Brazesh's "Yayabar"

ब्रजेशको "यायावर" पुरुष यौन मनोविज्ञानको कलाविहीन प्रस्तुतियुक्त साधारण उपन्यास लाग्यो । वैकुण्ठ भन्ने मूलपात्रले जीवन भोगाइका क्रममा सँगालेका अनुभूतिलाई कम्प्युटरमा लिपिबद्ध गरेकोमा उसको दुर्घटनामा मृत्‍यु भएपश्चात् प्रहरी निरीक्षक प्रतापले उसबाट पेनड्राइभ फेला पारेर पढेको देखाइएको छ । मिलनलाई फ्रेम स्टोरीमा राख्नुको औचित्य मैले चाहिँ देखिनँ । यो पात्र  नभएको भए पनि उपन्यासलाई केही फरक पर्दैन । रह्यो वैकुण्ठको कुरा : धादिङ जिल्लाको कुनै गाउँको साधारण परिवारको यो मानिसको बाल्यकालका घटना, उसका एकतर्फी प्रेम, यौन भावनाको जागरण, उसमाथि थोपरिएको विकृत यौनको अनुभवको वर्णन गरिएको छ । कालो राम भन्ने खलपात्रले वैकुण्ठको मनोविज्ञानमा पारेको आघातमय अनुभवले वैकुण्ठलाई जीवनपर्यन्त पच्छ्याइरहन्छ । यसैकारण उ यौनको मामलामा सधैं चुक्छ । यौन तृप्तिको अभावका साथसाथै वित्ताभावमा भौंतारिएको वैकुण्ठ शीर्षकको यायावर हो । तर उसको यायावरी अस्तित्व खासै करुणोत्पादक देखिँदैन किनकि लेखकले कथानकमा दु:खको मूलका रूपमा रहेको  यौनको प्रस्तुतिमा शिल्प प्रदर्शन गर्न सकेका छैनन् । अल्लि भद्दा बनेको छ यो । रक्सी र यौनका अनगिन्ती  दृश्यावली पढ्दा घरिघरि त दिक्क लाग्यो मलाई ।  अनि कथामा विप्लवोन्मुख पंचायती राजनीतिक विकासक्रम देखाइएको छ तर त्यसको सान्दर्भिकता कथाले प्रस्ट्याएको जस्तो लागेन र समकालिकताको अभावले उपन्यास कमजोर भएको जस्तो लाग्यो मलाई (बहुदल, जनयुद्ध, गणतन्त्र एउटै अनुच्छेदमा टुंग्याइदिएका छन् लेखकले)  । सम्राट उपाध्यायले "बुद्धज अर्फन्स" मा साधारण मानिसको कथा देशको राजनीतिक विकासक्रमसँग जोड्न गरेको असफल प्रयासकै झझल्को यसमा पनि देखिन्छ । उपन्यासका केही प्रसंग भने बलिया छन् । वैकुण्ठले केशरको घरमा भान्से भएर काम गर्दा भोगेका तीता अनुभवलाई यथार्थपरक रूपमा संवेदनालाई झंकृत गर्दै वर्णन गर्न लेखक सफल भएकै हुन् । जीवन धान्न उसले गरेका जागिरका सन्दर्भ राम्रै लागे । केही प्रश्नको उत्तर भने पाइएन । वैकुण्ठ काठमाडौंमा बस्दा उसकी पत्नी जुनेलीले कसरी जीवनयापन गरिन् भन्ने कुरा उपन्यासमा खुल्दैन । हिन्दी फिल्मी शैली घुसेको छ कथामा, खलपात्रलाई चुटेको दृश्यलगायतमा । फ्ल्यासब्याकका दोहोरिएका वाक्यमा त ठ्याक्कै बलिउडी झलक पाइन्छ । उपन्यास पठनीय भने छ । भाषा सुललित नै लाग्यो । हास्य प्रसंगहरू मन परे । सानो कलेवर पनि उचित छ । उपन्यास मैले एकदिनमै पढिसिध्याएँ । अझै मेहनत गरेर परिमार्जन गरेको भए उपन्यास अब्बल बन्नसक्थ्यो ।

