Book Opinionist

The Brother Karamazov is the final novel written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, which as the title suggests is the story of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons and possibly an illegitimate brother. The novel is lengthy flowing over a thousand pages, and if the rumors are true there was also a sequel in the making. But the novel is somewhat complete on its own. But I personally would have loved to see more of what transpired in the lives of the brothers. At least sort of like an epilogue. May be Dostoevsky saved it for the sequel, he never got to write. Writing style has all the repeating tropes of Dostoevsky like long monologues, high level philosophical discourse, delirious characters etc. The book was scattered with deep insights into the human psyche and Dostoevsky's own defenses against Atheism, Progressivism and socialism. Even at times defenses against Catholicism or what he perceived to be Catholicism. The poem inside the Novel: "The Grand Inquisitor" was someth...

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is a short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman, first published in January 1892 and is considered one of the early feminist works. But I didn't know that going in. I came across this while searching for horror short stories. So it was confusing for me while I read it. But the implied domination of the husband over our protagonist, or the wife, was not lost one me. But for the most part I had trouble understanding what was the meaning of all the things happening and what the author is trying to convey by her obsession with the wallpaper and the lady which appears to be hidden in the wallpaper. Initially I was of the impression that the wallpaper is exaggerating the OCD or some other mental trouble our protagonist had and leading her to the point of delirium that everyone starts viewing her with suspicion. But after the culminating passage another impression that shone on me was that the wallpaper is the symbol of the disordered societ...

An intensely bleak and dark short story written by the Godfather of horror Lovecraft himself. This is one of those stories which while reading you may ask what kind of a man writes these stories. Although when one thinks about he comes to the realization that every person born under the sun, unless they are foolishly naïve, have these dark thoughts. It's just that we don't write them down or even dare to contemplate them. We hide from them and play pretend with them. This was my first introduction to Lovecraft and what I have understood is, Lovecraft doesn't shy away from addressing his demons.  The story which is written in autobiographical fashion (although I hope none of it is biographical or real) , is about a man who was known for love and compassion slowly turns and commits most egregious acts, which by his words is all due to a cat, a black cat. His descend into darkness is partially due to alcohol. With each day passing he grows more and more irritable, he starts ...

Introductory book to the world of Narnia is suitable both for jolly kids and reflective adults. When 4 kids discover the entrance to a new world in the form of a wardrobe, they don't quite understand what they are stepping into. A world ruled by a tyrant queen, who has initiated a perpetual winter in Narnia, but without the joy of Christmas, that one would look towards in the winter. The 4 kids along with The Great Lion Aslan has to defeat the queen and return the rule to the rightful heirs.  Writing was simple, precise and to the point. There was no unwanted dialogues or unnecessary overdetailing of the scenery. I was very happy to see that the book was not one dimensional at all. And it addresses evil and addiction of humans towards evil, head on. The characters were distinct and easily relatable even for a kid.  The book as a whole is a Christian allegory, there is no doubt about that. But the intention of this is yet not quite clear to me. The book is written like a bed ...

A play written by Anton Chekhov as a Comedy, but would have worked better if it was a tragedy. Incidentally the play is also about playwrights, actresses and people close to them. The play has an ensemble cast, but there is one character who slightly gives the impression of a protagonist, Constantine Treplieff, who is the son of a famous actress. He suffers from depression disappointment and clearly lacks some love and validation. But he is going to get none of it and is going to be chagrined for wanting it. None of the characters in the story are going to get a deserving end, so don't go in with high hopes for any of them. Even the most hateful of them all, Constantine's mother, doesn't gets what she deserves. To be honest I wanted to see her suffer. She was a selfish, narcissistic and unloving mother who not only made Constantine's life miserable but did her best to make her lovers life worse too. Play ends on a note of tragedy. I couldn't relate much with the c...

