At times, starting a book is like peeking at the dinner table to check whats on the menu. I began John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany yesterday night and thought it looked like your traditional Onam sadya. Rice, Pappadam, Avial, Thoran, Pickles and chips on the side, etc. In a word, yummy. I had tried this book out long back and had stopped after the first few pages, mainly because I was put off by the WAY Owen Meany SPOKE. I didn't really understand nor like the church references either. However this time round, it does look good. The first few pages have whetted my appetite; I feel I'm in for a good sumptuous meal.
Extending the meal analogy further, The Feast of the Goat was like biting into Tandoori Chicken which has been cooked quite well, but was left out in the open for a while. The meat was good and tasty, but a trifle cold. King's From a Buick Eight was a quick shot of Pepsi, nothing more.
No, I'm not hungry right now.
People always tell me I have a hungry look on my face when I start talking about books. ;-)
ReplyDeletebut I understand what you are getting at...
ReplyDeleteRead Gabriel Garcia Marquez? I guess you must have...
In case you haven't he'll make you wonder if you've suddenly chanced upon a royal banquet while walking through a shady alley. He writes amazing stuff.
I second that... it's like the Onam sadhya with three kinds of payasam on the side - so irresistibly rich it makes you drowsy.
ReplyDeleteAdd an oonjal ride after that :-)
ReplyDeleteI loved One Hundred Years in Solitude, totally agree about the banquet part here. However I tried a few others and had to exit after just a few bites. Maybe a second try would help
ReplyDeleteLove in times of Cholera is pretty ok once you get over the first 30 pages, although the end was a bit lost on me...
ReplyDeleteYeah.. it was a bloody let down..
ReplyDeletebut if ya think abt it... there was no other way it could have ended.