Mitchell Zuckoff's "Lost in Shangri-La"

Mitchell Zuckoff's adventure non-fiction "Lost in Shangri-La" is an unputdownable book that chronicles the true survival story of American soldiers during WWII. Those soldiers got lost in the dense forest of New Guinea while going for an aerial visit to the beautiful and forbidding "lost land" dubbed "Shangri-La". Their plane crashed and all but three soldiers - one female and two male soldiers - survived the crash. How these three people manage to live off scanty resources, weather the conditions, make do with horrible wounds, befriend the natives, wait for the rescue mission and ultimately get rescued builds up to a compelling narrative from start to end. The cultural encounter with the natives has been presented in a wonderful manner. American soldiers had heard that these natives were cannibalistic savages but they turn out to be helpful and peaceful people who try their best in easing the survivors' ordeal. Thinking that the white people were spirits who came down from the sky, the natives treat them with fear at the beginning but later begin accepting them. With the wit and endurance of Lieutenant McCollom, the survivors manage to ultimately get safe passage to home. Zuckoff has shown that he has conducted a painstaking research into the subject matter and has presented his research findings dexterously in words that evoke vivid images of the land. This story is a pleasant diversion from the violent narrative of the World War. A good read.   

Mohsin Hamid's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist"

Mohsin Hamid's explosive novel "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" features the story of a brilliant  Pakistani  student of Finance in the prestigious Princeton University who excels in education as well as in his job but some higher calling towards his native roots dominates his existence after the cataclysmic event of 9/11 attacks. Changez is an affable and polite man, able to win the heart of any person who comes across him. His boss is very happy with his performance and assigns him challenging duties with handsome salary. His beloved, Erica, introduces him to her family and the New York elite. Changez seems have got everything in life. But out of the blue two planes crash into World Trade Tower and the event changes everything. Changez has to sustain hostile stares from Americans and Erica starts having neurotic problems. The post 9/11 America harks back to jingoism and xenophobia and Erica starts living in the past when she was in love with her former boyfriend Chris who died of blood cancer long ago. She goes far away from Changez but he still nurtures love for her. Changez is angry with the American government when it starts bombing innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. He grows beard, performs badly in his job and irritates everyone. Eventually he returns to Pakistan and becomes a fundamentalist but not a core fanatic.

The novel is told in dramatic monologue style in the tradition of Robert Browning. Changez is in conversation with an American in a Lahore cafe throughtout the narrative and he is recalling his time in America to that American. The interlocutor makes his presence felt to the reader when Changez reports his uneasiness time and again during the conversation. This style is brilliant as the unknown individual American represents the whole America and Changez has many things to tell the Americans. There are sharp satirical observations against Americans in pithy sentences. The identity crisis of an immigrant is captured adroitly by the writer in lines like, "I belong neither to New York, nor to Lahore". Hamid has a commendable command over the language and the novel is a smooth read. It is short and engaging. There are many books retelling post 9/11 experiences but this one stands above the rest. Recommended!

Khaled Hosseini's "And the Mountains Echoed"

In his new novel "And the Mountains Echoed", Khaled Hosseini continues with his skill of telling simple stories of ordinary humans in a heart-touching manner. Rarely comes a book which touches both the heart and the mind of the reader and Hosseini's book does the same.

It is very difficult to summarize the novel because it covers a vast territory with many stories and characters. The separate stories of diverse characters in Afghanistan, France, Greece and the US are beautiful mosaics of a brilliant plot. The story revolves around separated siblings and the whole life journey that they traverse in Afghanistan and beyond. Saboor is a man gifted with the power of story-telling. His two children Abdullah and Pari listen to his stories before retiring to the bed every night. These two siblings are strongly attached to each other but fate ordains them to be separated only to meet after a long long time. There are many other stories of other characters interconnected with one another. Nabi, Parwana, Nila Wahdati, Markos, Thalia, Timur, Idris, and others have their own stories and Hosseini warmly tells all their tales. Each character is clearly defined.

