Book Review – Where Hope Is Found by Rebecca L Marsh

After what feels like an eternity, I sit down to write. 2020 has been a mixed bag for every one of us. And it is also the year when my personal laptop went kaput and I couldn’t get it fixed because – Lockdown+Corona!

Now do not come asking me “What about blogging using the WordPress App?” Sorry, but I do not use it to even check feeds, and notifications. Writing using the app was cumbersome even with the old classic editor. It would be an absolute menace for someone like me with the new block editor.

Anyway, let’s get to the book review. If you have been following this blog, then you may have encountered book reviews of Rebecca L Marsh‘s previous works. I have enjoyed her two previous books, and now there is another one. (I will leave links to the other book reviews at the end of this post.)

Where Hope Is Found is a such a moving tale. It is in the usual style of this author – slow and meandering, but captivating and moving! One feels for the characters and understands their emotions quite emphatically.

The book cover image was sent to me way back when, what feels like the time dinosaurs roamed the earth, but was actually mid 2020. This post, amongst others, has been pending for a long long time!

The book revolves around the lives of Marissa, her daughter – Maisy, her brother – Owen and his son – Charlie. While Where Hope Is Found starts off with a focus on Marissa’s happy life with her husband and children, it soon turns devastating. Watching her life disintegrate in seconds, the trauma and the scars… a complete tantrum that life has thrown at her. All that is left of her former life are memories and her daughter, Maisy. Both mother and child are traumatised by the events and the aftermath of the loss they suffered. A spouse and child; a father and a sister. The loss from Marissa’s and Maisy’s perspective may be different, but it hurts just the same.

Owen asks his sister to move to the island, he calls home. A small community, where he lives with his son, Charlie. Of course, Owen and Charlie have their own sweet & sour story as well. Often times one needs to be reminded that life is not a constantly happy ride. There are ups and downs, joy and sorrow. And Rebecca L Marsh‘s characters keep reminding us of this. Perhaps, the one facet that keeps her books grounded in reality.

Well, all is said and done, Where Hope Is Found is an immensely gratifying tale. It shows that even when one’s life seems at the worst, there is always hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel, only we need to look for it. There is nothing that life does not give if we but reach for it.

Despite the sorrowful parts, Where Hope Is Found is a book with quite joyful. The optimism, the spirit of community, the kindness, and the support that the characters showcase is heartwarming. If everyone had but a bit of empathy, compassion and kindness for all other beings, this world would be a much better place. Where Hope Is Found is a book that showcases that even a little bit of all of these, goes a long way in changing lives around us.

With a simple and poignant tale, Rebecca L Marsh manages to add another great book to her repertoire.

Go read!

In case you were wondering about Rebecca L Marsh‘s other books, click on the links below.

When The Storm Ends

The Rift Between Us

The Hubris

While I have had a few good posts this year, my blogging schedule went downhill in August. After the revamp of this blog, August made itself known in a very depressing manner.

If you have read my blog previously, you will know there are a few cherished people I like. Some of them are even (gasps in horror) my relatives. Anyway, the news that came one night in early August was that my favourite aunt passed away.

It was a shock. She was well in the evening, and a few hours later, her neighbours inform us of her passing. Just like that life played its hand. My father of course was quite devastated. Someone he saw from day one of her life was now forever gone. We had to witness his breakdown after all the ceremonies were complete and he returned home.

Back then when lock-down procedures were in force, only my father, his brother and their sister went to bid adieu to their sibling. The three of them aren’t emotional beings. But the situation was one they could not tough it out. None of us could be there.

Life in August was filled with anxiety and worry. I can not by any measure claim August was the only month that was bad this year. The hubris that was a shroud around the way of life, or life as I know it is now gone. Shredded to threads by various circumstances. Worry over work, health, life, and what not. We could perhaps cover it all up and paste a smile, but I figure no one can see it with a face mask on.

We once looked up diy face masks, we still do. Only the context has changed. Our priorities are much more clearer. Fancy dinners out are now replaced by home cooked meals with the same cherished few. Long conversations over coffee, are not reduced to “Hey you, I am thinking of you” texts. And we mean every word of that message.

Life as it was has changed this year. 2020 has been many things, but most of all it has been a revelation. It has shown us what it takes to be humane and kind. It has shown us what life is all about and what are the things that we value the most.

I hope all of you, my dear readers, are well. Wishing happiness and health to everyone out there.

500!

The year was 2006. A June in 2006. That was when I started blogging.

A friend wanted to read some of my writing. Given that we weren’t in college anymore and that he was not even in the country, he was the one who goaded me to take the plunge into blogging.

Fast forward to now, when WordPress informs me that I have 499 posts in all. And I knew I had to make the next one especially special. When one looks at the count, 500 does seem like a paltry number when it has been over a period of 14 years.

Fourteen years has been a long time. Sharing my thoughts and rants with the world. There have been times when I have wanted to share happiness and when I have wanted to share my sorrow. There have been times when I have been so down that writing on this blog was the last thing I wanted to do. There have been times when I was busy to neglect the blog. Different times, different reactions, different approaches.

