Review: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

J.D. Salinger's critically acclaimed, hugely popular novel is the story of a teenage boy Holden Caulfield who feels alienated, isolated and confounded in a society he considers phony and driven by set conventions or rules. Holden on the other hand appreciates imperfection and deviance from the socially accepted norms and consequently rebels against the system. He is cynical, critical and almost hateful of everything and everyone with the exception of his 10 year old sister Phoebe. He simply cannot stand people acting against their nature only to keep appearances and stay popular . Holden is an extremely complex character who is unwilling to bend or mould to the ways of the social order and as a result misunderstood, rejected and alienated. He is thrown out of several boarding schools, has almost no friends, no love life, and is continuously taken advantage of because of his youth. This story therefore is an account of Holden's struggle to break through the barriers laid down by the society. However, whether he actually succeeds is not a subject of this book and remains a question that the reader needs to discover on her own.

This book is unique in that there isn't much of a plot or structure yet it keeps you engaged and its message resonates clearly and is loud enough to touch a chord within your heart. JD salinger's narrative told from the perspective of an 'ancient' 16 year old is extremely poignant and reflects truly the conflicts and questions virtually all of us face during those awkward adolescence years. As we stand on the cusp of adulthood, the innocence of childhood slowly fading, all of us feel a sort of alienation and rejection, the burden of peer pressure, the struggle to fit in, to perform the pre-defined roles set by the higher social order. This struggle, the insecurities and dilemmas of teenage are all captured brilliantly in Salinger's narrative and this is the true strength of this book.

On the whole, this is a book that is divisive because if you read it for a plot, for structure, for action and as a story that has a logical end, you would be disappointed. However, for a perceptive reader it works effectively as a character study and as a mirror of societal and personality conflicts, and therefore universally considered a significant work of literature. The Catcher in The Rye also helps you understand behaviour and the importance of freedom and free will.

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Review: The TOI Story

The TOI Story by Sangita P Menon Malhan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine being a part of an industry where the words Profit, competition and innovation are sneered at. Where business is an afterthought and players operate as one large family. Where decisions are made amicably, after due consultation with each other. An industry whose purpose reads like a page from the encyclopaedia of nobility, littered with phrases like custodian of democracy, gatekeepers of truth, nation building etc. An industry where the owner plays second fiddle, while his employees act out important roles. Now imagine trying to be competitive, profitable and creating an impressive empire in this laidback scenario. Is it even possible? You would probably think not, but, here’s the twist, The Times of India did exactly that and along the way they shook the Newspaper Industry to its foundation. ‘The TOI Story’ by former Times journalist Sangita P. Menon Malhan, is an account of this amazing and truly inspiring journey of the Times Group. The book effectively summarises the history of the group and Times of India in particular from its origin as a newspaper aimed at providing mercantile news to one that became a voice of the people and brought issues of the common man to the front page. From a group that was trapped in the shackles of government control during the 1970s to one that emerged as a force to reckon with and a pioneer of change and innovation.

But, as is the case with all great things, the group’s evolution into this media powerhouse, was not easy. There were several obstacles and it took time, vision, acumen, self-belief and most importantly courage to overcome them. Most of the group’s success was the result of a number of decisive and ruthless moves over a period of a couple of decades. Behind these moves was the rather coy, mysterious yet extremely progressive and irrepressible owner of Times Group, Samir Jain. He along with a team of trusted individuals, turned TOI into a profit making, innovation driven, premium brand that is among the top media empires of the country today. This then is the story behind TOI’s phenomenal path to glory.

As I mentioned there were obstacles aplenty. The biggest among them was the ego of the editor. Traditionally, a newspaper was the editor’s medium, his vehicle to direct, Influence and to formulate public opinion. The editor was the face of a newspaper, the superstar, a man of integrity, the guardian of democracy, the high priest of truth and objectivity. It was the editor who was the captain of the newspaper, while the owner was basically a passenger. The editor could not be bothered about profits, market shares or anything to do with the business. So, when Samir Jain decided to turn TOI into a market driven newspaper as against an editorial driven one, he was met with resistance from the editorial and journalistic staff who felt that a market oriented strategy not only reduced the editor’s importance and standing but also undermined the ethos of the newspaper business. But, Jain was determined and over time with some tough decisions and much strife everything fell into place. This was a telling blow and made it clear who was the boss and how things would move from here. Having conquered the major obstacle Jain turned his focus to the others.

