When I read "Scion Of Ikshvaku" By Amish Tripathi

If you've read & loved the Shiva Trilogy by Amish, then you've probably already read the Scion Of Ikshvaku, or at least already have a copy lying in your bag or next to your bed. So this review is not for you, my fellow fan of this new age indian mythology. I say "new age indian mythology" because over the last many years, Indian mythology of today has undergone a change and is different from the Sunday stories that our parents and grandparents grew up with. 

The Scion of Ikshvaku sticks to the age old tale of glory, duty, sacrifice, virtue and honesty - the Ramayana. It begins with Raavan kidnapping Sita from the jungle where Sita, Ram and Lakshman were spending 14 years, having been banished by King  Dashrath from Ayodhya and moves into flashback from a time just before Ram's birth.

But there are some twists in the tale, which the reader will not expect, and which hooks you onto the book. E.g. Dashrath battles with Raavan on the day that Ram is born and loses.

There are parts where the book gets too detailed and lumbers on and the reader is tempted to skip a few pages. E.g. Ram's discussion with a motley crew of people at different stages of the book on dharma, the law, etc.

All in all a decent book to read, but if you've read the Shiva Trilogy and expect the same level of story telling, you will be slightly disappointed.

Will I read the sequel? Maybe, maybe not.

When I read "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" By Jonas Jonasson

Every once in a while a book comes along that is engrossing and un-put-downable but rarely does a book come along that has those 2 qualities and is also humourous. 

"The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" fits in the latter category. It tells the story of Alan Karlsson, who has just turned 100 years old but who is fed up of the life that he leads in the old age home and runs (figuratively) away. 

We follow Alan as he travels across Sweden making friends and experiencing adventures that you wouldn't associate with a centerenian. E.g. riding on a rail inspection trolley with a corpse while disguising it to look alive, travelling with a circus elephant, and not to forget an event that pretty much started the mad adventures - stealing 50 million kroner from a goon.

Along the journey, Jonas Jonasson takes us into Alan's past to discover that this demolition expert has been an involuntary part of some of modern history's pivotal moments and met the men and women that have scripted the world as we know it. From Mao to Truman, from Churchill to Lenin, DeGaulle to Reagan and many more in between.

Besides enjoying his outlandish life story, you take back much more than giggles and guffaws. Alan's a laid back kind of guy who believes in taking life as it comes. He makes no plans for the future and just deals with what life doles out to him; something that this generation of micro managing & over planning individuals would frown upon from behind their smart phones screens.

It's a must read for anyone looking for a laugh. The incredulous adventures of Alan Karlsson will have you smirking all through the book.

Highly recommended.