"...udhar se aadmi soochta kuch hai, bolta kuch hai, karta kuch hai�." - Amitabh in Agneepath :) The book is a compilation of 48 "laws", each with exam"...udhar se aadmi soochta kuch hai, bolta kuch hai, karta kuch hai�." - Amitabh in Agneepath :) The book is a compilation of 48 "laws", each with examples from history and explanations on how to pursue power and hold it. As such, have nothing against the book which made for interesting but amusing listening. Amusing because almost all the "laws" are polar opposites of my philosophy of life. A few days ago, in a book-club meet, I spoke on Howard Roark from Ayn Rand's Fountainhead as my favourite fictional character and I focused on 2 traits - his authenticity and his stoicism. Each of the laws asks you to be cynical and disguise your intentions/speech/actions. To me it is both a waste of time and a terrible way to live ! Maybe that is why I do not understand realpolitik and people who double-speak. But, if you are in politics or in pursuit of power, you might find it indispensable....more
One of the better Poirot novels. Listened to the BBC dramatisation of 2+ hours. Spoilt for me by the rank idiot who wrote the cast of characters on theOne of the better Poirot novels. Listened to the BBC dramatisation of 2+ hours. Spoilt for me by the rank idiot who wrote the cast of characters on the wikipedia page for the book. Why on earth would you reveal the murderer in the cast of characters ? I sometimes have trouble understanding the accent and in the beginning I refer to the cast of characters to get into the story better. Still, it was good to listen to anyways ! I must have listened to a dozen BBC dramatisations of Christie's books so far. I think the medium suits Miss Marple the best ! Firstly, Poirot mysteries are more complex and secondly, they are not meant to be solved by the reader as they (generally) contain a couple of hidden clues revealed in the end. Also, Miss Marple stories are more conversational. The best being "A Murder is Announced" so far....more
One of the very few in which I was able to guess the murderer, motive and method immediately. Still, BBC radio dramatisations of Miss Marple novels arOne of the very few in which I was able to guess the murderer, motive and method immediately. Still, BBC radio dramatisations of Miss Marple novels are a joy to listen to !...more
4.5/5 I have not been too fond of Miss Marple mysteries and this was only my third novel featuring her as goodreads tells me. And I think it will be h4.5/5 I have not been too fond of Miss Marple mysteries and this was only my third novel featuring her as goodreads tells me. And I think it will be hard to beat ! Almost 50 years after her death and 100 years after her first novel was published, Agatha Christie is incomparable. I can say this having read a lot of crime fiction in the past 5-6 years. Heard the BBC radio-drama version. Have lined up 4 more Christie radio-dramas - 3 featuring Miss Marple. Time to catch up a bit. PS:- I think the cold-case sub-genre (investigating a 20-year old murder) too was started by "Sleeping Murder" which is another fine Miss Marple book I read ages ago. PPS:- Looking forward to reading American stalwarts too - Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hamlett....more
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