The other challenges had to do with the practices prevalent in the industry. The family like atmosphere in the industry was certainly not conducive to competitive practices or innovative decisions. These were considered contrary to the sense of fraternity. Pricing of ads and the paper itself was done with a sort of consensus and everything was done to ensure that the apple cart was never disturbed. But, here again TOI bit the bullet. It hiked its prices several times and once again created a stir. TOI claimed itself to be a premium brand having premium readership or audience. This gave the advertiser a better and more focussed reach. The move pretty much changed the rules of media advertising and once again TOI led the industry.

With advertising prices taken care of, Increasing circulation and building readership numbers was the ultimate challenge for TOI. This was achieved by tweaking content, by introducing a fresh and colourful layout and with the creation of supplements like Delhi Times, Brand Equity, Ascent and others catering to niche tastes. Also, TOI prioritized news that resonated with the burgeoning middle class over political news or other issues that were less relevant to this audience. The language too was toned to match the language that the youth could relate to. All these measures and initiatives worked perfectly and the TOI soon started selling more copies than ever before and captured the imagination of the readers. This eventually led to TOI becoming the highest circulated broadsheet newspaper in the world beating The New York Times by about 24,000 copies

Success however is not just about new initiatives, but also about how you take failure in your stride and this is another area where TOI excelled. Samir Jain’s ruthless approach to pull the plug on anything that did not work or was not in harmony with the larger scheme of things proved decisive in TOI’s success story making the group more focussed and committed towards its goals.

Although, TOI’s story is full of highs there have been a few lows too. The paper has been severely criticised for dumbing down news content, for over sexing its content, for putting issues of national interest below that of those that have a popular appeal and for not doing enough with its resources and its position in the changing media scenario where electronic media and entertainment has pretty much completely taken over print media.

Well, so that is essentially what The TOI Story is all about. It is indeed a fascinating read and while it is the content that makes it so, a lot of credit should also go to the author Sangita Menon for putting together the events in such a gripping, simple and lucid form. The book is tightly structured keeping its focus sharply on its main subject which is Times of India. It’s tone is fairly neutral and conversational which makes it a light and easy read not burdened by too many technicalities or heavy jargons. The research is fairly solid and coupled with quotes and statements from people in the company as well as the industry, lend the book credibility and gravitas.

Having said this, there are a couple of things that in my opinion pull the book down. One of them is the amount of time the book spends on trying to paint a complete picture of Samir Jain’s personality or demystify him. This gets repetitive and by the end it still doesn’t give you any more of a clearer picture than you got after the first couple of paragraphs. Also, the chapter dealing with the clash and conflicts between the owner and editor is also overly long and repetitive. Lastly, there are a number of statements attributed to sources that are anonymous, which to an extent dents the credibility of those statements. But, I guess this is nit-picking and shouldn’t put anyone off from reading this.

All things said, I enjoyed The TOI Story. It is a wonderful, though not too detailed or deep, insight into an industry that has been a part of our daily lives since we can remember. It gives a fair idea of the issues and the elements that make it such a vibrant and dynamic industry. It’s a job well done and deserves a read!


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Review: A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ove is a man of action. He is also soon to be Sixty years old. He has lost all he ever cared for and now stands at the verge of becoming purposeless and well.. useless. But he wasn’t always like that. He was a self-made, self-reliant man who believed in doing things. He was respected by his colleagues and he was strong and able. He had fixed beliefs about right and wrong and these were non-negotiable. In his opinion there was no middle ground but only white or black. Ove fought for what he believed in even if the whole world stood against him. And, when others wouldn’t listen or get things done he would do them all by himself. He made his house by putting together every brick and iron and bolt. He was a man of firm beliefs and even firmer hands. A doer, a man of action, a man who found love after years of despair and hopelessness. A man who liked control and lived by principles. Ove was indeed a rare man in a world that no more believed in getting its hands dirty instead in getting things done by others. A world where loyalty and hard work were not valued but change for the sake of it and quick fixes were. A world heavy on words but light on work. Ove though had been a functional man since he could remember, not for him the fancy concepts of leisure and luxury. Ove therefore could not trust or understand the new age man. He thought of them as incompetent and fools. And because of this attitude he was often mistaken as rude and anti-social by those around him.

