Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Brethren, The Partner by John Grisham


The Brethren by John Grisham (Flipkart)

3 stars

Finished reading Grisham's The Brethren last weekend, and The Partner this Sunday night.
The Partner is very much a darker and more somber read than The Brethren. The Brethren actually makes you feel that Grisham wrote this over a lazy weekend. There is no real climax to the novel - it kind of peters to a tame and predicable ending, without any big surprises or twists at the end. The three judges (brethren) walk away free, with a couple of million dollars in the bag, the poor kid facing a lifetime in prison for no crime walks out free, even Aaron Lake seems to have escaped with his skeletons in his cupboard.



Kindle Excerpt for The Brethren



The Partner by John Grisham (Kindle e-bookFlipkart)

4 stars
As for The Partner, the book travels in kind of reverse gear, with Patrick's capture and torture being the gruesome preface. The novel eases off considerably after that, with small come uppances satisfying the feeling for revenge in the mind of the reader throughout - like the filing of suit against the FBI, the photos of Patrick's wife with her gigolo, and more. The ending though is not a 'happy' one as one has come to accept in Grisham's novels (The Rainmaker, Runaway Jury). Think more like The Summons.....



Kindle Excerpt for The Partner






© 2006, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved. Reposted to this blog Nov 2011

Monday, September 11, 2006

RK Laxman on Psychiatrists


This RK Laxman cartoon appeared in a Science Smiles compilation, and was re-published in the Sep 10 2006 Sunday Times edition.

Reposted to this blog, Dec 2012
© 2006, Abhinav Agarwal (अभिनव अग्रवाल). All rights reserved.

Saturday, September 9, 2006

Muir Woods

Golden Gate and Muir Woods, 2001 - from my photo archive, so to say.
This and the rest of the photos were taken on a trip to Muir woods.


The Golden Gate bridge, seen through a mist.

Millions of photos of the Golden Gate, and here is another one.





Muir Woods


Looking up a tree, as opposed to a looking glass.



© 2006, Abhinav Agarwal (अभिनव अग्रवाल). All rights reserved. Re-posted to this blog, July 2013.