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Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts

Thursday, 5 September 2013

Because this novel is a mystery, much of the plot is revealed in flashbacks and may be confusing. This synopsis will recount the major plot events chronologically.
Five months before the novel begins, Bishop Aringarosa is called to the Vatican and told that the Pope no longer wants the Catholic Church to be associated with Opus Dei (Opus Dei (Latin:"The Work of God") is a controversial Catholic organization founded to foster Christian principles and promote the church). The Church has decided to give Opus Dei twenty-million euro, which the Church had earlier borrowed from Opus Dei. A few weeks later, Aringarosa receives a call from Lee Teabing, who disguises himself as a devout Frenchman and calls himself “the Teacher.” Teabing tells Aringarosa that he knows how to find the Holy Grail. (The Holy Grail - of legend and literature, it is commonly thought to be the cup or chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper. It is said to possess miraculous powers.)
For twenty-million euro--money that Teabing does not need, but uses as a cover--Teabing will share the Grail with Aringarosa who can use it to bargain with the Church. In the meantime Teabing has bugged the homes and offices of prominent Parisians whom he suspects are at the top of the Priory of Sion. When Teabing has enough information he tells Silas, the albino monk, to kill the Grand Master and his sénéchaux. Silas must first demand to know where the keystone is. When he kills the men, they each give him the same incorrect answer.
Meanwhile, Harvard professor, Robert Langdon is in Paris to give a speech about his research. He is woken in the middle of the night by Lieutenant Collet because the Paris police need his help solving the murder of Jacques Saunière. The police captain, Bezu Fache, is actually bringing Langdon to the scene because he thinks Langdon was responsible for the murder. Before he died, Saunière left a riddle on the floor next to his body that included Langdon’s name. At the scene of the crime Langdon meets Sophie Neveu, Saunière’s granddaughter--although the police only know that she works for the department of cryptology. Sophie knows Langdon is being wrongly accused and helps him escape, but not before they discover more clues left by her grandfather.
Langdon and Sophie follow Saunière’s clues to a Swiss Bank where they uncover a cryptex. Without knowing that Teabing is the mastermind behind the murders that occurred that evening, Langdon takes Sophie to his home. Teabing is a religious historian and life-long Grail seeker as well as Langdon’s friend. Both Silas and the police end up at Teabing’s estate, but Rémy, Teabing’s manservant who is in on the plot, helps them escape. Teabing, Sophie, Langdon, Rémy and Silas (as a prisoner) travel to London.
On the way, they are able to open the cryptex, finding only another cryptex inside. Teabing purposely misreads the next clue, leading them to the wrong place. At the Temple Church, Rémy and Silas steal the cryptex and pretend to kidnap Teabing. Teabing is angry with Rémy because he was not supposed to show his face. Teabing murders Rémy by taking advantage of his peanut allergy. Teabing sends Silas to the Opus Dei house, where he is later involved in a shootout with the police and dies. During the shootout Silas accidentally kills Aringarosa, who came to help him.
Sophie and Langdon figure out the real location described in the clue and go to Westminster Abbey where Teabing lures them into a secluded room. Here, Langdon retrieves the cryptex and is able to guess the password. The police, who have figured out Teabing is the murdered, arrive. Langdon and Sophie go to Scotland, where they believe the Grail is. Instead, they find Sophie’s grandmother and brother, whom Sophie believed were dead. Langdon and Sophie agree to meet the next month in Italy after sharing a kiss.
Two days later, back in Paris, Langdon figures out the location of the Grail. The Grail is buried under the inverted pyramid at the Louvre.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Because this novel is a mystery, much of the plot is revealed in flashbacks and may be confusing. This synopsis will recount the major plot events chronologically.
Five months before the novel begins, Bishop Aringarosa is called to the Vatican and told that the Pope no longer wants the Catholic Church to be associated with Opus Dei (Opus Dei (Latin:"The Work of God") is a controversial Catholic organization founded to foster Christian principles and promote the church). The Church has decided to give Opus Dei twenty-million euro, which the Church had earlier borrowed from Opus Dei. A few weeks later, Aringarosa receives a call from Lee Teabing, who disguises himself as a devout Frenchman and calls himself “the Teacher.” Teabing tells Aringarosa that he knows how to find the Holy Grail. (The Holy Grail - of legend and literature, it is commonly thought to be the cup or chalice used by Christ at the Last Supper. It is said to possess miraculous powers.)
For twenty-million euro--money that Teabing does not need, but uses as a cover--Teabing will share the Grail with Aringarosa who can use it to bargain with the Church. In the meantime Teabing has bugged the homes and offices of prominent Parisians whom he suspects are at the top of the Priory of Sion. When Teabing has enough information he tells Silas, the albino monk, to kill the Grand Master and his sénéchaux. Silas must first demand to know where the keystone is. When he kills the men, they each give him the same incorrect answer.
Meanwhile, Harvard professor, Robert Langdon is in Paris to give a speech about his research. He is woken in the middle of the night by Lieutenant Collet because the Paris police need his help solving the murder of Jacques Saunière. The police captain, Bezu Fache, is actually bringing Langdon to the scene because he thinks Langdon was responsible for the murder. Before he died, Saunière left a riddle on the floor next to his body that included Langdon’s name. At the scene of the crime Langdon meets Sophie Neveu, Saunière’s granddaughter--although the police only know that she works for the department of cryptology. Sophie knows Langdon is being wrongly accused and helps him escape, but not before they discover more clues left by her grandfather.
Langdon and Sophie follow Saunière’s clues to a Swiss Bank where they uncover a cryptex. Without knowing that Teabing is the mastermind behind the murders that occurred that evening, Langdon takes Sophie to his home. Teabing is a religious historian and life-long Grail seeker as well as Langdon’s friend. Both Silas and the police end up at Teabing’s estate, but Rémy, Teabing’s manservant who is in on the plot, helps them escape. Teabing, Sophie, Langdon, Rémy and Silas (as a prisoner) travel to London.
On the way, they are able to open the cryptex, finding only another cryptex inside. Teabing purposely misreads the next clue, leading them to the wrong place. At the Temple Church, Rémy and Silas steal the cryptex and pretend to kidnap Teabing. Teabing is angry with Rémy because he was not supposed to show his face. Teabing murders Rémy by taking advantage of his peanut allergy. Teabing sends Silas to the Opus Dei house, where he is later involved in a shootout with the police and dies. During the shootout Silas accidentally kills Aringarosa, who came to help him.
Sophie and Langdon figure out the real location described in the clue and go to Westminster Abbey where Teabing lures them into a secluded room. Here, Langdon retrieves the cryptex and is able to guess the password. The police, who have figured out Teabing is the murdered, arrive. Langdon and Sophie go to Scotland, where they believe the Grail is. Instead, they find Sophie’s grandmother and brother, whom Sophie believed were dead. Langdon and Sophie agree to meet the next month in Italy after sharing a kiss.
Two days later, back in Paris, Langdon figures out the location of the Grail. The Grail is buried under the inverted pyramid at the Louvre.