All through it, Frost At Midnite has been a solid presence. It has been an entity that has been a part of my mind constantly. Dulled by the glare of something else, put on the back burner for whatever took precedence at that time. But, there nonetheless.

Frost At Midnite has seen fellow bloggers come and go. I have missed some of them. I have found new blogs and bloggers to follow. From a personal blog to one where I share my interests, Frost At Midnite has transformed into something of a little showcase of my life.

Therefore, a milestone requires some prep. If you have noticed, you will have seen a new theme, some new graphics. A little dressing up here and there. Something to make sure that Frost At Midnite is still in vogue, and does not behave like the grand old dame that she can be taken for.

And this is a post for sole purpose of rounding off a fancy 500.

To many more milestones and achievements!

Week In Review – Weeks 9 & 10, 2019

This one was put off for a long time because I honestly did not feel like writing. I did not feel like writing about my life.

Besides all the things I have been doing and reporting on them nothing out of the ordinary happened. It was rather mundane. The one exception to that rule was last Thursday when I was rude to a customer service representative who called from Kerala matrimony. It was a conundrum, do I feel sorry for it – no. I had nothing personal against that person, but they represent a company whose practices I don’t much like and asking me to pay for 18000rs for it was taking it too far. I had to give free rein to the sharper side of my temper before I hung up.

Outside of this occurrence, I can report that I have been diligently keeping to my resolutions. All going fine.

And when it comes to life in general, it is summer. In Chennai. It doesn’t get better no matter how long we’ve been around. This year there is acute water scarcity as well. So it is horrid all around.

How have ten weeks gone by this soon??? In general, I am hoping that this lethargy when it comes to writing is done with soon.

Book Review – The Shrine of Death by Divya Kumar

Of all the things that being a Hindu entails, confusion is probably a significant one I’ve dealt with all my life. You see Hinduism has a lot of gods. There’s the Holy Trinity, their wives and children. Followed by a structure similar to a corporate hierarchy that has many many gods. The one thing I was told surely was that we were Vaishnavaites – devotees of Vishnu and most, or all, of his re-incarnations. But I have been taken along to Shiva temples and worshipped him as well. Besides if there is one massive benefit of being a Hindu, it’s the temple visit.

For obvious reasons, we all love the temple prasad, but every temple is unique. I’ve been to temples that were brand new and ones that were, allegedly, worshipped by gods and legends themselves. And where there is history, there is bound to be art. Every aspect of such temples is created with care. Be it the mural paintings of Kerala or the murals in Thanjavur’s Periya Kovil or magnificence of the Sun Temple at Konark – there is something unique about every temple. If the exterior is such, the deity was given more thought. Every temple has its own idol and there are enough tales to write a book on each of them. It is no doubt the cause for awe-inspiring reverence and gut-clenching greed. The latter has often led to many articles in the newspapers about misappropriation and theft.

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Divya Kumar in her book, The Shrine of Death, deals with idol theft. Prabha is an IT employee taking a sabbatical when she hears from a long lost friend, Sneha, who is in distress. Following her instinct, Prabha tries to help Sneha and sets off to find her. As she finds out more about Sneha’s life in the recent past, she makes new friends and develops a penchant for investigation. For someone who was working a desk job, randomly writing lines of code, solving a puzzle would be enticing. As Prabha retraces Sneha’s footsteps, she unearths a crime that would perhaps have gone unsolved, if not unnoticed. A few statues have gone missing from a recently discovered temple. Her friend’s disappearance and the idol theft are both connected. That’s about it I can divulge without giving away spoilers.

Now, The Shrine of Death is a very well-paced story. You can even figure out who the culprit is before it is revealed, but you’ll still want to read to the end. Unlike a typical thriller, Divya Kumar has managed to infuse romance and crime. Prabha, during the course of finding things out, ends up falling for the investigating officer. Anyway, all’s well that ends well for these two. The Shrine of Death is not your average thriller. In recent times there have been a few books that have dealt with the topic of idol theft and crimes in temples. The Shrine of Death differs from these in one aspect. There is not a lot of history amongst these pages, instead one finds a lot of different people and emotions. While we have encountered century-old tales in other books, that has been kept to a minimum in The Shrine of Death. As for the characters, we find a few very alike us, and then there are those whom we may not be able to relate to.

As the final puzzle pieces fit in, the reader gets a clearer picture of the hows and the whys. And of course the what-for – Money! The Shrine of Death was a very quick read. Its pace and writing were in sync and made for an enjoyable read. Definitely recommend!

You can pick up a copy of The Shrine of Death here – Amazon, Flipkart, AbeBooks.

Goodreads

The Shrine of Death by Divya Kumar

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Book Review – Circe by Madeline Miller

Before picking up the book, Circe was very similar to a BuzzFeed article for me. It showed up everywhere. It was on all of my feeds. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads… Circe was everywhere! Eventually, I gave in and began reading Circe.

