And the Mountains Echoed..

Writing about a book (or as they say reviewing a book) is not that difficult but sometimes I fall short of words to describe a beautiful piece of work and this has actually happened twice when I read "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. I remember I came to know about him in 2013 through a friend and immediately ordered a box set from uRead.com. I was completely bowled over by Hosseini's style of knitting stories. Both the books were way beyond amazing. Recently I bought "And the Mountains Echoed" from Amazon.inbut before reading this one I made a mental note to write about it on my blog. 

The Blurb : 

Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live in the small village of Shadbagh. To Abdullah, Pari - as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named - is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their heads touching, their limbs tangled.

One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand.

Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, and how the choices we make resonate through history.

My Review : 

Khaled Hosseini is blessed with an art to write in a way that touches one's heart and soul. He wonderfully describes his characters, their feelings and their struggles in the story.  This book revolves around Abdullah and Pari and portrays sibling love in a real dimension. The way Abdullah trades his only pair of shoes to gift his sister Pari a peacock feather, the way Pari calls his brother 'Abollah', the way they wish to stay with each other forever, the way they sing a lullaby together is heart touching. 

There comes a point when Pari is sold to a rich, childless couple Mr. & Mrs. Wahdati in Kabul. Their pain of separation can be felt. The further chapters describe the relationship between various other characters, their life, their tragedies and their journey. Towards the end when Pari and Abdullah finally reunite, Abdullah is unable to remember anything because of Dementia and this brings mixed emotions as their reunion couldn't happen in true sense.

But I also felt that at some point story lost its pace and the focus went on other characters which were not so important. Though I understand that the author tried to show something more in every chapter, it couldn't blend easily or naturally. That's why it lacked the magic of "The Kite Runner". I know Khaled Hosseini is a terrific story teller and I wish him all the very best for his future endeavors. 

Favorite Lines from the book :

• Sorrow ought to be private, not flaunted.
• All good things in life are fragile and easily lost.
• But time, it is like charm. You never have as much as you think.
• What good is regret? It brings back nothing. What we have lost is irretrievable.
• Nothing good came free. Even love. You paid for all things. And if you were poor, suffering was your currency.
• It was always best to tell the truth, to tell it plainly, without fanfare, and the more disagreeable the truth, the sooner you had to tell it.
• They say, Find a purpose in your life and live it. But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind.
• I learned that the world didn't see the inside of you, that it didn't care a whit about the hopes and dreams, and sorrows, that lay masked by skin and bone. It was as simple, as absurd, and as cruel as that.

About the Author :

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician. He has published three novels all of which are at least partially set in Afghanistan and feature an Afghani as the protagonist. Following the success of The Kite Runner, he decided to stop practicing medicine and became a full-time writer. A teenager who arrived in the United States for the first time at the age of 15 did not speak English ironically went on to become author of three bestsellers. Hosseini is currently a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through the Khaled Hosseini Foundation. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Roya, and their two children (Haris and Farah).

Connect with the author :

• Facebook : KhaledHosseini

First Movie Trilogy I watched & liked..

Finally writing a post after 11 weeks (77 days) and I swear I missed this space but sometimes Life gives you so many things at the same time that you have to find time for things you love and fortunately or unfortunately I couldn't balance. But then I feel thats the reason I am back because the urge to write din't leave.  

I have heard and read about Book Trilogies but I came across a Movie Trilogy in February when I was searching for some romantic english movies. After someone suggested me to watch Before Sunrise (1995), I came to know about the other two sequels : Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). I have a habit of reading the Wikipedia page whenever I come across something I don't know or I want to know more about it. So I read their Wikipedia Pages except the plot otherwise it would have been useless to watch movie. Then I saw they had an IMDb rating of 8.1, 8.1 and 8 respectively which meant they are worth a watch. 

I watched Before Sunrise in February, Before Sunset in March and Before Midnight in May. The best thing about all of them is the script and the characters. The way they are written is very different from the other movies. There is simplicity. There is no fancy storyline but its more about thoughts, ideas, decisions and their consequences. Most importantly you don't feel characters are delivering dialogues, it seems they are just talking like we do in our real lives. All the 3 movies are directed by Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Another idea that I really liked was that Before Sunset picks up the story nine years after the events of Before Sunrise and Before Midnight picks up the story nine years after the events of Before Sunset. This way you can feel the changes in the overall personality of the characters and the depth of the story. 

Few lines from the movie worth sharing :

Before Sunrise

• I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.

