Kevein Books and Reviews

River God by Wilbur Smith is a masterpiece. Perhaps, no other writer knows and writes about Africa the way Mr. Smith does. River God is an epic historical saga through the eyes of a very talented eunuch slave - Taita. The story of the novel hails from the ancient Egypt, around 1780 BC. Wilbur Smith asserts that the story in River God is real and based on the found scrolls at the Temple of Karnak in 1988. The river Nile plays a crucial role in providing major climaxes in this sweeping story. Thus, the title ‘River God’ is veracious. The novel opens with knowledge that Taita is a trusted slave of Grand Vizier, Lord Intef, father of queen Lostris and an enemy to Tanus, the lover of Lostris. When Taita is young the ancient Egypt (during the tenure of Pharaoh Mamose) sets on a decline. Taita being a doctor, advisor and future-teller witnesses a long stretch of time with many events such as marriage of Lostris to Pharaoh; comeback of Lord Tanus to the kingdom; end to Lord Intef’s...

The Woman in White is a story about matters of illegitimacy and seizing the inheritance of property by unlawful ways. These kinds of stories were very around the corner in the Victorian era throughout Europe. Well, the prominent aspect of this novel is the mystery that surrounds the characters, it is made into a gripping read in that era of 1860 (when it was published) by narrating the story through multiple characters. And at the same time, there is nothing being horror about this book and too many characters were on the verge of spoiling the mood of readers, but the plot and climaxes of this novel are so finely woven and intriguing that forgetting the multiple cast of characters seemed the only option to have it enjoyed thoroughly. There are many narrators of the events in the book, however the story advances well on the shoulders of Walter Hartright. He gets an opportunity to tutor the drawing lessons to two women. He got this chance through one of his Italian friends....

A Song in the Morning is a classic, adventurous novel written by Gerald Seymour, it was first published in 1987. That time South Africa was in the clutches of England. So prevalent there, was direct colonisation, policy of apartheid, and politically butchery of English diplomats. A Song in the Morning is a fine book, a looking back at the suppressed South Africa. Then, Great Mandela was also alive and the song was something like ‘Amandla’. In the background of the book the fight is between Blacks and Whites, a superior race they think of themselves. The novel ends on an emotional note when the injured Jack Curwen with this lately released father, Jeez Curwen, sat on the mountain waiting the cold night to pass off, in the morning resumes gun-battling and approaches a certain death. Jack’s father (Jeez Curwen) joins ANC (Anti National Congress) as an undercover agent but lands up in the prison for twenty long years, oblivion to his 2-year-old son and the wife. After relea...

Starry Nights, the second novel of Shobha De, is said be based on real-time Bollywood affairs. Hence the book is also being referred as ‘Bollywood Nights’. The novel was a good success in early 1990’s. As an upshot, it cemented Shobha De’s position in the Indian literature arena as a bold novelist. She is often referred as a bold novelist because she features female characters in her books and sex is something inseparable. The novel was in the limelight because of its Bollywood-oriented theme. This book, some say, has done considerably damage to the reputation of Bollywood stars, for instance, Amitabh Bachan and Rekha and some more star affairs. Aasha Rani and Akshay Arora are the lead protagonists of the story. However, there are many other characters in the book, like Malini – the wife of Akshay, a lesbian journalist, a pimp mother, blood-sucking distributors, producers and actors. Aasha Rani, once a porn star, is a dusky actress who has come from Madras to Bombay to bec...

The Melodeon is a great novella by Glendon Swarthout. The settings of this novella conjure up remote farms of Michigan State during the Christmas season. The book notches limelight as it shows the period of the great depression of 1930s. The story is about charity during rough times, a small boy James whose grandparents donate their family heirloom ‘Melodeon’ to a local church when, in fact, they have nothing for each other to share.     The melodeon of this story was bought as a present by Ephraim Chubb for his wife Sarah on the occasion of in 1863 when he left home to fight for the North in the American Civil War. Ephraim intended the melodeon to keep Sarah’s company until the day of his homecoming. How mysteriously he came home many, many years later than he supposed is here recalled by his great grandson, James Chubb, in a tale that is as remarkable as it is charming, warm and entertaining. It all took place when James was just a boy on a cold and snow...