The love for Hosseini's birth nation, Afghanistan, comes across wonderfully in the narrative. He is traumatized by the pillage perpetrated by petty politicians on his beloved country.  

The relation between parents and children, the status of immigrants, the plight of females in patriarchal societies and many other issues have been dealt with in the course of the narrative with commendable dexterity.

However, I felt that some parts could have been shortened in the novel, especially the story of Markos and Thalia. At times the novel becomes too saccharine. But apart from these minor pitfalls, this is a must read novel. Recommended!   

"Saurabhkaa 25 Barsa"

"सौरभका पच्चीस वर्ष"  पढिसिध्याएँ । अखबारहरूमा स्तम्भ लेख्ने सौरभका लेख जटिल हुन्छन् किनकि उनी आफूले जानेका सबै कुरा एकै ठाउँमा पोख्छन् । धैर्य गरेर पढ्नुपर्छ उनका लेख । तर सौरभ  प्रखर पाठक अनि निर्भीक टिप्पणीकार हुन् । पंचायतकालदेखि गणतन्त्रकालसम्मका घटनामा टिप्पणी गरेका छन् उनले । उनी तर्क गर्न माहिर छन् । आफ्नो तर्कलाई पुष्टि गर्न उनी प्राय: विदेशी सन्दर्भ ल्याउन चुक्दैनन् ।  यो पुस्तकमा उनका पुराना र नयाँ लेखहरू समावेश गरिएको छ, पहिल्यै कान्तिपुर, गोर्खापत्र, देशान्तर, राजधानीलगायतका पत्रिकामा छापिएका । देशमा अराजकता ल्याउने जोकोही (जातिवादी, भ्रष्ट, विदेशी)  लाई पनि उनले आफ्नो तीखो लेखनीले प्रहार गरेका छन् । देश बनाउने पवित्र ध्येय राखेर लेखेका जस्ता लाग्छन् सौरभले यी लेख । ठूला दलका नेता, पंच, राजा, कर्मचारी, प्राध्यापक, वकिल, पत्रकार सबैको  विकृति  औंल्याएका छन् उनले । अनि उनमा हास्यचेत पनि प्रबल रहेछ । एउटा लेखको सुरुवातै उनले जोकबाट गरेका छन् भने हास्य छिर्का लेखहरूमा प्रशस्त पाइन्छन् । तर उनले प्रयोग गरेका केही बिम्ब बुझ्न गाह्रो हुने । (यति कुरा त पाठकले बुझ्नुपर्ने हो भनेर जिस्क्याउँछन् हामीलाई उनी घरिघरि ।) पुस्तकको  सम्पादन चाहिँ गतिलो भएको छैन । भाषिक अशुद्धि प्रशस्त छन् । कतिपय पुराना लेखका सान्दर्भिकता निर्देशनका लागि केही लेखिनुपर्थ्यो, त्यसमा अल्छी गरिएको छ । पादटिप्पणी भने छन् जसले अल्लि सजिलो पार्छ कुरा बुझ्न । छपाइमा समस्या भएर होला कुनै शब्द टुक्रिन पुगेका ।      

Dan Brown's "Inferno"

Finished reading Dan Brown's latest novel "Inferno" (in ebook). It is more than 500 pages long. The burning issue of environmental crisis that the world is facing is the subject of this novel. Human population has been growing at an alarming rate and the world is in precarious position because of it. The bleak scenario that environmental specialist Paul Ehlrich depicted in his book "The Population Bomb" is true. Human consumption of natural resources and exploitation has contributed to global warming and climate change which have been wreaking havoc in many countries. Dan Brown has fictionalized this issue in his signature thriller featuring Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. A visionary genetic scientist Bertrand Zobrist has produced a vicious virus which aims to terminate human productivity. He seeks the help of a global security organization called The Consortium to put him in a secret place to work on this virus as he is on the watchlist of World Health Organization as a potential bioterrorist. He has sent a videotape to The Consortium for uploading on the web at a certain date but out of a sudden he commits suicide. In the tape, he has indicated the place where he had planted virus pathogens and WHO seeks the help of Robert Langdon to locate that place as Zobrist's message is riddled with symbols referring to Dante's famous work "Inferno". Will Langdon be able to stop the spreading of the virus or is it too late? During the race against time to stop the virus, Langdon is physically assaulted, is duped by an apparent helper, stalked by an assassin, has to see his friend dying, has to run around Italy hungry and faces stressing situations galore. There are many thrilling moments in the novel. The secret organization The Consortium works just like Consumer Recreation Services in David Fincher's movie "The Game" (if you have watched the movie). I found the novel enjoyable and there is silly fun to be had. Not the stuff for readers who demand seriousness in fiction. But behind the madness of the narrative there is a serious message of environmental awareness and activism which is very relevant to modern times.

