THE GODFATHER- BY MARIO PUZO (GOPIKA MENON)

The Godfather is one of my all-time favourites and one of the most gripping novels that I have ever read. The book follows the fictional Corleone family with Vito Corleone on its apex, through their power struggles with the other gangs of Italian origin. The protagonist of this novel is Don Vito Corleone, and after his death, his youngest son Michael takes the spotlight. The other main characters are: His eldest son Santino, his second son Fredo, his daughter Connie, Connie's cruel husband, Vito's wife, his right hand Tom Hagen etc. I found a lot of similarities between this book and the Malayalam movie “Lucifer”. Even though the context is negative, the readers will learn to empathize with the characters. The book is set in the United States of America in the 1950's when crime was organized into 'families' and the mafia controlled most of the real power from the underworld.

The book is written in the third person with the narrative jumping to a different central character as per plot requirements. The language is simple and direct with Italian words such as 'Consigliere' etc, thrown in to give an authentic Italian feel to the narrative. The narration style is extremely neutral. It reads like a report of events which makes it pretty easy to understand and comprehend. The complete lack of any moral verdict or biases by the author leaves the reader free to draw his or her own conclusions about the characters. A tangent in the book deals with 'The Godfather' Vito Corleone's past and the details and process of the subsequent forging of the Corleone Empire. This provides a historical background for all the events occurring in the book besides sketching the character of Vito more clearly. Although unnecessary from the view of plot advancement, it is one of the most interesting sections of the book. Even though Vito is a ruthless don we will fall in love with his character. His reasoning is impeccable. Mario Puzo indeed did a great job. In short, The Godfather is the Godfather of mafia fictions😁😁😁.

Randamoozham -M.T Vasudevan Nair(by: Nisha M.L)

Randamoozham is the novel written by M.T Vasudevan Nair .Marathon Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair popularly known as M.T is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern of post-independence literature.
                           I think this is the simplest way Mahabharata has been ever told.Narrating the story from Bheemas point of view,MT stripped of divine power from the character and presented them as moral human being with emotions. So you don't get to see Krishna supplying and infidelity long sari to save Draupadi or king Jarasandha's body rejoining and comming back to life which ever way Bhima tries to tear him into two. But you can see Bhima being jealous of Arjuna for being Draupadi's favourite among the five brothers as well as Arjuna mocking Karna for being of lower caste to satisfy his superiorly complex. To an extent the Pandavas become mere puppets in the hands of Kunthi and Draupadi. While Kunthi commands them as their mother, Draupadi lures them with their next chance to live with her. The last few pages reveal some shocking facts about the Pandava's parenthood.M.T explained he read different versions of the story written over different periods and found that divine power granted to the characters where mostly imaginations of the story tellers.

The Litigators by John Grisham

There is a well-worn theme in legal fiction: small-time good guy lawyer takes down huge and evil corporation, despite the apparently insurmountable odds stacked against him.

Even so, our hero is David Zinc. He is a corporate lawyer who has spent most of the past five years slaving at "something to do with bonds" for Rogan Rothberg, a Chicago firm. He decides enough is enough one morning, dives back into the elevator on the 93rd floor where he works and gets happily, gloriously drunk for the rest of the day. Somehow he ends up at the shoddy, ethically dubious two-man law firm Finley & Figg. The partners at Finley & Figg—all two of them—often refer to themselves as “a boutique law firm.” What they are is a two-bit operation always in search of their big break, ambulance chasers who’ve been in the trenches much too long making way too little. Their specialities, so to speak, are quickie divorces and DUIs, with the occasional jackpot of an actual car wreck thrown in. 
 Desperate for a change, David, a Harvard law graduate, decides to join the "bush leagues" and persuades them to hire him. With their new associate on board, F&F is ready to tackle a really big case, a case that could make the partners rich without requiring them to actually practise much law. An extremely popular drug, Krayoxx, the number one cholesterol reducer for the dangerously overweight, produced by Varrick Labs, a giant pharmaceutical company with annual sales of $25 billion, has recently come under fire after several patients taking it have suffered heart attacks. Wally smells money. A little online research confirms Wally’s suspicions—a huge plaintiffs’ firm in Florida is putting together a class action suit against Varrick. All Finley & Figg has to do is find a handful of people who have had heart attacks while taking Krayoxx, convince them to become clients, join the class action, and ride along to fame and fortune. With any luck, they won’t even have to enter a courtroom!

