Book Reviews

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Fantastic Mr.Fox...By Roald Dahl...My All time fav book...

Due to the tyrannical nature of the three local farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean (one fat, one short, one lean), Mr Fox finds himself unable to steal enough chickens or geese to support his wife and their three young fox cubs. Other animals in the area are similarly affected, including Badger, Mrs Badger and thier three baby badgers and the Mole and Rabbit families. Just as they are all sure to die of starvation, the ingenious Mr Fox hatches a remarkable plan that will not only get them food, but sort out those horrible farmers for good and all they have to do is start digging...

Mr. Fox goes into the three farmers' farms and steals their chickens and geese on a daily basis. He takes it to his home and feeds his wife and three cubs. But soon, problems arise. The food was started to run short everyday. The food that was brought everyday wasn't enough to satisfy everyone's hunger. Other families and individual animals were facing similar problems. To add to their problems, the three farmers were getting more determined to get rid of Mr. Fox and all the other troublemakers.

Soon, Boggis, Bunce and Bean decide that they had to take action. They plan a number of things to trap and kill Mr. Fox. They try day and night to trap Mr. Fox, but the cunning genius manages to escape each time. Then, the three farmers come up with their best plan yet; they decide to dig into his home. So they bring their machines and start digging in through the ground. Mr. Fox, the smartest fox in the area, was now trapped along with his family and a lot of other animals. Mr. Fox takes a while to think of a solution to the problem he was now in, and then he hatches a brilliant plan. He realizes that they could dig faster than the farmers could...

So, he and his family start digging. They face problems like hunger, but they keep going. Soon, the family had to stop. Mr. Fox met up with a few of his other animal friends including Badger, Mrs. Badger, three baby badgers, Mole, and Rabbit families. They dig together. It was then that they hit a treasure paradise beyond their most magnificent dreams. The underground team had hit what to them was a fantasy. They hit the place where all of Boggis', Bunce's and Bean's work lay. All the food and products that were grown on the farm lay here. Mr. Fox and his crew along with their families find their key to survival. They find food. They also manage to escape from the clutches of the three horrible farmers; Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.


Oh this book is a masterpiece from Roald Dahl...I loved it as a child and i love it even more today coz it brings backso many memories o my childhood...I would recommend every child to read it....It is fantasy at its best...

One of my all time favorites...,

:)..Chinnu

Tell Me Your Dreams...From where Anniyan( Aparichithudu) was copied!!!!

Someone was following her. She had read about stalkers, but they belonged in a different, faraway world. She had no idea who it could be, who would want to harm her. She was trying desperately hard not to panic, but lately her sleep had been filled with nightmares, and she had awakened each morning with a feeling of impending doom. Thus begins Sidney Sheldon's chilling novel, Tell Me Your Dreams. Three beautiful young women are suspected of committing a series of brutal murders. The police make an arrest that leads to one of the most bizarre murder trials of the century. Based on actual events, THis novel races from London to Rome to Quebec City to San Francisco, with a climax that will leave the reader wanting for more...The characters often resemble stereotypes with Ashley being weak and miserable, Toni feisty and rude, and Allette shy and blushing. However, this is still an absorbing read with a smart twist in the ending - it's worth reading for that alone.

The Stranger in the mirrow...(this book made me sick in the stomach)

Toby Temple is a superstar, the world's funniest man. He gets any woman that he wants, but under the superstar image is a lonely man. Jill Castle is a sensuous starlet. She has a dark and mysterious past and has an ambition even greater than Toby's. Together they rule Hollywood.

This is the behind-the-scenes story of Toby Temple, who rose from poverty to become a show-biz superstar on TV and in the movies, as well as a first-class heel. It is also the story of Jill Temple who escaped a sad childhood and fled to Hollywood with stars in her eyes, but never got her big break, despite using every casting couch in town. Toby and Jill married, and then she used her new power to destroy all those who hurt her. Even she couldn't know it would all end in murder.The book uses a lot of casting couch.....

It made me sick in the stomach..,

Pranita.

Sand's Of Times

This is set amid the Basque rebellion in Spain in the 70s. Sadistic Spanish Colonel Acoca raids a convent, searching for the famous rebel leader Jaime Miro. Four nuns, each with shocking past lives, escape and find themselves traveling the countryside with Miro's band of partisans. It is a cat and mouse game of chase between the evil Acoca and charismatic Miro, who suspects one of his friends is an informant.The story speeds along at a frantic, life-or-death pace, as each of the characters is given a fascinating, even amazing, back-story, there are endless close-calls and a conclusion that will leave you breathless and satisfied.
ANd when i say it.., imean it.

Hehehehe..,

Chinnu

The Sky is Falling...

Dana Evans, is a spunky, good-looking, young Washington TV journalist who has recently returned to the nation's capital from the Balkans, where she adopted a handicapped war orphan who is having trouble adjusting to life in America. But that doesn't keep Dana from following a story all over the world, from Washington to Aspen, Nice, Juneau, Dusseldorf, Rome, Brussels, Moscow and Siberia. Each of these brief visits is like a postcard--a local landmark or two, an interesting local restaurant (at least in the European venues) and another piece of the puzzle, which has to do with why every member of a venerable, old Washington dynasty has died a violent death in the last year.

It seems strange that in a media-savvy city like Washington, no one but Dana has noticed there is a pattern in the rapid extinction of the Winthrops or even whispered the words family vendetta. But that's why pretty, young girl TV reporters were invented, at least by Sheldon.As Dana sets out to investigate the distinguished career of the Winthrop family patriarch, her lover Jeff, a sports anchor at her station, is called away to administer aid and succour to his former wife, a beautiful model who has realised, too little and too late, that she never should have dumped him.

And Kemal, the 12-year-old orphan, is being drugged by his baby-sitter, who is in cahoots with at least one set of bad guys. Dana hasn't noticed how tractable the temperamental boy has become recently because she's been dressing up like a two-bit Russian tramp to infiltrate a secret weapons base in Siberia... But all's well that ends well, as it usually does for Sheldon's heroines, and in the meantime you've learned where the five-star hotels are and what to order in a famous restaurant in Rome. A slick, commercial, slightly thin tale told by a craftsman of the genre.

The Sky is Falling contains all the elements which make Sidney Sheldon's works impossible to put down: power, money, greed, lust, corruption and a strong female central character. In this instance it is a TV anchorwoman from Washington DC. All her investigative instincts tell her that a brutal series of murders are linked - and she travels the world to prove it. But the closer she comes to uncovering the truth the more she realizes her own life is in jeopardy. However, she is not about to give up - the hunter becomes the hunted.

Happy Reading..,

Chinnu.

Now im gonna Club in a few....,

The Naked Face:

Hanson died quickly - with a knife in his back. Carol was next - she was covered with acid and tortured to death. Now it was Judd's turn, as a New York psychoanalyst he had known both Hanson and Carol. Yeah its that simple...moving ahead...



Nothing Lasts Forever:

Three women doctors begin five years training at Embarcadero County Hospital, San Francisco. The story, set against hospital and courtroom, chronicles their lives together and their struggle to outwit those determined that they don't succeed.....



The Otherside Of Midnight:

A beautiful French actress whose craving for passion and vengeance takes her from the gutters of Paris to the bedroom of a powerful billionaire; a dynamic Greek tycoon who never forgets an insult, never forgives an injury; and a handsome war hero lured from his wife by another woman. From Paris to Washington, Hollywood to the islands of Greece, The Other Side of Midnight is the story of four star-crossed lives enmeshed in a deadly ritual of passion, intrigue and corruption.



The Stars Shine Down:

Lara Cameron, a young and beautiful self-made tycoon, has worked relentlessly for success, power and control of her life and personal relationships. But a discarded lover has vengeance in mind.

These were just brief's of what actually are some of the best novels which ive read...Ive loved the characters in Nothing Lasts forever..,Alll three Doctors are so different by nature but yet remain best frens...

Happy Reading...,

Till Next time...,

Me signing Off..,

Bye Bye..,

Chinnu.

Morning.,Noon.,Night

Im gonna keep this short..

