Please Don't Ask For Extra Glasses by Barb Taub @barbtaub

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

On BookBub

How I discovered this book: I read the last book about Barb, Janine and Jaya's travels, loved it, so had to get this one too!

In A Nutshell: Humorous travel account, India

I've read excerpts on Barb Taub's blog of what would become this book, so was most pleased to see that they, and so much more, had arrived in Kindle format (and paperback).  When I first opened it on my tablet, I thought 'what's going on here?' because it seemed to be in PDF rather than Kindle style, but I soon understood why - it contains masses of fabulous photos of the trip, which add so much to the whole book (particularly the ones of Barb trying to mount and get down from a camel).  By a little deft fingerwork on the screen, you can not only make the text bigger, but the photos too.  There's so much splendid detail in the pictures; I very much appreciated this feature.

From the camel trip in the desert, to the elephant rides (and the avalanche of elephant-themed souvenirs), from Mr CallMeSami's transparent coffee, to masala papad (apparently the most wonderful snack food on earth) and a desert resort that I long to visit, this book is a total winner.  Not only is it beautifully presented, it would also be of use to anyone wanting to tour this part of India.  Other main attractions include many stories and legends attached to places Barb, Janine and Jaya visited, but, most of all, it's funny.  And I mean funny.

Well done Barb, well done Janine and Jaya for the photos, and I hope you manage to get back there again before too long!

ALL THE TOMORROWS by Nillu Nasser @nillunasser

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
On Amazon.com
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book:  it was submitted to Rosie Amber's Book Review Team, of which I am a member. 

Genre: Romantic suspense, family drama.


Set in Bombay, the novel starts when Jaya, one year into an arranged marriage, discovers that her idealist, undemonstrative husband, Akash, has a lover.  Criticised by her parents and feeling uncared for, her torment results in a truly shocking action, so stomach-turning I wondered if I could actually carry on reading the book.  Brave of the writer to include it, and that I reacted so strongly shows that it was well-written; I did continue, anyway.

Akash is knocked sideways by Jaya's extreme reaction, and his life takes a swift, sharp turn downwards.  In short, this novel is about a falling apart and slow coming together... several of them.

The first twenty per cent is about Jaya and Akash's younger years and the immediate fall-out of 'the event', after which we are moved swiftly on by being told that 'the years sped by', and suddenly it's twenty years later, when we find out how the characters' lives have fared in the interim, and what happens when they collide once more.

Nillu Nasser is a talented writer, without a doubt.  One of the reasons I chose this is because I like to read about other cultures, and this book taught me stuff I didn't know, so that's a tick from me.  Her storytelling ability held my interest, which is good for another big shiny red tick.  On occasion the dialogue felt a little stilted, or a teensy bit Hollywood, and she fell into the debut novelist trap of using dialogue to impart information to the reader rather than keeping it realistic, but I'll cut her some slack with this; it was not constant, and, as I said, it's a debut novel, and a good one (nb, this is not her first published work, but her first published novel).  Her characterisation was good; Jaya, her sister Ruhi, and their mother, were real, as were Akash, his friend, Tariq, and his lover, Soraya; Ms Nasser writes them all in clear definition, and even the secondary characters were completely convincing ~ another big tick!

I was, however, less sure about the pacing and structure.  With the younger lives of Akash and Jaya taking up only around the first fifth of the book, I was given little time to care that much about what happened to them before suddenly they were older, and little had gone on in the intervening twenty years except more of the same.  How much more effective it would have been to have cut the line about speeding years, and have a couple of interim chapters showing their lives after five, ten or fifteen years, too.  Akash tells Soraya all he has suffered in those years, but I wanted to see it, not just read it in a spoken report.  I loathe clichés, not least of all book reviewing ones, and you can't play out every scene or the book would be a thousand pages long, but in this case I needed to be shown, not told.  For me (and a review is only ever a personal opinion), a slow build up could have turned this 4* book into a 5* one. 

As the rest of the story unravels, Ms Nasser continues to write with authenticity, care and sensitivity, and I'd say that if you like emotional family dramas, you'll love this.

 

LION: A LONG WAY HOME by Saroo Brierley @brierley_saroo

5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

How I discovered this book:  My sister recommended the film Lion to me, and I was blown away not just by the film itself, but by the story.  I thought about it for days after ~ I had to read the book.

In the mid 1980s, Saroo was a five year old boy living in poverty in an Indian village with his mother and siblings.  On a railway station, some way from the village, he became separated from his older brother, boarded an empty, stationary train and fell asleep.  When he woke up, he was miles away, and unable to get out of the train.  He ended up travelling 1600 kilometres, to the other side of the country and Calcutta, in just the clothes he stood up in, hungry and unable to speak the language.  

