Two Tough Books

Normally, I am able to read a book, the moment I get my hands on it. Also, if I start reading one, I would finish it start to end without reading any other book during that period. This period normally would be few hours to few days, depending on length and genre of the book and the time I have for reading. 

Few books were exceptions - I gave 6 months each to Ayn Rand's Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. I was in my twenties then, and I was so overwhelmed by them, that I kept reading few paragraphs and pages again and again. These were the books, where more than what lies ahead, what I just read excited me. There was another book titled White Mughals by William Dalrymple which took me almost 6 months to complete. This one was really challenging. It was thick and it was history. History, the way I perceived it then was a boring school subject. And even after completing this book with great difficulty, my perception didn't change. Then there is this one book, which I haven't completed in last 15 years. It was Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. I left it incomplete after the third habit and have hated the self-help genre since then. I had mentioned about this in one of my earlier posts on books here.

In this post, I am going to talk about two books, which kept lying on my bookshelf for more than a year, before I could muster the courage to pick them up and read. And, I must say it has been a rewarding experience both the times.

The first one was Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts and the second one was Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Shantaram was so thick, that I just got scared looking at it. Since I completed it in 2016, I have been less scared of thick books. And the word 'History' in the title of book Sapiens, sounded repulsive. Since I completed it, recently, I have a new found love for history.

Producing below, my views on both the books.

Shantaram  - An Epic Journey

(Reproduced from my LinkedIn article dated 25th March 2016)

First of all, it is a tough and difficult book to read. I started it first two years a

go but abandoned it after reading 100 odd pages. I picked it up again few weeks back with strong determination to finish it, come what may. And I must say it was a wise decision. I realised why it was a difficult book to read. Because it is like no other book I have read before. It is not just a thriller as it is known popularly. It is very profound and delves into philosophy. It uses very difficult words but not for pretence. So when I picked it up this time I started slow and took 4 weeks to read first 300 odd pages with great pains and difficulty. I wasn't sure where the book was heading to. But one will have to make that investment to reap the big rewards in the remaining 633 pages.

Secondly, this is not just a chronicle of underworld or mafia in Mumbai. Yes, it is that too. But it is actually a journey of a man in the quest of truth. And it is an epic journey because it spans years and continents. It introduces us to several hundred characters in blood and flesh. And that is the winning ability of the author. The author is able to keep the reader interested as several questions get answered as you progress. 

Many subplots if narrated without the context may sound incredulous. But as the author humanised these stories and subplots and peppered them with enough realism, he is able to make its readers believe in the credibility of the going ons. 

For me there were several nuggets in the book that will stay with me for long. I liked the way author talks about love in all its forms. I understood how forgiving someone gives freedom. I realised the difference between honour and virtue. And finally I understood that one man's evil can be other man's good.

Sapiens - Humanising History

History has always given me jitters. History has always meant the following for me:

a. Dates and years, which I couldn't remember. Especially irksome was the AD / BC con

fusion. Or was it AB / CD?

b. Names of the places, kings, kingdoms, battles etc. which get mixed up in my mind. But I am still not sure who were real freedom fighters? The revolutionaries or the Dandi March ones? Who brought us freedom? Was it real freedom? The school history books never told us this.

c. Learn it by rote. Can you really blame me for being scared of History?

I bought Sapiens because it came highly recommended, but I started reading it only after it spent a historical time on my bookshelf, gathering the dust of the year gone by. 

And, I must say, I loved the book. If you can only read 10 books in your life, this should make to that list. And, I am saying this without reading hundreds of other books which are highly recommended.

This book has lot of dates, events and names. I finished the book yesterday and I must confess, I still don't remember most of these. But it doesn't matter. That is the key paradigm shift. While reading I didn't feel compelled to even remember these things. Still, I feel my perspective on our history is far richer. It is a clear win for the author, because his narrative style is fluid and full of examples and anecdotes which you can visualise. 

I recall from school history books, lot of wars and battles. And, they were always won by good people. Because victors had a self image that they are the right ones and they wrote the history.

But Sapiens doesn't take sides. It tells you history based on evidence. It tells you history like the way it happened or way it could have happened. It clearly brings to fore the possibilities where evidence is weak. It lets you as a reader to make your own conclusions. But most importantly, it makes you question everything you knew so far about yourself and your beliefs. It makes you uncomfortable at times. It makes you feel insignificant. It blurs the distinction between good and evil. It articulates our evolution as a species in a three act structure. And it makes history, interesting.