Sleep My Valley by Ruth Netzer - Book Review

Book Name- Sleep My Valley

Author- Ruth Netzer

Blurb-

Ruth is alone and desolate as her world falls apart.

A lonely child on an Israeli kibbutz, Ruth watches painfully as her family falls apart. Her mother struggles with haunting memories of her troubled youth; her father succumbs to depression. When she is 15 her parents divorce and leave the kibbutz. Desolation follows Ruth to her new home.

Join Ruth as she struggles with the demons of her family’s secrets.

Ruth must get to the bottom of her family’s harrowing story. Her lonely search for understanding becomes filled with poetry, literature, and dreams. Ruth looks deep within herself and creates a personal dialogue with God. She struggles for the strength to grapple with her parents’ demons, lest they become her own.

Courage, strength, spirituality, and healing in this moving family saga.

Through haunting narrative and diary entries, join Ruth as she triumphs in her spiritual quest to come to terms with her family’s history. Share in the process of family analysis, as Ruth confronts her parents in their old age, eventually leading to repair and reconciliation.

Review-

Sleep My Valley is an autobiography. I like reading autobiographies because it feels like a complete stranger is sharing his life story with you. He is making you a part of his life. He is sharing his life with you. It makes me feel special and privileged. I know there are many autobiographies out there. But I believe that it is the story that finds you not the other way round. 

When I started reading this book, I was a bit confused. I didn't know how things were going. I was new to many words. I decided to give it time and started reading the book slowly page after page. And then I realised that there was nothing in the book to be so confused about.

The author has used a lucid language for narration. I was skeptical about reading cause of language. I generally find the language of foreign authors a bit out of my league. But I was proved wrong by this book. It is the simple language and narration that kept me hooked on to its pages. The author quotes the family and siblings' talk. Making the text bold is something I liked about this book.

I had read the autobiography of Anne Frank when I was in Std. X. And then, I read this one. This book reminded me of my first autobiography reading experience. The reading experience of this one too is of similar kind. I could feel that I knew Ruth. I could feel the connection. I could feel the emotions and sentiments. I believe that is one thing that is required when reading an autobiography. Isn't it?

It was a pleasurable read.

I rate 'Sleep My Valley' with 4/5 stars. 

You can buy your copies on Amazon.

Letters in the rain by Anubhav Shrivastava and Ananya Roy - Book Review

Book Name: Letters in the rain

Authors: Anubhav Shrivastava and Ananya Roy

Blurb:

Quite early in his life, Aman had been labelled a 'weirdo'. His side-parted, oil soaked hair and gawky physique made him the butt of jokes among his peers. There is nothing spectacular in his life—he studies all day, has never had an interaction with a girl that lasted more than five minutes, and scribbles his inner musings into his best friend, a personal diary.

Deep down, however, the guilt of being considered a social killjoy by the society starts to have a negative impact on him.

When forced out of his solitary shell into the action-infused warehouse that is 'college', Aman's life takes a drastic U-Turn. Owing to a Chemistry project, he is forced to partner up with Kiara—a cheerful, carefree soul who tucks away her dark, brooding past upon arriving in Manipal.

What follows is a series of awkward encounters and quirky adventures; ones that throw them in the deep end and make them face their worst fears.

Review:

The cover of the book is a simple one with images of that of a girl and a guy. It's is in the shade of blue which goes well with the title. However, I didn't find it very impressive. As they say, you should never judge a book by its cover. The blurb seemed interesting. 

Romantic love stories isn't something that I enjoy reading the most. I completed reading this book in four days. For a person who reads novels in a day, I believe four days was quite a long time. I found the story to be very common and predictable. A nerd guy falling in love with a jolly girl who thinks of him as a good friend - this is what the story is all about. Yeah, there are some really good incidents which make you go 'Aww!'. But, overall this book was the same old wine presented in a new bottle.

The story has been crafted well. The placement of the incidents is done really good. The reader will never ever feel confused about what is happening in the story. The characters aren't many. They have been crafted well. And the authors have done justice to all the characters. The narration is simple and conversant. The lucid language is one of the strong points of this novel. However, I was disappointed with the font size. I felt it could have been increased a little.

There are points in this story where you are eager to read more while there are some incidents where you would pray for the book to end. It's not that I didn't enjoy reading this book. The book didn't hit the right chords. 

Letters in the rain is a treat for all romance lovers out there. 

I rate:

Cover: 3/5

Characters: 2.5/5

Story: 2.5/5

My overall rating for 'Letters in the rain' is 3/5 stars.

You can book your copies on Amazon.