THE SECRET – RHONDA BYRNE : Book Review

I have personally never been a fan of those “How to” self help books, as most of them are obtuse with a heavy dose of dullness.  But, when I talk of this extraordinary book “THE SECRET”, I would go to the extent of saying, that’s it’s not a just a book, it’s a Lifestyle Choice.

The choice that helps you to decide who you want to be and what you want to own in life. THE SECRET empowers an individual with the power of positive thinking and leads you to the Midas Era, where all that you touch with your thoughts would become yours.

All the theories of the book stand strong on the edifice of a law: THE LAW OF ATTRACTION.

This LAW OF ATTRACTION is the secret which the book reveals.  It is an endowment upon mankind.

The success of this book is celebrated to the extent of making it a Major blockbuster Movie, running a site in its name, selling merchandize like SECRET calendar, planners etc.

In this exemplary piece of work, there is a solution to every problem an individual has or may ever face- Money, Relationships, Health, World, Life, You. A section has been devoted to each of these six aspects that will help you to live a better tomorrow. However the underlying principle is one: THE LAW OF ATTRACTION.

The book has been drawn from age-old philosophies, religious writings and literary works of scholars. It is a narration by modern day teachers, men and women who have believed in the power of the secret and are examples of how Secret can help you to achieve, all that you desire.

The book strikes a chord with its readers by use of catchy phrases that one can never forget 

ASK. BELIEVE. RECEIVE .

·         THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS

·         WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT, YOU BRING ABOUT

·         THE MEANING OF INCURABLE – curable within

Such amazing thoughts have been tacked together in a single book. This book would be a gift worth passing on from generations to generations in order to lead a LIFE WORTH LIVING.

So, Believe in the power of the Secret

The inscrutable Americans : A book review

The culture of India, has been refined by the many foreign invaders who ruled the country, the most impactful of all had been the British rulers. Our country has imbibed the language, constitution, law, and a lot of cultural facets from them. This has placed us in complete opposition to Americans as far as the lifestyle is concerned.  “The inscrutable Americans” very well reflects this contradiction.

Right from the opening of the faucets, to driving, to parenting, studying etc, everything is a total contradiction from India. This puts the protagonist Gopal through a scramble leading to a series of hilarious events.

A simple, shy and academically inclined Gopal, who comes from a family that has a heritage of successful Hair oil business, learns the differences in the two cultures, lives in the dilemma of how he would possibly survive in this world where beef is type of food and where virginity is a sin.

In the middle of all his outlandish experiences,  his  friend Randy  has swore to fix Gopal’s virginity and get him to experience the sexual pleasures of life, which Gopal has been bereft of, so far.

The book reviews the American culture with the spectacles of an Indian student for whom mere existence in America is a challenge. The book gives an account of battles that Gopal fights against his own insecurities, his family directives and innate culture against the backdrop of racism, in a light-hearted manner.

The humour exudes out of the interpretations and reactions of the naive foreigner Gopal. His perception is penned in the letters he writes to his family in his annihilated version of the English language.

His experience is definitely microcosm of the experiences of an entire section of the Indian youth who have left their country for an opportunity in foreign land and are struggling for survival.

Revolution 2020: A Book review

The book revolves around struggles of a protagonist (actually antagonist) Gopal and how he gives in to the condemnable system. The landscape of Revolution 2020 also entwines the lives of Aarti & Raghav into Gopal’s life.

The plot, set against the backdrop of small town Varanasi, paints the aspirations and scrambles of Gopal’s life. Gopal is ambitious about earning money. He wishes to be rich but doesn’t know the right path. Gopal falls in love with Aarti and the only thing he dreams of is becoming her lover. His career goals go for a toss, if his friendship with her is not going well. She however is in love with Raghav. Raghav has a dream for his country and courage to chase his dream. He is passionate about the values that he upholds. Raghav aspires to be a journalist who does meaningful journalism for his city’s welfare.

The central theme suggests that India’s education system is flawed. Year after year, engineers are being churned out of private institutes with meaningless degrees. Bhagat satirizes the directionless youth and also the parents who try to squeeze their unattainable dream out of their children.

The book depicts today’s Indian youth. It is a yours and mine story involving all neighbourhood characters. Chetan’s writings are so figurative that one can mentally sketch out his descriptions. The sheer grace, with which he defines Varanasi, almost made the book a tourism campaign. Also, Bhagat magnifies human thoughts beautifully.

However, there is a rawness in the story. The book is full of unfounded aphorisms about girls.  The end isn’t impactful. There is predictability in the plot, stuffed with clichés. When you name a book “Revolution 2020”, it is supposed to be ultra-radical, especially in times of Anna Hazare. However, the book doesn’t live up to its title. It delves deeper into the emotions of the protagonist forgetting the bigger picture. Revolution against corruption is only present in bits and pieces throughout the book. The major chunk is a sardonic sarcasm against the education system without any thoughtful solution.

 However, we must pat Bhagat’s back for choosing to write on the most significant issue pertaining to education system.  The effortless narration and flow of the plot are also commendable. He captures a myriad human shades suggesting that there is no black and white, it is all grey. All in all a light hearted novel which most youngsters would relate to.

My heart felt opinion about the subject matter :

Youth, today are chasing unwarranted goals without putting much thought. Few of them, who are oriented, are incapacitated owing to the systemic inadequacies. The system is eclipsed by corruption. The despondency lies in the indifference of youth towards the insurmountable task of eradicating corruption. Youth should garner enough courage and initiative to uproot corruption. Their unstinted support is a “must have” for a better India.

Fifty Shades of Boring ? - A Book Review on Fifty Shades of Grey

BOOK REVIEW -Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Boring ?

The First Book keeps you glued, as the plot is interesting and the characters are intriguing, especially Mr. Grey, with his wildest of fantasies would keep you hooked on to his weird pro-sex gadgets and sequences.

The plot takes off with Mr. Grey trying to woo Ms. Steele, and finally unveiling a world Anastasia doesn’t know exists. On their journey to understand better the relationship and its progress, there are intimate sequences that would definitely induce your imagination, given the kind of detailing that has been penned.

The very well composed trail e-mails, now and then, reflecting the Tiff between the dominant(Mr, Grey) and “the not so submissive”(Ms Steele) is definitely amusing, with tongue –in-cheek  humor enveloped in every salutation & signature.

The girls would particularly enjoy the way Mr. Moneybags is wooing Ms. Steele.  The shower down of wealth and expensive gifts are a part of every girl’s latent dreams, which in case of Anastasia are coming to be true. The guys however would be impressed by his bizarre ways of intimate pleasure.  

However, The strings of surrealism are stretched to a point that pulled any further, would lead to breakage. The guy has to be a billionaire, a philanthropist, handsome, helicopter owner with aviation skills and should know various foreign languages in order to woo an ordinary 22 year old girl with above average looks. In short the guy has to be superman!

Post a certain point of time, the plot becomes foreseeable. Also the sexual sequences, the inner thoughts of Anastasia’s “inner goddess”, all become repetitive, making it fifty shades of Boring.
I literally remember skipping sequences because they were D-I-T-T-O.

All in the entire first book is readable for its plot and characterization; however it’s just a onetime read. So either rent it or borrow from a friend. It’s not worth investment.