Book Review - 8 Hours (✩✩)

(Review Copy received from Writers Melon.)

Disclaimer: The views presented are only my own perspective of the book and should not discourage anyone from reading it. You may prefer apples, I may like oranges. Doesn't say much about the fruits, only about our choices.


8 Hours is officially my most difficult read of 2018 (yet). I could not, for the life of me, get through this book. Every chapter seemed repetitive, every hour felt like a lifetime. In fact, even though I was buddy-reading this with two of my other bookstagrammer buddies, none of us could motivate the other. Much contrary to that, I think we all just pulled each other down. This book, no matter how much I tried, just did not work for me.

The story explores the fate of a family-owned company, Arya, on the verge of its demise and the protagonist, a shareholder in the company and the daughter of the founder, Aratrika, is on a mission to save it anyhow. The book is titled 8 Hours, which is reflective of the last 8 hours of the company (from 1am to 9.22am, to be precise) before the said empire crumbles in its own mess, but it took me more than that to get through the book. While the first few chapters of the book are intriguing and did excite me initially, the boredom that overtook me subsequently enveloped me like nothing I have ever experienced.

I am not going over the storyline. You can read the same in the blurb.
I will just quickly go over what did not work for me.

1. Too many characters - It was, after a while, difficult to keep a tab on who was doing what, and related to which other character and how, and what they were up to and why. You get it? The entire book was as big a struggle as this sentence. I initially thought that once I got a hang of the characters and their relations, things would be easier (and maybe interesting?). No such thing happened.

2. Repetitive - If I had a penny for every call that each character made and received, I may be able to buy back my weekend that I spent on this book! Every chapter sounded the same, every 'plan' and 'trick' was same as the previous one and the plot just REFUSED to move forward. In short, nothing, absolutely nothing happened for the entire duration of 8 hours. (To be honest, I was only able to read till page 115; I mostly did not - could not - pay attention after that.)

3. The end was good only because it was the end. I had to suffer no more. (I would've apologised for being so harsh but I need to vent right now.)

Did not work for me, may or may not work for you.
The plus point is that the writing is decent and lucid. One of the very few error free books I have read in a while. 

*****
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Book Review - Hell! No Saints in Paradise (✩✩✩✩)

Received this review copy from Writers Melon.



I was very confused about this book in the last 24 hours, so much so that I couldn't commit to giving it 4 stars, but 3 seemed too less and hence I have decided to stick to 4.

The story, set in 2050, is of a 30 year old Ismael, a Pakistani-American doing his thesis on Hell and Paradise (or rather aiming to refute the existence of both through his study). In a chance meeting with a girl named Petra, Ismael is convinced to try the hallucinogen Ayahuasca, which will set him on the path to discover the secrets unknown to the real world.

What follows is a divine intervention in a drug-induced state that further convinces Ismael to take an unplanned trip to Pakistan, reunite with his estranged father and convince him that he is a 'firm believer', and help the 'higher beings' in their 'mission'. Unknown to the level of his mission, Ismael lands in Pakistan and finds it in a condition that shocks the soul out of his living body. The entire country is in a frenzied state to attain 'paradise'!

Isamel's journey through heaven and hell is painted so vividly by the author that one can almost, almost, imagine actually being there, experiencing everything first-hand. A series of ups and downs finally leads to the revealing of the mission to Ismael, who is already so much in shock with what all is happening that the extent of the mission doesn't surprise him anymore. The climax is detailed and leaves the reader satisfied (even though the end did not come as a big surprise to me).

The characters of Chacha Khidr and Pir are well etched and are bound to make a space for themselves in your head. The language is flowy, without being too full of jargon. The book is sprinkled with Urdu words but the author has done a good job of explaining the same in simple lucid language, making one feel in sync with the story-line at all times. The satire and mockery and the interpretation of the Quran were the highlights for me.

Definitely recommended.
Read it in a couple of sittings, preferably on a weekend when you have time to spare. The book will be far more enjoyable then.
P.S. The cover is one of the most beautiful I have seen and own. The texture, the print, the quality, everything is spot on!

*****
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About Time!

Hello Lovely People (some of you are still reading this, I hope?)
Anyhow, realising how my efforts for reviving this blog have failed miserably over the last few years, I have decided to make this platform more than just a personal blog. I plan to post my book/movie reviews from hereon.

WHY?
I managed to read 41 books in 2017 and have already read 13 in 2018.
I have become supremely active on my bookstagram and goodreads page.
I am reading and reviewing books like a pro!
Makes sense to use that impetus to revive this dying soul?

That's it for now.
I will be uploading reviews every 2-3 days from now on. Hopefully that will motivate me enough to keep this blog alive even otherwise.

P.S. This July/August will be the 10th anniversary of this blog. :D

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Love
Mishika