White Fang

I wonder why I chose this book, given that I hate dogs. Usually, even the cutest looking members of the canine family leave me unmoved, so it was surprising that I liked the book enough to finish reading it. Perhaps that shows how good Jack London is as an author.

White Fang is not a cute dog - it is a cross between a dog and a wolf, and is a feared and ferocious creature. Yet when you see things from his side with the help of a powerful writer like Jack London, you start to feel for the dog-wolf, to the point where at the end you are sickened by the thought of it being shot to death. Strange that I would have such feelings for a mere dog. 

Totally recommended, for people who like classics :) Oh, and for people who like dogs, of course.

Cutting For Stone

This was the first book I read on a Kindle. I chose the book because the author seemed interesting - he belongs to my community, and is a professor of medicine. My only prior experience with doctors who write books has been A J Cronin, and since I like A J Cronin, I thought this would be just as good. 

Well, the book was not bad - it was just not great. I have read better books, surely. The themes were new though - and it gave some insight into Ethiopia and the political background there. And ofc, there is a great deal of medical detail. As I have mentioned before, I look for style, structure and story in a book. Style and structure were ordinary, the story was ok. So it wasnt a great read, it was just an ok one. I did however notice some very Mallu thought processes in the book, and I felt it was interesting that Mallus retained their thinking even after having emigrated to Ethiopia nearly a generation earlier. 

Perhaps his later books which are not really stories may be better. For now, I dont feel like spending $10 on this author so soon again, so I am not going to read the rest of his books.