Gray Mountain by John Grisham

The latest novel, Gray Mountain, by John Grisham has nothing new to offer. This book is a letdown when you compare it with the recent novels like Sycamore Row, The Litigators, etc., by the same author. There is no conclusive story expect for struggle of a third year female associate from a large law firm. 

The story begins with all the correct noises about a gripping tale. Samantha Kofer is a third year associate in a huge law firm. She handles all the mundane tasks, billing the required hours for her work, week after week. Then recession happens. She is forced to take a furlough. The law firm’s rule to return back to employment is simple. Work for a recommended clinic without pay, with a remote chance to be absorbed back when the recession is over. Left with no other options, Samantha travels to the country side and joins a legal aid clinic. 

This is a sea change for Samantha. From pushing files in the big firm, she now has to create and maintain her own case files. She gets to meet people who are desperate for her advice/action.  She is the last hope for many of her clients. We also see the dark side of America which is supposed to be an epitome of rules, procedures and justice. The story starts to build from this stage with sneak peeks to huge trials and a lot of court house drama. 

Alas, we never get to read about any real fight as the story progresses. We only read the story outside a courtroom. A story about preparation, back-end discussions, arm-twisting tactics of the big  players, and all the usual banter about impending huge trials. We only hear about the run-up to these new trials. Maybe John plans to write a sequel to this book and take the cases which began in this novel to their logical conclusions. We can only wait and watch.

Life or Death by Michael Robotham

Michael Robotham is an Australian author who, according to me, is relatively not known in India. Life or Death is his latest offering. Though Michael has been bringing out novels since a decade, I had never heard of him. I stumbled across his new book by chance and I have written about this event in another post. This book review is without any spoilers.

Life or Death is a very gripping novel. We have Audie Palmer who is implicated in an armed robbery. The robbery involves 7 million cash which has not been recovered, two encountered robbers, one dead suspect, one missing suspect and one civilian casualty. Audie is the only captured suspect who has survived a bullet to his head. He is imprisoned for a decade. Tomorrow he is supposed to be released but today he escapes a federal prison. Why?! What sort of a fool would do such a stupid thing?

The story unfolds gradually. As we turn the pages, we get to know about Audie’s life, his ambitions, his love interest, his zest for life and the passion with which he maintains his promises. The more you read the story, the more interesting it becomes. The thriller races towards the finish retaining the suspense till the very end.

Since I have read many thrillers, I did somewhat second guess one mystery (not at the beginning but towards the middle). As this novel is a suspense thriller, I had to limit the length of my review. If you are into mysteries, suspense and thrillers, this is a must have book in your library. You will enjoy every bit of this book.

Beauty of the book: Life or Death by Michael Robotham

The actual review of the book, Life or Death by Michael Robotham, will be in another post. This is just how I stumbled upon the book and what made me read this awesome book!

I seldom read novels by authors who are unknown to me. Sidney Sheldon, John Grisham, Jeffery Archer, and Frederick Forsyth are the authors I adore. I have also read all the books of Dan Brown and Steig Larsson. Ken Follet, Robert Ludlum, Arthur Hailey, Wilbur Smith, Robin Cook, etc., are the many other authors I have read. I am yet to hook on to Agatha Christie and the mystery novels by JK Rowling, though they are part of my library. The reason I am giving information about all the other authors I read is to give an idea of what sort of authors I prefer and read.

Just by pure chance, I stumbled across the book of Life or Death by Michael Robotham. I had never heard of Michael and I would have not bought this book until I read the book description in an eCommerce site: “Why would a man escape from prison the day before he's due to be released? Audie Palmer has spent a decade in prison for an armed robbery in which four people died, including two of the gang. Seven million dollars has never been recovered and everybody believes that Audie knows where the money is. | For ten years he has been beaten, stabbed, throttled and threatened almost daily by prison guards, inmates and criminal gangs, who all want to answer this same question, but suddenly Audie vanishes, the day before he's due to be released. | Everybody wants to find Audie, but he's not running. Instead he's trying to save a life . . . and not just his own.” The description was intriguing enough for me to add it to my library. The description also made me to start reading this book even though I had planned to read this at a later point of time.

My initial idea was to start with this book and read it until the new John Grisham novel was delivered. I would then have put this book on hold and finish off John’s new book and then resume with this book. Alas, all my plans went for a toss. What began as a 2 hour stint continued till I finished reading the entire book. This is how fantastic the book is. I sacrificed sleep, television, news paper, and other routine exercises to complete this book. I can say that my time was well spent.