Harry Stanford is one of the wealthiest men in the world, and his family one of the most respected in America. When he mysteriously drowns while cruising on his yacht, things begin to change. Is the beautiful young woman who appears at the funeral really who she claims to be, or is she an imposter? There are many flashbacks in the story..,And as in all Sheldon's novels there is a female head strong patroganist in this one too...Anyone in the plot could be the murderer...,Coz everyone has a reason to kill...,

Here in this particular novel.., the suspense is revealed half way through..but still the story is gripping..And being a romantic...,I loved the silent romance between the leading pair...,

Till next time..,

Chinnu

Memories Of Midnight..

Well i do want to keep this short.., but i dont think id succeed..

Set in the late 1940s right after WWII, Catherine, wife of pilot Larry regains her memory. She remembers how cruel Larry was to her and how he jilted her for his mistress, Noelle Page. Indeed, Noelle was the kept mistress of one Constantin Demiris who was written to sound like an Adolf Hitler. Demiris, like a magician can make those in his disfavor disappear. Exit Larry and Noelle in the first installment.

In this book, Catherine, the long-lost heroine is restored to glory and is swept off her feet by a man who is loosely based on the cliche Cavalry men.

A psychiatrist and an eclectic mix of patients are thrown into this story; just how they are directly tied into the main plot has never been addressed. One character who is clearly written as an autistic savant displays some of the more prominent autistic behaviors. He is echolalic; he recites long chains of information and he knows the number and type of vehicles he passes in route to the doctor's office. His activities are solitary and few; he does not voluntarily interact with others.

This book does not really contain much of a mystery. It's justpeople getting even with each other. Even good old Demiris' wife Melina enters this story after having been relegated to shadow figure status in the original. . An attorney who was directly involved in a trial engineered by Demiris re-enters the picture. Some fancy manuevering, and he runs away with the show. Literally!!!!!


And when i say that.., i mean it...

Chinnu

Master Of The Game...

Kate Blackwell is one of the richest and most powerful women in the world. She is an enigma, a woman surrounded by a thousand unanswered questions. Her father was a diamond prospector who struck it rich beyond his wildest dreams. Her mother was the daughter of a crooked Afrikaaner merchant.

Her conception was itself an act of hate-filled vengeance. At the extravagent celebrations of her ninetieth birthday, there are toasts from a Supreme Court Judge and a telegram from the White House. And for Kate there are ghosts, ghosts of absent friends and of enemies. Ghosts from a life of blackmail and murder. Ghosts from an empire spawned by naked ambition!

My my i found it really hard to digest that a lady..,whoz in her nineties..,still could manupulate peopl so much...God!!Kate gave me goose pimples..Seriously!!!

Till next time..,

Chinnu.

If Tommorow Comes..

Well ill keep this simple....

Tracy Whitey is on top of the world. Young, beautiful, intelligent, she is about to marry into wealth and glamour - until, betrayed by her own innocence, she finds herself in prison, framed by a ruthless mafia gang and abandoned by the man she loves. Beaten and broken, but surviving with her dazzling ingenuity, Tracy emerges from her savage ordeal - determined to avenge those who have destroyed her life.

Her thirst for revenge takes her from New Orleans to London, from Paris to Madrid and Amsterdam. Tracy is playing for the highest stakes in a deadly game. Only one man can challenge her - he's handsome, persuasive and every bit as daring. Only one man can stop her - an evil genius whose only hope of salvation is in Tracy's destruction!

It is a must read and a must have for ur book shlef...

I have mine..,what abt u??

Chinnu.

The Doomsday Conspiracy!!!!(it somehow reminded me of Koi Mil gaya!!!)

A weather balloon carrying military information apparently crashes in Switzerland and Robert Bellamy( whoz had a personal tradegy ) of US Intelligence is despatched to locate the witnesses and swear them to secrecy. However, on his arrival he discovers that the truth is far more terrifying.

The weather ballon actually turns out to be an UFO..,with aliens in it...,A tourist bus with a number of tourists chance to witness the incident...,Now...,Robert has to trace down each of the witness...But does he know that hez pushing each of them into their graves???

I loved the character of Robert..,the devoted husband( now any girl would want a hubby like that..,and im no exception...)..,and at the same time..,equally devoted to his work...,I simply loved the concept of aliens on eatrh...,trying to save this world for us...

Thats happy living for all of us..,

Till next time..,

Me saying Bye bye..,

Chinnu.

Bloodline...

Well i borrowed this book from a class mate of mine and i still havent returned it..:)...

This wonderful thriller is the story of Elizabeth Roffe, whose father has just died (or was he murdered?), leaving her heiress to a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical maker. She takes over the reins of the company, with the help of Rhys Williams, a handsome but mysterious self-made man.

Elizabeth's four quirky cousins and co-owners of the company each have shady pasts and need money, badly. They are pressuring her to allow the company to go public; she refuses, and becomes the target of an unknown assassin. This is a book you will not be able to put down.

The story is full of fascinating flashbacks, detailing the often bizarre lives of all the Roffes: Alec from London, Helene from Paris, Anna from Berlin, and Ivo from Rome. Each one has a reason to want Elizabeth out of the way, and as the attempts on her life increase, the tension mounts until the killer is revealed in a truly frightening conclusion. Highly recommended for Sidney Sheldon fans and everyone who enjoys fast-paced stories full of action and memorable characters.


Happy Reading...

Chinnu.

Best Laid Plans...

This novel tells the explosive story of the beautiful and ambitious Leslie Stewart, who learns that for some men power is the greatest aphrodisiac; and of Oliver Russell, the handsome governor of a small southern state, who finds out why hell has no fury like a woman scorned. He starts off being the governor..,and goes on to become the President of The United States.....,Things go pretty messy when hez accused of serial murders...Now..,is he involved in any of the murders?Or is he being framed??thats the question..,and if i reveal the answer..(which is very well concealed till the end)...,it'll be the end of the beginning for u guys...,So i recommend u to immediately beg.,borrow..,steal or better..,buy a copy and start reading right away...

Till next time..,

Bye Bye..,

Chinnu.

Are You Afraid Of The Dark?????

I love all his( Sheldon's) novels..more so because he always has a lady patroganist who is a strong head..,And in Are you afraid of the dark...,We have two lady patroganists...,Both lovely....,

In New York, Denver, Paris and Berlin, four people have died separately in apparent accidents. Two women -- the widows of two of the dead -- find themselves under ruthless attack and are drawn together in fear, confusion and for mutual protection. But are they being targeted because one of them is the prosecution witness at a famous criminal trial? Or is there a connection to the mystery behind their husband's deaths?
Meanwhile, Tanner Kingsley, Chief Executive of an international Think Tank created only seven years ago, is on the cusp of an amazing discovery which could alter the future of the world. If properly handled, the outcome of this could deliver unbelievable power into the company's hands. But are the mysterious deaths connected to this volatile secret? And can it be further protected? Thrown together, the women could not be more different: Diane Stevens is a well-connected, affluent artist from the Upper East Side. Kelly Harris is an African-American model who, having grown up in a rough Philadelphia neighbourhood with a new 'uncle' every month, believed she had at last found safety and contentment in Paris, married to a brilliant scientist. Taut with suspense and vivid characterization, and with an unnervingly realistic premise that could alter our lives, ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK is Sheldon at the top of his form.

Kudos to U Mr.Sheldon..,

Love,

Chinnudi..

Sydney Sheldon...my favorite author...

So i start off with the first ever Sydney Sheldon novel which i read....The Windmills of the Gods...

During the Cold War, the President of the United States asks college professor and Mrs. Average America Mary Ashley to fill the very important post of Ambassador to Romania. She is flattered, but declines because her husband's job requires him to stay in Kansas. Before you can say "Conspiracy!" the husband has a fatal accident and Mary is off to Bucharest, where the staff are scary, her office is bugged, and her assistant, smart aleck Mike Slade, just may be trying to kill her.
This story is a bit of a departure for Sidney Sheldon, who usually writes romantic thrillers about spunky, single young women. Mary Ashley is brave, but definitely from the Donna Reed School for Wives and she has two (perfect) kids, to boot. The character I liked best was the enigmatic master assassin, Angel, who has killed some of the world's most influential people, and now find Mary Ashley on his to-do list. The ever-smirking Mike Slade is a fun and likeable character. You'll learn a lot about diplomatic protocol in this tidy little political thriller.


