Review by Gabi-reads -- Mock My Words by Chandra Shekhar
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- Latest Review: Mock My Words by Chandra Shekhar
Review by Gabi-reads -- Mock My Words by Chandra Shekhar
[Following is a volunteer review of "Mock My Words" by Chandra Shekhar.]
Mock my words , by Chandra Shekhar was a delightful surprise. Not that I expected the book to be bad, only that I did not expect it to be this good! Initially, I chose to read Mock my words because the title and the author's background (being of Indian descent, yet writing about somebody of a Chinese descent), intrigued me. Boy, did I congratulate myself for my choice! I am awarding Mock my words 4 stars out of 4 without any reservations and strongly recommend it to all those who enjoy a challenge in their reading, yet want the reading to be engaging, interesting and emotional.
Oh, yes, this book has it all: elevated language, wonderfully defined characters, well structured plot, humor, and to me the most important thing-multiple threads intertwining with ease, adding layer upon layer to the story.
Professor Tan is of Chinese origins, a successful author of two novels, who takes a job as a Professor in a university in the US. His writing proficiency is not matched by his verbal skills-his speech is broken, with lots of mistakes. His students cannot get past that, neither can some of his fellow professors. But professor Tan makes some friends nonetheless, as he is very kind and generous, not to mention quite a good chef.
Unfortunately all of his qualities are wasted on his wife and the unraveling of their marriage is predictable and emotional, but luckily does not take center stage and is very skillfully presented. The main focus is on the exciting story of the exposing of private data Laura, the wife, is working to solve. She is in PR and appointed to lead a team who has the mission of finding out how sensitive information of many privateindividuals-information that was meant to be secure- gets exposed, threatening to be the end of the company held accountable for this major security breech. It turns out it was not the company's fault at all, and although Laura and her team get fired to prevent the truth from being made public, in the end the truth prevails. And it is not a comfortable one.
The plot is indeed anchored in the present, yet manages to skillfully include some glimpses in the past, both into Tan's Chinese childhood, and to his wife's former marriage.
Mock my words, although a real page turner to me, is not a book meant for the inexperienced or those who don't enjoy reading much. Its target audience is those who feel at ease with not so common words, those who have experienced the challenges in learning a foreign language, those who can appreciate what it is like to live abroad, miss dear ones and rely on one person only, who then lets you down. This book is for those who never give up.
******
Mock My Words
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mock my words , by Chandra Shekhar was a delightful surprise. Not that I expected the book to be bad, only that I did not expect it to be this good! Initially, I chose to read Mock my words because the title and the author's background (being of Indian descent, yet writing about somebody of a Chinese descent), intrigued me. Boy, did I congratulate myself for my choice! I am awarding Mock my words 4 stars out of 4 without any reservations and strongly recommend it to all those who enjoy a challenge in their reading, yet want the reading to be engaging, interesting and emotional.
Oh, yes, this book has it all: elevated language, wonderfully defined characters, well structured plot, humor, and to me the most important thing-multiple threads intertwining with ease, adding layer upon layer to the story.
Professor Tan is of Chinese origins, a successful author of two novels, who takes a job as a Professor in a university in the US. His writing proficiency is not matched by his verbal skills-his speech is broken, with lots of mistakes. His students cannot get past that, neither can some of his fellow professors. But professor Tan makes some friends nonetheless, as he is very kind and generous, not to mention quite a good chef.
Unfortunately all of his qualities are wasted on his wife and the unraveling of their marriage is predictable and emotional, but luckily does not take center stage and is very skillfully presented. The main focus is on the exciting story of the exposing of private data Laura, the wife, is working to solve. She is in PR and appointed to lead a team who has the mission of finding out how sensitive information of many privateindividuals-information that was meant to be secure- gets exposed, threatening to be the end of the company held accountable for this major security breech. It turns out it was not the company's fault at all, and although Laura and her team get fired to prevent the truth from being made public, in the end the truth prevails. And it is not a comfortable one.
The plot is indeed anchored in the present, yet manages to skillfully include some glimpses in the past, both into Tan's Chinese childhood, and to his wife's former marriage.
Mock my words, although a real page turner to me, is not a book meant for the inexperienced or those who don't enjoy reading much. Its target audience is those who feel at ease with not so common words, those who have experienced the challenges in learning a foreign language, those who can appreciate what it is like to live abroad, miss dear ones and rely on one person only, who then lets you down. This book is for those who never give up.
******
Mock My Words
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Mock My Words by Chandra Shekhar
