The Case of the Secretive Sister

Title : The Case of the Secretive Sister

Author : Nilanjan P. Choudhury

No. of Pages : 162

ISBN : 978-9383098552

Mr. Chatterjee is a middle aged man whose long experience in claims settlement for an insurance company has made him a confident candidate to open his own detective agency. His investigation skills do not get tested appropriately as the cases that he gets to work on range from lost documents, missing pets or runaway drivers. Not just that, the number of clients requiring his services have been 'as elusive as Dr. Manmohan Singh in a chatty mood'.

One fine day, Mr. Chatterjee gets a new client in an over-zealous mother, Mrs. Pammi Chaddha who does not want to give up after her four year old daughter Aisharadhya aka Pinky Chaddha (her 'home' name) has been denied admission in one of the most sought-after schools of Bangalore. She wants Mr. Chatterjee to make this daunting task of securing admission for Pinky in the same school, possible.

Though Mr. Chatterjee does not see any hope of succeeding in this case, he wants to give it a fair try. In order to do that he would have to confront the no-nonsense Sister D'Souza who is at the helm of her school as the headmistress. He devices his plans methodically which his smart secretary interprets as his approach to rectify his piles problem. What follow are, action packed pages high on cat and mouse, stalking, drama, comedy and much more. Well, what is a detective novel without any of these elements?

'The Case of the Secretive Sister' is the second book by the author Nilanjan Choudhury but he comes across as a seasoned author especially when it comes to the tautness of the narrative and the finesse in the language. Once the narrative takes a fast-paced turn, at no moment does the tempo slacken. His choice of characters is commendable, whether it is Mr. Chatterjee's secretary Ms. Jolly or Inspector Gowda. From the accented voices of characters, one can actually hear their respective 'native' (place) speaking. A true Kannadiga and Bangalorean, Inspector Gowda takes it personally upon himself to sanitize his beloved city of all - Chatterjees, Choudhurys, Chaddhas and Chaturvedis. 

When we are witnessing almost a dearth of true-to-genre books in the market, this book comes as a whiff of fresh air where intelligent comedy is served in its full glory. We are fast becoming a society where we seek maximum value for money which is exactly the case with books as well. We are being offered medley - comprising of various elements all together - comedy, romance, adventure, et al. 'The Case of the Secretive Sister' reminds one of the humour of the order that is penned by Bill Cosby, Bill Bryson and P.G.Wodehouse. It is a pleasant change from the comedies that have inundated the mainstream television and movies these days. If you are looking for a small, light and a hilarious read, don't miss this one. 

THE WITCHES by ROALD DAHL

And just what does a paradoxically avid kid-lit reader, who already has some three big books banging hard due to their upcoming review submission deadlines and who is barely and that too, rarely getting any time to do anything sane off late, do, when she unexpectedly gets a day- forcibly away from work??

Yes! Read a Roald Dahl. What else.

And I mentioned 'paradoxically' basically because, although I believe myself to have read 'kidlit' the most, among all the reading that I have chanced upon, the book I picked up today is only the second of Roald Dahl. And all that, because of an autobiographical extract of the author, that we were made to understand at school, and which had become torturously boring due to repetition.

Anyway, past is past. All I understand today is the simple fact that eventually and finally, my roads have lead me to Roald Dahl, the king of kidlit.

And here's the review of the book for you... Enjoy...

Title: The Witches

Author: Roald Dahl

I can bet that you would not agree that old grandma's bedtime tales of witches and fairies, of lands far away and their kings could ever have been true. Yes, I can bet on it. Because so did I believe - or rather not believe in the truth behind the tales grannies told. Until I stumbled upon this book.

A little boy gets to live with his grandmother after he loses his parents to a road accident. The grandmother, or grandmumma, as the boy calls her, is a retired witchophile - someone who has studied witches and knows a lot about them. She tells him tales about how she has seen witches take little children away, what do the witches look like, how can they be spotted, what they like and what they want and so on.