Hope u've liked it..,

Pranita.

For The Baccha party out there...Harry Potter is here!!!!

The Socerer's stone


Adults seem to have lost their ability to imagine. Reading fiction should be a way to regain a bit of imagination and the childlike aura of giddy expectation, but not many authors have successfully created books that children and adults can enjoy.

The world of fiction changed when J. K. Rowling released Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first installment of the Harry Potter series. This book introduces the shy, quirky Harry Potter, whose life has not been easy. He lives with his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley, none of whom even come close to being civil to him.

Potter's life changes when he receives a very special letter, and so he comes to attend Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While his adventures will entertain, his self-discovery will sober readers.

What is most amazing, however, is how connected readers are to Potter and the other characters, like his wisecracking sidekick Ron or the kindhearted headmaster Professor Dumbledore. Why can an adult relate to this book that is about children? It is simple: If an adult has a memory of her childhood, then HPSS will bring it back.

Harry Potter intrigues the young for a completely different reason. Children can easily relate to other children, and even more so to those who have some adversity to overcome - for all children have problems. It may be a bully, their appearance, or even something as serious as the death of a parent, but children (and adults) can work out some of their own issues by reading this enchanting story.

The language Rowling uses does not talk down to her young audience, and so she is able to keep her adult readers. True, the vocabulary she uses may force some to pick up a dictionary, but no one has complained.

Her tone is what makes Rowling famous. Reading HPSS is like talking to a childhood friend you haven't seen for years. It is, without a doubt, the most definitive piece of children's literature since The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the second and third books, do not quite live up to HPSS in terms of its universal appeal, but are nonetheless worth reading.

This is my favorite among all the Harry Potters'....

And i loved the movie even better...,

Till next time..,

For All U Potter fans..,esp...Suman..,

Bye Bye..,

Chinnu.

The Da Vinci Code...Dan Brown....

Well well..,how could i miss out this one...Arguably the most controversial book till date...,And the movie created even more controversies...,esp here in Hyderabad..,But i was lucky and i managed to catch the film in Bangalore....,And i would say...,that the book is far better than the movie...,I would agree with the protests and controversies coz the book literally shows the relationship between Christ and Mary...

The word for "The Da Vinci Code" is a rare invertible palindrome. Rotated 180 degrees on a horizontal axis so that it is upside down, it denotes the maternal essence that is sometimes linked to the sport of soccer. Read right side up, it concisely conveys the kind of extreme enthusiasm with which this riddle-filled, code-breaking, exhilaratingly brainy thriller can be recommended.

That word is wow!!!!!.

The author is Dan Brown (a name you will want to remember). With "Angels and Demons," Mr. Brown introduced Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of art history and religious symbology who is loaded with "what his female colleagues referred to as an `erudite' appeal." No wonder: the new book finds the enormously likable Langdon pondering antimatter, the big-bang theory, the cult of the Illuminati and a threat to the Vatican, among other things. Yet this is merely a warm-up for the mind-boggling trickery that "The Da Vinci Code" has in store.
Consider the book's prologue, set in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre. (This is the kind of book that notices that this one gallery's length is three times that of the Washington Monument.) It embroils a Caravaggio, an albino monk and a curator in a fight to the death. That's a scene leaving little doubt that the author knows how to pique interest, as the curator, Jacques Saunière, fights for his life.

Desperately seizing the painting in order to activate the museum's alarm system, Saunière succeeds in buying some time. And he uses these stolen moments — which are his last — to take off his clothes, draw a circle and arrange himself like the figure in Leonardo's most famous drawing, "The Vitruvian Man." And to leave behind an anagram and Fibonacci's famous numerical series as clues.

Whatever this is about, it is enough to summon Langdon, who by now, he blushes to recall, has been described in an adoring magazine article as "Harrison Ford in Harris tweed." Langdon's latest manuscript, which "proposed some very unconventional interpretations of established religious iconography which would certainly be controversial," is definitely germane.
Also soon on the scene is the cryptologist Sophie Neveu, a chip off the author's earlier prototypes: "Unlike the waifish, cookie-cutter blondes that adorned Harvard dorm room walls, this woman was healthy with an unembellished beauty and genuineness that radiated a striking personal confidence." Even if he had not contrived this entire story as a hunt for the Lost Sacred Feminine essence, women in particular would love Mr. Brown.

With Leonardo as co-conspirator, since his life and work were so fraught with symbols and secrets, Mr. Brown is off to the races. Google away: you may want to investigate the same matters that Langdon and Agent Neveu pursue as they tap into a mother lode of religious conspiracy theory. The Priory of Sion, the Knights Templar and the controversial Vatican prelature called Opus Dei are all invoked, as is the pentacle, the Divine Proportion, the strange sex rites glimpsed in the film "Eyes Wide Shut" and the Holy Grail. If you think the Grail is a cup, then Mr. Brown — drawing upon earlier controversial Grail theories involving 19th-century discoveries by a real Saunière — would like you to think again.

As Langdon and Sophie follow clues planted by Leonardo, they arrive at some jaw-dropping suppositions, some of which bring "The Da Vinci Code" to the brink of overkill. But in the end Mr. Brown gracefully lays to rest all the questions he has raised.

The book moves at a breakneck pace, with the author seeming thoroughly to enjoy his contrivances. Virtually every chapter ends with a cliffhanger: not easy, considering the amount of plain old talking that gets done. And Sophie and Langdon are sent on the run, the better to churn up a thriller atmosphere. To their credit, they evade their pursuers as ingeniously as they do most everything else.

When being followed via a global positioning system, for instance, it is smart to send the sensor flying out a 40-foot window and lead pursuers to think you have done the same. Somehow the book manages to reconcile such derring-do with remarks like, "And did you know that if you divide the number of female bees by the number of male bees in any beehive in the world, you always get the same number?"

"The Da Vinci Code" is breezy enough even to make fun of its characters' own cleverness. At one point Langdon is asked by his host whether he has hidden a sought-after treasure carefully enough. "Actually," Langdon says, unable to hide his grin, "that depends on how often you dust under your couch."

The book has a nail biting ending..,And to the pleasent surprise of one and all...,Well..,the ending i think was picturised well in the movie...,Esp. the scene where sophie is united with her grandmom....,and the one where Langdon...,(TOM HANKS LOOKS A LOT LIKE RAJ....hain na???)takes a bow to Mary Magdalene...The scene was superbly shot and a very touching one...,
I remember coaxing Raj to take accompany me to this movie..,a and he had obliged..,But given the fact that jhe had read the book...,HE UNDERSTOOD NOTHING......and i was given a sound battering...,Well...,

I love the book...,the concept...,and i even loved the film...,

I recommend this book to one and all...,

Its a must have for ur book shelf...,

Happy Reading!!!!

Till next time...,

Chinnu.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Farenheit 451...,by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is arguably the most important and influential book of our time. Written almost 50 years ago, the novel predicts the climax of a chain of events that seems to have already started in our current society. Fahrenheit 451 is not only an exciting novel of rebellion and thought-provoking ideas, but also the warning of a possible future.
In this society, works of literature are banned and firemen burn the banned books. The main character, Guy Montag, is one such fireman. He undergoes a crisis of faith, sparked by meeting a unique girl who thinks for herself.
Bradbury explains how the ban began, with books deemed offensive being censored until eventually the intolerance of differing voices leads to the ban of all books. Then there are no voices at all, only an abysmal, vacuous society - a frightening thought.
Montag's boss reasons with him about the banishment of books, saying, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs. Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy." The people of Montag's world live under that principle, though they don't know it, and believe ignorance is bliss.
Fahrenheit 451 is more important today than ever before.(Just like Gandhigiri is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo important today than ever before...) I was appalled to hear several teens say the book is stupid or doesn't have enough action and suspense. Their views frighten me because those are the beliefs of Bradbury's dystopia. The lack of understanding of different ideas seems to have dumbfounded my peers, and as a result they never want to read the book again; they think it should be thrown away or even burned! Individuals who believe this only further vindicate Bradbury's fears.
The novel shows exactly what sorts of terrible things censorship can do to a society, and the importance of free speech. People must learn to accept and understand different views, whether or not they agree. We must always be able to think for ourselves and never accept the norm, for that is the way to melancholy. Everyone should read Fahrenheit 451, take what they learn from it and apply it to their everyday lives.


