Rising of a Dead Moon : Review

Author - Paul Haston

Publisher - CreateSpace independent Publishing Platform

Paperback & EBook - 238 Pages

Ratings - 4/5

The book is currently free to download on goodreads.

 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16139541-rising-of-a-dead-moon

It can also be purchased in either hardback or kindle on Amazon.

The Indian company for Amazon is Junglee (www.junglee.com).

The Amazon link is here:
http://www.amazon.com/Rising-Dead-Moo...

 
Rising of a Dead Moon is all about a seventeen year old Indian girl whose life has been oscillating between being Usha-Nakti and Usha again. The book set in the British colonial time, focuses on the plight of a young widow who is blamed for being inauspicious when her husband, three times her age passes away. She is shunned by the society and her miserable fate does not abandon her no matter where she goes. Her journey from the girl who rejoiced in the lap of her father, listening to stories, to the girl escaping the sati pratha and fleeing to Africa in search of her father is a gripping one. You feel for the girl and feel rage beyond words at the people who treat her inhumanly. You wish to see her smile when she is treated like a person by Dr. Hitchcock and J. Rothwell and feel the pain when they have to move on leaving her with the authorities.
 

Pros:
1. Amazing narration. The book fast paced.
2. Getting a lot of historical facts correct made the story flow.
3. Playing with readers emotions and easy character involvement grip the readers till the end.
 

Cons:
1. A bit too sad for my taste.(Sorry)
2. The ending, well, it could have been so different and maybe better. It actually reminded me of Water by Deepa Mehta.
3. There is a reference of praying to Brahman, the universal one. I felt that reference was wrong. Brahmans are supposed to be the highest caste of Hindu society and they are the ones who used to get the first right to step into temples in olden times. No brahman can assume the title of god or a prophet. The god I feel the god who was being referenced in that section was Bramha.
 

Over all the book was a good and very fast read but too sad for my taste. I would give the book a 3.5/5 but I was pleased with the amount of work put into the novel, the correctness of most historical references and being from Orissa, the reference of Jaganath, Puri made me really happy. So I would rate the book a 4/5. Contemporary readers will surely love the book.

A Mother's Prayer

Disclaimer:
This poem was written for IBL (Indian Bloggers League), organised by Write-Up Cafe..  I represent Westerlies- Winds of Change, which is the West Zone side. This poem was selected as the best poem of West Zone and hence has been submitted for the final round.

The scent of orange blossoms dances, with you, in the air.

O my sweet, my light in despair

Your smile weaves my pleasant days

Your cry paints everything gray

The clatter of your playful self, innocence undefined,

The sweetness of your gentle words – Love purified.

I sing for Gods to shower bliss, of all that men claim;

‘Cause you symbolize a love so deep, it’s out of Aphrodite’s game.

Dancing on the rosy cloud of love she roams around

But little does she understand, of the strongest love on this ground.

A passion undying that rules the world, the love of a mother for a child

But all she sees is the love that sways, the shrewd two edged Knife.

A ray of hope, A lullaby of love,

That is all I sing to you, my dove;

A prayer to the Goddess of love,

To seek you a man

From the dreamy land,

Who sees the passion beyond the seas

And loves you more than if he were me.

-Vaisakhi Mishra

Fates

The happy faces is what we see

But underneath lies a truth so grim,

For tresses of darkness engulf it all,

The faint smile of life lays stark, in a hole.

They come out of nowhere and pull you in,

They make you rejuvenate on chords of sin.

Wicked the religion, that’s for the beautiful thugs;

They weave gauge and cut, that’s their pleasure drug.

They sting the strong, they kiss the weak

For life is a game and that’s all they seek.

You walk and chatter, you dream, you frown,

‘Cause these puppeteers make you dance like a clown.

Clotho spins her spindle glazed,

Sloven Lachesis has the measuring blade,

Atropos slits the golden thread,

And the soul is taken to Hades’s gate.

Just a marionette for the time being-

Waiting for the flicker in candle of wit

Or to render some tremendous feat

And Fates will make you their favourite keep.

-Vaisakhi Mishra