Saroo's story is incredible, and made me think about the survival instinct in every human, even a five year old child, much more so than the film did.  The account of how he stayed alive, and the instinct he developed for danger, is far more detailed than in the film.  Eventually (and I won't tell you the whole story because you should read it for yourself), he was adopted by a couple from Hobart, Tasmania, who have given him a wonderful life.

As he grew up, he thought more and more about his Indian family.  Alas, he remembered the name of his village wrongly, knew his mother only as 'Mum', and had no idea of the places through which he'd travelled to get to Calcutta.  Although searches were made, no one could ever trace his family.  As a young adult, Saroo became increasingly obsessed with the idea of finding them.  Using the new site Google Earth, he started to investigate rural India, sure that he could find the village he came from.  It was a mammoth task that took over his life.

After years of searching without success, mostly because he hadn't realised how far he had travelled, he at last found the village in which he'd spent those first years of his life.  Of course, he went back ~ the reunion between him and his family had me in floods when I watched the film, and it's very touching in the book, too.   His mother had never moved away from the area, because she felt sure he would return one day.

It's a beautifully and simply written book, and taught me much I didn't know about how the poor in India live.   What struck me most, though, was how happy Saroo's childhood was, despite being constantly hungry and living, day to day, with the sort of deprivation we can't imagine.  The story of his adoptive parents is one that would give anyone faith in humankind; Saroo talks about his good fortune in finding people who helped him, and how easily he could have disappeared into the dangerous underworld of the Calcutta streets, forever.

Highly recommended.   

CAWNPORE by Tom Williams

4.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

I bought this book as soon as I'd read the stand-alone sequel, Back Home.  In Cawnpore, India, John Williamson is employed as a Deputy Collector in the British governed town during the middle of the 19th century.  Not always comfortable in the role of a conqueror in a foreign country, he seeks his own amusement, and forms relationships outside the British community.

This is the story of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and the build up and aftermath.  I knew next to nothing about this, and found it most interesting.  Tom Williams is a skilful writer, adept in both characterisation and story telling. I liked how Williamson was reminded that the British were the trespassers, and that the Indians' viewpoint was that they were taking back what was rightfully theirs; possibly the most profound moment in the book. The treatment of the British by the Indians might not have been honourable, but it was no less so than in any other war; however, the purpose of a book review is to comment on the readability of the book itself, not the activities of the characters, especially when the historical fiction is based on fact.

In early part of the book the author has portrayed so well the stiff formalities of the early Victorians.  As tension mounts, he doesn't favour any particular faction within the story, and the descriptions of the build up to the massacre are detailed and well thought out.  Sometimes I found the book a little long-winded, but not often; sometimes long-windedness is necessary in order to report all facts. 

Williamson disguises himself as an Indian to facilitate his ability to move between camps; at times I wondered if this was a little far-fetched, but then I read in the author's notes at the end that some British officers used such disguises successfully during the mutiny, so do please bear that in mind when reading.

On occasion I found the detail of his physical relationship with Mungo Buksh to be unnecessary, but that may be because I prefer my battle stories without the 'love interest'!  On the whole, this novel is all that historical fiction should be: absorbing, believable and educational.

Added extra!  Either before or after you've read this book, you might like to read this excellent article by Liz Lloyd on her 'Lost in the Past' blog, the tragic tale of the English ladies of Cawnpore ~ brings it home.  It's HERE

   

BACK HOME by Tom Williams reviewed HERE

DO NOT WASH HANDS IN PLATES by Barb Taub

5 out of 5 stars

Travel Memoir ~ India 

Dig that crazy camel!!

  On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
On Goodreads HERE

"Once upon the Land Before Time (or at least before mobile phones), my two best friends and I decided to leave the US from separate locations and meet up in Europe. To everyone's shock, Janine, Jaya and I pulled it off—mostly because we went to Luxembourg, a country so small the odds in favor of chance street encounters were almost 100%, but also because Jaya was carrying the BS, a blue suitcase so enormous it took up approximately a third of the country's square footage and was visible on satellite images. We couldn't possibly miss.  

It took over thirty-five years before—in a combination of optimism and failing memories— we recklessly decided to repeat this feat. Hey, we reasoned, now we've got smartphones, better credit ratings, wheeled suitcases, medical insurance, and the ability to drink legally. Just to make it more interesting, this time we chose to meet in India, where the odds against the three of us actually linking up were approximately a bazillion to bupkis." 

If you're a fan of Barb Taub's excellent blog you will love this book, and if you've never heard of her until this moment, you'll love it just as much :)

It's short, a very pleasant afternoon's reading, and so funny!  I started off highlighting passages for quotes, soon realising I would end up quoting more of the book than I was leaving out.  Not many books make me laugh out loud, but this did.