Well..,i have my do...Do u have urs??

It is a must read..,an alltime classic..,

So go ahead and indulge urselves..,

Till Next time..,

Chinnu.

The Chicken Soup For Teenage souls..

Let me keep it short and sweet...,coz it concern the teenagres..:)

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul is a great book for all teenagers to read. It gives a lot of advice on family, friends and relationships. These stories give a different point of view for those in need of words of wisdom. It makes you feel good about yourself and helps you learn how fortunate you are. I always hear that these teen years are the hardest, but the most fun. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul captures the good and the bad. It will make you laugh and cry, with passages from celebrities like Jennie Garth, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Bill Cosby. I recommend this book not only to teenagers, but to parents of teenagers. I guarantee you will learn something from the experiences in this book. .

Happy Reading!!!!!

From me to u..,

Bye bye..,

Chinnu.

Atlas Shrugged....Ayn Rand..

Ayn Rand's most notable, as well as most controversial novel, is spell binding excitement. From the beginning, Atlas Shrugged includes suspense, deceit and a pedagogical analysis of her philosophy, Objectivism. What distinguishes this novel from other classic bestsellers is that Ayn Rand "writes for all ages."
Ayn Rand lived in Soviet Russia under the flag of Communism. Her philosophy, Objectivism, portrays the antithesis of this ideology. Her dealings and life experiences behind the harsh "Iron Curtain," where bread for the poor was a rarity but caviar for the leaders was abundant, tremendously influenced her book.
The novel follows the mind of the main character, Dagny Taggart, who is the epitome of the industrialist: ambitious, knowledgeable, greedy. But the negative connotation of "greedy" is suddenly reversed in a purely ironic fashion. To her, money is not just a stamp collection where the accumulation of more stamps for the sake of impressing others is the goal; rather, it would be solely for the enjoyment and pleasure of the philatelist. Monetary gain is a form of enjoyment for Dagny Taggart be-cause it reflects what matters most to her: her work.
The suspense of this book stems from the unending sub-plots. There are no dull moments; in the beginning, Dagny tells of her preoccupation with her biggest project; she later suffers mercilessly at the hands of a stifling directive; later, she goes on a futile search for John Galt.
The most impressive feature of this book to me is its intellectual content. Atlas Shrugged has different outlooks and the way it was written impresses me. I recommend this book to anyone who is up for reading a timeless classic of literature even if they don't agree with Rand's philosophy....

This is the first book i purchased in Bangalore and so i have many special memories attached to it...,I hope U guys have loved reading it ..,as much as ive loved reviewing it...

So Till Next Time...,

Ciao...,

Chinnudi.

Time For A Break........

WEll..,Now lets take a teeny weeny break from Shakespeare..,Not that im bored...(Common..,I can never get bored with Shakespeare...,Im his biggest Fan!!!!!)....but that i have other authors and books to speak abt...We can return anytime to Shakespeare...,im not even half way through his works...,

But for now..,bye bye Shakespeare...,

But im leaving u with one of your best quotes...,my Fav one...,

This ones from As You Like It...,

"All World's a stage..,And all men and women merely players..,
They have their exits and entrances..,
And each man..,in his time.., plays many parts...."

How Do U like It???

Till Next Time..,

Chinnu.

The Twelfth Night...

Viola and her twin brother are shipwrecked. each survives but believes the other to be dead. Viola disguises herself as a boy and goes to wrok for Count Orsino. Count orsino is in love with Oliva. Oliva is in mourning for her dead brother, causing Viola some sympathy pangs. The Count sends Viola to woo Olivia on his behalf. Viola falls in love with the count, oliva falls in love with Viola.

Then Viola's twin appears, causing much confusion and several mariages.Meanwhile in the subplot, Sir Toby Belch, Oliva's relative is trying to get her to marry his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek - who is a fool. Oliva's mansertant Malvollio is in love with Oliva, but causes much irritation to the other servants, to the two sirs and to the wandering minstrel/wise man/fool - Feste.

A horrible prank is set up which leads to Malvollio thinking himself mad. The comedy becomes quite dark and threatening as malice rules.This is a very entertaining play to watch and I have seen some great versions in modern costume - the cross dressing can be got round, and does rather depend on the fct that Orsino pays no attention to anyone but himself and Olivia is almost as bad.

Interestingly, the whole Orsino/Viola romance works best if there is some attraction between them throughout the play despite the fact that Viola is supposed to be a boy most of the time. This means that all love scenes would have been between men, which raises some curious issues. cross dressing for women was not an unusual practise - many women dressed as men in order to live freeer lives.Twelfth Night is traditionally a date for revelry and foolishness. The play captures the carnival nature of the old festival, the chaos of the lord of misrule and the threatening nature of that chao. It is also very funt, full of greatlinea and a rather sweet love story....

Cheerz For another feather in Shakespeares Cap...What say???

Till next time...,

Me Chinnu Signing Off...

THe Taming Of The Shrew...

Like so many older literary works, context is everything. Not so very long ago, women were supposed to be quiet, biddable and subservient to father, husband etc. A woman who had her own mind and wanted her own way could often find herself labled as a 'shrew'. A woman with a sharp tongue doubly so.

Imagine a household with two sisters, the younger one - Bianca - is pretty, demure, well behaved and madly in love with a presentable young man. The older sister - Katherina -is a bit of a handful, she wants her own way, detestst her various suitors and her family find her a social embarrasment. Now these days a parent would harldy consider these traits a major problem and would probably concentrate on younger sister getting married, but no, not in this play.

Younger sister is only going to be allowed to get married when older sister has been married off.A bit harsh perhaps. Katherina is found a husband though, a man who is effectively paid to put up with her. He sets about 'breaking her in' by various methods. In some ways it is very funny, in others you can't help but feel it is a tad sexist and cruel.

Katherina manages to maintian most of her spirit, but is eventuall forced to behave as her husband sees fit. I think the comedy still works for a modern audience, even if it is a touch uncomfortable.The underlying story does provoke some thought - there is some historical accuracy here regarding how women were suppsoed to behave. These days, woe betide any man who means to 'tame' a willfull woman. Katherina's husband is not a man of many virtues, and there is grounds for looking at the way in which she house trains him a bit along the way as well.There are some interesting paralleles to be drawn between this play and "Much ado about nothing" - Katherine contrasts interestignly with Beatrice, another willful, sharp tongued woman who largely does get her own way and whose family respect ehr for what she is.


WEll..,The so called shrew finally gets tamed...,

But honestly speaking..,Should a woman with an independent mind..,be labelled a shrew???

Keep thinking..,

And Keep Commenting...,

Till next time..,

Chinnudi.

Julius Ceaser..

I dont know why...,but i dont like this play,,,I think its selective assumption...But somehow...,at the back of my mind..,i always feel ive done injustice to this play...,donno why...anyways...,

Caesar is loved by the common people, who beg him to abolish the Senate and declare himself Emperor. Many of the senators are worried by this, particularly Cassius who persuades his friend Brutus to join a conspiracy to assassinate Caesar. Ignoring various omens and nightmares, Caesar goes to the Senate on the Ides (15th) of March, where the conspirators stab him to death. Brutus tries to appease the common people by explaining that the murder was essential to save Rome from tyranny. But then Caesar’s lieutenant, Mark Antony, gives a speech in which he tells the people that Caesar loved them and left them property in his will. The people riot. Brutus and Cassius flee, and proceed to raise an army. Mark Antony joins forces with Caesar’s nephew, Octavius, to oppose them. A battle takes place in which Brutus and Cassius are defeated, and commit suicide rather than be captured. Mark Antony and Octavius triumph, and the play ends with them giving Brutus a noble burial.

So how did u guys like it????

Accha laga kya??

Chinnu...

Anthony and Cleopatra..

Well well..,Sadhna aunty actually calls me Cleopatra..:))...Jokes apart.., i have done a decent amount of groundwork before i write the jest of this play..,It could be boring..,But its here to stay..,so here goes...