Posted at 06:34 |  by Unknown

Robin Sharma through the pages of his book The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari takes us into the core of a spiritual journey that leads us to view our life from a whole new angle.
Summary Of The Book
Julian Mantle’s world was always limited to his work, material possession and money. However, his life takes a complete U turn when he is suddenly traumatized with a heart attack. Realization dawns on him and he decides to alter the course of his life. It is then that he decides to give up everything and entail a spiritual journey to the Himalayas in India in search of a more meaningful life.
From the sages of the Sivana in the Himalayas he garners some newfound knowledge and philosophies, which goes on to change his life forever. When he comes back from his spiritual journey from the Himalayas there is a discernible change in him. He narrates his experience to his fellow colleague John and that is how the entire story and experience of Julian Mantle is related to us.
The narratives of the spiritual journey that Julian Mantle undertakes take us on a ride to a profound and different perception of life.
The book bestows on us the key to living a great, meaningful, healthy and happy life. We are educated on the Seven Virtues of Enlightened learning, which comprises of the need to master the mind, to follow one’s purpose, to live with discipline, to practice Kaizen, to respect time, to embrace the present and to selflessly serve others.
The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari was an immediate success. It became an International Bestseller with more than three million copies sold worldwide. The book has been translated into a number of foreign languages to reach out to a larger audience.
About Robin Sharma
Robin Sharma is an author and lawyer. He has to his credit a number of books; The Leader Who Had No Title, Who Will Cry When You Die: Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, The Saint, The Surfer, And The CEO: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Heart's Desires, Megaliving!, Family Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and Discover Your Destiny With The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.
Born in Canada in the year 1965, Robin Sharma is the Founder, Chief Visionary Officer and CEO of a global consultancy firm, Sharma Leadership International Inc. The company’s clients include GE, FedEx, Harvard Business School, Nike, and many Fortune 500 companies.
He was awarded with the Brand Laureate Brand Personality Award in 2009 and Golden Gavel award in 2011. Robin Sharma did his graduation in law and graduated from Dalhousie University School of Law. He frequents many countries as a speaker. His books have been translated to seventy languages and sold in sixty countries.

THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI

Robin Sharma through the pages of his book The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari takes us into the core of a spiritual journey that leads us to view our life from a whole new angle.
Summary Of The Book
Julian Mantle’s world was always limited to his work, material possession and money. However, his life takes a complete U turn when he is suddenly traumatized with a heart attack. Realization dawns on him and he decides to alter the course of his life. It is then that he decides to give up everything and entail a spiritual journey to the Himalayas in India in search of a more meaningful life.
From the sages of the Sivana in the Himalayas he garners some newfound knowledge and philosophies, which goes on to change his life forever. When he comes back from his spiritual journey from the Himalayas there is a discernible change in him. He narrates his experience to his fellow colleague John and that is how the entire story and experience of Julian Mantle is related to us.
The narratives of the spiritual journey that Julian Mantle undertakes take us on a ride to a profound and different perception of life.
The book bestows on us the key to living a great, meaningful, healthy and happy life. We are educated on the Seven Virtues of Enlightened learning, which comprises of the need to master the mind, to follow one’s purpose, to live with discipline, to practice Kaizen, to respect time, to embrace the present and to selflessly serve others.
The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari was an immediate success. It became an International Bestseller with more than three million copies sold worldwide. The book has been translated into a number of foreign languages to reach out to a larger audience.
About Robin Sharma
Robin Sharma is an author and lawyer. He has to his credit a number of books; The Leader Who Had No Title, Who Will Cry When You Die: Life Lessons From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, The Saint, The Surfer, And The CEO: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Heart's Desires, Megaliving!, Family Wisdom From The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, and Discover Your Destiny With The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.
Born in Canada in the year 1965, Robin Sharma is the Founder, Chief Visionary Officer and CEO of a global consultancy firm, Sharma Leadership International Inc. The company’s clients include GE, FedEx, Harvard Business School, Nike, and many Fortune 500 companies.
He was awarded with the Brand Laureate Brand Personality Award in 2009 and Golden Gavel award in 2011. Robin Sharma did his graduation in law and graduated from Dalhousie University School of Law. He frequents many countries as a speaker. His books have been translated to seventy languages and sold in sixty countries.

Posted at 05:58 |  by Unknown
This is an excellent collection of Indian poetry rich in imagery and allegory. Very fresh and incredibly creative. I will read again.

Here are two I liked:

Baby's World

I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby's very
own world.
I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops
down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.
Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never
could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with
trays crowded with bright toys.
I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby's mind,
and out beyond all bounds;
Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms
of kings of no history;
Where Reason makes kites of her laws and flies them, the Truth
sets Fact free from its fetters.


A Moments Indulgence

I ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by thy side. The works
that I have in hand I will finish afterwards.

Away from the sight of thy face my heart knows no rest nor respite,
and my work becomes an endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil.

Today the summer has come at my window with its sighs and murmurs; and
the bees are plying their minstrelsy at the court of the flowering grove.

Now it is time to sit quite, face to face with thee, and to sing
dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure. 

The Gardener by Rabindranath Tagore

This is an excellent collection of Indian poetry rich in imagery and allegory. Very fresh and incredibly creative. I will read again.

Here are two I liked:

Baby's World

I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby's very
own world.
I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops
down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.
Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never
could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with
trays crowded with bright toys.
I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby's mind,
and out beyond all bounds;
Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms
of kings of no history;
Where Reason makes kites of her laws and flies them, the Truth
sets Fact free from its fetters.


A Moments Indulgence

I ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by thy side. The works
that I have in hand I will finish afterwards.

Away from the sight of thy face my heart knows no rest nor respite,
and my work becomes an endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil.

Today the summer has come at my window with its sighs and murmurs; and
the bees are plying their minstrelsy at the court of the flowering grove.

Now it is time to sit quite, face to face with thee, and to sing
dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure. 

