List of my Routine Reread Novels
My early memories of reading novels started during my
school days when the best-loved were Enid Blyton’s adventure stories. Then in
my teens, I was introduced to Barbara Cartland’s romantic novels. They were
banned in the school library and the school premises but somehow the books were
smuggled in the class and exchanged among
the girls. Since the books were forbidden,
they were all the more irresistible. Those novels were love stories between
very beautiful, accomplished women and very handsome, extraordinary men who met,
fell in love, and lived happily ever after.
Then in class
eleven we had a Pulitzer Prize –winning novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper
Lee in our curriculum. The central character was Atticus Finch, an American lawyer
but he was far from being a hero material. In fact, the fiftyish widower
Atticus Finch was so ordinary that even his school-going children Scout and Jem
were embarrassed of him. He did not play any games; he was an introvert who
spent his free time in reading and watching TV. But when the crunch time came he stood up with a warlike
attitude, coping single-handedly against his enemies. That was the first time
when we realized that a true hero is the one who is a man of character. Looks, wealth,
superficial smartness are secondary to the man who is morally upright and
fights for truth. Atticus Finch was defending a black American who was falsely
accused of raping a white girl. This happened in a county in Alabama, in the
southern state of USA, before the civil war when slavery of blacks was
prevalent. Atticus Finch was ostracized
by his own white society and his children were bullied in school by the white
children wherein Atticus was called a ’nigger lover’. But Atticus still carried
on with a military attitude of his soul against his fight for racial injustice
and even forbade his children to get provoked by name calling and harassment.
He lost the case but his splendid heroism won our hearts. It was made into an
Oscar-winning movie where Atticus Finch was played by Gregory Peck.
The alluring novels of boy meets girl, of candlelight
dinners and ballroom dancing were over and we craved for real characters, which
were true to life. Sensing our enthusiasm, our English teacher suggested that
we should read ‘Gone with the Wind’ which had the same setting and had won a
Pulitzer Prize too. It is written by
Margaret Mitchell and is also based in the southern states of USA (in Georgia).
It is an epic, historical novel in five parts, with many characters. The main
theme is a love story against the backdrop of the American civil war. Rhett
Butler loves Scarlett O’Hara but she loves Ashley Wilkes. Ashley loves Melanie
Hamilton and marries her. The hero Rhett
Butler steals the show. He is more of an anti-hero who adopted questionable
methods to pursue his businesses, who visited a disreputable house, who hurt
people with his outspokenness but he was a man of truth. He did not put on a
show .He helped needy people and truly loved Scarlett, the heroine. On the
other hand, Ashley, the copybook hero, well read and well mannered turned out
to be a fake, a pseudo-intellectual because he exploited Scarlett’s love for
him .He was happily married, yet he kept Scarlett in expectation, thus
destroying her married life with Rhett Butler. This was made into a super hit movie starring
Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. I read this novel often because of the lessons it
taught me: to differentiate between hypocrites
and men of action; that a man can have some grey shades but he can still be a
hero if his actions are based on truth. I also like the witty dialogue of Rhett
Butler and his smart one-liners.
The third novel was in my college curriculum, ‘Pride
and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen. I read this novel frequently because of the
heroine Elizabeth Bennet. Her sister Jane was more beautiful than her but
Elizabeth stood out because of her sizzling character and her tremendous
self-respect which did not allow her to cozy up to the most eligible bachelor
Fitzwilliam Darcy. She was prejudiced against Darcy because of his pride. Darcy
was proud of his wealth, his looks and his upper class family lineage but
Elizabeth with her fiery character and blazing, black eyes brought him to his
knees. I read this novel because of
Elizabeth and also because of the English society which seemed somewhat similar
to Indian society. Elizabeth’s mother Mrs.Bennet’s only aim in life was to get
wealthy husbands for her five daughters. When she heard that Mr.Bingley, a rich,
eligible bachelor had come in her neighborhood she decided to catch him by hook
or by crook. She and her family were often insulted because of their inferior
social status (compared to Bingley and Darcy) but she persisted nevertheless
and became successful in getting Jane married to Mr.Bingley. She is so much
like Indian mothers. It was twice made into a movie; in 1940 and in 2005.
The fourth novel is Rebecca, written by Daphne du
Maurier.It’s a murder mystery and romance rolled into one. It is written
through the eyes of the hero Maximilian de Winter’s second wife who was an
orphan and a companion to a rich, middle aged American socialite. Maximilian
had met her in a hotel in Monte Carlo and had married her in haste. Rebecca was
Maximilian’s first wife and throughout the novel, the second wife remained
nameless. When the novel began, Rebecca had already died in a boat accident but
the whole novel is only about Rebecca, Rebecca and Rebecca. She was very
beautiful, aristocratic, accomplished in everything; be it throwing parties, interior
designing, socializing, riding horses, looking after the vast Manderley estate
etc. She had designed the de Winter’s mansion, the garden and everything in Manderley
immaculately so that it had become a tourist attraction. She had set the daily menu, party menu and
the guest list for the parties. The servants and especially the fishy, dominating
housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers followed Rebecca’s rule even after her death. So much
so the second wife was afraid to touch anything in the house or make any
alterations in the plans for fear that the well-oiled household would stop
functioning. Even the society held Rebecca in high esteem, thus isolating the
second wife. The second wife’s anguish was heightened because she felt that her
husband didn’t love her and he was still in love with his dead wife. All along
the narrative there is an undercurrent of suspense which makes the novel a
superb thriller. Towards the end there
is a marvelous twist in which the mystery is unraveled.
I read this novel because of the engrossing plot and
the description of the house , the sea,
the seven star, luxurious daily living; the sumptuous breakfasts, high teas and dinners, the lavish
socializing; in short the lifestyle of a super wealthy, classy English landlord
to the smallest detail. This was also made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock, the
greatest master of suspense.
I reread Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s detective novels on winter
nights or rainy evenings because they create the correct atmosphere. They
become all the more fascinating because the murderer is known to me and it’s
thrilling to watch the games the characters play to dodge the detectives.
Many of Agatha Christie’s novels were made into films
;such as ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, ‘Death on the Nile’, ‘Evil under the
Sun’ , ‘The Mirror Crack’d etc. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series is also popular
in the movie and television circuits. The Hound of the Baskervilles is not only
a popular English movie but also a super hit film in Hindi (Bees Saal Baad,
Biswajit and Waheeda Rehman).
These books are my best friend and they have sustained
me in times of isolation and sorrow as well as jubilation and joy. The movies
on these literary classics were no doubt excellent but the joy of reading
written words is unsurpassable. Herein lies the glory of literature. While too
much TV and movies make us mentally fatigued, a book enhances our intellect,
strengthens our imagination and brings clarity into our lives.
