books that shaped my life.....part1

During my last blog entry, i was reminded of how literature (English, Hindi and Bengali) has shaped my beliefs and behavior. I had started to read novels quite early in my life, most of the time not even understanding 50% of the lines and completely missing out the depth of the of matter in hand or the "in between the line's" stuff which makes a book far more interesting than any other form of media. But subsequent re-reading of my favorite stuff as i grew along, made me understand the authors view point far more precisely. I personally think that the best way to enjoy a piece of writing is when you can identify yourself with the protagonist and actually can relive the whole story within your mind. Of course you need a certain level of imagination to achieve that goal but once you are the protagonist you can truly feel and enjoy the "in between the lines" (which of course depends on the persons interpretation, which makes it even more enjoyable).

Before i go on blabbering about more literary complicated author's and their novels that shaped me, i will like to mention that i did read a lot of "Hardy Boys", "Nancy Drew", "Famous Five" and similar kind of books along with numerous comic books (ranging from Tin tin, Asterix Chachha Choudhury, Pinki, Phantom,Tarzan, Superman, Batman..etc) before moving on. Surprisingly enough i still like to read comics of superheros as no other written material gives me simple uncluttered childish pleasure.

1. Frank Baum: "The wonderful wizard of Oz" is probably the first children book i read and it triggered my imagination with its "Emerald city". But until recently i always presumed the Wicked Witch to be the most evil witch of all times. But after watching the play "WICKED" it made me realize the old saying "all that glitters is not gold". BTW i recently found out that some so called hip people haven't even heard about OZ and some knew it by watching the movie. Don't know what the hell these people were doing when they were kids:O.
   
2. Charles Dickens:Similar to a lot of people i started my journey of more complicated literature with Charles Dickens. The first time i read Oliver Twist, it was in those small pocket size books which had sketches on one side of the book every few pages(i think i got it as a birthday gift from somebody :D). As you read through Oliver Twist, David Copperfield you start to feel the highly idealistic and immensely optimistic way of story telling. Great Expectation is one of his novels which i actually understood in depth, when i re-read an unabridged version at a later age. But the novel which defined what love is for me was "the tale of two cities". Both the books opening line (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....) and the ending line ("It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.") are the words that still shake me up time and again. This novel secured by belief of "unrequited love being the purest form of love" (a definition i still adhere to ) as it encases my firm belief that when somebody gives without asking anything in return it shows of pure love. Another of his book worth mentioning is "the ghost of Christmas carol" which showcase another optimistic view point that it's never too late to change.
3. Alexander Dumas: The "Three Musketeers" whose hallmark quote "one for all, and all for one" laid down my first beliefs about loyalty and friendship. Though as i grew older, and the initial innocence faded ,the quote become "one for all, all for one*" (* conditions apply). His other vastly influential book being "the Count of Monte Cristo" which still remains my all time favorite adventure novel. I actually didn't know how complicated and important all the characters and the links in between them were till i read the unabridged version from Gutenberg.org(which remains my best source of unabridged classics).
4. Herman Melville: The only book i have read from this author is "Moby-Dick" and is my3rd most favorite adventure tales. This being my 2nd Pictured pocket book, which probably led to my fascination towards whales (i finally got to see one on my trip to Nova Scotia this summer). It's one of those long books whose symbolic (biblical and otherwise) and metaphorical meaning came to me later, after re-reading. The image of captain Ahab's standing on the deck and asking everybody to attack the white whale still lingers in my head.
5. Mark Twain:"The adventure of Huckleberry Finn" and "the adventure of Tom sawyer"being by first glimpses into American lifestyle. I could really identify with Tom sawyer, the naughty prankster where as Huckleberry Finn introduced me to the Black Slavery situation in America. His books sparked my long time dream of going down the Mississippi. Mark Twain truly kick started the American literature scene.
6. R.K.Narayan: "Malgudi days" being one of the those books which i read after watching it on T.V. Normally i am very skeptical about this kind of thing, but the simplicity of "Malgudi Days " is amazing and Swami remains my most liked Indian child protagonist.
7. Thomas Hardy: No single author has as much impact on my thinking as much as Thomas Hardy. All his novels were on social structure and I think he was way ahead of his time. He wrote of things that people are facing now but were considered unthinkable at that time. The first work i read was "Tess of d'Urbervilles: A pure woman faithfully presented" and is one the books which i first read the unabridged version (almost 400 pages or so). It opened my mind towards the sexual double standards that our society suffers from for such a long time. He long wrote against the norms of Victorian notions of female purity which plagues our society even now as it's so deep rooted that people who are trying to stand up against it get crushed by the society. The other book that greatly influenced me was "Jude the Obscure", which i think is more about Sue Bridehead than Jude himself. Sue is a picture of a modern day independent women, who are complex yet irresistible and mystifying (at least in my POV) as long as they adhere to their own independent thoughts and ideas, but eventually fall prey to the so called social norms under everlasting pressure of social scrutiny and destiny (as Sue Bridehead embraces religion at her time of crisis and goes back to her husband but dies within). Sue is the most sexually free thinking heroine in the entire history of literature. These days writers are proving their free thinking by describing the actually sexual act rather than the turmoil and the beliefs behind sexual freedom. Sue also portrays in my POV the constant duel within a women to like her stability or normality of marriage yet yearn for the passion and turbulence of sexual freedom. Some of the conversations between Jude and Sue will linger in my mind for ever as it showcase woman's capability of withstanding some extreme adversity with defiance yet totally crumbling down under some. I think men can never have this wider range of strength or vulnerability. A woman's strength is probably her extreme weakness as well. I strongly believe when Sue Bridehead say "Because no man would touch a woman unless she gives him a reason to. A touch or a look that say come on. If you never look, they'll never come. You are the timid sex." I am always attracted to girls or women who believe in their own thoughts and freedom yet am frustrated to see these same women submit to the social norms. Most of the women i have meet who had a strong conviction eventually ended up with a total submission which destroyed their individuality and their independence. Unsurprisingly these two books(his last) caused a major uproar at those times and will probably have the same reception if people read it nowadays. His other books that i have read and liked are "the mayor of casterbridge" ,"the return of the native" and "far from the maddening crowd". I can go into details of my thoughts on each of his books but that will be too much :D. I also believe that Hardy is partially to blame for my being an atheist and having a very sarcastic view point towards GOD and all his followers. Thomas Hardy remains among my top five favorite authors.
   
8. Lewis Carrol: "Alice's adventure in wonderland" and "through the looking glass" really ignited my passion for fantasy land. His word play and logic behind the utter gibberish is absolutely breathtaking. The hall mark of a true fantasy is when the reader starts believing in the fact that it might be true, which the so called modern day famous writer like J.K Rowling can never achieve. She might be earning a lot of money and fame but that doesn't make her work worth noting, similar to the fact that a master or Phd degree doesn't make a person educated(both of which are taken as granted by the so called society of ours).

While writing this post i found out that its going to be a long post so have decided to crop it into parts.

End of Part 1