Review: Mini Shopaholic

Becky Bloomwood is back and how!! If you are a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series this is a book you must read! As usual brilliantly written, a book which will keep you laughing from page to page and make you wonder how, just how does Becky (Rebecca) Bloomwood manage to pack in so much action in her life without meaning to! Also how does her husband, Luke Brandon, quietly and calmly handle her shopping ways! Another fabulously funny book by Sophie Kinsella!

So our favourite heroine Becky returns two years after she's given birth to Minnie. Minnie is as bratty as they come. A feisty two year old who knows her mind and can express her attitude with no qualms.

Becky who thought motherhood would be a breeze and that having a daughter was a dream come true- a shopping friend for life will soon learn that is not as easy as she thinks! As Minnie, the 2 year old Ms. Smarty Pants, has an absolutely different approach to shopping. She can manage to create havoc everywhere from Harrods to Harvey Nicks and her favorite word is Miiiiinnnnneeeeee this again is hilariously narrated!

While the country is in a huge financial crisis after Bank of London has gone bust and everyone is talking of cut backs our dear Becky is busy preparing a huge surprise event for her husband. Cut backs et al is just not her style! She finds a way to work around those issues not just for herself but also her clients at The Look. She is the only person at work who is managing to make money for the company with her innovative shopping ideas!

Becky soon finds herself in a series of unfortunate events that she is determined to solve in her own special way – so whether it is Luke's birthday party or Minnie's tantrum prone behavior and her job she knows or rather thinks she can manage it single handedly! Though she manages to get herself in a million tricky situations, she always finds the way out leading to various laugh- out- loud moments! Becky can unintentionally manage to crack you up like no one else in this world!

There are some really jaw aching laughter moments in the book. Some really funny ones are when she introduces Minnie to the concept of pocket money, Minnie’s christening ceremony or when she buys Minnie a birthday dress for her 21^st birthday.

The book is highly recommended to all the women who have a bit of a Becky streak in them. Of course for all the men this book should be compulsory reading so that they can try to be like the uber cool Luke Brandon and learn to let their women indulge in shopping!

A fun book all the way!

About the Author:

Sophie Kinsella is an internationally bestselling writer and former financial journalist. She is the author of the number one bestsellers Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess,Remember Me? and Twenties Girl as well as the hugely popular Shopaholic novels, the first of which is now the hit Hollywood movie Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Q&A with Priya Basil,author of The Obscure Logic of the Heart

Priya Basil, author of ,The Obscure Logic of the Heart, was born in London and grew up in Kenya. Her first novel,Ishq and Mushq, was longlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, The Dylan Thomas Prize for Young Writers and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Priya lives in London and Berlin.The Book Lovers spoke to her about her book, her favourite  Indian authors and her support for Control Arms Campaign

Your book title is very interesting, how did this title come about?

     

 My original working title was I am Another You. The words are a translation of a Mayan greeting: ‘in lak’ech’. I think there’s something wonderfully affirmative about making such a statement when you meet someone, and the sentiment worked as a sort of guide for me while I was writing the book.

      

 However, my editor and agent didn’t feel this title was quite right. We went through lots of options, but none of them really inspired me. My editor eventually suggested ‘The Obscure Logic of the Heart’, which is taken from a sentence in the novel. It immediately felt absolutely perfect because it captures the essence of the story, and also something of the human condition.  

While writing this book did you disagree with any of the characters and the decisions they were taking?

   

Part of the purpose of writing this novel was to explore mindsets quite different from my own, in particular a devout religious sensibility. While creating each character, I did momentarily support their thoughts and actions. This is the wonder of writing – when you really get in to a character you understand that they have their own integrity, and you must follow that to produce truly resonant, powerful literature.

    

 Writers don’t create characters they like and agree with only. The greatest challenge of writing is to express, credibly and sympathetically, views, motives and feelings that one does not share. When the writer succeeds then the reader too is able to make the leap into understanding, and even feeling close to, a character that is completely other. 

Did any real life incident or people inspire the characters and influence the story of this book?

No specific person or incident inspired the story, rather it was the result of an accumulation of experience and observations. 

Would Lina and Anil's story be any different if her parents, Shareef and Iman, were not as strongly opposed to the relationship?

This is one of those possibilities that haunt every life. We all know what it is to be tormented by ‘if only’ and ‘what if’ – and we also know how rarely one thing alone is decisive in any situation. Lina and Anil’s relationship is complicated on many levels. Her parents are but one knot in a thread that is also tangled by her religion, social values and, indeed, her character. 

Is Lina's love for Anil a silent rebellion against her parents and their religious beliefs?

I don’t conceive of love as a reaction against something. Rather, I see it as an emotion of affirmation, an attraction to something or someone. You don’t truly love something simply because it’s the opposite of what is disturbing or oppressive to you, you love it for some quality inherent in itself.

