Manize Nayani's profile

Picked up this book recently called 'You Are Here' by a self proclaimed 'compulsive confessor' Meenakshi Madhavan Reddy. Tried to pull through 105 pages with the hope that maybe..just maybe the story will start from the next page...with every flip of the page my ray of hope became fainter. Alas! dramatic as I may sound the book has absolutely no story. The story is about a hapless girl Arshi who is urban, chic, with just the hint of sophistication but actually comes across as crude and a desperate wannabe. I just have one question. Is being an independent working girl all about the number of cigarettes one smokes in a day? or the number of boyfriends one has? or about the number of vodkas you wolf down every evening? There is no plot absolutely. The ramblings of her mind have been penned down and they boil down to more or less the same thing in every page. For those who would really like to listen to some funny ramblings of a single woman then Bridget Jones' Diary is my recommendation. Please do not waste your precious bucks on this trash. Please

'La's Orchestra Saves the World' is as unusual as its title suggests. Having read Alexander Mccall Smith's 'The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency', I can surely say that the difference between the two cannot be more stark. While the latter is set in Botswana with Mma Precious Ramtoswe, the detective saves the day for her clients, in this book we have the main protagonist Lavender Stone who brings much hope and happiness through the formation of her small orchestra in a small village in Suffolk, amidst all the violence, deceit and treachery posed by WWII.

La, short for Lavender moves into her country home after a heartbreaking marriage. There, she is soon absorbed into the country life, till she meets Tim, an officer from the RAF base and they decide to set up an orchestra. Enters the charming, handsome and mysterious Polish pilot and there soon develops a deep companionship between them.

The book makes one reflect about the brutality of war, and how one small gesture can work wonders to restore the morale and lead to the blossoming of hope and faith in a war-torn land.

Like Botswana, the description of the lush country side of rural England really do manage to transport one into that time and era. Through the individual perspective of the protagonist, the author sheds light on the turmoil within us, and outside us, whichare a part and parcel of being human.

Manize rated:

A strictly pseudo-intellectual approach to philosophy. Sorry, but a few contradictory statements thrown in at every juncture are not only annoying but make the book a repulsive read. Ayn Rand expounds her theory of Objectivism through the book. The lesser said about that, the better it is.Viewed through the lens of this book, the world is either too idealitic or too cunning. Not to mention a depressing read. Perhaps the greatest strength of this book-and maybe the only one-is that it will invoke a strong reaction. You will either love it or hate it. There is no middle path.I belong to the latter category.

Simply fantastic! The beginning may be completely chaotic and one will often wonder what the writer is trying to get at. But that is just the beginning. The way the plot unravels, the pace, the plot, not to mention the well-etched characters, are a treat for any reader who enjoys a fast paced read. If you are still not convinced, read it to simply appreciate the imagination of the writer, and for a thrilling, thrilling climax!