Flashman Papers - Review - 1

Flashman (The Flashman Papers, #1)Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where do I start? I was not sure how I missed this book for so long. There is a reference to it in William Darlymple's 'The return of the King' and I searched and got it (I mean all the books). Just finished the first one.

Harry Flashman is not your typical hero, he is not even your typical anti-hero. He is the embodiment of all that was bad in the British officer of the 19th century. In addition, he is also a 'toady', a very cowardly person. How he ends with everlasting glory in the battle field is a story told as humorously as possible with probably the most analyzed and accurate historical details.

Flashman is forthright in his dealings and puts things plainly as he sees it. He buys the commission, rapes his father's mistress, sells his first Indian slave girl because she has stopped to be 'fun', has an opinion on everything that goes around in the army and in British empire, manages to land in the thick of the things every time and in spite of himself, ends up as a hero of the said empire.

The humor in the novel is outrageous and absolute fun to read, if you don't mind the colorful language. Fraser has a knack of pun and wit and there is a description of Queen Victoria (described as 'plumpy' but okay below the neck!). There is nothing sanctified in the novel and there is no comeuppance for our hero (though there is a lapse on his wife side which he is ready to overlook as long as he gets the money).

Overall, a very good read and it is impossible to not hate and like Flashman.

 Flashman's Lady (The Flashman Papers, #6)Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Second of the series (chronologically) though written sixth. Starts with an elaborate description of a Cricket match at Lord's and picks up from there. There are bookies threatening Flashman with ruin and he escapes to Singapore and escapes the killers only to see Elsbeth kidnapped by the pirates of Borneo. Forced into the rescue by the White Rajah of Sarawak, he ends up in Madagascar ruled by a ruthless queen Ranavalona.
There are some moments of absolute chicanery by H. and places he feels badly for Elsbeth, though calling her all kinds of name through the book. The hero of Afghanisthan finds the going difficult entangling with all kinds of villains from London bookies to Chinese black faces to the Borneo pirates.
Witnesses the many facets of tortures in Madagascar and become part of a coup unwittingly and bolts from the place at the first chance.
Very interesting read..

Royal Flash (The Flashman Papers, #2)Royal Flash by George MacDonald Fraser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading the 4th book in the list (chronologically) I am yet to get tired of Flashman. Here he lands in the midst of the 1848 revolutions and becomes a pawn in the hands of the young Otto Bismarck, who has just embarked on his quest for an unified Germany. Flashman makes an enemy out of him while in England and Bismarck repays him by calling him to Prussia (through Lola Montez, who seems to be a remarkable lady in the mold of Flashman himself) and put him in a la 'Prisoner of Zenda' situation. Except that our hero is not as brave or gallant as Rudolf Rossandyll and hence wriggles out of all that is thrown at him.

There is no war here but only intrigues, betrayals and back stabbings. Flashman, by his uncanny resemblance to Price Carl Justaf of Denmark, replaces the price before his marriage doing the bidding of Bismarck. What follows with both the Germans and Danes trying to murder him makes for an interesting story. Here as in the other Flashman novels, Flashman is in the thick of the action and at one or two places he acquits himself neatly.

Fraser's writing is full of scathing social comment on the mores of the Victorian England and at one point, Flashman muses on the moral hypocrisy that pervaded the kingdom after the ascent of Queen Victoria which is quite hilarious but also thoughtful. For some reason, Fraser keeps picking on the queen and the consort Albert, probably for the same reason.

I have the movie as well and was waiting to finish the book before watching it. But I can see why this book was chosen to be made into a movie as it involves not too many locations or major wars and hence easy to be made.

Overall, all I can say after finishing the fourth title, is 'Gimme more'!!

Bedtime Stories - Surely you're joking

During school days, one of my favorite subjects is Physics. For various reasons, not to mention some of the best teachers I've had, it has remained a favorite subject ever since. I still remember reading books on relativity, QED etc without understanding a single word in the entire book. The Soviet publications on elementary Physics were cheap and easily available. It was just that I have had to read a lot more on basics before even attempting reading one those big volumes. That's when I came across NBT's introduction to basics of Physics series. Thus, a journey into a fascinating world started.

At some point, my interest moved from physics to the physicists. They were no less interesting than the subject itself. Especially the physicists from the period 1910-30, when giant strides were made in Quantum mechanics / Astronomy / Particle physics etc. The leading physicists of this period starting with Einstein, Bohr, Dirac, Oppenheimer, Pauli, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Fermi, Born were fascinating by themselves. Each of their biographies is much more interesting and the eccentricities of them and their days are interesting reads by themselves.

