C'est la vie!!

                   Having read 'The Twentieth Wife' by Indu Sundaresan , I immediately grabbed this book from flipkart as I seem to like the author's style of writing.  Indu's writing is very contemporary and she covers Indian history as well as present day India in a very descriptive manner.
                  'In the convent of little flowers' is a collection of short stories with each story set against different parts of rural and urban India. The stories deal with many aspects of life .. marriage , freindship , death , betrayal ,etc . The first story takes you from Chennai to Seattle where an adopted Indian girl is suddenly getting to know the whereabouts of her biological mother. The story is very well written and a slight climax in the end makes it a pleasant read.
                    The story 'Three and a half seconds' is written in an unusual manner where only at the end of the story u realise the value of the title. Other stories deal with common issues such as parental betrayal , sati and wife swap practices and are written with elan and turn out to be  quite penetrating.
                  An interesting afterword is available where Indu talks about how she was inspired to write each of these stories . Newspaper anecdotes and online articles and incidents from known people served as the themes for many of her stories in this book. Overall a good read on issues little publicized about in the Indian society

     
                    This book narrates a true life story of 36 year old Kathleen Flinn who pursues her long cherished dream.  Kathleen when laid off from her high profile corporate job decides to pack bags and move to Paris - reason being a degree at the well renowned Le Cordon Bleu.
                    The story unfurls in a quaint manner ....like a diary entry with a mouth watering recipe to complement its conclusion. Each chapter talks about Kathleen's trials and triumphs at Le Cordon bleu. The friends she makes, the chefs  she needs to deal with and  the perfection that is expected all form a part and parcel of her life at Cordon Bleu.

                    I have always been a great fan of anything French - language , the country , the food , the fondue and what not. After recently watching the movie 'Julie and Julia' i was very inspired to try my hands at french cooking. After reading this book I am convinced that I should atleast enrol for a Basic Patteserie course in Le Cordon Bleu (maybe when I am 36!!)
                   Jokes apart this book is a good read. It could get a little boring at parts due to its monotony . However for anyone who wants insights into the Frencg chef's way of life you could grab this book.