Cleopatra's daughter - Michelle Moran

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book starts with the victory of Octavian Caesar over Marc Anthony and Kleopatra (this is apparently the correct spelling according to the book), and their children(twin brother and sister and a younger brother) are brought to Rome while both Anthony and Kleopatra commit suicide rather than being taken alive to Rome. On the way the younger brother also dies leaving only the twins to reach Rome. The children grow up with Caesar's own children and nephews and nieces. They also had to go to school everyday (like common children) but after that they visited horseraces and placed bet on them.

The book gives a glimpse into the life of noblemen and their day to day lives in that period. It also shows how Caesar and others of his stature had to maintain the guise of living a simple life, but had a lavish life hidden from the common men or the plebeians. They both looked down upon and were intimidated by the plebeians, as they knew if the plebeians overthrew the senate, their power would go.

But during this phase, slave revolution had just started rearing its head (a long time after the Spartacus incident) and there were some people who tried to make conditions better for the slaves and educate common people about the rights of slaves.

We are also able to see through the eyes of Selena, the daughter, how Egypt did things differently than Rome and how Greeks thought themselves superior to Romans and vice versa. She keeps comparing the new life with the old life. The brother on the other hand, settles into the new life very quickly and does not question it as much. I felt the character of the brother settled into somewhat a shadow of the main character, whereas being twins, there should have been more of an attachment or communication between the two. I also felt the romantic thread developed in the story for Selena was not very realistic, neither in the crush she had, nor in the final marriage that took place.

Overall I felt that it was a nice view of the society and culture in ancient Rome and Egypt, but there was not much well structured plot that would keep you waiting in suspense. It was more like a snapshot of a part of the life of Selena - Cleopatra's daughter, and it was worth a read.

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Neither Here Nor There - Bill Bryson

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A travelogue, but with a difference. This book deals with the author visiting a lot of cities in Europe, some where he stays for a month to see the northern lights, or some where he flees off as soon as he enters because he hates it so much. He actually retraces his own path, he had gone over all these cities as a student and came back again to see whether he feels the same way about them still.

I have never read a travelogue before, so I did not know what to expect, but it was really interesting to see the world through a different set of eyes. It made me want to visit these places, to see it for myself. I am not sure I believe all that he writes! :) But he has a knack of finding small amusing stories in each place and invoke a curiosity in the reader to know more and get a first hand experience.

I would definitely read more of Bill Bryson's books after this.

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When we were orphans - by Kazuo ishiguro

When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I have read a couple of books by Ishiguro, and Never Let Me Go is still my favorite of the lot. This book deals with the life of a detective who tries to figure out what had happened to his parents in childhood, and how he realizes that his memories are not always correct, how things are not always as they seem at the moment. The book consists of a timeline happening in the future interspersed with flashbacks of the past, and of his childhood. I felt the style of the flow is similar to Ishuguro's The Remains of the Day. It gives a glimpse into the life of British settlers in japan during the early 1900-s and the opium trading business. It also has some scenes in the setting of the Chinese Japanese war.

But all together, there was nothing sparkling to hold on to, it did not blow me away at any point. In a few places, claims are made that if the protagonist solves the crime of his parent's disappearance, a world catastrophe will be avoided and everyone knows that and is preparing for it. It is not at all clear why that was the case though. It is possible I have not understood the deeper significance of the book, but even though I do not regret reading it, it was an ok book, the book has not left any indelible mark on me.

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Back again with book reviews

I have been away from the blog a long time, and now I have decided to come back, with my views of books that I am reading. I will write a short review of every book I read, thus forcing myself to write something, as well as becoming a nice chronological set of posts to look back on.