Life...The Most Complicated Thought

The unexamined life is not worth living. ~Socrates

As It was Written by Sujatha Hampton


This book has been on my "Reading Now" shelf since February of this year. Due to hectic study schedule, I read about a page a day. After I finished the book, I could not decide what to think about this book. Before I write anything else, here is a short synopsis from B&N:

The epic journey of an Indian-American family which unfolds when men and women, Hindus and Catholics, histories and curses, collide.

 
In McLean, Virginia, Dr. Raman Nair lives a life of abounding satisfaction with his tiny wife, Jaya, and his harem of enormous and beautiful daughters. He has been away from his native Kerala, India for so long that he has happily forgotten the ancient Brahmin curse that follows his family like a black cloud, killing one girl for love in every generation. But his wife hasn’t forgotten, nor has his baby sister, Gita. Suddenly his daughters are up to no good and Dr. Raman Nair doesn’t know which way to turn.
 
Initial attraction to book was due to the cover. I am a sucker for books with cover that had something related to India. Then I read the short synopsis on the inside of the front cover, which made me want to read this book even more.
 
I was very disappointed with the book. I felt the story had so much potential. The story of five sisters and Gita was too much to handle at one time. The story is mainly about two of the five sisters, Veena and Dhanya, Gita, and Omanakumari. Veena and Gita's portions were okay but every time Dhanya's story was mentioned, I cringed. I wanted to skip those portions. However, the way the whole book was formatted, I had to read it. The stories jumped around too much. I felt there was no organization to the book, which made it confusing. The only part that was somewhat organized was when Omanakumari's story was mentioned, but even that became confusing at times. There were bits that I enjoyed, which is why I finished the book. I don't even want to talk about the ending. I think Sujatha Hampton was inspired by M. Night Shyamalan when writing this book. Hopefully everyone gets this reference. I was expecting so much more from this book.
 
I give this book 6 out of 10.
 
So overall, I would not recommend this book; however, if you have spare time, you can pick up this book. It is an easy read. I would not say that I wasted my time reading this book, but I could have read something better. I think this is one of those books, where a week is enough. More than a week is waste of time. This is Sujatha's first book. I would give her another chance and read any books she writes in the future.

2 comments:

The cover is absolutely gorgeous, I agree! Too bad the book was bad.

 

Well...I am seeing both positive and negative reviews. I wouldn't say the book was bad. I just didn't enjoy it as much. I guess I went in with very high expectations.

 

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