Circe is a goddess. Born to Helios, the sun god and his wife Perse. As the eldest of the children, she is left to her own devices while her sister, Pasiphaë and brother, Perses, torment her. Her youngest brother, Aeetes, is her companion and she finds solace in him. Yet Circe is devastated when he moves on. A chance meeting with a mortal, Glaucos, Circe falls in love and using magic turns him into a demigod. Heartbreak follows when he chooses another over Circe. She retaliates by turning his intended into a six-headed monster. Eventually, all the guilt bubbles out and she confesses to her father, in front of everyone. It is only then that Helios realises that all his children from Perse are capable of magic and witchcraft.

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Zeus made aware of this situation by Helios exiles Circe while letting her brothers and sister get away, even though they possess similar powers. Circe is left alone on the island of Aeaea and there she spends her time. As centuries pass, Circe lives on the island and learns to harness the power within herself. Learning about all things living, mixing up potions that turn men into pigs and make the island look hostile to seafarers. The book, Circe, tells us her fascinating tale of magic, heartbreak, moving on and finally standing up for herself.

There are many tales of mythology that perhaps have already dealt with Circe in some capacity, Homers Odyssey being one. We’ve seen Circe depicted in different shades as well. But Madeline Miller‘s Circe is different. She is not just a goddess or a witch. She is not even simply a nymph. She is one of us. A daughter, a woman having to go through life bearing the consequences of someone else’s whimsy, cleaning up someone else’s mess. Circe, the nymph in Miller‘s book becomes a real living character, going through situations in her life and still striving to survive.

While the book may be one of the better tellings, for the general reader, it also becomes a journal giving insight into the workings of mortals and immortals alike. Where Helios could not see anything beyond his own brilliance, Circe sees it all. The shallowness, the penchant for rabble-rousing and the constant messing around in the lives of mortals. She also sees the frailty of human life, a sort of delightful difference from the mortality that binds her. Circe also sees the darkness clouding the beauty. Circe sees a lot and through her, we are given an insight into the workings of the mortal and immortal realm. And they are not very different from each other.

While the tidbits about the Minotaur and Icarus, Hermes and Odysseus etc were delightful, I loved best that Madeline Miller could make a goddess a mere mortal woman and show us that we, mortal women, go through the same situations in life. Maybe we do not have lions prancing about us and are incapable of mixing up a portion to turn men into pigs, but let’s confess there are times when we have thought about the latter.

All in all, a great book! Definitely, recommend.

You can find a copy of Circe here – Amazon, Flipkart, Kobo, Google Books, iBooks

PS – I know I haven’t aligned the featured image properly, the text is a bit off. 😐 I blame the summer!

Goodreads

Circe by Madeline Miller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Week In Review – Week 17, 2018

50 Posts done this year! I consider that an achievement for I am no the most prompt and motivated at writing. And that was when I started writing this post. Now it is 52. I am on a roll!!!

What happened last week – here are the details.

On Tuesday I decided to get back to driving. Now, I got my license over a decade ago. But what with the easy availability of cabs and autos, (and the additional perk of not having to deal with the headache of finding a parking space) I just did not drive around much. It has been two years since I drove myself anywhere. So Wednesday early in the morning, I got out of bed at an ungodly hour and went with daddy. It was not much trouble to regain the sense of it, but I must tell you I do not particularly enjoy it. I consider a necessary evil. Of all the means of transport, I have access to, I prefer walking the best. If the weather permits, Chennai was made to be a walking city. Pity not too many realise it.

Then there was a trip to the BSNL office. So, this office is the one of Greams road and shares the campus with the income tax office as well. There are times when stupidity is astounding. While I was there, about 70% of the consumers were senior citizens. The rest were people who accompanied them. I went along with my father as well. There were just a handful of youngsters who wanted to check out new plans for their prepaid connections. This office is situated in a building which is accessed by steps…. a whole lot of them. And these steps are wide, like a few meters between rails. Such a delight for all those ageing knees. It is not an easy thing to have to traverse through when you have a walking stick or any other aid. A sensible design would have provided for a ramp for these people. Forget senior citizens, it is not at all accessible to those wheelchair bound. What if a visitor is someone who has a disability walking? It is sad to realise that a public space was not designed with all of the public in mind.

Then there were the matches. During the match with Bangalore, my mom was continuously cribbing about the lack of CSK flags, scarves and posters. But she did say that the win was deserved since the losers did harass the fans and weren’t sporting. Of course, the match on Saturday was another story. We lost. And deservedly so. There is another match today and since it is CSK, god only knows what will happen. But, win or lose it is bound to be entertaining.

All CSK fans, during every CSK match!!!

This past week was a bit too dull for me otherwise. I have been sticking to reading ebooks only. I really do not want to deal with a book in this weather when all I am doing drinking water and sweating it out. No buy is going fine. And I am thinking about taking up another language. I am considering German, but I haven’t yet made a decision. I am open to suggestions though.

How has your week been?

And somehow, with the month ending on a Monday, this weekly review makes me rather glad. I feel like I am tying things off rather neatly. I can really not put my reasoning into words, but it is what it is.