coming of age and growing into her own unique traits and abilities. It blends African mythology with the motifs of our modern lives and gives us a fresh perspective on the hero's quest. It captures the themes like friendship, courage, family, and acceptance with an exciting plot and compelling characters. Nnedi Okorafor's novel is one of the best young adult novels in several years and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

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Review: Sita's Ramayana

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sita's Ramayana is an intricately beautiful but simply written account of the Ramayana from the perspective of Sita. Rather than portraying Sita as a meek and docile victim, Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar use intimate prose and alluring illustrations to deliver us a heroine of resilience, endurance, and captivating grace.



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Review: Black Swan Green

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A deeply immersive and intimate coming of age story that weaves in and out of the personal ruminations of a young boy with the struggle of a changing world. It feels comfortable to read like chattering with a close friend on the way home from school, yet tears through the self drawn boundaries to our inner self.

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Review: To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To Kill A Mockingbird is an intricately woven tapestry of the South through the innocent, but perceptive eyes of a child that brings out a yearning for a simpler time. It is a tale stored safely in a box of nostalgia with all of those precious things from your childhood that you open up periodically to learn about yourself and look back on the world as it was then. I will no doubt read it again and again and hope to gain a better understanding each time.

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Review: The Hundred-Foot Journey

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Good book, but it had a few problems. The first one third is a mouth watering coming of age story with well developed characters and a great plot. The beautiful descriptions of Indian and French cuisine are so intricate that I am left craving every dish described.
Then it turns into last week's left overs that have been in and out of the fridge so many times that all the flavor has been washed out. Like a chef cooking a fine dish, an author needs to know how much plot to add so that it doesn't go stale. The reader shouldn't be asking, "why I am still reading this and why is any of this even in the story?"
By the time the story picks up again in the last four chapters, the reader's interest has cooled.

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Review: A Doll's House

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hilarious and heartbreaking. My kind of story.

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Review: Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Though it is written well, 'Rebel Queen' is more about Sita, one of the Durgavasi, the Queen's Guard comprised entirely of strong female soldiers. Even after finishing the novel, I don't have a clear enough picture of the Rani Lakshmibai's personality, strength, and struggles. Sita's life and struggles, on the other hand, are explained so well that the book should have been titled 'Durgavasi' rather than 'Rebel Queen'. The exposition of Indian ideas and traditions could have been more smoothly interwoven into the moving plot. Still, I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in historical fiction or strong female characters.



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Review: Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cloud Atlas is a phenomenal and profound read that left me in tears of wonder. It is a novel that must be revisited countless times accompanied with a pen and notebook. David Mitchell is truly a genius, but what amazed me was his unique grasp on humanity that can only be understood by reading the book.

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Review: Speaker for the Dead

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautifully constructed story with layers of symbolism and themes that questions the meaning of "human". Every character in this novel is so unique and has their own fully fleshed out plot line. Orson Scott Card said that this book is even more important than its prequel Ender's Game and I have to agree. While Ender's Game explores the psyche of one young boy who is supposedly destined to be a savior, Speaker for the Dead explores the minds of various people in an isolated and highly regulated community who have to come to terms with their mistakes and their consequences.

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Review: The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

His language is poetry
what is life when all there is left of it is survival?
beautiful
haunting
lasting

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Review: The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

No idea what to make of this. Honestly, I didn't understand it, but I couldn't tear myself away from it, so 5 stars!! Goes from mysterious to hilarious to tragic almost seamlessly. Poor Gregor. Or poor Family. Not sure which interpretation to settle on.
It's one of those existential classics that you must read, just because…either you love it or you hate it. I love it and will reread at some future unspecified point…unless of course I am turned into a giant dung beetle and am unable to do so.

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Review: The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I have kids, I want to read this to them at bedtime with all the animal voices :-)

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Review: Leaders Eat Last

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a fantastic book! I only picked it up because it had a great title and it turned out to be one of the best books I've read this year.

I would recommend this to anyone who works in an organization regardless of whether you are in a leadership position or not. Emphasizing trust, empathy, and compassion, he illustrates examples of how leaders have a responsibility toward their organization and their community to create long lasting success. He praises and encourages the concept of servant leadership--though I don't think the term is used at all in this book.

By the way, the title says it all.

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Review: A House Like a Lotus

A House Like a Lotus by Madeleine L'Engle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a difficult book to review. First of all, it is a GREAT book, but because we expect perfection from Madeline L'Engle, the flaws in this one were hard to handle.
1) The plot switching from
South Carolina to Greece was confusing and hard to follow, which is why it took me several months to get started on it. I realized that the transitions she used would have been perfect for a movie, but not for a book.
2) Polly's character does change significantly from the two prequels and the sequel, "An Acceptable Time". These changes weren't due to adolescence. She appeared to be a different character entirely.
3) SPOLIERS: Max. Here is my opinion on the incident. I don't think Max was drunkenly trying to come onto Polly. There was nothing homophobic about that scene. Max had become a mentor that Polly began to idolize. In her naiveté, Polly expected Max to be perfect in every way. As adults, we know that's not possible. When Max was drunk out of her mind and her inhibitions were erased, she couldn't maintain the image of strength that Polly had come to expect. Remember, this part is told through Polly's memory of it. In the panic of facing her own demise, Max loses control and lets loose all the bottled up anger and resentment not fully realizing that poor Polly who is really still a child, will remember this as an act of violent monstrosity rather than an act of human weakness. Again, there os nothing homophobic about this. The fact that Max is a lesbian is irrelevant. This book is driven by Polly discovering layers of the world and learning to accept them. At first, she can't cope, so she runs away and seeks comfort in the arms of an older boy. Again, I think this has nothing to do with sexual orientation. It's about a teenage girl seeking solutions in the wrong place, as many teenagers (and adults) do.
3) Greece and Cyprus. Honestly, I think the story is about Max and Polly and the entirety of Greece and Cyprus was out of place. Zachary, Omio, Khris, Norine, Vee, and even Sandy and Rhea didn't really belong in this story. With that said, I really liked those parts and all of it deserves to be its own book titled "Saranam".
4) Ultimately, it was a wonderful coming of age story. Madeline L'Engle is still my favorite.

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