A Review: The Silkworm, by Robert Galbraith

The Silkworm is the second book written by Robert Galbraith, the first being The Cuckoo Calling, in which we are introduced to ex-army Intelligence veteran, Cormoran Strike, private detective, and his pretty assistant, Robin. They operate a private detective agency in cold, grey smoggy London, where business has taken a lucrative turn owing to Strike's recent success in a very public, tricky case.

When Leonora Quine, the wife of absentee eccentric gothic gore writer Owen Quine , reaches out to Strike, to find her abconding husband, Strike begins to trace Quine's footsteps. Central to this is unravelling the mysteries of a book that Quine recently wrote,  Bombyx Mori , which has angered and alienated fellow writers, publishers and loved ones, the pages of which contain clues to his disappearance. When his body is discovered in an empty house, mutilated,  Strike must unravel the clues he is presented with, both literary and physical, to find his killer.
him, asking him to find her missing husband, Strike and Robin enter the literary world, to try and track him down. Central to his disappearance is the last book he wrote and aimed to publish,

We move through Strike's headspace, London through his eyes, however grimy, made picturesque through the author's writing. Elaborate sentence construction, vivid descriptions and plenty of attention paid to the protagonists' personal lives gives us  a different detective . Cormoran Strike is not Sherlock Holmes, and he certainly isn't Hercule Poirot. He is a normal man with a past, a present and preoccupations, who happens to solve puzzles and play private eye for a living. He worries about crime, loves football, alternately drinks tea and coffee, broods over an ex,visits his sister and worries about the bills.

In a highly descriptive book, focusing on the investigation itself wasn't easy, the book , while a literary treat to read and sink into, lacked the necessary brevity of a mystery novel. Most mystery novels become exciting because the readers get to think alongside the action in the book , and the suspense heightens when you reach the solution, and see what the detective has to say. Things are not so clear in Silkworm, for Galbraith scatters evidence mired in long literature, and perhaps only a highly alert reader would have the whole story fall into place alongside reading.

In that sense, the writing here is really mature, and Galbraith writes like a pro. (She's a pro, really, Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for a very well known writer. Go check. ). Even if it weren't revealed, the writing style hasn't been very different from that person's other best sellers, though it may have worked in other genres, it might still need to evolve to suit mysteries.

Galbraith's writing is reminiscent of a Dickensian approach, and the emotional graph of the toll a mystery takes on the people involved, is reflected too, for which the writer has my respect. Galbraith has successfully avoided the racy pattern of the current generation of mystery and thriller writers, or the unwitting protagonist model (I've honestly wondered why Dan Brown's Robert Langdon never wonders why these weird adventures happen only to him, but that's for later) . The characters are cmfortable with social media and use it to their advantage.  Characters are actually quite solid. We can actually imagine living through the controversies, the pain and uncertainities accompanying them, and I should say, one can really admire Strike's will to act decisively , regardless of the many things dragging him down, both in the case and personally.

The characters grow on you and maybe, once we read the book, we feel as if we've made new friends. It is a good read, best read slowly , paying careful attention, on a cold Sunday morning with a hot cup of tea.

Exercising Choice.

We , Indians, are citizens of the world’s most populous democracy. We have recently been boasting of voter turnouts in millions, and of making elections phenomenal. Our elections are the sites of major drama, and our politics the stuff of black crime film. A sizeable percentage of our population is currently comprised of young people, below the age of twenty five, starting out, finishing education, embarking on careers.

We the youth want memorable college with money to spend and no one to question where it goes. We want to pick the people we bond with, we want to gain what we want. We want to be able to prove first to ourselves and then to the people around us that we are truly progressive, all the while wallowing in lifestyles of irresponsibility and decadence. And we sure as hell don’t want to have anything to do with politics. Because politics is for thieves who prove themselves incompetent everywhere else.

A recent statistic showed what the youth actually thought. That over forty percent thought that a certain degree of violence is inevitable in relationships. Never mind that doing so is breaking the law to begin with. And a whopping 60 percent  felt we needed a dictator, a stable central authoritarian figure to rule decisively, if we were to develop.

The last observation worries me to no end. Because it proves a worrying trend that has only intensified.