Throughout “Antony and Cleopatra”, issues of loyalty and betrayal are prominent and are paramount to the play’s progression. Not only are there a number of examples, but also they vary to reveal differing characters with contrasting attitudes and personalities.One of the most important cases, and a clear turning point in the play, is Enobarbus’ decision to leave Antony’s side in favour of siding with Caesar.

The reason this act of betrayal is so significant is that Enobarbus is the one closest to Antony and the one who has stuck by him through thick and thin, epitomising the meaning of loyalty. The fact it is Caesar, Antony’s nemesis, he now sides with would make the news even harder for Antony to accept. Antony’s reaction of immediately sending on Enobarbus’ treasure along with a heart-felt message exemplifies his still-felt loyalty towards Enobarbus, despite his departure. It also further demonstrates to the audience Antony’s noble qualities, which until now have been portrayed more by people’s words of praise rather than his behaviour and actions.

By demonstrating Antony’s nobility in action rather than just words, Shakespeare gives the audience the opportunity to begin to appreciate how he has earned his reputation over the years. This is something that is important when trying to understanding Antony, and the respect and loyalty that other’s extend towards him.There are two very different types of loyalty demonstrated in the relationship between Antony and Enobarbus, and as a result two different types of betrayal. As a follower, Enobarbus is tied to Antony professionally, and is duty bound to stick by him and remain loyal. As a friend, similar conditions apply, though somewhat differently.

On a professional level, it would have been impractical for Enobarbus to stick by Antony with the impending defeat at the hands of Caesar. Indeed, it is plausible to argue that by sticking by Antony for as long as he did, Enobarbus fulfilled the call of professional duty, resisting the choice to jump ship earlier like many others did. As a friend, Enobarbus found himself in a much more difficult situation. As well as making the final decision to go harder, the friendship brings with it a number of complications and ramifications. The guilt of neglecting professional duty would undoubtedly leave someone of Enobarbus’ trustworthy and honourable nature feeling culpable, but it is clearly the abandonment of the friendship and Antony the person, not the master, that leaves Enobarbus feeling so bad he seemingly dies of a broken heart, “O Antony,Nobler than my revolt is infamous,Forgive me in thine own particular,But let the world rank me in register A master-leaver and a fugitive.” It is all too easy to blame Enobarbus for breaching the loyalty between the two and to see him as the sole betrayer, but this is neither fair nor true.

Although as Enobarbus’ master, Antony has professional duties towards him, on a professional level the emphasis of loyalty clearly lies with Enobarbus as Antony’s follower. With regards to their friendship, however, this does not hold true, as a friendship is a mutual relationship with two equals, the responsibility lying squarely between the two of them. With Enobarbus being the one to leave it seems he is the one in the wrong, but it is Antony who gives him cause to leave due to his neglect of all of his responsibilities, including those towards Enobarbus.

Antony’s infatuation with Cleopatra causes him to lose sight of his commitments and loyalties to Rome, those around him and himself. His slack judgement creates a situation where Enobarbus and many others are forced to put themselves first and abandon Antony’s side. In making the decision to leave, Enobarbus makes the painful choice of letting his head rule his heart. As much as it pains him to go, he knows it’s the sensible thing to do. Sadly, the pain of leaving Antony is too much for him.Antony finds his loyalties divided between Rome and Egypt. In Rome there lie his responsibilities to his country, fellow triumvirs and his estranged wife, in Egypt his lover. While his commitments to Rome seem far more significant, to Antony it is his personal rather than political loyalties that are more important and take priority.


His responsibilities to Rome represent the sensible choice for him to make, while Egypt and the flamboyant Cleopatra symbolise what his heart rather than head yearns for. This choice to pursue personal happiness rather than political security signifies both loyalty and betrayal towards himself; by snubbing the safety of Rome and jeopardising all he has, Antony is turning his back on his comfortable position, and with his often-bizarre conduct is flying in the face of his reputation as a legendary and honourable soldier. On the other hand, Antony is doing what he wants to do. He is making himself happy at the risk of causing his own demise, which ultimately he does.

In staying true to his feelings and doing as his heart rather than his head tells him, Antony is remaining true to himself, and in doing so does himself the ultimate justice. When confronted about his betrayal of his duties, and in particular the breaking of his oath, Antony is quick to acknowledge his neglect, though denies responsibility. The fact Antony is so unperturbed when pressed about such issues suggests a certain level of naivety, as well as a lack of interest and sense of commitment. The issue of sensible reasoning against heart-felt emotions can be seen throughout the play.

The audience see Antony choose to neglect his responsibilities to Rome in favour of pursuing Cleopatra, while contrastingly they observe Enobarbus eventually leave his master’s side in order to ensure his personal security. The issue is raised in many instances, and can be seen as the subject of the play as much as the issue of loyalty itself is.The loyalty displayed by some of Antony’s followers is immense. Despite seeing their once great leader recklessly throw away all he has, and therefore all they have too, they stick by him.

The fact characters such as Enobarbus doubt their decisions yet still stay true to Antony adds testament to their loyalty,“I’ll yet followThe wounded chance of Antony, though my reasonSit in the wind against me.”Rather than just blindly following, they have their eyes open enough to realise it would be easier and indeed make sense to change their loyalties to Caesar, yet still, in the mean-time at least, they abide by Antony. It also provides verification of Antony’s greatness, in that in his follower’s eyes he is a man immense enough to warrant such huge levels of commitment and faith from them, despite the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Contrastingly, Shakespeare presents the audience with characters such as Canidius and Scarus who are much quicker in making their decision to go. By placing their declarations in the same conversation as Enobarbous’ pledge to stay loyal against his better judgement, Shakespeare presents a clear and distinct contrast. Here, the audience can begin to fully value Enobarbus’ qualities, while at the same time observe a different approach to loyalty, one of a more political and common sense based nature. Shakespeare uses Enobarbus here to pardon Canidius and Scarus to a certain extent.

By having Enobarbus, a character the audience respect, standing by and not protesting at their abandonment of Antony, Shakespeare partly justifies them and their actions. He creates a sense of sympathy towards the deserters, as by justifying their actions he is emphasising the desperation of their situation and the legitimacy of their cause to leave, whilst simultaneously stressing Enobarbus’s devotion.Perhaps the most extreme cases of loyalty occur once Antony is informed of Cleopatra’s supposed death. Although he is unable to bring himself to commit suicide, Antony’s decision to end his own life is significant as it partially represents his loyalty to others and himself.

Antony sees taking his own life as the noble thing to do in his and Rome’s eyes. Although the loss of Cleopatra is the main prompt for Antony’s decision, he also sees it as freeing all of those loyal to him and his cause. Full of shame at his conduct at sea, Antony sees himself of unworthy of the loyalty others extend to him. Also, he is doing it for himself. Through all of his misjudgement and neglect, Antony has been foolish rather than selfish. Indeed, it is he who has come off worse from all of his errors of judgement; he is the one who has lost his power, he is the one who has lost land and followers, and now he believes he has lost the woman he loves.

All he sees ahead is inevitable defeat and shame under Caesar, and to save himself from this and to restore some of his reputation as a great, honourable man he has only one choice.Eros’ loyalty extends to taking his own life in order to prevent him seeing any further suffering for Antony. Although some may argue that as a true follower of Antony, Eros’ duty would have been to carry out Antony’s wishes and end his life for him, not to save himself from the pain of seeing his master’s demise, but this is a bit harsh. Eros does what he does not as a selfish act, but as the ultimate act of loyalty.

By taking his own life, not only does he save himself from the unbearable act of killing his beloved master, but he also shows Antony the way to be truly honourable in his impending defeat.Following on from Antony’s failed suicide attempt, we see a stark contrast to the loyal behaviour portrayed by the likes of Eros by Derectus. After a small procession of soldiers one by one refuse to kill Antony, instead of deciding to help his leader either by aiding his death or aiding his health, Derectus seeks to help himself. Seizing the opportunity, Derectus removes the bloodstained sword from Antony’s impaled body in order to take it to Caesar.

