This post is about three specific books that have given me three specific things- a house abuzz with excitement was the first, when lending libraries were in vogue; a memory of a dear friend whom I lost in September 2019 (hey Billie Joe, I thank you for recording Wake Me Up When September Ends. You're the reminder that life goes on even after September ends) and lastly, the book that gave me my best friend(s).
Now then.
Book the FIRST
Dial a Ghost, Eva Ibbotson
On a clear evening, I came to my grandmother's house (she's passed away now, but I can't call the house anything but thakuma-r bari or as the English would have it, paternal grandmother's house) and my cousin opened the door and said there was a new BOOK in the house . I came indoors to find my younger cousin reading it. When she put it away and went to do maths homework, my elder cousin handed it to me and bade me read it. And the book floored me. As I was lost in the world Eva Ibbotson created, a world where ghosts could be hired and little boys could be befriended by specters, who should walk in but my grandmother and what question should she ask but "Hey, where's Dial a Ghost?"
And thereby hangs the tale of a remarkable woman who gave me love, a poignant book that gave three children hope and a reunion with my English teacher who has my copy of the book and finished it in a day and urgently texted me and said she loved it!
Book the SECOND
The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
This is not a fantasy book. This is a memory. It was suggested to me by a friend whom I met online, a supremely talented friend who made me fall in love with letter writing again, had a way with words and was a member of a band. Now she's no longer in this world and has found rest (or so I hope), but the book remains on my bookshelf and it is one of the most haunting and enchanting books I have ever read.
The Circus arrives without warning, always at night, always unannounced. The Circus is a magical place and the magic is between a pair of star crossed lovers, forced to do battle to satisfy the whims of their guardians. It tells the tale of how the Circus came to be, how the lovers fell in love and what befell them.
I have read this book thrice and will shortly do so for a fourth time.
Book the THIRD
The Little Prince, Antoine de-Saint Exupèry
This book was given to me by my father and he asked me one question after I had finished it. Those who have read the book will identify with it immediately. "What is a hat?"
This book went on to become one of the most influential books I have ever read. It was as important to me as a Bible. In simple language, this book tells you about life. It stays with you, it grows on you and it grows with you. This book has gotten me through heartbreak, through flunked exams, it has given me many a happy hour (I finished it in less than an hour the last time we crossed eyes) reading on the last bench in class and has made me into the person I am today.
This book has also given me my best friend, a person who uses they/them pronouns, talks to me regularly and is the reason I am still alive. Not only that, this book has been gifted by me to another best friend who made it out of a hellish situation recently and I've begged her to tell me if she likes it. (Fingers crossed. I know you're smiling as you read this sentence).
What was the point of this post? That my dear is a matter of consequence. There are so many more important things. What you should be asking is what is it about these books that makes a man with three stiff drinks in him an insomniac telling us about the films about ghosts in his head?
Buy the books here:
1. Dial a Ghost
I take your humble leave!
The Bilge Master
Lovely post. You have a special way with words. The closing down of Eluru has been a major loss
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