Richard Feynman comes into this list a little later than all these giants. He grew up in the 1930's depression era New York and studies physics. His semi-Auto biography 'Surely You're joking, Mr.Feynman' is actually a fascinating collection of anecdotes from his life and few of his lectures on education etc. The eccentricity of the genius is what makes the whole thing interesting and the inner workings of the life towards the research he does is as fascinating as the man himself. 

But the book is not about physics or about the physicist itself. It is about a very interesting person who goes through a lot of crazy situations in life and comes out of it always laughing. 

While re-reading it recently, I was wondering whether it is possible to convert the adventures into bedtime stories for the kids.

It is a long time habit of mine to tell stories to the kids before they go to sleep. Now that Sibi has grown up and Vanathy knows more stories than me, I do not do it often. But there are days the kids want to hear a story and we usually take turns to tell stories to each other. Its fun and there is nothing that makes going to bed more interesting.

So I tried to start the experiment by first breaking up the story into incidents that can be made into little bed time story capsules. Following is the list bed time stories I could make out of the book.

1. He Fixes radios by Thinking
2. Who stole the door?
3. The deaf and dumb ball
4. Latin or Italian - Vanathy loved this
5. The Chief Chemist
6. The Princeton episode 
7. The first visit to Brazil - Learning Portuguese
8. Los Alamos - Adventures
9. Safecracker Feynman
10. Second visit to Brazil - Carnival episode
11. Nobel laureate 
12. Painter Feynman

Each of these episodes will not run beyond 5-10 minutes in narrating and makes for a fantastic story in each itself. After the second one, the kids were hooked and Vanathy started asking for 'more Feynman stories'. 
'Still Life' - Feynman
When I read this book first in March 1999 (I happen to mark the books with dates and place I bought them), I threw open the door to a person whom I've admired for his curiosity and for not taking life too seriously. It also showed that not all scientists are dour and the fascinating life of Feynman makes it fascinating. What I told the kids is that if they can get through life with that same kind of curiosity and 'live life in full' then there is nothing more they will want. 

There are many morals that are inherent in each of these stories that are hugely relevant to today's students if only we care to tell it or ask them to read the same. A great book that still surprises me and more importantly gives me joy every time I read it. This time the joy multiplied through the kids.

Paico Classics 12 - The Man in the Iron Mask (Tamil) - இரும்பு முகமூடி மனிதன்

இதுவே என்னிடம் உள்ள பைகோ கிளாச்சிக் வரிசையின் கடைசி புத்தகம். எனது பிரியமான புத்தகமும் கூட. 'இரும்பு முகமூடி மனிதன்' அல்லது 'The Man in the iron mask" அலெக்சாண்டர் டுமாஸ் என்னும் எழுத்தாளனின் உலகத்தை அறிமுகம் செய்தது. அது மட்டும் அன்றி, 17-18ம் நூற்றாண்டின் பிரெஞ்சு அரச உலகத்தின் மீது ஒரு பெரிய காதலை ஏற்படுத்தியது. இதன் மூலமே இந்த காலகட்டத்தின் மாபெரும் பிரெஞ்சு எழுத்தாளர்களான வோல்டைர், ரூசோ, மோலியே மற்றும் பிரெஞ்சு புரட்சியின் பின்புலம், அதன் சோகங்கள், வெற்றிகள் என்று ஒரு பெரிய உலகமே விரிந்தது. இன்றும் பிரெஞ்சு நாட்டின் மீதான அந்த ஈர்ப்பு குறையாமல் இருப்பதற்க்கான ஆரம்ப புள்ளி இங்கிருந்துதான் தொடங்குகிறது.

'இரும்பு முகமூடி மனிதன்' டுமாசின் புகழ்பெற்ற 'மூன்று மஸ்கேட்டியர்கள்' நாவலின் மூன்றாம் அல்லது நான்காம் பாகமாகும். இரண்டாம் பாகம் ஒன்றாகவோ அல்லது இரண்டாகவோ பிரித்து பதிப்பிக்க பெறுகிறது. டர்டகனநின் சாகசங்கள் இதில் நிறைவுறுகிறது.

 Paico Classics 11 - The Man in the Iron Mask (Tamil) - இரும்பு முகமூடி மனிதன் 

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