This passive attitude towards loyalty strongly reflects Derectus’ character and personality.Slightly more discreet acts of loyalty are evident in the play. One example is that of Dolabella warning Cleopatra of Caesar’s plans. In this instance, Dolabella is being disloyal to Caesar in order to do what he deems as right, and is therefore being loyal to himself and his own beliefs. This again reflects the personality of the character. In this case, Dolabella displays an uncompromising attitude with relation to his own personal thoughts regarding right and wrong, and demonstrates how Shakespeare cleverly utilises ideas of loyalty to portray different characters. Cleopatra shows a similar loyalty to herself as that which Antony does, by taking her life in order to save herself from the humiliation of being paraded at the hands of Caesar.

Also like Antony, Cleopatra has a mighty reputation bolstered by others that the audience never really sees justification for. Just as Shakespeare offers glimpses of Antony’s true colours before letting them shine through, here he does the same with Cleopatra. Allowing the real qualities of Cleopatra to show to the audience is important as it allows a true understanding of other’s actions. Upon seeing this other side of Cleopatra, the extreme sacrificial loyalty displayed by Charmian, akin to that of Eros towards Antony, seems justified and understandable, and some credibility is returned to Antony as his actions and sacrifices suddenly seem that bit more warranted.

It is undeniable that loyalty is a huge factor in “Antony and Cleopatra”, and plays a large and direct part in the plot and outcome of the play. Shakespeare uses loyalty to his advantage to help craft different impressions of different characters; by demonstrating the different attitudes to loyalty displayed by Enobarbus and Derectus, for example, Shakespeare exemplifies the traits and personalities of these two very different characters. He also uses loyalty to shape an image of those to whom the loyalty is directed. In Antony and Cleopatra we see characters that gain loyalty not through power and tyranny, but rather through garnering respect and love. Conversely, the loyalty shown to Caesar shows little or no signs of compassion or heart-felt emotion, but rather a political logic. This disparity marks a big difference between the characters, and is important in fully understanding and, perhaps more importantly, fully appreciating the play.


Hain naa....Oh hello...Sleeping kya...,

Common...,Long live Love...,

To everyone whoz loved and lost...,

Cheerz..,

Pranita.

The Tempest

Well this actually isnt the review of the play..,its much too confusing to be written without getting confused...:))....So..,Heres the simple jest of the play...

I loved the Tempest. It was a really good read and the few times that I have seen the play, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The characters are fabulous. You could not get so many completely different characters in the same play, so successfully, if you tried.The characters are loveable and you really feel for them and sympathise with them especially Caliban who you just want to mother like a pet, and Ariel who you can pity in one instance and then get really angry with in the next.
Shakespeare has written the play so accurately and really established the characters so well. His scene with a few of the characters being very drunk was wonderful and made me laugh out loud. All of the performances I have seen have all done this scene differently but have all made me laugh just as much. The story is original and witty and the scenes are all so different. Everyone comes from really seperate backgrounds, wandering around on a lone island, oblivious to the presence of anyone else, and very cleverly all come together at the end. This play, again, is a great read for students. It proves that Shakespeare doesnt have to be boring and educational - it can be much fun.

I love Shakespeare..,What abt u???

Chinnuu.

A Midsummer Night's dream...

The Shakespearian play ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is a light-hearted comedy, based on the themes of love, appearance and reality. It was written to be performed to Queen Elizabeth at the end of the 16th century. Most of Shakespeare’s comedies begin with a problem, as does this one.

In this comedy, the problem arises when a nobleman named Egeus tells his daughter Hermia that he will have her put to death unless she marries Demetrius, even though she loves Lysander.Hermia and Lysander flee to a wood near Athens, hoping to travel to his aunt’s, where they can escape the sharp Athenian law. Hermia’s friend Helena told Demetrius and both follow them; Helena because she loves Demetrius while Demetrius hopes to find Hermia.

In most Shakespearean plays various characters must move away to a quiet place in order to unravel the problem arisen. ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is no exception. The play is entitled ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ as it contains magical, dreamlike qualities such as Hermia’s nightmare and Helena’s confused dream. Bottom also has a wonderful dream where a beautiful lady loved him, whereas Titania has an awful nightmare! The play is set in midsummer and all are left to believe that it is all just ‘a midsummer night’s dream’.The characters are interwoven, and there are lots of characters! It is easy to understand in Shakespearian language. Three storys involving and influenced by magic are all delicately interwoven, to create a masterpiece that won't be easily forgotten.


I leave you with...
''How now my love, why is your cheek so pale,how chance the roses there do fade so fast?

Hehehehe...,

Until next time..,

Cya..

Chinnudi...

Macbeth...Apna Maqbool yaar!!!!

Macbeth is one of the most well known plays of Shakespeare, and although is held in superstition as "The Witches play" among actors, it is admired for its suspense and drama. The play is technically set in the 11th Century, although there is little evidence in the play to prove this and centres around the actions of a soldier named Macbeth. After winning a battle he meets three witches who predict that he will become king. The play then focuses on the efforts he takes to fulfill this prediction leading to the murder of the present King Duncan whilst he is staying with him.
The main theme of the play is concentrating on the two characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth: how they evolve and plot after hearing the prediction by the witches and what happens to them once they take matters into their own hands. The plan goes disastrously wrong needless to say and events do not turn out as hoped by the couple. The strength of the writing is in the atmosphere created by the book, which has been translated to film and theatre beautifully countless times. The fact that it works so well as a performance is only heightened by the fact that it is so effective as a book too. The presence of the occult gives the play an edge that creates tension and fear throughout the play, increased every time he returns to see them.

Now u've read this story abt a couple of times in school..,thats why i havent given a detailed review...

Theek hain na...,

Bye for now,,

Chinnu.

Romeo And Juliet...

Romeo and Juliet is a touching yet tragic tale which Shakespeare weaves beautifully using his tremendous language skills.

PLOT SYNOPSIS: Set in Verona, Italy, the story is about two feuding families, the Capulets and the Montagues. These two families are very rich and influential and when the feud erupts on to the streets in a street brawl, they are informed that anyone who is caught fighting will be sentenced to death.
The Capulets have a daughter called Juliet, her mother is trying to persuade her to marry Count Paris, a wealthy and eligible bachelor. Romeo is the son of the Montagues, and he and his friends sneak into a masked ball at the Capulets. Here he meets Juliet for the first time and is besotted with her, however he does not yet realise that she is a Capulet.When he discovers that she is a Capulet, he realises that nobody must find out about their relationship. Juliet is also now engaged to marry Count Paris, but really wants to be with Romeo.However, Romeo gets into a fight with the Capulets and kills Juliets cousin. He has to escape from Verona otherwise he will be killed.
He and Juliet get married secretly and spend the night together, Romeo then leaves Verona. Juliet is supposed to be marrying Count Paris but her parents do not know she is already married. She goes to see the friar who married them, and he gives her a potion to drink which makes her appear dead but really sends her into a deep sleep for three days. Her family will bury her in the family tomb but she will awake and Romeo will meet her. The friar arranges to send the message to Romeo and Juliet takes the potion. She is buried in the Capulet tomb and is asleep, waiting for Romeo.
However, the message never gets to Romeo and he hears that Juliet is dead, he buys some poison and goes to the tomb where he believes she is dead. Juliet is lying there and looks dead, Romeo commits suicide to be with her and takes the poison. Moments later Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead beside her, she is distraught and stabs herself. Both die so that they can be together.


They remained together even after death..,

That was Romeo and Juliet for U..,
Me signing off till next time,,

Cya..

As You Like It....

“As You Like It” is a simple tale in which we discover Duke Senior has been banished from court by his usurping brother Frederick and can be found living in harmony and happiness in the Forest of Arden with his faithful entourage.His daughter Rosalind remains at court as friend and companion to her cousin Celia, daughter of the dastardly Frederick.

When a stranger arrives in court to wrestle a far stronger man Rosalind falls head over heels in love…what she doesn’t know initially is that the stranger is no other than the son of Sir Rowland de Boys, Orlando. The late Sir Rowland was firm friends with Rosalind’s banished father…Fredrick is beside himself with the young girl and sets her outside the court, even when her dear friend, and his daughter Celia vows to go with her rather than see her cast out alone.

