Ten Books that Crashed on me Like a Tidal Wave – Its Personal

Today a bottle of vanilla essence toppled right onto the floor from my refrigerator. That is where it all began.

While cleaning the floor bathed in the scent of vanilla, I started humming random tunes which brought me to Owl City’s Vanilla Twilight. Owl City was one a constant contender in my playlists during my undergrad, but now it has been years since I listened (or even remembered) the music. Funny how one thing leads to another. At that moment I realize  that tastes change, memories dim and vanilla scent does not fade away easily. I continued wiping the sticky essence off the floor humming about a tidal wave crashing. (The title is inspired by that thought even though later I googled and realised I had mixed up words of two different songs of the band).

These are books that I have mostly read at a single stretch and then loved the feeling of drowning in. These are books in which I have got lost; those that have  left a piece of themselves in my heart before leading me back to reality as I closed the back cover.I have lived through them, and often died a bit over the read. These books have touched my innermost soul. They crashed on me like a tidal wave.

1. Ruby by Cynthia Bond

I read Ruby a week ago sitting on my balcony during a power outage as the rains lashed outside. I talk about the lyrical prose used in the book on my Instagram page here.

The story in brief – Ephram is on his way to Ruby’s hut with an angel cake. To the town folks she is a mad, possessed woman; to him she is the same girl he fell in love with as a boy. As the church, people and haunted spirits try to dissuade him from the journey, read what keeps him going.

It is a book like Ruby that keeps the hope in me alive that the pen is magical and stories can touch your heart. Check my review ‘Madness and Magic in Ruby

Warning : There is quite a bit of abuse – sexual, child and mental.

2. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

“In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again.That is their mystery and their magic.”

I have many fond memories about The God of Small Things. It goes back to the day when I was still a small girl and woke up to the news of Arundhati Roy winning the Booker prize. I was amazed because she was from my state and the book is set in my home town.
I later followed Roy’s interviews and some essays, agreed with some and disagreed with some; never picking up her novel for the fear that I might not connect to it. Besides I had read severe criticisms of the book by the then Chief Minister. I read this book eighteen  years after its publication. And I loved it. It took my breath away.

3. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah is a book that I recommend to every person who asks me the question – “Recommend a good contemporary read”. Chimamanda Adichie says in Vogue “I have for a very long time wanted to write an unapologetic love story… one that is very much set in a practical world affected by things like getting a visa and paying rent.”

I loved Americanah so much that I took the afternoon off to sit at home  to finish reading the book. I could not concentrate at work because this book consumed me. From talking about how one doesn’t feel ‘black’ until one steps on the American soil to commenting on how lesser loved Michelle Obama would be if she hadn’t straightened her hair, Adichie writes it all in Americanah (Check review)

4. The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

This book was recommended to me by a dear friend D who dreams of visiting Turkey one day. I read this one evening at a park  leaning on a small hill of grass, later squinting under the lights to read more. I read till it was quite dark and the husband came looking for me, as I lost track of time and not returned home. And yes, I did stay up till one in the morning to finish the book the same day.
This one book made me a fan of Elif Shafak. I wanted to read everything she has written. (I followed it up with The Gaze which was spectacular). The Bastard of Istanbul plants in you an urge to visit Turkey as well as makes you very hungry with the descriptions of Turkish delicacies. This is the story of a family on a backdrop of the scars left by the Armenian genocide and specks of mysticism.

5. The Sense of and Ending by Julian Barnes

“What you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed.”
This is a special book for me because it was a book I had kept off buying for a long time and later became one of the first I bought after having money of my own. This is the story of life and whether memory can be imperfect as time passes. Even though the read is not a philosophical one, I had a bad book hangover for days and I drifted into many deep thoughts about youth, old age, memory and relationships.
If you decide to read this book, I suggest you gulp it down in one sitting. It is a very short book and the experience would not be the same if you break it up into numerous reading sessions. The book ends with “There was unrest.” I felt it. Unrest. A churning wrapped me up when I closed the book.

6. Daytripper by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon

Daytripper is a graphic novel. The book is absolutely fabulous- the art, the story, everything. The book asks the question “when does life begin?” Does it begin when you have your first kiss? Or when your friend betrays you? Or when you have a family of your own?
In each chapter, the protagonist dies in the end. Each chapter talks of his life based on his choices as well as unpredictable events. Deeply reminiscent of Robert Frost’s The Road not Taken,this book that makes you question yourself how different your life would have been if you had taken another turn or skipped a few lanes. This was a wedding gift from a dear friend V.

7. Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

Whipple was a new writer for me and I decided to cautiously test the waters with this book few months back. I was blown away. Someone at a Distance is the story of a marriage ruined by the entry of a French lady who is bitter towards life. The novel was heart wrenching. This is what I call a tidal wave! Whipple’s talent in capturing sorrowful emotions and the urge to not give up in front of tragedies is admirable. I immensely enjoyed this piece of writing and I highly recommend it as well. Check my review.

8. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I am sure no one can forget the book that was never available at the school library when you go asking to borrow it. Many years later, my friends gifted me a copy for my birthday. The pages have fallen apart, the binding has given way; yet it  is still one of my cherished possessions.

Gone with the Wind is the story of a nation, divided in its interests, and the story of the ruthless and beautiful Scarlett o’ Hara. When it comes to choosing bookish heroines, I like those like Scarlett who have a fire ruling in their eyes. It is amazing how she does everything to be unloved, yet makes you salute her courage and passion. I read this in a day. And it is a book I would love to re read.

9. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

My favourite classic and my most re-read book.

From the first page onwards, I was transported to the moors. I could hear the haunting shrills of the wild countryside and see the darkness that ruled over days. Wuthering Heights is not a love story but the story of an all-consuming, destructive love of a very disagreeable hero who is more of a mourner than a lover. The novel was rejected several times and finally Emily paid 50 pounds to get it published. She died believing the novel was a failure.

10. Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

As a child, I did not dislike my History classes. But often I had teachers who ruin the experience of soaking in the past by converting it into a mundane clerical task of remembering mere dates and events. That is when this book fell into my hands.

I was enthralled by the read. This is a book that has a story and a heart. I time travelled to the times of British rule in India and the rise of leaders who toiled to find unity in the chaotic diversity of the country. I wept (literally, I did), I read and I re-lived the freedom struggle.