Human kind has evolved from their primate selves and now
are in possession and control of mighty machineries that do their bidding. There are hundreds
of forms of entertainment but nonetheless, one of the most basic, simplistic and yet the best and the most relatable and intimate form of it are books. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you get addicted to its fragrance, the firm spine, the pages smeared in ink that tell the tales of worlds you may or may not know. If you are one of us, the bookworms, you are bound to like these couple of books that have set their mark in 2016. And even if you aren’t, these are definitely the ones you should start with.
THE WHISTLER
JOHN GRISHAM
John Grisham is a man of values and through his books, he fights for the values that he believes
in and they don’t change in any
of his books and neither do his tactics. The whistler is a huge improvement from his book that came out before it, Rogue Lawyer. The Whistler, like all of his other books, is a legal thriller.
“The Whistler” refers to a whistle-blower who secretly calls attention to corruption. If the corruption involves the kinds of crimes being committed by the
Coast Mafia (including skimming and laundering the casino’s cash and hiding money offshore), not to mention the judge’s transgressions, the whistle-blower may receive a cash reward. But we don’t know this person’s motives — throughout most of the book we don’t even know who he or she is. We just know that Lacy has been contacted by an intermediary: an ex-con who lives on a nice boat, uses a fake name, drinks beer to Jimmy Buffett music and turns up to play the informant now and then.
The book starts innocently enough and then builds up to
the thrill. The stakes suddenly become much higher, and
the suspense tightens after a relatively slow start. Events and revelations are what keep Mr. Grisham’s books moving. It’s unlikely that anyone looks to him for sheer style. Without exactly being repetitious, he makes this story longer than it has to be. “The Whistler” also has a strong and frightening sense of place, painting part of the Panhandle as a lawless region
where terrible things might happen, and do. And Mr. Grisham deserves credit for dependability: He is at heart an optimist who believes that wrongs can be ferreted out and righted.
In summation, “The Whistler” is a terrific book; enthralling and strongly voiced. This is definitely a must read and one
of the finest books to have come out in 2016. It was released in hardcover, large print paperback, e-book, compact disc audiobook and downloadable audiobook on October 25, 2016.
THE GIRL ON A TRAIN
PAULA HAWKINS
The Girl On a Train is another thriller on the list but of a different sort. It
is a psychological thriller by British Author Paula Hawkins, a masterful play on memory loss on a pretty young subject. Paula Hawkins worked as a journalist for fifteen years before turning her hand to fiction. Born
and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989 and has lived there ever since. The Girl on the Train is her first thriller. Hawkins wastes zero time describing anything that doesn’t have to do with exactly
what is going on in the moment – and while that doesn’t make her a great writer, there is absolutely nothing here that will transcend, or reverberate within you long after you’ve finished reading.
The narrative is skilfully split between three women whose lives interlink tragically: Rachel, Megan and Anna. We first encounter Rachel on the commute home from London, just another tired worker on her way back to the suburbs – except that she has four cans of pre-mixed gin and tonic in her bag, and that’s only for starters. “It’s Friday, so I don’t have to feel guilty about drinking on the train. TGIF. The fun starts here.”
Most of the characters are desperate people addicted to thrills and highs. They experience depression or boredom with everyday life. They drink, do drugs, lie, have affairs and revel
in the excitement and sexual tension that come from doing something they know is wrong. Megan, Rachel and Anne have stories to tell. They are not heroines in the traditional sense of the word. They are each flawed. But they are so very human and we can relate to them. Keep up with the dates. They become important as you read through this novel.
Hawkins juggles perspectives and timescales with great skill, and considerable suspense builds up along with empathy for an unusual central character who does not immediately grab the reader. “Ingenious” twists usually violate psychological plausibility, as in Gone Girl. Hawkins’s Girl is a less flashy,
but altogether more solid creation. Everyone in this book is absolutely terrible, and as a result, this book is a masterpiece in character study and development. It’s also a well-written, precisely plotted psychological thriller, and deftly sketches one unreliable narrator after another.
Overall, this book is a good read, a solid story with solid writing. The seemingly good characters turn out to be much worse people than expected–and vice versa. We observe a semi-likable protagonist swimming upstream against a current of alcoholism, trying to clear her head and remember what happened the night she came home bloodied and a woman from a nearby neighbourhood vanished.
(sources: The Guardian)
