If you ever
wanted to know why we read books, then go nowhere and stick to this book. Let
us take it a bit forward: people read books, especially literature and comics
and biographies, for some or another reason. Only a handful of people get into
books for the sake of pleasure. In case you are an ardent Ruskin Bond fan, by
reading this book, you will get to know why he loved reading books and how
those books influenced his life on the whole.
Every writer
has to be a reader first and Ruskin was no exception to this proposition.
Ruskin became a compulsive reader since an early age because he was born into
that era when sources of distraction and entertainment were limited unlike
today where we can sit before the TV set all day or browse the Internet
untiringly all day and night.
To read and
understand this book, first off you must know Ruskin’s history. Ruskin was born
in 1933 in Kasuali of the British India. Since then he never came down to the
plains – even today he stays in the hills. Once he said that mountains are kind
to writers. His father was in the service of RAF but he died when Ruskin was
eight or ten. His mother remarried an Indian Punjabi and after that his life
was never the same. Loss of father wilted the spirit of his life, and as an
escape from the harsh realities of life, he got into books. Books provided him
solace and company above anything else. So, wherever he went, he searched for
books and upon finding read them.
Now coming to
the book, Love among the Bookshelves is
a collection of stories of Ruskin Bond’s favourite authors. The book opens up
with the chapter ‘That week in the Jungle’ – this chapter sets the overall tone
of the book. In the winter of 1944, Ruskin is forced to go on an expedition in
the jungles of the Himalayan foothills with his mother, stepfather, and a bunch
of weird shikaris. Ruskin has a soft
heart, thus he loathes hunters and killing of animals. Instead of going along
with shikaris, he prefers to stay
back at the rest house with the khansama
(the cook). While exploring the house, he stumbles upon a walled cupboard full
of books. Till now he has no proper access to books. In fact, he has no idea of
selecting books as per interest and taste. Well, here he sees three selves full
of books – he goes through them and finally two books capture his attention.
Let’s see them one by one. The first one is Love
among the Chickens by P.G. Wodehouse. It offers a humorous account of chicken
farming. The main character of the book, Stanley F. Ukridge, is one of the most
popular characters of Wodehouse. Ruskin finishes the book in a day’s time and
becomes an ardent fan of Wodehouse.
The second
book is about ghost stories: M.R. James’s Ghost
Stories of an Antiquary. The stories were about occult and supernatural
things. Especially, this book spawned interest for horror and suspense and
thrillers into Ruskin’s life. He got so much into these kinds of stories that
over the years he got indulged in the works of Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allan
Poe, Sheridan Le Fanu, E.F. Benson and others who specialized in the genre –
and then he went on to write ghost stories.
Ruskin was so
much awed by the humorous beauty of the book Love among the Chickens that he dedicated the second chapter of this
book about Wodehouse and Love among the
Chickens. Here Ruskin takes time to inform us about the major points of the
book and other famous stories written by Wodehouse. Other than plot summary,
Ruskin tells us about the writing struggle and style of the writer. Before the
end of the chapter, Ruskin points out that Wodehouse was into comedy kind of
literature, that he never mentioned war or socialism in his work. For realism,
Ruskin had to turn to Graham Greene and Somerset Maugham. For romance, he preferred
R.L. Stevenson and Daphne du Maurier; and for mystery Agatha Christie, Rex
Stout, and dozens of clever crime writers.
But whenever
he wanted an escape from the routine of boarding-school life, or the conflicts at
home, he turned to Wodehouse. People keen to be acquainted with Wodehouse and his
book Love among the Chickens, can
definitely read through the next chapter.
The second
segment of the book is about holiday reading. In short, during school holidays Ruskin
was a reader of comic books first and then he gradually got into classics.
During the
prep school and senior school, Ruskin mostly read comics of superheroes like
Bulletman, The Phantom, Captain Marvel, Superman and so on. When he came out,
he got into classics, and under this category his favourite writer was H.E.
Bates. According to Ruskin, Bates sensitivity to beauty and to characters was
astonishing. Though Bates wrote quite a number of novels, Ruskin liked his
short stories. To put forward the brilliance of H. E. Bates, Ruskin has included
the story ‘Great Uncle Crow’ by Bates.
By now you
must have made out that the book is segmented into parts. First you will see
Ruskin’s struggle as a reader, then follows the details of his favourite
authors with a sample chapter or so. In a sense, he is introducing his reading
treasure to his fans and readers. As you read ahead, you will get to know about
his struggle in the island Jersey. Also, David
Copperfield by Charles Dickens have had so much influence on him that he
moved to London to seek a fortune for himself. He was trying to be a David
Copperfield – well anything is possible when you are young.
Ruskin fans
have all possible chances to explore the best of his favourites. Such books are
rare to find and if you find then don’t forget to treasure them.
This
non-fiction work of Ruskin isn’t that long but the variations in it may make
you feel as you are going through a literary journey.
Enjoyed reading this story! Here
is your chance to read 30 best stories by Ruskin Bond - https://goo.gl/uBeMY6
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