Guns, Germs and Steel

ज्यारेड डाइमन्डले अंग्रेजीमा लेखेको विगतको १३००० वर्षको विशाल पुस्तक "गन्स, जर्म्स यान्ड स्टिल" पढ्दा धेरै तथ्य थाहा पाइयो । युरोपले सारा संसारलाई आफ्नो साम्राज्य बनाउन कसरी सफल भयो भन्ने प्रश्नको उत्तर डाइमन्डले वातावरण र भौगोलिकताका आधारमा दिएका छन् । सिकारी प्रवृत्तिमै रहेका आदिवासीहरू कृषि गर्ने मानिसको तुलनामा कमजोर हुँदा रहेछन् र सजिलै पराजित भएछन् । दीर्घकालसम्म युरोप र एसियामा कृषि गर्नेहरूसँग धारिला हतियार, पशुमाथिको नियन्त्रण, आवागमन गराउने वाहनमाथि आधिपत्य हुनाले उनीहरूले सिकारी आदिवासीलाई हराउन सफल भए । यिनै कुराको अभावले गर्दा आदिवासी (जस्तो, अमेरिकाका रेड इन्डियन्स, अस्ट्रेलियाका एबोरिजिनल्स, न्युजिल्यान्डका मोरिओरी तथा माओरी, अफ्रिकाका पिग्मीहरू) युरोपियनहरूबाट सहजै पराजित भए । अनि कृषि तथा पशुपालन गर्नेहरूलाई पशुबाट सरेका अनेक रोग पचाउने क्षमता विकास भैसकेको हुँदो रहेछ र तिनीहरू आदिवासीकोमा जाँदा त्यो रोग थाहै नपाई सारिदिँदा रहेछन् । आदिवासीहरूमा त्यो रोगसँग लड्ने क्षमता नभएर पनि भकाभक मर्ने रहेछन् । हुन त युरोपेलीहरू आदिवासीकहाँ पुग्दा स्थानीय रोगको सामना गर्नुपरेको थियो तर युरोपेलीहरू यसबाट सोत्तरै चाहिँ भएनन् । अनि अक्षर र लेखाइको आविष्कारले पनि सूचना तीव्र गतिमा संचार गर्न पाएर युरोपेलीहरूले आदिवासीलाई युद्धमा हराउन सकेका रहेछन् । यसरी हालको विश्वमा राजनीतिक सन्तुलन बन्नुमा भौगोलिक तत्त्वले ठूलो भूमिका खेलेको छ भन्ने डाइमन्डको तर्क छ । यसलाई वातावरणीय भाग्यवाद भनेर आलोचना गरिएको छ किनकि मानवले गर्ने आविष्कार र मानवीय सिर्जनालाई यसले नकारेको जस्तो देखिन्छ । तर फलानो जातिका मानिस महान र अन्य तुच्छ हुन्छन्, महानले तुच्छलाई जित्छन् नै भन्ने जातिवादी व्याख्याकारको घृणास्पद तर्कभन्दा त यो तर्क नै राम्रो हो जस्तो लाग्छ । जे भएपनि डाइमन्डको यो पुस्तकले पाठकलाई गतिलो बौद्धिक खुराक दिन्छ ।