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    Shemaroo RK Films

    Shemaroo RK Films

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    Ranbirraj "Raj" Kapoor also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director...

Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything
Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything
Elizabeth Gilbert | 2016 | Biography
4
7.2 (34 Ratings)
Book Rating
Pretentious and selfish
I really wanted to like this book. It sounded like it'd have a lot of motivational thinking and empowerment for single women, but in fact it just turned out terribly pretentious and was basically just one woman's selfish and rather self centred journey.

This book is split into 3 parts: Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and Indonesia (Love). I fairly enjoyed the first part in Italy, as all Liz does is eat the entire time she's there and who doesn't love Italian food? And it also featured a lot of decent and moving thinking and a lot of this related to how I've been feeling over the past year, so I really clicked with this

However it's India and Indonesia that I have major issues with. Firstly I'm not a religious or spiritual person at all, it's just not for me although I have no issues with people that do believe, that's your choice. My problem is that the second and third parts of this book virtually shove religion and spirituality down your throat. And not in a hesitant good way, more in a preaching condescending way that irritates like hell very quickly. I quickly started to skim read these chapters as I couldn't deal with Liz's pretentious ramblings. This entire book is full of her selfish ideas and notions, and at the end I didnt find this in the slightest bit motivational and I didn't feel like Liz learned much either despite her proclamations otherwise. I really didn't find Liz an endearing or lovable person, despite the fact that everyone she encounters in her story appears to (which is debatable).

Maybe I went into this book expecting the wrong things, but aside from the first third and the odd thought or sentence throughout the book that made me think "that's so true!", I really didnt enjoy this at all.
  
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ClareR (5726 KP) rated Gun Island in Books

May 21, 2021  
Gun Island
Gun Island
Amitav Ghosh | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gun Island is a beautifully written story about a rare book dealer Deen Datta, and how his trip to a small island in the Sunderbans sets in motion a series of events that affect him deeply, opening his eyes to the world around him - a world far beyond his own experience. His journey takes in history, folklore, magic, climate change and ecological disasters. We see how climate change has an effect not just on animals, but also on people - causing the refugee crisis and the consequent reaction of Europe - especially those countries who feel they’re most at risk of being overwhelmed by the flood of refugees.

Deen Datta certainly gets around on his journey. From New York where he lives, to the Sunderbans in India, then onto a California on fire and a more flooded than usual Venice. This could have been a book that preached about the perils of climate change, but it didn’t. It did lay the stark reality out for the reader, but this was just as much a part of the story as the relationships Deen has with the people he meets, and his friends. There is a real feeling that Deen doesn’t have a firm identity: he’s detached from his Bengali roots, and he doesn’t fit in to New York either. But I think he does feel a sense of belonging by the end of the book, with the help of his friends. Cinta, a Venetian, is an old friend, and someone who always seems to push him into doing what’s good for him. Then there are his Indian friends, Piya and Tipu who help him to learn new things about himself and the world he lives in.

I loved this book. It ticked a lot of boxes on my favourite themes list: the environment, India, history, folklore, the search for identity. It’s such a thought provoking, magical novel.
  
    State Bank Anywhere

    State Bank Anywhere

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    State Bank Anywhere is now SBI Anywhere Personal Mobile Banking Smart Phone application for SBI...