The youth of the nation are not decisive. They lack the conviction to form opinions, to stand up and defend their opinions with integrity. They simply do not want to be burdened with the necessity to make a decision. They also refuse to take responsibility for things that lie beyond their immediate doorstep, things they clearly affect both directly and indirectly.  Decisiveness and responsibility are not traits. They are habits that need to be formed, cultivated and reinforced.  Habits shape the person, and the person shapes society. A youth, where decisiveness and responsibility are no longer important reinforceable habits, we see an unstable society.

Wait. Hold on.

Cool it woman, you say. Just where is this coming from? Sit down and tell me what’s bothering you.

For a very long time, I have come across and been surrounded by people who talk more than quite a bit and do not take action. They come up with endless analyses, complain loudly enough for passers by to get hearing aids, about anything and everything; the weather, the state of the roads, the crappy food, the laundry lady, the lack of hygiene, traffic, their annoying boss , their annoying co-workers, the nosy neighbours, and the traffic, the state of illegal construction, the bribes they had to pay to get the job done, and how India’s a corrupt country that’s going to burn in hell, politics, dirty politics and fat corrupt politicians and how nobody is doing anything about it and how nothing can be done about it at all since India’s a corrupt god-forsaken country that’s going to burn in hell.

All in all, they were complaining about the very things they pay taxes to achieve, but refuse to make decisions about, or take responsibility for decisions that have to be made at some point on an individual level, for things to succeed nationally. We wanted the right to vote universally, but we refuse to position leaders citing lack of choice.  In the absence of choice, when the right thing to do would have been for a responsible citizen to stand up and take up the mantle, the voting youth elected a government that promises to be decisive, and had a plan in place, and set out to make things happen, in contrast to the previous ruling government, which was characterised by indecisiveness arising out of coalition compulsions, however good their intentions may have been. And few well educated citizens, decisive leaders with a plan to match, or responsible youth stood up in the elections to challenge either. 

Guys, the elections are perhaps the single biggest chance to for people to pick a leader. A leader who would take responsibility for their position, and act decisively.  By wishing for a dictatorial form of government, we are suspending the fundamental right that makes us a democracy , the right to choice. The right to choice is the underlying axiom that governs our existence today worldwide, and has framed the Human Rights laws that every country is expected to follow without fail. The same laws that make it possible to do the many things that we take for granted today, and make it possible for us to live, with the guarantee of a modicum of safety, security and dignity. And we are wishing away precisely the action of making that choice, of deciding, and being responsible about the decision. Educated people in the country who have the expertise to make decisions and take responsibility are shying away from doing so.We are comfortable with someone else making crucial choices for us, that we don't want to concern ourselves with, but are happy to criticize once decisions are taken. 

I suppose it has to do with the kind of conditioning we receive. I see kids across the country not participating in activities, because parents don’t want to exhaust them with the need to participate, to learn , grow and take responsibility. They prefer a silent kid , head bowed over a book while the mother runs the errands , the father works double shifts to pay bills, fetches the kid a glass of milk, coddle and coo over a report card while sending them to expensive tutoring . Even social sciences, civic sense and political and historical awareness take a back seat in favour of the sciences and Mathematics, things that are factual , and can be learnt with empirical analysis, but will not teach you righteousness, decision making or judgement.  And what do these children grow up to be?

 Raj Koothrappali.

Every instance growing up, where a child plays, learns, interacts, make decisions, gains confidence, learns to take responsibility, acts with maturity, interacts with people, grows to gain integrity, and becomes a well polished human being are systematically eliminated by well-meaning parents who are under the deluded impression that a perfect score hat trick report card is a direct passport to a big fat wallet , a fancy job title under a fancy large firm and the right to brag. This is for their future , parents argue.  Right, who wants to hire a person who cannot take a quick decision, wants to cover his back, cannot work with a team, cannot handle diversity, does not know how to go around challenges , and more importantly, is not a responsible human being? I can name hundreds of instances where a rosy report card was passed over for a person who was both decisive and responsible. I myself am not the paragon of the virtues I desperately wish to see, but I do recognise those flaws in me as something that needs urgent address.   

All of this points to a youth in India, who are endowed with everything pampering hardworking well-meaning parents want to bestow, but with none of the spine and the pluck that deserves it.

Responsibility and decision.