Posted at 05:54 |  by Unknown
This play in three acts was written in Bengal in 1911, not long after Tagore lost his son, daughter and wife to disease. In 1940, the evening before Paris fell to the Nazis, Andre Gide's French translation of this play was read over the radio. Two years after, in a Warsaw ghetto, a Polish version was the last play performed in the orphanage of Janusz Korczak who, when asked why he chose the play, said: "eventually one had to learn to accept serenely the angel of death." Within a month, he and his children were taken away and gassed. Mahatma Gandhi liked this play a lot, saying it has a soothing effect upon his nerves. W.B. Yeats praised it as "perfectly constructed and conveys to the right audience an emotion of gentleness and peace."

This is a death play. Something you can read, or remember reading, when you've stopped raging against the dying of the light and have accepted the inevitable. The ending is abrupt like all lives, like most deaths
, like a lost position in a chess game which comes suddenly after a long series of moves made with much lively vigor, hope and great expectations. 

Frankly, I do not know where the gentleness and peace come from (must be from the potent combination of youth, hope, innocence, death and what goes beyond it) and why this play is a much acclaimed one, for its spiritual punch. Just like I do not know how some chess players--what W.B. Yeats may consider as the "right audience"--can calmly gaze at a lost position after a most searing battle over the board, topple his King after a long sigh, peacefully shake his opponent's hand, sign the scoresheet and serenely walk away.

The Post Office by Rabindranath Tagore

This play in three acts was written in Bengal in 1911, not long after Tagore lost his son, daughter and wife to disease. In 1940, the evening before Paris fell to the Nazis, Andre Gide's French translation of this play was read over the radio. Two years after, in a Warsaw ghetto, a Polish version was the last play performed in the orphanage of Janusz Korczak who, when asked why he chose the play, said: "eventually one had to learn to accept serenely the angel of death." Within a month, he and his children were taken away and gassed. Mahatma Gandhi liked this play a lot, saying it has a soothing effect upon his nerves. W.B. Yeats praised it as "perfectly constructed and conveys to the right audience an emotion of gentleness and peace."

This is a death play. Something you can read, or remember reading, when you've stopped raging against the dying of the light and have accepted the inevitable. The ending is abrupt like all lives, like most deaths
, like a lost position in a chess game which comes suddenly after a long series of moves made with much lively vigor, hope and great expectations. 

Frankly, I do not know where the gentleness and peace come from (must be from the potent combination of youth, hope, innocence, death and what goes beyond it) and why this play is a much acclaimed one, for its spiritual punch. Just like I do not know how some chess players--what W.B. Yeats may consider as the "right audience"--can calmly gaze at a lost position after a most searing battle over the board, topple his King after a long sigh, peacefully shake his opponent's hand, sign the scoresheet and serenely walk away.

Posted at 05:48 |  by Unknown

Monday, 2 September 2013

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies.

Books: 
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
Picture This! Shakespeare: Macbeth by Philip Page and Marilyn Petit
Macbeth: A Retelling by Adam McKeown
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, annotated by Burton Raffel
Genre: play
Publication date: from the 1623 Folio, probably first produced in 1606, according to Burton Raffel’s Introduction
Summary: Macbeth, a Scottish baron, and his wife plot regicide after witches predict that Macbeth is to become king.  Macbeth is of two minds about the whole affair, but does the deed with the help of Lady Macbeth. They frame the king’s guards, who Macbeth then kills in his supposed outrage at the king’s murder. The king’s sons doubt that the guards are to blame and flee in the fear that they will be next on the murderer’s list. Macbeth uses their escape to spread the story that the king’s sons paid the guard to murder their father and, thus, Macbeth takes over the throne.
Macbeth’s friends and countrymen begin to suspect Macbeth’s guilt. Banquo, who was with Macbeth during the conversation with the witches, received a prediction as well: that it would be his progeny, not Macbeth’s that hold the throne in the future. Macbeth fears Banquo’s suspicion and realizes that if all the witches’ predictions come true, Macbeth has committed murder to benefit Banquo’s son.  Macbeth sends ruffians to fix the problem. They kill Banquo but his son escapes.
Banquo’s ghost, visible only to Macbeth, shows up at a banquet, unnerving Macbeth visibly which causes his guests such discomfort that they leave the table.
Macbeth visits the witches again (“double, double toil and trouble”). With visions, they offer some advice (beware Macduff) and assurances (“none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” and “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him”) but they also continue to predict that it will be Banquo’s descendants, not Macbeth’s, who inherit the throne.
Macbeth receives word that Macduff has gone to England to help Malcolm, King Duncan’s son, regain the throne. He sends troops to Macduff’s home where they kill his wife and children.
Lady Macbeth, attended by a maid and physician, is witnessed sleepwalking and obsessively rubbing her hands (“Out, damned spot!”).
Macduff and Malcolm, the prince, march toward Macbeth’s stronghold at Dunsinane with a force of English and Scottish soldiers. They gather in Birnam Wood and order everyone to cut down branches and use them to disguise their presence and number as they proceed across the field to Dunsinane, thus fulfilling the prophecy that Birnam Wood will move against Dunsinane.
The Queen, Lady Macbeth, dies and Macbeth makes this famous speech:
Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
The battle commences. The castle is lost, but Macbeth fights on, believing that he can not be killed because all men are of women born. Macduff, who demanded of his fellow fighters that he be allowed to kill Macbeth in retaliation for the deaths of his wife and children, seeks out Macbeth and fights him declaring, “Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.” Macbeth is slain, fulfilling the last of the witches’ prophecies about him.