Go grab this book without fail!

Half Girlfriend by Chetan Bhagat

Have you ever read a Bollywood movie without songs? Yes, you read my sentence correctly; reading a Bollywood movie. I just did! I have also rated the movie as 2.5 stars. You see, I am a very generous critic like the most popular news paper of India. That folks is how I would review Chetan Bhagat’s new book, Half Girlfriend.

The book (not novel, not story) starts with the main character visiting the author. We see a flash back, not necessarily in black and white, followed by the continuation of the book. The start was somewhat good, and I was wondering whether this is the first book, not related to Chetan’s life, which is engrossing. Alas, it was not the case. The book is monotonous with a lame romantic thread and expected twists and turns specifically suited for our 100 crores blockbusters. The sequence of events is like this: boy meets girl, girl dumps boy, guy meets gal, gal leaves guy and then the typical Bollywood happy ending (it is the same boy/guy and girl/gal; I used different words to indicate their aging). You can actually visualize some of the characters (only Alia is in the cast as of now) who have been finalized for this movie.

Regardless of the book’s popularity, every book by Chetan has been adapted in to a movie. We even got to see Sohail Khan in One Night at a Call Center (this is the worst book by the author, according to me). But with the new book, it seems that the author himself has taken great pains to write a move in a book format. Buy this book at your own risk (it isn’t risky to buy or read, but the statement makes sense when you finish reading the book). Look for the best deals before you buy one. I seriously got this book at a throw away price, during the slugfest of e-commerce portals. Try your luck to get the cheapest deal. Do not blame your luck for reading this book.

Give you feedback on my review in the comments section!

E-file IT Returns for FY 2013-14 in India

I have created this blog entry to help people in filing their IT returns online. It is mandatory for individuals, including salaried taxpayers, earning more than Rs 5 lakh taxable income during the financial year ended March 31, 2013, to E-file IT returns.

Disclaimer: This should be used only as a helping guide. You still have to use your brain while filing the returns. The author is not liable for any inadvertent errors in this document. Use this document at your own risk.

Post your comments to provide feedback.

Some important links:
Income Tax Department E-file website: https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-Filing/UserLogin/LoginHome.html
Information on filing your tax return: http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/archive/filing_your_tax_return.pdf
Know your jurisdiction/ward: https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/e-Filing/Services/KnowYourJurisdictionLink.html
Know your IFSC code: http://bankifsccode.com/

First time users have to register with the IT department for e-filing returns.
Click the image to enlarge.

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

Sycamore Row is the sequel to John Grisham’s debut novel, The Time to Kill. I strongly urge you to read his debut novel because of its gripping story. Even though you have not read the debut novel, and you still want to read Sycamore Row, then go ahead. There is nothing much to lose. The stories are not related. Only few prominent characters and some places are repeated in the new novel.

Seth Hubbard, a loner, suffering from cancer and an undiscovered millionaire, hangs himself from a sycamore tree. He has hand written his final will, cutting off his immediate family from his estate. He has left 90% of his estate to his black maid/nurse, Lettie Lang; 5% to his church and 5% to his long lost brother. He wants only one lawyer, Jake Brigance, to ensure that his wishes are met.

Jake Brigance is the feisty lawyer who won the Carl Lee Hailey case in the prequel of this novel. Though his victory didn’t catapult him into big league and riches, Jake has earned a lot of respect and popularity in his city. He earnestly takes this case forward doing his best to safeguard the last will of his deceased client. It is his first case where he can charge per hour is another matter. He is ably supported by his seldom sober former boss, Lucien Wilbanks and a heavy weight divorce lawyer, Harry Rex Vonner. The local sheriff, Ozzie Walls, also helps Jake in his pursuit of justice.

The story is about how Jake fights the case, both inside and outside the courthouse. It also involves the background and present of the many families associated with the outcome of the case. There are ample twists and turns in the narrative to keep the reader hooked to the novel. The only hindrance/drawback in the plot (especially for me), was the innumerable characters in the story. Seth’s family, their lawyers, Lettie Lang’s family, their lawyers, other supporting characters, additional characters, the list goes on. If you are good at remembering names, then you can enjoy the novel in a better manner. I am not degrading the story. The story is good and has twists and turns to keep you engrossed till the end. Add this to your library and enjoy reading.