Two traits that could pretty much fix all of the problems this country is facing. We need one responsible individual for every hundred at the very least, to step up and take the mantle. We need the hundred people to pick out the one person, to be responsible and have the back of the one person who is entering the arena. And we need to make that decision. The decision to support the decision making of the person we entrusted responsibility to . The responsibility to carry out the spirit of these decisions of our leader to the last letter.  And take the decision and fulfil the responsibility of holding the person who does not fulfil their responsibilities accountable.

Back to the dictator we wanted.

Who is a dictator really? A person with absolute power. A person who knows he has absolute power , because he acts. He is decisive. He is responsible to his decisions. But the sense of responsibility towards his people fizzles out because no one holds him accountable. He has free reign, we have given it to him. There is nobody else like him, taking and executing the same visions as he is, in parallel in the same situation. Need I remind you about what happened the last time a dictator came into power? The second World War took place. Because Hitler decided he was going to be decisive but not responsible toward the communities that were excluded. And exactly how many other Germans rose to challenge him at that time? Would Hitler have gotten away with what he did had other equally decisive, responsible visionaries risen on German soil to challenge him? Maybe Germany would have been equally developed as it is today, but would have stood with an easier national conscience.

When we ask for a dictator, we are suspending our rights to take a decision, and own responsibility for that decision. Something that is a larger symptom of a daily lethargy to make decisions and take responsibility towards all areas of our own lives.

The right to choice was something India and Indians did not have decisively until 1947. Both men and women, regardless of community, cultural leanings, received the right to vote. The right to put people into office was a hard earned freedom. They knew the value of making decisions. Decisions were made every single day. Responsibilities were upheld every single day, starting from cleaning up at, home, getting paperwork done and paying the bills, to deciding who stands for office, what policies to put in place, how to face challenges and alleviate distress in the face of disaster.

It is time for us to do the same. Take responsibility, people. Step up. Make the decision to be the best person you can be and do the best that you can do. If you have the right to complain, you have the responsibility to address the complaint, and find a solution to the problem. Start with your own lives.

Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached.

A Review: Half Girlfriend, by Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat once remarked that English is India's new caste system. He couldn't be more correct. This view point is aptly put across in his new book, Half Girlfriend .   Having been at the helm of a new wave of contemporary Indian writing, his books have been filled with gritty experiences supplemented with a very Bollywood-ish optimism, making them very easily readable by young Indian masses.  The plots are not complicated, the characters have something relatable, and there is an element of fundamental upbeat hope in his stories better than any Slumdog Millionaire. I had read some of his books before, some enjoyable, others uncomfortable, but this one will be the first reviewed formally. 

The story is that of Madhav Jha, descendant of the royal family of the Princely state of Dumraon , in Buxar, Bihar. Over generations, having lost their family wealth, the respect and honour of the title and the responsibilities it bore for the people of their region were what he and his mother were left with. A rather unsophisticated Bihari boy with little command over english, he secures a sports scholarship for basketball in St Stephens, one of posh Delhi's elite colleges. He meets the lovely, sophisticated english speaking Riya, from a wealthy business family through basketball, and is instantly smitten.

 But Riya isn't . She sees him as a friend, while he wants a serious relationship. His halting english, relative lack of sophistication, no obvious wealth, and perceptions, are but some of the hurdles that  have to be crossed.  As time and distance become a new barrier, Madhav tries to fight to sustain his love, while being a prince to his people back in Bihar. Will he succeed in winning her love? Will he be  the Prince his people need? 

The struggles in this book are very real, as are the characters. The not so subtle discrimination between the have and the have-nots, between the english speakers and those that struggle with the language, perceptions o community and background are very real, and have been captured well. The way these dynamics affect the way a relationship is viewed is also seen. The plot is decent, and the storytelling language simple, in keeping with the protagonist's headspace . The intensity of emotions has not really come through though. Bhagat's strength here is his clear character creation of the protagonist. 

We don't see the female lead as well developed , in contrast. Her actual development comes towards the end of her story, but even those parts are predictable and cliched, with little to give her solid outlines. We see what the characters go through, but we can't feel them as well. His male characters are clear, but his female characters are superficial. Bhagat would do well to try and cross the age old barrier of "understanding women", and actually write a character a woman reader would give her thumbs up to and want to empathise with. 