With its in-depth sight into the lives of small-time lawyers, the Litigators portrays the greed of such firms that handle lawsuits against MNC's for exhorting money out of them. However, that is not all that it has to offer Grisham makes Zinc's personal transformation more convincing than his professional one. Some readers may feel the fairy tale ending clashes with the dark humour of the opening.

                                                                                                                  Niranjana Murali

The Alchemist

   

              As a student most of us have the habit of reading but I don't have . one day one of  my friend gave me one book called 'The Alchemist'. Dreams are made to be followed, life is meant to be lived, some books are meant to be read, loved and passed on, ‘The Alchemist’ is one of those book. This book was witten by Paulo Coelho.

            The main character of  this novel was Santiago. He is a shepherd boy from the Spanish province of Andalusia who dreams of travelling the world in search of a treasure as desirable as any ever found. On the way he saw different people and different places and he learned different languages and different cultures. In to his journey, he meets an old king named Melchizedek or the king of Salem, who tells him to sell his sheep, so as to travel to Egypt, and introduces the idea of a Personal Legend. Your Personal Legend "is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is.

                  All have some dreams in life. May be this novel will help you to acomblish your dream. So I recomment to read this book.
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                 

                                                                             -Austin Babu

             The Laws of Human Nature


                      (Jopaul Antony)




In this detailed and expansive guide,
Geene (Mastery) seeks to immerse his audience in “all aspects of human behavior,” as represented by 18 laws created by Greene. He claims that studying these laws will transform the reader into a “calmer and more strategic observer,” immune to “emotional drama.” Those are lofty promises, but even skeptics will become believers after diving into Greene’s well-organized text. In each chapter, he describes the benefits of confronting and overcoming a different form of human fallibility. Overcoming the “law of irrationality,” for instance, leads to the ability to “open your mind to what is really happening, as opposed to what you are feeling.” For historical perspective, he highlights relevant famous figures: Howard Hughes represents the pitfalls of compulsive behavior, and Anton Chekhov embodies the benefits of overcoming self-sabotage. Greene also quotes a number of literary greats along the way, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Gore Vidal, whose aphorism “Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little” is applied, not surprisingly, to the chapter on envy. Throughout, Greene’s overriding message is to “step back” from the “immediate rush of events” in order to gain greater insight into one’s experiences and circumstances. Greene’s thoughtful examination of self and society will, for the committed reader, deliver a refreshing and revitalizing perspective. Agent: Michael Carlisle, InkWell Management.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by AGATHA CHIRSTIE

I dont usually read a lot.But some books catch my eyes and i start reading them.This book also was the same for me when i thought of reading it.But,for my surprise i was accually enjoying it.This book is a materpiece.Agatha Christie is a wonderfull writter.

                    This story has main ten characters who meet each other at an island where they were invited .It  was a luxurious island and no one can go out or come in without any external help.Story takes its turn when they starts to be murdered one by one ,each day by diffrent causes.The story proceeds with a huge fear in hearts of both the readers and the characters.The story ends without revealing the mystery of the murder and this is when the reader gets to be restless to know the backstory.only in the last ten pages the writer reveals the mystery of the story.This is truley a must read one.If you are into fiction and detective stories go for this one!!

                             ~MEENAKSHI MANOJ

                     MARRY IN SECRET

                        (Aswin Ravi)



A naval officer presumed dead crashes his wife’s second wedding in Marry in Secret by Anne Gracie. Lady Rose Rutherford is shocked to discover her husband lives, and her family is shocked to learn she secretly married years ago. Commander Thomas Beresford longed to reclaim his wife, but now that he’s face-to-face with her and her protective family, he’s not so sure marriage is best for either of them. Rose remembers the man who stole her heart, and she’s ready to recommit, but Thomas’ harrowing experiences have changed him. Nothing is more delicious than a heroine determined to overcome a noble hero’s scruples, and watching Rose win Thomas over is a true pleasure. A charming supporting cast and witty banter are paired with emotion and a dash of suspense to make Marry in Secret a deeply enjoyable historical romance.