Bookreview

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Read so many good reviews of this book that I finally decided to give it a read. The book ‘A Study in Scarlet’ by Arthur Conan Doyle belongs to the genre of detective fiction, a genre I haven’t explored much and mainly deals with the themes of love, hate, injustice, murder, and revenge. The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, the story is told in the first-person narrative through the character of Doctor John Watson who serves in the British army as a doctor, however, is sent back to England as a result of an injury during the Anglo-Afghan War to recuperate from the mental and physical injuries from the war. Dr. Watson tells the readers about how he meets the “eccentric” Mr. Sherlock Holmes whom he met through an old colleague for the purpose of sharing an apartment. Soon, Watson discovers that Holmes is not an ordinary person but is a consulting detective, who advises other detectives through his ability of deduction and analysis.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou is her autobiography in which she relates the early years of her life and her transition from a child of a broken family and victim of racism to a survivor of child sexual abuse and rape, and a mother at the age of sixteen. The story is told through the perspective of Marguerite Johnson aka Maya Angelou, an African American girl who, as a result of her parent’s divorce was sent to Stamp, Arkansas along with her brother to live with her grandmother and uncle. The story is set during the 1930s, a time when Black Americans were not given their due rights, status, and respect and were treated as lesser beings by the whites. Moreover, they were persecuted and abused by the white supremacist group known as Ku Klux Klan for having a different skin color than theirs. The book illustrates Angelou’s struggle to accept herself, her identity as a black, and her fight for her rights as a colored American woman. This book also shows the nature of people in power and authority and how they enjoy abusing their power by oppressing the oppressed.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald revolves around the themes of loneliness, isolation, and the unattainable American dream of upward social mobility. The protagonist of the story is Jay Gatsby, a mysterious rich guy who threw big parties at his place. He is the one through which the writer shows the failure of the American dream. Set during the 1920s, a period also known as the Jazz age, characterized by the pomp and show by the rich and elite classes, “The Great Gatsby” indicates the American dream is nothing but a ruse, and no matter how hard a person tries to achieve it, it will remain unattainable to a person belonging lower-class. Society won’t accept him no matter what.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

The book “The Five People you Meet” in Heaven by Mitch Albom follows the life of Eddie, a lonely old man in his early 80s who works as a maintenance guy in an amusement park known as Ruby Pier. The story starts with the day of Eddie’s death when he dies saving a little girl from a falling cart in the park and subsequently lands in heaven where he meets five people who had directly or indirectly played a role in his life and change its course. Each of these five people sort of cleanse Eddie’s soul by explaining what happened to him and why it happened.

“Tales from Shakespeare” – Charles and Mary Lamb

The book ‘Tales from Shakespeare’ is a prose retelling of William Shakespeare’s plays, by Charles and Mary Lamb. Charles Lamb was a celebrated prose writer of the Seventeenth Century and ‘Tales from Shakespeare’ is a work that he wrote in collaboration with his elder sister Mary Lamb who was also a writer and poet, to acquaint young readers with Shakespearean plays.