The battle ends. Macduff presents Macbeth’s head to Malcolm with the greeting “Hail, King of Scotland,” a cry that is taken up throughout the castle.

MACBETH By William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies.

Books: 
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
Picture This! Shakespeare: Macbeth by Philip Page and Marilyn Petit
Macbeth: A Retelling by Adam McKeown
Macbeth by William Shakespeare, annotated by Burton Raffel
Genre: play
Publication date: from the 1623 Folio, probably first produced in 1606, according to Burton Raffel’s Introduction
Summary: Macbeth, a Scottish baron, and his wife plot regicide after witches predict that Macbeth is to become king.  Macbeth is of two minds about the whole affair, but does the deed with the help of Lady Macbeth. They frame the king’s guards, who Macbeth then kills in his supposed outrage at the king’s murder. The king’s sons doubt that the guards are to blame and flee in the fear that they will be next on the murderer’s list. Macbeth uses their escape to spread the story that the king’s sons paid the guard to murder their father and, thus, Macbeth takes over the throne.
Macbeth’s friends and countrymen begin to suspect Macbeth’s guilt. Banquo, who was with Macbeth during the conversation with the witches, received a prediction as well: that it would be his progeny, not Macbeth’s that hold the throne in the future. Macbeth fears Banquo’s suspicion and realizes that if all the witches’ predictions come true, Macbeth has committed murder to benefit Banquo’s son.  Macbeth sends ruffians to fix the problem. They kill Banquo but his son escapes.
Banquo’s ghost, visible only to Macbeth, shows up at a banquet, unnerving Macbeth visibly which causes his guests such discomfort that they leave the table.
Macbeth visits the witches again (“double, double toil and trouble”). With visions, they offer some advice (beware Macduff) and assurances (“none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” and “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him”) but they also continue to predict that it will be Banquo’s descendants, not Macbeth’s, who inherit the throne.
Macbeth receives word that Macduff has gone to England to help Malcolm, King Duncan’s son, regain the throne. He sends troops to Macduff’s home where they kill his wife and children.
Lady Macbeth, attended by a maid and physician, is witnessed sleepwalking and obsessively rubbing her hands (“Out, damned spot!”).
Macduff and Malcolm, the prince, march toward Macbeth’s stronghold at Dunsinane with a force of English and Scottish soldiers. They gather in Birnam Wood and order everyone to cut down branches and use them to disguise their presence and number as they proceed across the field to Dunsinane, thus fulfilling the prophecy that Birnam Wood will move against Dunsinane.
The Queen, Lady Macbeth, dies and Macbeth makes this famous speech:
Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
The battle commences. The castle is lost, but Macbeth fights on, believing that he can not be killed because all men are of women born. Macduff, who demanded of his fellow fighters that he be allowed to kill Macbeth in retaliation for the deaths of his wife and children, seeks out Macbeth and fights him declaring, “Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.” Macbeth is slain, fulfilling the last of the witches’ prophecies about him.

The battle ends. Macduff presents Macbeth’s head to Malcolm with the greeting “Hail, King of Scotland,” a cry that is taken up throughout the castle.

Posted at 18:43 |  by Pritam
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