The legendary play tells the story of the namesake of the Psychological problem "Oedipus complex". Although the term's repeated use in popular culture has given it a comedic and silly pretense, the play was very heart wrenching to listen to. Well there are actually three plays, titled as, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. All three stories have an existence of their own. So to give each their justice I will review each of them separately, but not without comparison and context. The first play is the best among the three. Oedipus The King starts with the sufferings of the citizens of Thebes who are hungry and starving and disease stricken. For all this to end a cursed man must be identified and removed from the land of Thebes; A man who has committed an unspeakable crime. Oedipus The King is one of those rare stories which are more enjoyable when one knows who is the culprit. That means the story is Spoiler resistant. It is my theory that almost everyone who...

What happens when you take your conscience and hides it in a room? In “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde, Dorian takes his picture, covers it with a cloth and hides it in a secluded room. Not to preserve it from deterioration, but because he can’t stand the sight of it. The reason Dorian was filled with so much hatred for the picture was because it had turned itself into a physical representation of his conscience. It wore the cruel expression on his face when he committed a grave sin against a sweet girl who loved him ardently. It wore the scars of his wickedness. It displayed the dark pleasures he sought. But It also gave Dorian immortality. It grew old instead of Dorian. It was only when Dorian looked at the picture he saw the real him. The picture was the true mirror for Dorian. Foreword From my reading, the Book makes a strong case for the objective existence of a conscience and also how morality is not subjective....

Is morality real? How much of it can be compromised? Is conscience real? How much hits can the conscience take before it goes down and takes the whole body along with it? These are the questions explored in the gothic philosophical drama "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde. Story told from changing point-of-views, but without the acknowledgement of the change, just like other novels of the time, revolves around the title character Dorian Gray and the moral spiral he decides to climb or descend. His inspiration and guide is Lord Henry who is the Devil himself. Or at least that is what I believe. Attributing Lord Henry to the Devil himself is not an attempt by me to dehumanize him. But rather an attempt to humanize the Devil. It is my way of pointing at the lines inside our hearts that divides our conscience into a battle between good and evil. The person who deserves to be called the Devil is the one in whom the evil has already won the battle and has enslaved the good...

I am sad.  This might be the most primitive statement anybody have ever said after reading 1984. But it is nonetheless true.  I am sad.  I am sad for the future of humanity.  I am sad for the future of humanity because I know what Orwell predicts in his book doesn't seem quite unlikely to happen. The rise of a new kind of Totalitarianism that would be so overwhelming that it would have immunity against all kinds of puny revolutions. If anything the book made me count the blessings I have today and appreciate my world of existence for all its beauty and virtues. These were my first thoughts after finishing the book. I wrote it on goodreads.com right after I completed the book. When I read it again today, I am starting to feel that I have nothing more to add.  All my feelings were perfectly captured in these few sentences. Because that was what the book was to me. To borrow words from the book itself "Imagine a boot stamping on a human face; Now imagine it is go...

All hell breaks loose, when the mysterious cylinder from Outer Space burst open and living things come out of it, who want nothing but war. But this war is nothing like all the wars men had to fight all this time, this is not a war between countries, states, cultures or even men. This was a War Of The Worlds.  Written by H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds is another one of his science fiction works. War of the Worlds is the perfect portrait of one of the most basic existential fears of humans: What happens when we come face to face with a more advanced species than our own? How can we fight back? Or can we? Will the Darwinian law take it's toll on us too?  The author has done a great job in trying to convey the seriousness and scale of the plot to his best abilities. The introduction to the cylinders and the the slow scale building was also quite helpful in the story telling process. Story was told from multiple point of views was good for creating the confusion and portraying t...

The spiritual journey of a young Brahman boy, his reluctance to accept a singular path, life , or school of thought, his awakening, enlightening, fall, despair and final lesson. Ever since the time when Human Beings became conscious of our own existence in this cold cruel world, we have been in this everlasting odyssey of a spiritual journey. One could say it is an unavoidable part of the The Human Experience. We Humans believe in things we have no material proof of. Now that statement is not only the case for God or the divine, but also for love, loyalty, honor and trust. Simply put, if we only believe in things which we have material proof of then when we throw out God we also have throw all our values too; Or that is my understanding.  Now our young Brahmin boy Siddhartha's journey is as complicated and eventful as any other human. But every inch of the journey is presented masterfully for edification. The prose is beautiful and dream like. So is the story. It could well be dis...