Understanding the truth behind the doctrines and practices of Mohammedanism

                                                                    Actual life in the Turkish harem

             
                                                               
                               Book Summary    

There is a popular adage “Never judge a book by its cover”. I would like to add “Never judge a book by its title”. This was a book not recommended by any friend, but that fell into my lap accidentally. Curious and apprehensive, I had turned the pages of this book unsure of what they would contain.

As opposed to my misconception that this book would contain gory details about how people of Turkish origin mistreat their wives or how the women of Mohammedan household meet a macabre fate lest they try to escape the walls that imprison them and bound them only to appease the sexual appetite of their men, this book explains the essence of tenets of Mohammedanism and its limited relevance to today’s society. While the book outlines the manner in which the Prophet had laid down the principles while explaining the reasons behind them, it also helps understand how the ideologies of “veil & shawl” or that of “polygamy” has only led to moral debasement of the people belonging to this faith.

The author of this book explains how the influence of the Western world coupled with the unwavering determination of Turkish women to express themselves and use their intellect for purposes other than child bearing will one day compel and inspire the staunch Mohammedans to look upon their women as equals and grant them equal rights from which they and their ancestors have remained deprived for the past so many centuries.                                                                                  
                                                                           
                                                                             Book Review

If you are looking to buy a book that criticizes the tenets of a religion different from yours, then this book is definitely not for you. This book is an impartial take on what Mohammedanism is, the potential reasons behind its rigorous, old-fashioned and incomprehensible principles that its followers so vigorously support and protect. In addition, staunch ideologists and theologians have shown averseness to mending the religious precepts in accordance with changing times, thus, resulting in these being largely criticized and discarded by its followers and others.

The author is objective in his approach. He neither demeans nor applauds the doctrines of Mohammedanism; instead he explains all he learned from his first-hand experiences pursuant to interviews with Turkish women and highly respected theologians, thus, allowing the readers to form opinions of their own.

                                                                  Book Recommendation

I am going to recommend this to those who read sans any preconceived notion of the contents of any book or harbor misconceptions regarding the same. This book explains why some of the principles of Mohammedanism, referred to as the modern day Islam, now considered redundant and useless, had their base in the barbaric life which the Arabic people lived in ancient times. The need to put their lives in order and protect the dignity of the fair gender inspired a compilation of principles under a common belief called Mohammedanism as we know today.

An Intriguing Story of Love and Betrayal

                                                       
                                                          The Girl on the Train

                                      

                                         Book Summary   
                     

What happens when you jump into someone else’s business? Well, people disregard you as a rubbernecker. And the more you do it believing that you have a role to play in other people’s lives, the more you find yourself entangled in their problems unnecessarily. Being lonely, frustrated and aimless can be a messy affair for a young woman, the condition gets worsened when she tries to solve other’s problems regardless of her own. The book mainly revolves the lives of two women, Rachel and Megan. They are eerily similar in the sense that both suffer from extreme stress, are inclined to worry endlessly and feel lonely despite being surrounded by people who care for them. They however differ in the way they look at life and love.

The author has chosen the train not only as the characters’ way to commute, but also to explain the continuity of life with its regular jerks and jolts. 

                                                                Book Review

The story starts on a very placid note. The author tries to build a feeling of thrill and apprehension, which most readers long for, around the life of a lonely and alcoholic woman whose tendency to over imagine situations and things leads her to construct and deconstruct human characters in, more or less, an ethereal form. She longs for what she has lost, while mourning for what she cannot have.

The story starts with a journey of a woman on a train that gradually dissolves itself into the journey of her life. The author takes her readers through the emotional roller-coaster ride of her characters and their whims and fancies at times exacerbated due to drinking problems or unwarranted anxiousness. In between the pages, the author finds an extraordinary tale woven with episodes of misconstrued love, ubiquitous passion, unbridled lust, and lastly betrayal before the characters find themselves back on their tracks. It is difficult to pinpoint which character feels the most betrayed, as every character gets trapped in a web of lies as each one’s life is interspersed with another’s happiness. 

