by Manish N. Prasad ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2012
Though the ending may be too tidy, this tale about chronology proves to be as novel as it is brief.
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A young accounting student examines the strange relevance of certain dates.
On the opening page of this debut novella, a friend tells the narrator, Ravi, “There are some dates which, no matter how hard you try, the heart and mind never forget.” Though the statement seems true enough on the surface, what exactly does he mean? For Ravi’s friend Shalvin Chand, the date he has in mind is Jan. 28, the day he met Angeline Mala at school. Some years later, on that same date, Shalvin introduces Angeline to his parents. Even later, “on that very date, in a posh wedding ceremony somewhere in a posh Auckland hall, Miss Angeline Mala tied the knot and became Mrs. Naveen Agnihorti.” As for Ravi, “Dates of fate, I later learnt…come in two categories—one that you can remember, the other that you can’t forget.” So the reader follows along with Ravi to try to decipher what exactly he means by such a comment. There are his experiences in school, marked by teachers like Mr. Khan, whose clumsiness with English produces some interesting phrases (giving an example of a management team investigating its workers, he asks: “Are they doing sleeping?”), and friends like his eventual flat mate Karan Chaudhry. Karan, who invites Ravi to a party with the lure of an excellent chocolate cake, will illustrate for both the narrator and the reader the enduring importance of chronology. Exceedingly brisk at under 50 pages, the story moves at a pace that is both casual and concise, managing even to explore the more philosophical aspects of accounting without becoming dull. After all, is it true that “two different accountants working on the same trial balance will arrive at the same set of accounts”? The answer Prasad supplies may not be as obvious as the layman might think. And while the novella’s eventual conclusion may be too on the nose for some modern readers, the journey there remains effectively mysterious. Why is Ravi so interested in the chocolate cake, even bothering to tell the reader, “Chocolate cake is not about sweetness—it’s about chocolateness”? Certainly the curious should be eager to find out.
Though the ending may be too tidy, this tale about chronology proves to be as novel as it is brief.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4797-4104-5
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: May 12, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Nora Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 1995
Thoroughbreds and Virginia blue-bloods cavort, commit murder, and fall in love in Roberts's (Hidden Riches, 1994, etc.) latest romantic thriller — this one set in the world of championship horse racing. Rich, sheltered Kelsey Byden is recovering from a recent divorce when she receives a letter from her mother, Naomi, a woman she has believed dead for over 20 years. When Kelsey confronts her genteel English professor father, though, he sheepishly confesses that, no, her mother isn't dead; throughout Kelsey's childhood, she was doing time for the murder of her lover. Kelsey meets with Naomi and not only finds her quite charming, but the owner of Three Willows, one of the most splendid horse farms in Virginia. Kelsey is further intrigued when she meets Gabe Slater, a blue-eyed gambling man who owns a neighboring horse farm; when one of Gabe's horses is mated with Naomi's, nostrils flare, flanks quiver, and the romance is on. Since both Naomi and Gabe have horses entered in the Kentucky Derby, Kelsey is soon swept into the whirlwind of the Triple Crown, in spite of her family's objections to her reconciliation with the notorious Naomi. The rivalry between the two horse farms remains friendly, but other competitors — one of them is Gabe's father, a vicious alcoholic who resents his son's success — prove less scrupulous. Bodies, horse and human, start piling up, just as Kelsey decides to investigate the murky details of her mother's crime. Is it possible she was framed? The ground is thick with no-goods, including haughty patricians, disgruntled grooms, and jockeys with tragic pasts, but despite all the distractions, the identity of the true culprit behind the mayhem — past and present — remains fairly obvious. The plot lopes rather than races to the finish. Gambling metaphors abound, and sexual doings have a distinctly equine tone. But Roberts's style has a fresh, contemporary snap that gets the story past its own worst excesses.
Pub Date: June 13, 1995
ISBN: 0-399-14059-X
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2008
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...
Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.
Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
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