PALAZZO DEL GIGLIO: LOVE IN VENICE by JEROME D. OREMLAND

Title: Palazzo del Giglio : Love in Venice

Author: Jerome D. Oremlan

An old man (well, his age figures do suggest it, even though nothing else does) is often asked about his beautiful apartment in Venice. This takes him down a memory lane, the events of which find their origin in him, Jerry, the protagonist, losing his beautiful wife to cancer. The sadness attracted him to visit the place they had cherish the most together, Venice and that is how the apartment happened. 

Well, the apartment saga is just a base fabric the story is painted on to. The book is actually like a big painting depicting a good number of things including a husband's longing for his deceased wife and the beautiful moments they shared together, the casual and intense relationship that the author is able to build with the various people he meets along the journey of his life and majorly and importantly, a guide to the history, geography, life and culture of Venice, while bringing to the fore some different ways human nature manifests among different individuals.

Through the story, mostly autobiographical, the author, an American, takes us through the visual tour of Venice, a city which he loves and a city which loves him right back. A perfect guide for someone who plans on visiting the city soon, and yes, since there is story to back up the details, it won't be a bore like most travel guides. Additionally, the author being a psychoanalyst and an art historian, has provided many interesting insights into the many historically important things that the city of Venice brings up to you.

The various intellectual conversations that the protagonist has with the interesting people he has a chance to meet in Venice point towards the other books that the author has written and give additional insights to the various works of importance, for instance, Shakespeare's Hamlet. For those who read or plan to read this book for the pure pleasure of English literature would surely find this as a high point.

A nice and quick one time read, could be a delight for those who have any connections or have been to or plan to visit the city. At many places, the story gets really predictable and repetitive, and the reader longs for some some twists and surprises. And yes, if you do not understand Italian even a very tiny bit, a fair amount of guessing will also have to accompany your reading. But yes, the predictability does bring in the sense of mundane, giving a feel as if you yourself are living normal life in Venice.

Ah, if you are planning to visit Venice anytime soon, follow the book and cover the most important of all the city's offerings in flat three days, by being a copy-cat to the route followed by Jerry while he was almost a travel guide to Paul and Annya. Cheers!

It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong

Title : It's Not About the Bike (My Journey Back to Life)

Author : Lance Armstrong

Publisher : Yellow Jersey Press

ISBN : 978-0-224-06087-5

Lance Armstrong has been in news for the wrong reasons these days as he confessed having taken performance enhancing drugs to compete for the prestigious Tour De France title, not once, not twice but seven times. Yes, to err is human but sometimes the price of committing some mistakes is so high that it can rip a person off of his/her name, fame and wealth. Unfortunately 'the' unmatched and 'the' invincible Lance Armstrong has become an example of such a case. Final verdict is he has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, Olympic bronze medal that he won in 2000 and a lifetime ban has been imposed on him by anti-doping agency. A very sad departure of a fighting spirit from the arena of sports. Lance, you have indeed let your fans down. Lance writes in his book, "Odd as it may sound, I would rather have the title of cancer survivor than winner of the Tour" and after the big revelation he gets to keep the former title only.

There is no reason whatsoever why anybody should resort to unfair means to achieve anything including any coveted prizes or awards. Having said that, his indefatigable spirit to fight against a formidable enemy cancer and his determination to take his body to the same level of fitness where it was before the disease is indeed commendable. "It's Not About The Bike" is a tribute to a man's inspiration, enthusiasm, perseverance, unflinching spirit and determination to achieve what he aimed for.

Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer at the prime age of twenty four when everything was going right for him in the sporting world. The cancer had spread to his lungs and to his brain as well and he was given 40% chances of survival by his doctors. The ordeal that began in the third quarter of 1996 took much more from him than he expected but he battled against the disease, the life sucking chemotherapy sessions, the financial burden and fear of losing his career. But he survived against all odds and not just survived, he worked hard to regain his physical and mental strength so much so that just after sixteen months of getting discharged from the hospital, he won the Tour de France (in 1999) in the fastest ever time. 

(Tour de France is a grueling competition of cycling. The tour typically has 21 days of racing with 2 rest days and covers 3,200km (2000 miles). Tour de France is supposed to be the most physiologically demanding of athletic events. The number of teams varies from 20 and 22 with nine riders in each team)

He inherited the fighting spirit from his single mother who taught him to make every obstacle an opportunity and to make every negative a positive. Lance shares(partly ?) the pages from his life book with the readers and talks about disappointments and miracles, despair and hope, and fear and courage.

Interestingly he also brings up the topic of doping and drugs in the narrative at a couple of places. In his own words:

"Doping is an unfortunate fact of life in cycling, or any other endurance sport for that matter. Inevitably, some teams and riders feel it’s like nuclear weapons - that they have to do it to stay competitive within the peloton (dictionary meaning: The main field or group of cyclists in a race). I never felt that way, and certainly after chemo the idea of putting anything foreign in my body was especially repulsive."

"I can emphatically say I am not on drugs. I thought a rider with my history and my health situation wouldn't be such a surprise, I'm not a new rider. I know there's been looking, and prying, and digging, but you're not going to find anything.  There's nothing to find… and once everyone has done their due diligence and realizes they need to be professional and can't print a lot of crap, they'll realize they're dealing with a clean guy".

But entirely from the book's point of view, it is a well written piece, makes a great read and has managed to motivate many people including our very own Yuvraj Singh.

"I would just like to say one thing. If you ever get a second chance in life for something, you've got to go all the way."

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/lancearmstrongtimeline.html

Indian.English.

Title : INDIAN.ENGLISH.
Author : Jillian Haslam
Publication : New Generation Publishing

Jillian Haslam’s Indian. English. is an autobiography, where Jillian takes you down her memory lane, right from her birth in India in post colonial times to her present life in the UK.

The book is majorly about the impoverished life that Jillian and her family led in the by lanes of Calcutta, about her siblings and mother's death, about the racism and abuse that she and her family faced. How in spite of all this, she and her siblings were able to get a decent education.How she picked up a job and went up the ladder professionally and steadily made hers and her dear one's life a better one . About her marriage and her married life woes. How she helped and still helps the lesser fortunate people of the world. About her present life and her achievements.

As you read the book you feel sad for Jillian and her siblings. The book makes you realise the plight of people living in abject poverty . While reading the book I was forced to think along the lines that the way a persons life shapes up depends upon a lot of decisions, made not only by the individual but also on the ones made by the individuals parents amongst other things.

To be honest, I found the narration repetitive and the editing not so efficient. In spite of it being a heart rending story the book failed to evoke the intended emotions and did not leave the kind of impact that is expected from this type of emotive book. But the book definitely reminded me of the famous song by Phil Collins " Think twice 'cause it's another day for you and me in paradise. "