An ode to the Potter fan in me......

I know I have been shamefully laid-back about blogging over the last few days…..but that’s because there’s been a lot of new things happening in my life….

Awrite…I do not plan to bore you busy bloggers with tales of a 24 year old’s life. But as usual, I’d like to share my thoughts….

I’m reading (actually I’m going to complete it today, I know , that’s slow….) Harry Potter (7)…..And the avid Potter fan that I am, I keep pondering over it for quite sometime during the day…..

At the risk of being a spoiler (I assume most, interested to read, have already read it), I think I expected a lot more from this book than what it gave me. There were answers to all questions alright. But the unpredictability was somehow lost. Blame it on the (unnecessary, I daresay) hype surrounding its release or my over-estimation, I confess that this book has not lived up to my excitement.

I have always vehemently opposed Potter cynics when they said it was just another over-hyped story book. I stick by that even today. Its not!!! It is undoubtedly a well framed creation by a lady who knows exactly how to touch the chord of one and all…..But there’s absolutely no denying that Madame Rowling has tried to mix elements from (fairy) tales all over the world….and has been somewhat successful in that ,may I add….I feel, however, the essence and innocence of the initial few books has been progressively diminishing….

I am enjoying every bit of the book…..but somewhere deep down it has failed to satiate what I was looking forward to….I know that’s absolutely abstract….but that’s how it is….

For the heck of being with “the boy who lived” till the very end (I doubt that very much though)….go get yourself a copy!!!

The Catcher in the Rye

I just finished reading “The Catcher in the Rye” this morning. “A cult book” as one of my friends calls it…
An absolute marvel…I am so glad I read it…..So I just had to write about it in my web space!!!

There’s hardly any point writing about the story as I assume I’m one of those unfortunate few to have read this book so late in my life (Boy! !!Do I sound old??!!).But the subtlety in the book’s fascinating…if you happen to get them…. that is….

Frankly speaking, I’ve never been intrigued by the “inner meanings” of many books. But this one was an exception. How a 17 year old’s interpretation of the world and its people could actually reveal the futility of the conventional norms of society is amazing!!

The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, hardly ever misses calling people “phony” (I suppose that’s the most frequently used term in the novel).His world almost collapses as he realizes his solitude and seclusion from most people in the world (except maybe his sister Phoebe).Apparently its just a teenager talking about few days of “freaking out” .The subtle meaning however, is indicative of how our world’s so pretentious and weird.

I thought the title was absolutely apt. It’s from a Thomas Burns’ poem containing these words whereby a catcher stands all day at the cliff “catching” any child who’d fall off the gorge. It explains Holden’s state of mind where he wants to protect a child’s mind from the atrocities of adulthood….or maybe his own self.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read (and hasn’t already read it!!).I enjoyed the book and hope you do so too….