You are a supporter of Control Arms Campaign; could you tell us more about that?

I always knew that the heroine of The Obscure Logic of the Heart would have a strong social conscience, which would clash with the private realities of her own life. During the early stages of writing, the problem of piracy in the Indian Ocean, along the coast of Somalia, made lots of headlines. One particular incident, about a ship carrying arms, caught my attention because of Kenya’s alleged involvement in the procurement of weapons that were destined for South Sudan, which is under an arms embargo.

  

 I began to read up about arms dealing, and was shocked by the scale of the trade, especially the illegal aspect of it. The international arms trade is considered by Transparency International to be one of the three most corrupt businesses in the world. The UK is one of the five biggest arms suppliers in the world, and India is one of the five biggest recipients.

 I am for all efforts to curb the arms trade and make it more accountable. One way for me to express this was through my fiction, but I’m now also interested in finding other ways to highlight the issue. I support the Control Arms Campaign, which is a global civil society alliance campaigning for an Arms Trade Treaty that will help protect lives. 

What are you working on next?

The idea for my third novel is just taking shape in my mind. It will involve a fair bit of research, which I have yet to get started on. In the meantime, I am working on some non-fiction and short stories.

     Who would you say are your favourite Indian authors?

Salman Rushdie and Hari Kunzru. 

What is your advice to anyone wanting to write a novel?

I can’t offer anything better than the age-old recommendations: read eclectically and excessively, and write daily and diligently.

Read the book review here.

Review: The Obscure Logic of the Heart

‘The Obscure Logic of the Heart’ is truly one of the most fine and splendid book that I have read in recent times. The book is so wonderfully written and every character in the book well defined. The story though a bit slow paced  manages to keep you engaged till the very end. By the time the book ends you feel sad that the book is over!

‘The Obscure Logic of the Heart’ interleaves two narratives one which is the modern day story of Anil and Lina while the other is a story of an unfulfilled romance between a British woman and a man who she loved but who left her because they belonged to different faiths. The story that runs parallel to the Anil and Lina’s story, though years back, is still so relevant to the choices they make today. Both the stories beautifully and effortlessly merge at the end of the book almost leaving the reader breathless!

The plot is ordinary but Basil’s writing makes the book and the story absolutely extraordinary. This book is a story of love between Lina Merali, who is a Muslim and Anil Mayur a Hindu. Lina comes from a modest background and her parents are devout Muslims living in Birmingham while Anil comes from a very affluent family based in Kenya. Their worlds are far apart from each other but their love is so strong that they believe that they will be able to surpass all troubles that come their way. Lina knowing the opposition that she will face if her parents come to know of her blossoming relationship with Anil, engages in an intricate game of deceit with her parents. While her parents are unaware of the relationship Anil’s parents are supportive. But her parents soon discover her web of lies and they threaten to break off all ties with her if she continues her relationship with Anil. She promises them that she will end the relationship and she would marry a person of their choice. Lina soon moves to New York on an assignment with the UN and despite her pledge to her parents she continues her relationship with Anil. When Anil moves back to Kenya she takes up a posting in Sudan to be closer to Anil. While there, she discovers a few aspects of Anil’s family that make her uncomfortable about the fate of the relationship.

Lina tries her best to maintain a balance between her love for her family and her relationship with Anil. She is afraid that her decision to continue her relationship with Anil could have severe repercussions. Lina’s indecisiveness, her feeling of being a misfit in Anil’s family, her apprehensions is beautifully narrated by the writer. At times you feel sorry for Lina and at times you can’t help but get annoyed with her decisions. On the other hand, you have Anil who is totally supportive of Lina’s choices; he is willing to go to any lengths to keep Lina happy. Anil though he has a few shortcomings, is almost a near perfect partner to have.

What stands apart in the book is when Lina meets her father to request him to accept her relationship with Anil and her father Shareef shares with her a secret he has never shared with anyone. The other poignant moments are when Shareef expresses his inability to accept his daughter’s relationship with a non-Muslim and how it goes against his faith and all that he has believed in. Basil manages to portray such a touching father daughter relationship that almost moves you to tears.

The two main characters of the story you can absolutely identify with. There are many times when you will pause during the book and compare the situation with your own experiences. You come across many people in your life but then there are some you instantly connect with. You just know that those are the people who are capable of changing the course of your life. Some stay with you and some move on but not before leaving an impression in your life forever.

The book is beautiful and rich in prose, bold and deeply moving. The story is brilliantly narrated. It has characters that you will remember for days to come. A highly recommended book which you must pick up today, if you haven’t already! This book has to be at the top of your to read list!

About the author:

Priya Basil was born in London and grew up in Kenya. Her first novel, Ishq and Mushq, was longlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, The Dylan Thomas Prize for Young Writers and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Priya lives in London and Berlin

ISBN: 13 9780385611459
Rs.550