                                                               Book Recommendation 

This book would score high in the minds of people inclined towards thrill and adventure. As opposed to most contemporary American authors who induce alien characters or supernatural beings or state-of-the art time machines and technology to induce thrill in the minds of their readers, this book is different. This book explains how life can take a sudden turn for better or worse without a forewarning and how each person views life based on past experiences. All the characters in this book live in the moment rather than plan their actions keeping future consequences in mind. 

                                                                  




                                                                                                   

A Woman’s Silent Resistance to Calamities within and Outside

          

                        The House I Loved  

                                             
                          Book Summary

Rose is determined to go against the order of the state and protect the walls of her family home. She is alone in her struggle considering that her neighbours and friends had long given up the idea to protest against the order of the Prefect. While deciding never to part with the house, she decides to hide herself in its cellar. Her loneliness makes way for her past to reappear in her memories that she pens down in her letters to her late husband Armand. But, is it only the fear of losing her home that weighs heavy on her mind or are there any dark secrets that the walls of the house hold within? 

                                 Book Review

“Living in Paris under the reign of our Emperor and our Prefect was like living in a besieged city invaded daily by dirt, rubble, ashes and mud.” Rose Bazelet in her letters to her husband describes how the idea of modernization of Paris had forced many families to vacate their homes and flee in search of refuge in other cities. Hiding in the cellar of her own house, Rose recounts the happy days she had spent with her family within its walls and the horrors she had experienced, but not dared to share. Relieved that the letters she is writing would be read by none, Rose recounts the nightmare that had been haunting her for the past 30 years, the pain of being assaulted by a man in her neighborhood, her arduous life as Armand’s widow and the pain she continues to feel for her dead son. 

                                                             Book Recommendation     

Some people like to read fiction. Some like to stick to the non-fiction genre for its realistic approach. This book adheres to both the kinds of readers. A fictional story about a widow’s struggle to protect and secure her home based on events that had taken place while Paris was being remolded and redesigned.

The plot of the story revolves around the heart-wrenching circumstances that most Parisians had to experience when they had received the order to vacate their houses in order for them to be razed down to complete the new and modern making of Paris. Alas, for some people, houses are more than just bricks and mortar. They are like souls without which lives cannot be imagined.

The author by writing this book accomplishes her mission in dishing out a story that is both compelling and forceful in spirit. 

                                                                                

                    

The Palace of Illusions: Contemporary Outlook of a Timeless Epic

                             The Palace of Illusions
                                        
                                    Book Summary

No matter how strong you may believe yourself to be, circumstances have the ability to bend and mold you accordingly. Draupadi learns this the hard way. Though the book is an attempt to relook at Mahabharata from a woman’s angle, the lines between the pages highlight the plight of a woman and her destiny decided not as per her choice, but by the men in her life and family. The princess’ secret desire for Karna is dissolved when the latter prompts his friend Duryodhan to disrobe her in front of the entire Hastinapur court.

Draupadi gets entangled in a tumultuous state of affairs because of the foolishness and egoistic outlook of men in her family. Her wounded pride that seeks respite only in revenge and blood befalls a curse on the entire clan that ultimately claims all concerned to doom and death.

The book differs from the original epic in its differential outlook between the good and bad. There is no evil or virtue involved; it is only the heart that is constantly at conflict with the mind. 

                                     Book Review

This book is not an abridged version of Maharashtra as opposed to popular understanding. It is an in-depth view of how mortal beings behave in particular situations notwithstanding their own principles and opinions on the same. This book details a princess’ understanding of the times when humans and gods crossed each other paths and influenced each others’ lives, the former being more impelled and motivated by views of the latter. This book is not a single story, but rather contains a bunch of stories skillfully embedded and woven within a story.  Apart, the language used is simple, lucid and interesting.

                                   Book recommendation

For those interested to know about times when mythological figures roamed the earth and revelations of the future were made well in advance to those struggling against the present and waiting to escape its clutches, this book is a sure shot interesting piece. With each character etched in this book failing to deal with psychological complexities complicated further by religious views and occult practices coupled with myths and superstitions, this book will keep its reader glued till the last page.