I should say, romantic , or upbeat endings seem to be Bhagat's forte. This book is something easily adaptable to a Bollywood script, and is along the "Swades" lines. It carries the optimistic vision of social change that is characteristic of today's metro educated urban under forty Indians who want a transplanted Singaporeistic vision of tomorrow. 

A fun read on the whole, and can be finished in a single sitting of a few hours. Best enjoyed in short breaks in the office, with a cup of chai, or on the commute home. 

A Review: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, By Robert Kiyosaki

My father picked this book up in Bagdogra Airport,  telling me that he'd been recommended it, and it was a must read. He gave it to me to read on the flight and I'd finished with it by the time we landed. Rob Kiyosaki's advice got me thinking quite a bit. I am not a very financially savvy person, and given that my career is starting, it made sense to try and understand how to manage money. Having studied for four years in Gujarat, I was exposed to two sides; one, the face of the IIM graduates in the city, who spend two years and lots of money to study and earn an MBA, and go on to earning big bucks, and on the other hand practical,individual and  family run businesses, where the average education is high school, and the practicalities of running a business, gaining insight and acumen through experience, and being your own master was important. So this book , I hoped, might give me an insight here.

 Most of the self help books I've encountered , while containing important lessons, seemed like rewritten versions of each other, and seemed to focus on building the person and personality, whatever be the topic, with the winning smile characteristic of American salesmanship.

The book  , on the other hand, dealt with money. It deals with how both sides of the economic ladder
see money, what they do with it, and the kind of attitude moneymaking needs, tells us about the two father figures he had, a rich one, and a poor one, and the vast difference in the kind of advice he received from them, and his eventual choice of listening to his rich dad.

His book seems to challenge traditional middle class wisdom, of considering money to not be their cup of tea, of accumulating higher education, getting a job that paid you, and so on. The author says that every time we say things like, I can't afford it, we do not exercise our creativity, or the money making muscle. He emphasises , to begin, on the importance of gaining a practical financial education in the school going years itself, to help children and parents understand where their money goes, keep track of them, understand how the law works, and start consciously using the knowledge to make money grow. He states outright that his own interest is in making money, pure and simple.
He urges us to apply the same go-getter achiever attitude towards money matters as we would towards other important goals in life.

On the positive end, his book outlined and emphasised on things that could and should be implemented, such as diligent accounting, knowledge of the law, knowledge of finances, and how they would work, and so on.

On the downside, his book is a little putting off, in that , it is derisive of employees, the middle class, and those who steadily pursue higher education, stating that formal education has been framed to create employees, not employers. He suggests an attitude of doing away with them completely in favour of investing, business and entrepreneurship to say the least. Secondly, the strategies of personal experience in his book are written purely from the perspective of making money,rather than financial strategies implementable in various professional and personal contexts,  with money as the aim and the end goal.

To see it practically, most people worldwide focus on doing things, jobs and careers that bring them joy and happiness, and for whom,  intelligent money habits are similar to having a more balanced productive lifestyle, or rather, the result of the things they do in life. I doubt people set out "to make money" every morning. There have also been claims of the dubiousness of a lot of his stories. Not being an expert on financial matters in the Americas, I do not know how valid both sides of the claims are. Also, being in India, it becomes difficult to relate to the strategies in the book ,considering we would not have the same trade policies, the same tax laws, or similar financial conditions, It would take a fair amount of personal effort on the reader's end to be able to understand the financial framework India.

Have there been other books like this, maybe more Indian in context? I don't really  know, except recalling the odd non fiction book about the Ambanis, or a book about IIM's entrepreneurs, or the secrets of Gujarati trade practices.  But it would be nice to have a book that actually takes a good look at India's financial systems, and what financial strategies the average person can adopt to be financially secure and comfortable.

Would I recommend reading it? Yes, it is a decent book that kicks you out of procrastination and gets you to think about what you're doing with your money. But I would advise caution regarding strategies; this is an american book, for american audiences, with american financial conditions in mind. The Indian audience, the market, and even the financial guidelines will be different for us. This remains, to the effect , another motivational book for us. But do get down to doing your accounts! And pay attention to where your money is going!!!