The girls are scared at the thought of entering the forest to find Duke Senior but know it is their only hope, so determine that their best chance is to dress as country folk, Celia as a girl called Aliena, and Rosalind as her brother Ganymede.So there you have the basic comic twist: a beautiful, strong-minded, charming, sought after, and oh-so-eligible young lady, dressed up as a country boy! Now admittedly this is not a premise that would necessarily have us rolling in the aisles in the modern theatre but Shakespeare’s adoption of the trendy “pastoral tales” genre of the day does provide some genuine comedy.

It is also worth a nod to Shakespeare that it wasn’t often his contemporaries chose to place a head-strong intelligent WOMAN as the central character in a play (even if it was probably a boy actor who had to take the part).You can imagine that the young Orlando soon finds himself in the forest too, and will all but bump into “Ganymede” and quickly confess his love-sick musings are for the beautiful Rosalind he met at court…


Well...Howda like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[:)]

Till next time...,

Chinnu.

Measure For Measure...

This is a brief overview to a very complicated play. I have also purposely not given away the ending of the play.Set in Vienna (a change from the usual setting of Verona), we meet the Duke, who has failed to enforce the laws of the state, and as a result Vienna has become a sordid city with prostitution and loose morals being very prominent.
One day for no apparent reason (the no apparent reason - happens quite a lot in this play! Some questions don't have answers! Thats why the play is so thought provoking.) the Duke decides to leave Vienna, and hand power over to Angelo, his deputy.Angelo is originally portrayed as a man of morals. He is determined to restore law and order to Vienna and clamps down on immorality and prostitution. One of the laws that Angelo enforces, is a law forbidding sex outside the institution of marriage.
He arrests Claudio, who has got his long-term girlfriend Juliet pregnant, out of wed-lock. For this crime, Claudio is sentenced to death.The reader immediately becomes suspicious of Angelo and questions his authority - sentencing Claudio to death seems a ridiculous decision. Claudio contacts his sister Isabella, who is about to take her vows as a nun. She pleads with Angelo to spare her brothers life. Angelo agrees to spare Claudio - but only in return for sleeping with Isabella.Angelo is therefore revealed as a hypocrite - on one hand enforcing the laws to the letter but on the other hand breaking them and personally indulging in immoral behaviour. Isabella is faced with a difficult decision - save her brother or betray her vows?This is where the play gets very complicated - as it is revealed that the Duke hasn't gone. Infact he has disguised himself as a Friar and is still in Vienna, trying to talk to its people and create a better place. It is up to the Duke to expose Angelo and save Claudio's life.


For those who'vw read this my question is..,was the ending proper???And for all those who havent read me..,could u give me a suitable ending for this play???

Till next time,,

Chinnu.

Much Ado Abt Nothing...

Written by William Shakespeare in 1598-99, Much Ado About nothing is one of his 17 comedies. Much Ado About Nothing tells the tale of an Italian village and the stories which happened when soldier returned from a victorious battle.

MAIN CHARACTERS : Benedick~ a witty intelligent man who is a sworn bachelour. However he is tricked into falling in love with Beatrice
Beatrice~ A loud, argumentative, orphaned niece of Leonato. She too has sworn not to marry, but is tricked to fall in love with Benedick
Don Pedro~ Prince of Arragorn, helps Claudio marry, Benedick fall in love and is there when the see supposidly Hero with another man
Don John~ A bastard brother of Don Pedro, is a sinister man who claims he has no time for love, and he ruins Claudio's wedding
Hero~ Daughter of Leonato and heir to his belongings a beautiful young woman, who is wrongly accused of sleeping woth other men and is disgraced at her wedding.
Claudio~ A brave, young soldier, who false in love with Hero, but is tricked into thinking she was cheating on her, and he help Benedick fall in love
Leonato~Governor of Messina, father of Hero and Uncle of Beatrice, was willing to let Hero die when she was said she was no longer a virgin

ACT 1
As this scene opens, the Governor of Messina, Leonato, his niece Beatrice and his daughter Hero are speaking with a messenger. The messenger has come to tell Leonato that Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon, is visiting Messina following some sort of battle. The Prince will be coming with a brave young soldier, Claudio and Benedick, a witty man and a sworn bachelor. Beatrice asks the messenger about Benedick, a lord of Padua (these 2 have obviously had a history together) Benedick greets her by saying, 'my dear lady distain are you yet living?' The next scene Antonio tells his Brother Leonato that he overheard Claudio admitting he loves Hero and wants to marry her. The 3rd scene has Don John, the bastard brother of Don Pedro, with his 2 companions Borachio and Conrade, saying that he feels unwelcome in Messina and plans to cause unrest.

ACT 2
Hero, Leonato, Beatrice and Antonio are discussing Don John, Beatrice says he is a bitter man who never talks and makes her feel uneasy. Then all the other characters arrive in masks, Don Pedro who agreed to chat up Hero for Claudio, talks to Hero while Borachio and Margaret, Hero's servant, about their sexual desires, so to speak and Beatrice and Benedick talk about love, and say they will never say they love anyone. Don John and Borachio approach Claudio and ask him if he was Benedick, knowing fine well he was Claudio. Claudio said he was and Don John told him that Don Pedro was chatting up Hero for himself, so Claudio left in anger. Claudio returns with Beatrice, Leonato and Hero to question Don Pedro, he denied he was chatting her up for himself, and Hero and Claudio kiss and are a happy couple. Then Don Pedro asks Beatrice to marry him, but she says no and leaves, thats when Don Pedro says Benedick and Beatrice will be a great couple, so they all agree to try and get them to fall in love with each other. The next scene, which occurs in a room at Leonato's house, begins with Don John and Borachio talking. Borachio proposes a new to stop the marriage of Hero and Claudio, which Don John embraces with enthusiasm. The Plan was that Don John will get Claudio and the prince to Hero's chamber window where Borachio will be makin love with Margaret, but Don John will say to Claudio that Margaret is Hero. While Margaret is none the wiser about this. In the next scene, Benedick hides from Leonato, Claudio and Don Pedro, knowing he his hiding they lie about Beatrice's love for Benedick, in order to get them to fall in love.

ACT 3
A lot like the past scene but this time, Beatrice is hiding, while Hero, and her 2 servants, Ursula and Margaret, talk about Benedick's love for Beatrice, and how intelligent and witty he is. The next scene however is a much less light hearted one, although it starts off with Claudio and Don Pedro joking about Benedicks change in personality, because he is in love, eg. He shaved his beared and wearing perfume. But the towards the end of the scene Don John leads, Claudio and Don Pedro to Hero's chamber window, where they see Margaret and Borachio together, and Claudio leaves in disgust belieing it was Hero. The next scene is located in the street where Dogberry, the funny watchman, and his deputy Verges, are patroling the streets of Messina. They over hear Borachio boasting to Conrade about the event that has just happened. Overhearing this Dogberry places them under arrest. The next scene is in the morning of the wedding day, in Hero's bedroom, where she is having a discussion with her servants about what to wear for the wedding. Then Beatrice enters and they mock her because she is in love and her change of personality. The 5th scene was when Leonato was about to enter the church, Dogberry and Verges confront him and congradulate him about the wedding and tell him about what happened last night.

ACT 4
Everyone gathers inside the church to celebrate the wedding of Claudio and Hero. But when Friar Francis asks Claudio whether he wishes to marry Hero, Claudio breaks into an outraged speech. He tells Leonato that he sends Hero back to Leonato again. After Claudio finished calling her, Leonato, her own father, shouts at her, calling her slanderous names. Hero collapses and Claudio and Don Pedro leave. Benedick and Beatrice rush to offer her their assistance, while Leonato says she can die, for what she has done. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the friar comes out with a long speech saying Hero is innocent and they should pretend she is dead until they've found out what really happened. Then Benedick and a sobbing Beatrice are left in the church, Benedick questions her love for him but she is too sad to say she loves him. He asks what he has to do to get her to love him, she replies, 'Kill Claudio.' The next scene starts with Dogberry and Verges questioning Borahio and Conrade. Borachio confesses that he received money from Don John for pretending to make love to Hero and then lying about it to.

