The Old Man And The Nymph

Old people, when they are young, they lived as if there was no tomorrow. They smoked, drank, fell in love many times, had no stable married lives, never took care of children, gambled, were kicked out of job for indiscipline, smoked grass, marijuana and hallucinated that they would be young forever. The years slipped from their hands and old age just sort of crept up on them. 

You have had your life old man; you deserve what you are today.

• Vipin Behari Goyal{The old man and the nymph}

Name: The Old Man and The Nymph 

Author: Vipin Behari Goyal 

Publishers: BLACKBUCK Publications

ISBN:978-163102608-9

Star Rating: 3.75/5!

This story is one of the most unique books I have ever read so far. What makes this book different? The story which is truly based on a Greek Myth changes when you look at it from one perspective where you will be looking at the story of an old pervert who tries to entice three innocent girls. From another perspective the story tries to convey the hidden depths an evil within the humans that surfaces when it knows that the environment is supportive. It also shows human interaction transcending age, where age is not the bar to feel good or happy. It’s just mind over matter regarding when a person actually grows old.

The story is divided into five parts. Each in written in multiple point of views. But it is not jumbled and is organised in the way the opinion shifts slowly from subtle theme to more philosophical theme with a lot of depth to it. The shift is rather slow, as the reader is gradually made to look at each character, understand their opinions, live a little with them, and then the author leaves the power completely in the hands of the reader to decide and judge the decisions of each of them. Did they deserve their happiness? Did they deserve the pain? Was the joy and sorrows balanced?

The amazing thing about the book is, each reader can come to a different conclusion and each one of it may be right.

Also added to that is the elaboration on the thoughts of old age. Everyone thinks that at that stage of life it’s just a count down till death. But here the author has shown how it’s not exactly true. Death has it’s time and way to come and go, while life, as long as it lasts is still a gift and can determine the fate of the those who get left behind.

This book is very philosophical with a blend of myth. But as always the author has based the story close to home in India. The description of nature in its elemental beauty was my absolute favorite. Some things of the book doesn’t actually set in with an orthodox view we hold towards Indian settings, but I think those do exist, even though it’s well hidden. Bringing them to light is a feat of its own!

I thank the Author for sending me this wonderful book! This is my second book from the author and very different from his book Maya In Search Of Tantric Father.

Also my next book also will be by the same author! And it is ***Drum Rolls*** Tall Man Small Shadow{I really like the name of the book!}. I’m pretty excited about that book as well!

 

A Muddy Red River

“I have not read another book after that, It kind of ruined the experience of reading for me. Not in a bad way though.”

“How is something ruined in a good way?”

“I mean it was so good that I doubted whether anything else I read subsequently could match it or even get anywhere near it.”

-D.A.Cairns(A Muddy Red River)

Name: A Muddy Red River 

Author: D.A. Cairns 

Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press

ISBN:978-1-62420-163-9

Star Rating:4.5/5!

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The description does not tell the whole truth about the book. It talks of a story about two brothers and their journey through ups and downs in life. That’s not completely true. Here is my thought about the book:

According to me, the story started off with two brothers of which one seems good and can take white and the other seems bad, taking black. For me Rob, the younger brother, was white, because he was true to himself and enjoyed his freedom.

Shane was black to me as he was such a big loser, flirting with his female students and nearly harassing them, all the while claiming to be loving his wife. I instantly hated him.

The book in the first few parts is bleak, dark and talks about drug, alcohol and Thai clubs.

If that isn’t enough it opens with quotes such as:

A spark of desire ignited a blaze of obsessive infatuation which was so unexpected and so aggressive that Shane had insufficient time to even think of defending the castle of his integrity

But, don’t despair, after ten pages you will get used to the author’s literary prowess. Once you get used to it, you start craving for those amazing metaphors and descriptions of each incident you get by.

Now for what I think the author is conveying in those 300 pages.

In a line: “What do you say when you learn that someone you have known your whole life, your brother, has murdered a man?”

The author has brought some profound knowledge about life, problems, death, loss and even God. When starting off the situation in the story may seem dark, but you will eventually see the grey shades emerge. The person in white shows his dark side and the person in black shows his bright side. It talks about how these sides of a person emerge when he is under stress, loss or in a huge emotional turmoil.

The author is spectacular is showing the different faces of the characters through different colored glasses. You will see them love, lose their love, drown in problems, get back on their feet, get slammed by their own grief and still come out together with the help of their family and bonds they share which cannot be wiped out by distance or time. There are situations where I cried with the characters and laughed at the absurdity of the situation they were in.

“What happened to us?”

“Life happened to us”

Also there are times which tell the blunt truth of life to your face:

“What lies beneath the obvious is the crux; the heart of the matter. When the heart is laid bare the depths are plumbed and real healing can occur.”

But the most important thing that one can feel while reading the book is:

“We have choices and we live with consequences of our decisions, whether good or bad, right or wrong. Our destiny is to some extent always in our hands, though we remain ever vulnerable to the whim of fate.”

With a mix of humor, sarcasm, precision threading between black and grey, the author brings out the best from the story of two brothers. You can expect the story to go downhill at any moment and you will be surprised when you see that nothing is happening the way it should. I had not expected this when I started reading and now this is my favorite book of the month!!