No One Writes To The Colonel

Book Name : No One Writes To The Colonel
Author : Gabriel Garcia Marquez

What is it about : A "novella" set in a South American township/island, about the daily life of a retired colonel - edgy exchanges with his asthmatic wife, finding scrapes of foods to feed his treasured bird before the next cock-fighting season, figuring out where the next Pesos would be coming from and most eager of all, waiting hopefully at the dock every Friday (for the past fifteen years) for the news of his delayed pension money.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Despite the book being the length of a short essay, the author showed his masterful pen strokes and painted an intense and colorful story packed with interesting characters together with a taut plot. The readers would feel that they too lived in a shanty town where nothing much ever happened other than placing a tin can under a leaky roof, watching the Friday boat-docking, the wait of the start of the cock-fighting season or a very un-appetizing lunch of mush corn. I would guess the author managed to conjure up such intense imagery in such a short space, by focusing each character into just "doing" or "performing" just one task - the colonel "being optimistic", the wife "being worried", the postman "being un-caring", the cock "just surviving" and the rich land-owner "not being bothered". A good method of writing a short novel.

Would I recommend this book to you : Yes ! If you have a few hours to spare, or wanting to immerse as a bystander in a dream-like South American township or you would like to learn how a "Pro" applied his writing methodology - go get this book out !

Orient Express

Book Name : Orient Express
Author : Graham Greene

What is it about : Not the Agatha version with a detective on board, but a slightly more real life drama with a Jew hoping to close a deal on his business, a chorus girl wanting a part in an Istanbul show, a dogmatic political exile returning to his roots, a fugitive running away from his crimes and a dogged journalist determined to grab the headlines. Their stories, ideals and passion all inter-played out along the different legs of the famous train journey with high dramas culminating towards the end of the book.

Some thoughts after having read the book : On my train journeys, I would never have guessed that there would be a murderer in the midst or a committed socialist on his death tour, or even a fine-figure performance artist romanced by a wealthy Jew making out in the compartment next door; well, it's all happening here in this book. Between these characters on this journey "of a life time", they went through harrowing car chases, fired and dodged bullets, were interrogated by dubious army generals in a make-shift court and amazingly a few of them made it to Istanbul alive. But yes, under the pen of the masterful story teller, everything and anything was possible and all came to life.

Would I recommend this book to you : The reviewer stated in the Introduction of the book that Orient Express was classified as an "entertainment" by the original author. Indeed, the book was entertaining in the sense that it read like a black and white Bogart, Hepburn and Cary Grant matinee. So if that's your thing, this would be an ideal book for your Christmas and New Year indolent days and nights, all curled up warm with a mug of hot cocoa and having a jolly good read.