Review: Be Careful What You Wish For

Be Careful What You Wish For by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As usual Archer spins a wonderful tale and keeps the reader engrossed throughout. Continuing with the fourth installment of Clifton Chronicles, this takes the reader through the lives of the Barrington and Clifton families. Love, death, conspiracies and plentiful suspense in this book. As usual Archer ends the book at a crucial juncture. You are left wondering what happens next and tempted to pick up the next book in the series.

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Review: Congo

Congo by Michael Crichton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was interesting in the second half with the first half using lot of technical jargon which almost made me abandon it halfway. Once you overcome the first half, it becomes interesting and edgy. The author has described the African jungles so vividly that you visualise it right before your eyes. All about an organisation's quest to explore blue diamonds which sends a woman, Karen Ross accompanied by a primatologist, Peter Elliot who becomes the central character along with his pet gorilla, Amy. You feel for Amy when she converses with her handler Peter Elliot. The expedition is led by a mercenary turned expert jungle guide Munro. There are the unusual twists and turns given the jungle backdrop, the tribals and the gorillas. The whole technical stuff appear a bit outdated today since this was written way back in the 80s. Otherwise this is a good book to read.

After reading Congo I will see monkeys and apes with a lot more respect. The gorilla is described to be far more docile creature than the chimpanzees, however fearsome they appear. Don't judge a book by the cover (pun intended). I was actually surprised by such tidbits in the book regarding primate behaviour. Enjoy the adventure !

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Review: The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Till now I was never tempted to read this. When I saw a bargain on Amazon, I bought it just for the heck of it. How did this book become a best-seller ? I could neither make head nor tail of the story. Written as a motivational book, this is least bit motivational and utterly disappointing.Have read better books than this.

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Review: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a hilarious and funny book. All about a chef's life in the kitchen. Anthony Bourdain has nailed the profession perfectly in this book and seems to have good writing skills too. There are some interesting titbits about the kitchen like the one about fish on Mondays, the right kind of people to be hired as kitchen staff etc. I was however expecting a bit more dirt on the restaurant industry, but was disappointed. It was more of a professional biography of Mr. Bourdain. Would give it 3.5 stars.

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Review: The Boy

The Boy by Nrupal Das
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was a short story of about 14 pages. What started off as promising and interesting, tapered off with a straightforward ending. The author has written a beautiful story about a boy who has gone missing and his parents' despair and the uncertainty that awaits their fate. The prose is good flows beautifully. However, due to the short length the author could not etch out the characters in depth.

PS: - Free copy in exchange for a frank review.

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