Barb's account of her, Janine and Jaya's Indian adventure (or 'attempt to eat our way across India') certainly brings the parts they visited to glorious technicolour life, but equally (if not more) entertaining are her observations; a couple of mentions of the motorbikes carrying whole families (and their shopping), and the generous hospitality of those they met (often, Jaya's friends and relatives); she was to discover that an invitation to someone's house actually meant (quote) "Please let me feed you until you look like a balloon with tiny hand and foot appendages waving weakly".  And then there are the parathas... loads of parathas*...
 
There is much food talk ~ Barb's omelette experience: "One bite later, and my tastebuds went from innocent bystanders to drive-by victims of green chilli omelette assault".
 

With driver, Suresh

The ladies meet up with driver Suresh, who takes them out to Munnar and Kerala, which sounds wonderful.  "Janine and I had escaped winter's grip just before Mama Nature barfed blizzards and subzero arctic blasts back in Washington and Scotland.  Everyone we knew back home was miserable.  Obviously, we needed to take pictures by the pool to make them jealous cheer them up."  Here, they visit a tea growing plantation, have a amazing lunch served on banana leaves...later on, Barb comes down with Delhi Belly when she cleans her teeth in water she was assured had been filtered.  "By that evening, I realised I didn't have a single bodily orifice that wasn't actively involved in attempting to evict my internal organs."  

When Barb was planning the trip, she said she had two goals ~ to see the Taj Mahal, and to see wild elephants.  I've never fancied going to India, but this book made me want to.  Oh yes, I forgot to tell you about the wild elephants, that bit's great.  Then there's the auto-rickshaw, crossing the road in Mumbai ~ look, you'll just have to buy it for yourself!

Many pictures are included in the book, with a link so you can see bigger versions (I think this is called high res, I'm not very up on these things!)

Many thanks to Barb for letting me use her photos for this review; I wanted to do the book justice.  You can peruse Barb's blog HERE
 

I love this picture ~ a mobile ironing service!

DON'T TOUCH by Barb Taub reviewed HERE

 

*I know about the parathas!  20 years ago, my boyfriend and I visited an Indian friend of ours.  He was out, and we were entertained until his return by his father, who insisted on bringing us a feast of parathas.  This was in the middle of a summer afternoon.  Every time he went out to make a different type, I wondered how I was going to eat them all, or not do so without being rude.  Marcus had a solution; when we got back in the car, he produced about ten from all trouser and shirt pockets.  Flour, etc, everywhere.  But at least we had managed not to offend dear Mr Raja!

OVER THE HILL AND FAR AWAY by Jo Carroll

5 out of 5 stars

Travel memoir ~ Aus, NZ, Nepal, India, Malaysia

On Amazon UK HERE
On Amazon.com HERE
  

I'd been meaning to read this for so long, and even started it a couple of times but kept getting distracted by stuff like writing novels, reviewing commitments and zombie apocalypse series... but at last the time was right, when I just felt like a travel memoir, and what better than one by Jo Carroll?

It made me humbled ~ Jo started her 'gap year' when she was the age I am now, and I read about it from the comfort of ~ well, you know.  Yo respect, and all that.

Jo's grand tour starts in Australia and New Zealand; I wished there was more about these countries as they're places I long to visit; I loved reading her descriptions, particularly of NZ.  She travels with a companion in a huge camper van, after which she carries on alone to ... was it Nepal next?  I can't remember.  But then there's India, and Malaysia, and Cambodia, and Thailand.  I enjoyed the Nepal section very much, too, and Malaysia.

This account is very honest; I liked the way she talked about gradually finding her own rhythm, confidence that she could do things she never dreamt she could, the personal disasters (illness, the first time being due to a dodgy spring roll in Lucknow), her fears and occasional bouts of homesickness.  Best of all is the astute observation of the people she meets along the way, the pictures painted as sharply as in any good character-driven novel, from the garrulous Victor early on in NZ (or was it Australia?), the self-absorbed young travellers in Malaysia, the lovely and generous Rocky, slightly creepy Gardner in Cambodia (who does a fair bit to help her, it has to be said) with his young Khmer wife, and little nine year old Lolita in India, selling trinkets on her stall ~ yes, there are sad bits, too.  

There's far, far too much for me to describe here, but if you have any interest in visiting or have visited any of the countries named, you'll love this.  

Now, Ms Carroll, you mentioned meaning to go to St Petersburg; will you do that next, please, so I can read your book about it from the comfort of my four pillows?


FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT by Jo Carroll is reviewed HERE
~ it's paperback only, and contains Jo's three other books all together, which are available on Kindle.  The one about Laos, Bombs and Butterflies, is wonderful and, I think, easily the best; it's on Amazon UK HERE