For almost 40 years, Ove couldn’t care, he still didn’t, about what people thought. Because, he had his wife, Sonja his only companion, his shining light, his one true love, his shield against the world; She could handle the world, while he could keep doing what he liked most, fixing things, making things and working with machines. But now she is gone, and so has his job, that kept him occupied for almost half a century. In a matter of months he has lost all his reasons to live. He is all alone. Can he continue to live in a society that seems to have no place for a man like him? A life devoid of purpose and action and without the only person Ove ever loved and who loved him back? This then is the central theme of the story. It’s about Ove and whether he can go on and find something or someone to live for in a world where he cares for or loves no one.

This is an idea full of amazing possibilities. It presents an opportunity to have an incisive insight into the life of an old, grumpy man, an chance to look at the world from his perspective, to hear his views, to learn about his insecurities and fears, to understand what it feels when there’s not much left to look forward to and life is mostly about what has already gone. A time when future is not full of promises but an obligation to live for others. When memories are all you have of the best time of your life. Sadly, in our daily existence, we do not hear the voice of the old as much as we ought to. All the sounds and sights are for the youth, the ad campaigns, the Movies, the TV shows are aimed at the young. The old and the elderly are confined to the farthest corners of our society, only to be remembered when we need their blessings or support. They gradually turn into fixtures; present but never seen or heard or noticed. Nobody seems to care about what they feel or what they want to say. It is therefore that I feel that this book by ‎Fredrik Backman, if only at a very miniscule level, does a worthy and honourable job of bringing this marginalised section of our societies into the spotlight. And I think it deserves plenty of praise for doing so. It lends the old people a voice and a personality. I only wish it could have done more, given us a greater, deeper look into what it means to get old. A task it only partially does.

I must confess , I sometimes do wonder what it feels to be old and lonely. How difficult it would be to survive in a place where you cannot understand things happening around you and where no one cares to explain them to you. To whom would you confide in when all who were of your time and age have already become memories? Who would you share your thoughts and fears with when there’s no one to listen? What would be your reason to live on, why would you even want to go on? I think the author tries to explore all these themes and does so with some amount of success, though, in my opinion, not with complete conviction. Overall however he does a good job of bringing these ideas into mainstream and creating a certain amount of sensitivity towards them. It is a noble attempt.

The book is decently written. The plot moves forward at a reasonable pace losing steam only once or twice during its length. It is helped by having only a handful of characters which allows the narrative to be fairly taut and concise. However, I personally am of the opinion, that some of the characters do take away from Ove and Sonja’s story of which I wish there was more of. They are to be honest important to plot development and the message that the author wanted to give which is of love, care and being wanted. But, I did find some of them slightly irritating and the situations involving their interaction with Ove, a bit melodramatic or forced. It seemed the author wanted to keep the tone of the book as light hearted as possible with a few poignant and sad moments thrown in to keep the story grounded. But, in his efforts, I thought he probably sacrificed the depth of experience and perspective that the story had potential to reveal. It could have been better if the story had focussed more on the psyche of Ove and his thought process rather than on the other characters. Talking of characters I should not forget to mention the cat which is one of the major characters in the book. The cat it felt to me was a spiritual and symbolic representation of Sonja. I could be wrong though.

All said and done, A Man Called Ove is a story one should read, if only to get a perspective on old age and life in general. The story provides a peek into what it feels to be alone and old and why love, care and the feeling of being wanted are so important for us to live on. The book has moments of real depth and feeling but that doesn’t make the book heavy or burdened, because the author balances these heart wrenching moments of profundity with funny situations that lighten up the tone of the narrative. I wish there was more here, a greater exploration of old age in all its shades but atleast there is an attempt at bringing this unattractive and gloomy phase of our existence to the forefront. For that alone the author deserves to be appreciated. I would love to give it 3.5 stars but as that is not possible on Goodreads I shall go with 3 perhaps.




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