biblomania

Title:ALCHEMIST Author: Paulo Coelho Nature: Fiction Some books you read and they tend to haunt you throughout your life. You tend to find these images in different walks of life. The book I am going to talk about is of same category i.e “ALCHEMIST”. It is a story of a young shepherd in Spain who dreams of finding a huge treasure near pyramids of Egypt. So begins his odyssey in which he meets a gypsy who tells his future but promises from him, half the treasure. The omens which tend to direct him towards the treasure. His journey takes him through Sahara desert where he meets his lady love and finally the ALCHEMIST, who hands him a piece of gold for his journey backwards. The boy is astonished because while returning he will have loads of treasure so why this gold piece? The most fascinating part of story is it’s climax. Paulo Coelho’s book is really a best seller, although his another book “FIFTH MOUNTAIN” I found boring. Other Books : Fifth Mountain, Zahir, Pilgrimage,Twelve Minutes

Title: MOTHER Author: Maxim Gorky Nature: Non-Fiction An old classic and that too it praises Communism which has lost it’s shine of what it had in late 50’s or 60’s. But it still is one of the master pieces of Russian literature and probably English too. The story revolves around a woman called Pelagea Nilovna who is a worker in a factory at the start of 20th century. Her husband, a worst kind of alcoholic is dead, and the only hope she has in life, is her son Pavel. She is a typical woman who has lived her life in the tyranny of her husband without realizing that her son has grown, not only physically but mentally too. Pavel comes into contact with communism and becomes an instant devotee. Due to Pavel, Pelagea comes in touch with comrades who visit their houses frequently to preach among factory workers. Earlier she is worried about her son but later on herself becomes a comrade. The metamorphosis of a age old woman from a typical house wife to fearless comrade is brilliantly portra