About a Boy- Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is fast becoming a writer whose book ill pick up simply because his name is there on the cover. And I have only read two now. About a Boy is the charming tale of a boy named Marcus who is too old for his years and a man named Will who has never grown up. And like the book says , If Will can show Marcus how to be a boy, perhaps Marcus can show Will how to grow up. Endearingly funny , well paced , a must read.

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

A story about betrayal and redemption, that could have been written by any of the bollywood scriptwriters. Full of clichés and coincidences and every trick in the book designed to appeal to your emotions, but breathtakingly written. Especially in the first half of the book where you can feel and identify with the protoganist and see the world through his eyes. However the latter half of the book seems rushed in comparison, as if the author wanted to reach the last scene which he had setup in the first part. But a touching scene nevertheless. This is a story about an afghan boy Amir and his relation with his father and  Hassan, a sort of servant who thinks the world of Amir. But Amir betrays hassan to win the love of his father, and the rest of the book is about how he earns redemption. Intermingled with some Afghan history , but really not using it for anything other than a faint backdrop, the author does capture the story very well. And the book has its coincidences and clichés but it is only coincidence for people who are not afghanis.

False Impression - Jeffrey Archer

It looks like the stint in prison hasn’t worked out for Jeffrey archer, false impression is boring predictable, coincidence ridden and full of two dimensional cardboard characters. It seems to be on the best seller lists though probably due to the authors past glory. The storyline is completely predictable, there is no real twist in the tale. The only humorous part in the whole book is the introduction. The author has served 5 years in the house of commons , 14 years in the house of lords and two in her majesty’s prisons. The rest of the book? Not worth it!