The little child does not believe all this, until he is approached by a lady - who tames snakes and has all the signs of a witch that grandma has told him. Luckily he escapes this time. But not the next time. The next time he is the unfortunate victim of not one, but rather, some 84 witches tall and strong. Or so to say, all the witches of England and their overall administrative head put together. Poor boy! But no longer a boy. He gets transformed into a mouse!

The good thing, however is that incomplete magic allows him to communicate and he has already understood properly, the reality of witches and all the evil plans they have, for finishing all the kids of England.

One must surely read the book and find out whether the transformation into a mouse causes a sense of revenge to bloom in the little one, or he plans to embark on adventures that only mice can. Do read the book and find out what happens to the boy-turned-mouse eventually! Trust me, the book ends exactly as it must.

I love to read kid-lit mainly because it is a delight reading what grown-ups write for kids, what kids actually derive from it, what they are supposed to derive, and most importantly, what obvious lessons these books give that we generally overlook.

It is strange that simple things reveal so much. Through this book, aren't the kids being taught to try overcome their greed and not accept offerings by strangers. Aren't the kids being taught that it is okay if some misfortunes strike you. You must pick your pieces and move ahead.

Well, one thing that caught my notice was the behaviour of witches. Whatever may be the case, the evil wants to hide behind the garb of normalcy! Often, what appears to be the sweetest, may be the most evil thing around. Something like a sugar coated poison. But nonetheless, the good thing is that there is, more often than not, some good always working to undo the wrong. History illustrates, that ultimately in the long run, it is the good that can sustain.

So, Goodbye Witches!

All Things Dahl

13th September was Roald Dahl's birthday, and we at Zealot Readers would like to pay him a tribute. Here are two books that are brimful with fun facts that are as wacky as his books.

pic courtesy flipkart.

Spotty Powder and other Splendiferous Secrets
Compiled and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin (Pocket Money Puffin series)
Ages 6+

The book begins with a quote from his book The Minpins: “Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most likely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” 

This should be the guiding light for all who associate themselves with children’s books. Or any books at all. Or anything that raises one above the mundane. As Dahl’s books certainly do. He was a keen observer of his surroundings, human or otherwise, and each of the twelve chapters begins with his essay on the month or season.

Do you know…

…that there were as many as ten naughty children to feature in his most famous book Charlie and the Chocolate factory? These were to have names like Bertie Upside and Herpes Trout. Or that the Oompa-Loompas were to be called Whipple-Scrumpets?

…that the Roald Dahl-Quentin Blake partnership began in 1976, quite late in Dahl’s career, and that initially Blake was nervous about illustrating for such a famous writer?

…that Dahl kept two notebooks in which he pinned down any stray idea that entered his head, and that almost all his books came from these years later?

…that strange though it may seem to his readers, his English teacher at boarding school had written him off? “This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class.” “Vocabulary negligible, sentences malconstructed. Ideas limited.”

…that in the churchyard at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, big friendly giant footprints lead to Roald Dahl’s grave?

pic courtesy flipkart

D is for Dahl

A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl

Compiled by Wendy Cooling

Illustrations Quentin Blake

Publisher: Puffin books
Ages 8+

It begins with a smudged copy of the Dahl family tree on page 1. The next 149 pages are cram-filled with alphabetically arranged snippets that will warm the heart of even the most reluctant of readers. All things Dahl : personal life, his books, quirks, his literary associates, his working style, his opinions about everything he came across- it is all there, in bite-sizes, and embellished with the zany illustrations of his friend and long-time illustrator, Quentin Blake.

Some our favourites are the Random Roald Facts in boxes:

He wrote his first ever story at the age of 10, titled “Kumbak II” about a machine that could tune in to conversations from the past.

From an essay written by him at school, describing his teacher: “He’s a short man with a face like a fried elderberry, and a moustache which closely resembles the African jungle.” On his teacher's cane: “It wasn’t simply an instrument for beating you. It was a weapon for wounding.” Do you see Miss Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda?

No wonder his teachers were vexed with him!

Here is a review of a proper biography, Fantastic Mr Dahl, written by Michael Rosen, on Guardian Children's Books.

Crossposted at Saffrontree.