A Gentleman in Moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow truly is an enthralling novel that is based on a fictional character Count Alexander Rostov, a count under house arrest at a posh hotel after Russian revolution. The story unfolds with concurrent rise in communism in Russia and the author wonderfully captures the sociopolitical situation as the story of the Count unfolds in that hotel where he has settled into a routine. The routine is disturbed when a he meets a little girl staying at the same hotel whom the count finds intriguing enough to let her show him a thing or two, to make him experience a thing or two, in his otherwise routine life. Count's life in his microcosm is enriched by characters that he interacts on a daily basis such as the the chef and the host of the restaurant where count works as a head waiter. Also, included as his well-wishers are bell boys and a hotel seamstress, Maria. Oh and let's not forget Anna, a film star who is secretly having an affair with count. The story takes an unusual turn when count is forced to take care of a kid which he grows fond of as time progress and eventually adopts her as his daughter. The whole while count Rostov is secretly devising a scheme to flee his house arrest which he accomplishes in a well planned way after he dispensing with his fatherly obligations.

Overall, fans of fiction and nonfiction are equally sure to enjoy this book. The characters are believable , the narrative is coherent, the language is refined, the times post Russian revolution early 20^th century.

Mandela and the General

Thank you Plough Publishing for forwarding me the unpublished copy of Mandela and the General for review. The book goes in publication on Nov 5th. 

This being my second nonfiction graphic novel, I certainly liked this more than my first one on Andy Warhol. The art work is really good and the text is not too "loud" as some graphic novels have. The author manages to capture the essence of relation between Nelson Mandela and General Constand Viljoen. It was through the mutual respect of both the men  that they were able to avoid a massive bloodshed between blacks and south African whites. Although, the books does not go into details, a reader can get a good idea of the political situation at that time. 

It is a quick read and will make a good gift for young adults or anyone who likes reading nonfiction graphic novels.

Becoming Andy Warhol

Thank you Abrams Books for forwarding me a copy of Becoming Andy Warhol's latest edition. This book is my first comic book and I didn't know if I will end up being a fan of comic books or abandon them forever. Well, I am on a fence with my decision. While the pictures and illustrations are done well, it is hard to figure out the characters and who says what making it difficult to follow the story. Also, the story is fast forwarded version of Andy's struggle with art world and his eventual fame as a pop artist. I personally didn't enjoy it as much as I like a coherent story versus having to decipher the emotions, expressions and verbal tone from graphics. But if you are fan of adult comic books then you might want to check this book out.  Keep up the good work Nick Bertozzi and Pierce Hargan.

P.S: I still think I should buy the illustrated/graphic version of American Gods.

P.S: The first Andy Warhol art piece I saw was at my residency director's office. That was my introduction to pop art.

The Last Palace - Europe's Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House by Norman Eisen

Thank you Penguin Random House for sending me this unpublished copy (now published as of Sept 4^th) for review.

The Last Palace by Norman Eisen (US ambassador to Czech Republic) is truly an amazing read. To learn the history you can read books written by academic scholars and pour over historical documents which can be boring and downright depressing or you can study an object, a person, an event that has been affected politically, socially, culturally, etc during the time the history of which we are trying to study which in my opinion is more fun and better way of learning. That is exactly what Norman Eisen has done in this book. He takes us through the history of European empire particularly Czechslovakia starting from pre-WWII all the way up to now. The central object that the story revolves around is Otto Petschek's Palace that he obsessively tailored to his vision built just before WWII. How the lives of it's owner Petschek family and eventually it's various occupants were affected with rise of Fascism in Germany and later with Communism in Soviet and eventually establishment of democracy in Czech republic is so vividly articulated. The story of Petschek's Palace is the story of Czech republic in 20^th century. How US foreign policy played a role in helping oust Communism in Czech is worth admiring. All those US ambassadors standing up again Communist regime including Shirley Black, the celebrity actress and how she ushured in the democracy by peripherally supporting and being a witness of the revolution that overthrew the communist regime.

Overall, this is an amazing book that history buffs are sure to enjoy thoroughly.

Dear Los Angeles -The City in Diaries and Letters, 1542 to 2018

I bet everyone has some level of affection to their city, state or country. You know the place where you have lived for the most part of your life and there is something you miss  when you are away from your "home". But how about getting to know a city through other peoples experiences, better yet how about getting to know a place going back in time and how it has evolved over time by studying the contents of someone's diary and letters, not someone's, anyone's whose diary entries found a way into this book called Dear Los Angeles. Like the cover of this book says, it is a book of diary entries and letters from folks with intimate connection to Los Angeles. In it you will find entries by people you absolutely wouldn't have any idea who they are but then there are people such as Ray Bradbury, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, etc to name few well-known celebrities. That being said there is no particular order to this entries not is there any continuation a common theme. To an uninitiated this book might seem little bit on the edge of what we know to be a literary composition but quickly you start finding these entries entertaining and thought provoking. For example, my favorite is this one by some guy Ryan Reynolds from 2017 entry-" People in LA are deathly afraid of gluten. I swear to god, you could rob a liquor store in this city with a bagel.". There are also letters written to celebrities and politicians that captures the sociopolitical state during the time the entries were made. 

Overall, I found this book different, different than what we are used to. I suppose it would made a good addition as a  coffee table book. Flip open any page without having to worry about continuity, read a paragraph and be done with that chapter. Open a random page next time and do the same.

A Change of Hate - By Joe Broadmeadow

Once in a while I read fiction to let my workout my creative side and this book did the job quite well. Don't want to give away the plot but it is an intriguing tale that centers on Samson Armstrong's murder, Director of Homeland Security. Defending the suspect is a flamboyant lawyer Mr. Bennett and his team with colorful characters as Chris, former police officer turned private investigator and Maggie, his co-counsel. Representing the government is AUSA Ms. Esposito whose character in the book has no variation, just someone representing the government. We have Vietnamese mafia to add a little spice to the story and whole lot of characters trying to protect wrongdoings from the government officials. The court drama which is half the book is pretty good as well. Keeps the book glued to your hands. Overall, I think this is an interesting and quick fictional read.