ACT 5
Leonato and Antonio are discussing their outrage about the wedding, until Claudio and Don Pedro enter. Leonato shouts at Claudio and accuses him of causing his daughters death, and Antonio says he will challenge them for what they have done. But then Benedick enters he says that Don John has fled Messina and he will challenge Claudio. This is the only time in the book when Benedick is serious, he is not making witty remarks or jokes. Suddenly Dogberry and Verges enter, dragging behind them the captured villains Conrad and Borachio. Dogberry tells Claudio and Don Pedro that Borachio has confessed to treachery and lying, and Borachio admits his crime again. Shocked Claudio and Don Pedro realized Hero was innocent when she died. Leonato offered a chance for Claudio to undo what he has done, Claudio had to write an epitaph on her tomb and sing it, then marry his niece. (it's actually Hero, but he'll only find out after they are married) Meanwhile, near Leonato's estate, Benedick asks Margaret to bring Beatrice to speak to him. He tries to write a poem, but finds it hard to rhyme now he is in love. When she arrives they flirt and joke until Ursula arrives telling them the news, that Hero has been proved to be innocent. The next scene at the tomb where Hero supposedly lies buried, Claudio carries out the first part of the punishment that Leonato has ordered him to perform Claudio wrote an epitaph and then sung it. The next scene was the second wedding, Leonato had Hero masked and was only allowed to be unmasked after she has been married. When she is married Claudio unmasks her and to his delight he saw Hero. Benedick stopped the celebrations to ask Beatrice to marry him, she agrees and the party continues after a messenger reported that Don John has been arrested.


Much Ado ABt nothing ha...

Chinnu.

The Hamlet...

Another tragedy,,

The Elizabethan play Hamlet is one of William Shakespeare's most popular works. One of the possible reasons for this play's popularity is the way Shakespeare uses the character Hamlet to exemplify the complex workings of the human mind.Hamlet is undoubtedly my favourite Shakespeare play. Hamlet is a traditional Elizabethan revenge tragedy and a thrillingly entertaining spectacle.
I had originally read the book when i was twelve!!! It always makes it more exciting when you have vague memories of the storyline. It makes it far easier to understand the storyline.The main question at the end is whether Hamlet fits the role of a tragic hero during the Elizabethan period when revenge tragedy was a hugely popular genre. The word “tragedy” as a literary genre has a number of specific elements which set it apart from common conceptions of the word.- A tragedy is usually about one central figure (protagonist), and the play charts their fall from a position of power to their ultimate death. Often others die as a consequence of their actions – known as the “multiple death convention.”- The tragic hero is normally a figure of considerable importance, and is often royal.
Their death therefore does not just have an individual impact but affects the whole state.- The tragic hero is a person with an exceptional nature, with the ability to feel emotions in an intensified way. However one of their characteristics is to possess a tragic flaw, a fault which would normally be insignificant, but which is revealed by the chain of events and leads directly to their downfall.
The play Hamlet clearly follows the dramatic conventions of revenge in Elizabethan theatre. At the beginning of a revenge tragedy a crime is committed and due to the nature of laws and justice, the crime cannot be punished so the main character is forced to carry out the revenge and commit an act against the law. The protagonist usually experiences a period of doubt, where he is unsure of the truth. The appearance of a ghost is extremely typical to urge the protagonist to go through with the deed. The revenger has a very close relationship with the audience through the use of soliloquies. The crime is generally committed against a close family member so the revenger has personal motives for revenge. In the course of the deed, the revenger and his many helpers are often killed.As you can see, hamlet contains virtually all of these features but the question of whether Hamlet can be considered to be a real tragic hero has been a question of debate for many years.
At the end of the play, Hamlet achieves his father’s vengeance but only after being driven to it by the death of his mother, and knowing that he too will die in moments. This is the argument of many, who felt he had nothing to live for and achieved revenge as a last resort.
Personally I think that Hamlet can be considered as a tragic hero because he successfully avenged his father’s death, despite of the circumstances. He had a desire to kill Claudius straight away but being a scholar made sure of the ghost’s honesty before taking any action. That is only natural, for one to ensure that what he is doing is right. Hamlet put on a play to prove whether the ghost was telling the truth and discovered he was. He then acted on this and had planned to kill Claudius.


Long live the Hero!!!!!

For Raaj..,

Chinnu.

The Merchant Of Venice..

And now...,for one of Shakespeares best comedies...

King Lear claims to be a man 'more sinned against than sinning' and in 'The Merchant of Venice' we meet Shylock the Jewish money lender who fits that description perfectly.The decadent adventurer, Bassanio, has lost the money his friend, Antonio has lent him and has the cheek to borrow more. Antonio is forced to borrow off Shylock in order to make the loan. The condition Shylock stipulates is a pound of flesh should the loan not be repaid when agreed. It's an odd choice but the Christians are pretty nasty to him so he is very bitter.
Off Bassanio goes in search of a rich wife again and does very well.
He meets Portia who is loaded and all he has to do is pass a guess-the-casket test to win her heart. She fancies him so she cheats the test with a poem in which all the rhymes end in 'ed' and therefore point him to the lead casket.
Bassanio and Antonio pair up with Portia and her servant, Nerissa.
Dressed as a lawyer and clerk, the two ladies con the court and defend Antonio by offering Shylock the famous opportunity to be merciful. He wants to know what can compell him to be so and Portia says, 'Mercy is not strain'd. It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven.'. When he demands the exact letter of the law, Portia interprets the law in such a way that he is allowed his pound of flesh but any blood would constitute murder. If he is trying to murder a Christian then his goods are forfeit...
There is some humour concerning broken promises about never taking off rings when the fake lawyer and clerk obtain them as payment for their legal services and then pretend to be upset when they are in their normal roles as wives.
Shlocks own daughter, Jessica, runs off with a Christian. She likes them. She's happy to buy a monkey with a ring given to him by his late wite despite its sentimental value and the ties of familty that it symbolises.The Christians spurn him in the street but they don't mind his money. He is hated for being a Jew. Is Shylock the villain? He is certainly intending to kill Antonio with a knife so it looks like he must be.
How do we feel about someone who would promise never to remove a ring given to mark great love who then does remove it?
If Shylock is bitter and twisted - to what extent has his treatment at the hands of Venetian's smug, Christian society led him to become that way?
This, then, is the gist of the story and a pointer toward the murky waters beneath the comfortable surface of these superficial Christians.
I found this play enjoyable once I saw it in terms of Lear's famous notion of, 'a man more sinned against than sinning.'
Shakespeare didn't do things superficially. WIth such a genius a play doesn't have to be Hamlet, Lear, Macbeth or Othello to have plenty of meat on the bone.
I'd recommend this play as there can be no finer example of beautifully crafted literature in the English language than his work.


Kudos....,

Chinnu

Othello...A review...

Well well..,i begin Shakespeare's reviews with a tragedy....But one of his best...,And i chose to start off with othello..,coz i yet have to get over with Omkara...(Shakespeare must be crying in his grave)...Well well...,here's a simple review...

Othello and Desdemona had a ‘forbidden romance’. Othello was a moor, and Desdemona is a fair young maiden. Their hidden marriage is frowned upon by many, but most importantly frowned upon by Desdemona’s father.
Iago, an officer of Othello, is a man of pure evil and he loathes young Othello. Not only is Iago evil, but he is also clever. Instead of using a sword to kill Othello, he uses his mind and his mouth to destroy him within. With Othello thinking he is a loyal officer, not to mention loyal friend, the mission all but too easy for the dastardly Iago.
Within Othello, Iago plants and tends to seeds of doubt. Othello is strong, but Iago sees a weakness: his jealousy. Iago makes claims of a love affair between Desdemona and Cassio (another officer working with Othello). Othello would like to deny such allegations… but from his good pal Iago it has to be true. Slowly he begins to unravel as he sees what appear to be clues in favor of Iago’s claims. And whenever a new clue is ‘discovered’ Iago is right there to re-inforce Othello’s worst fears.
The story ends with almost all characters being killed...,including Othello...So what could be a better tragedy???

Hope U liked the review...,Dont go by Omkara...Othello was indeed a masterpiece...


For Raaj..,

The love of my life...,

Chinnudiiiiiiii.

The Works of William Shakespeare..