Author Arti Jain's "and all the SEASONS in between" - #BookReview

Every so often a book comes along that leaves you with a smile and a feeling of peace. One such book for me is "and all the SEASONS in between" by Arti Jain. She has written a remarkable fairy-like tale woven through with delightful childhood memories.

A novel for all ages, toddlers to the ageless young-of-heart, this is an uplifting narrative of sunny days in India spent under the tutelage of loving grandparents and an uninhibited imagination. Every sentence and phrase is exceptionally well-written prose, which at times feels almost poetic in style.

Artemis, a young girl living in a valley surrounded by hills and Himalayan mountains, divides her days between a fairy world of imagination and real life with a loving family. In an early scene, she spends time with her grandfather, Papaji: "I planted myself on the cool soil next to him; my face turned up towards the lush vines watching the sun dabble with its leaves -- a dapple of bright here, a dash of dark there." Each setting is made vivid with unique descriptions, whether referring to dragonflies or radishes or yoghurt baths.

What has me most enamored of the book, along with the pleasing book cover and writing style, is Arti's reading of the final chapter, "He carried dirt under his fingernails".

*** 

Visit Arti at her web site: My Ordinary Moments (artismoments.blogspot.com)

Check out her book at Amazon.com in ebook and paperback formats.

Listen to Arti's reading from the book: He Carried Dirt Under His Fingernails | Arti Jain | English Spoken Word - Bing video

*****

#AtoZChallenge Theme Reveal

April is fast approaching, which means 26 days of blogging about topics from A to Z, literally. Each day's subject corresponds with the letter of the day: the 26 letters of the alphabet for the 26 days of April (Sundays excluded).

Themes give authors a steady focus and allow readers to anticipate the topics of each blogsite. For more information about this event, please visit: http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

Enough 'splaining!

My Theme:

A virtual travelogue by a virtual traveler

Short tales of various genres (300 - 400 words), excerpts from a companion piece to my historical novel (Shards of Memory: Oral History in a Heartbeat ) based on family genealogical research. The narrator in most of the short tales is the novel's young character, Gahlen.

Each post tells a complete story for a quick and entertaining read. The tales cover a variety of genres. 

Ancestral lands included:

In Western Europe - Belgium, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Bohemia;

Cork, Ireland;

Quebec, Canada; and

Wisconsin, USA.

A small sampling of the eclectic blog post topics:

Salt Mining in Bavaria;

Ghent on a Rainy Day;

Potawatomi Wives;

Nave of Irish Church;

and

Yeoman's Daughter

       * * * * *

My anticipation mounts to read posts of other participants!

SEMBLANCE OF ORDER A Poem - Out of Chaos

 

25
Semblance of Order

 

In the confines of a fenced-yard garden

sprouting seeds, in stick straight rows, abound.

Flower blossoms trim the weathered bench 

Pumpkins soon dwarf the acorn squash,

as veggies seize control, and

tomatoes in their rapid growth are judged

 

Sweet fruit ripens in its time

Apples first;

zucchini next - and evermore;

Retaining order isn’t easy in the courtyard

****  ****  **** 

While the words of this poem were written with a wink of the eye to the legal system, they could also address the controlled chaos of raising a family. Children sprout up in growing spurts that require frequent trips to the mall to replace outgrown clothes and shoes.

 

Some children soon dwarf their siblings and class mates, and often without warning even their parents. Retaining order becomes an illusion kept alive for sanity’s sake.

 

Branching into society, and beyond borders to include the world, semblance of order is questioned when war becomes the actual order of the day. Who is charged with judging the wisdom of rapid growth in business tied to banking, the stock market, or pharmaceuticals?

 

A semblance of order is required in every walk of life, from the family unit to team sports to the machinations of local, state, and national government. Within our own minds, don’t we strive to keep our thoughts in order?

 

In the first Jurassic Park movie, Jeff Goldblum’s character compulsively focuses on the theory of chaos. The opposite of order, chaos leads to destruction. When you’re talking apples and zucchini, chaos isn’t a great concern. But to function successfully, some semblance of order is required in a family unit; and for the legal system, raising the bar (pun intended) of awareness is required. For safety purposes alone, order becomes a necessity.

 

Don’t you think the visitors to Jurassic Park would agree?