• You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.

Before Sunset

• Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.

• Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we'd never learn anything.

• Even being alone it's better than sitting next to your lover and feeling lonely.

• You realize that most of the people that you meet are trying to get somewhere better, they're trying to make a little bit more cash, trying to get a little more respect, have more people admire them. It's just exhausting.

• I feel I was never able to forget anyone I've been with. Because each person have... their own, specific qualities. You can never replace anyone. What is lost is lost.

Before Midnight

• Like sunlight, sunset, we appear, we disappear. We are so important to some, but we are just passing through.

                          

 

A Walk To Remember..

When I heard this title for the first time I imagined an evening walk with my soulmate on a beach side. Thanks to Google that I came to know about the novel and the movie : "A Walk To Remember". The novel is written by American author Nicholas Sparks which was released in October 1999 but the movie is directed by Adam Shankman, released in January 2002. I haven't read the novel but I have watched the movie so many times that I felt like writing about it. Its a sweet, simple Love Story and one of my favorites. Shane West (as Landon Carter) and Mandy Moore (as Jamie Sullivan) did their roles perfectly. I fell in love with the story the very first time I saw it.

About the characters and the movie : 

I liked Jamie Sullivan very much. She is sincere, positive, lovely, has values. She lives her life smiling and doing things she loves even though she knows her end. On the other hand Landon Carter is initially rude and arrogant but then I loved the way he transforms into a nicer, caring human being and tries to keep Jamie as happy as possible. He goes out of the way to fulfill Jamie's wishes and dreams. Unfortunately, two people who loved each other so much couldn't live together but their Love did. It's a beautiful story and the characters are very believable.

Few scenes from the movie that made me smile, cry, laugh and so on : 

• Landon was forced to join the drama club's final event, The Springs Play as a punishment for a prank that paralyzed a fellow classmate. On the final day of the play Jamie looked and sang like an angel that Landon could not stop himself from kissing her. 
• The way Landon fights for Jamie when his friends try to humiliate her by altering her photograph. He leaves his group of friends and starts spending more time with her.
• When Landon asks Jamie Will you go out with me Saturday Night? to which she says I am Sorry I can't go. I am not allowed to date then Landon goes to her father and asks for permission. This surprises Jamie and they both enjoy the dinner together. 
• The time Jamie tells Landon that she is sick and won't go for higher studies. She has leukemia and she has stopped responding to treatments two years ago. This upsets both of them. This is such a touching scene that one feels how could this happen.
• After knowing about Jamie's health problem Landon tells her dad he won't go anywhere. Jamie goes to his home where Landon asks Are you scared? to which she replies She is scared of not being with you.
• The way Landon stays by her side every now and then, reads quotes from her mother's book. The belief of Jamie that God has a bigger plan for her than she had for herself and that Landon was sent to her because she was sick. He is her Angel. 
• Landon makes a bigger telescope for Jamie and they both witness a comet. Then he asks her If she will marry him and she says Yes. Jamie looked amazing as a bride. They had a perfect Summer together.

Quotes from the Movie :

• Without suffering there would be no compassion.
• Our love is like the wind.. I can't see it, but I sure can feel it.
• She has faith in me. She makes me want to be different, better.
• Love is patient and kind. It's never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offence and is not resentful.

Website : Click Here

My Journey as My Blog Turned One Today..

Exactly an year before I was sitting in my office with earphones plugged in with hardly any important work on my desk. While listening to songs I thought of creating a blog that will be entirely dedicated to Music. So I logged into blogger to make the same. When I was thinking about a URL I came across a phrase : "Out of the Blue" which describes an event that occurs unexpectedly, without any warning or preparation and that's how Life is. Here I would like to quote John Lennon : Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. That's how I came up with outofthebluelife.blogspot.in 

Initially, I kept the title of the blog as "My Life : A Roller Coaster Ride" and later changed it to "Life : A Roller Coaster Ride". From Jan 2013 to March 2013 I wrote about the songs that touched my heart but then in April 2013 I wrote my first Book Review and in December 2013 I posted my first short story. With time I wrote more than I ever thought I will and thus the whole idea of a musical blog got changed into a personal blog that now describes anything I feel like sharing. I just hope this journey never ends.

Last but not the least I would like to thank everyone who inspired and motivated me to keep writing. Special thanks to those who took time to read and provided their honest feedback.

God bless All.. 

Lot's of Love..

My First post was Click here to read