On Timing (and Books)

I am a strong believer of the fact that the right book comes to you at the right time. The same book can come a few years earlier, and it would mean nothing. The same book might reappear a few years later, and it would mean nothing. But the right book appears at the right time - maybe finally read off your bookshelf, maybe timely gifted by someone, maybe it pops up in an absolutely random conversation, or maybe it's just right infront of you, for the first time, at a regularly frequented bookstore. (Books are like signs from the Universe, if you care enough to see them? Maybe I am not just talking about books ;))

One such book is "The God of Small Things" - freshly finished in four days (had it just been the weekend, it could have finished in two as well). The first time, it came to me when I probably was too young to comprehend and appreciate it. A Booker Prize Winner fiction written by a women Indian author - I picked it up very excitedly then, but could never read beyond a couple of pages. It was recently re-introduced in my life via discussions with different people, especially with a friend who is an ardent fan of the author, and in a completely unrelated manner, gifted to me by a dear friend (IF THIS IS NOT HOW THE UNIVERSE WORKS - I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS). It is now that I truly acknowledge that I was too young for it then, and maybe, held a grudge against it for no fault of the book (I have different complaints now, but more on that later). 

The writing is intelligent. The language is complicated. The plot is not surprising. The relationships are complex. The story-telling is engrossing. The book just leaves you with a lot of deep feelings. It also leaves you with a lot of layers to unpack in terms of all the small things that happen, leading to big things. It leaves you wanting for more - more understanding of the characters, more insight into their lives, and just more desire to be intentional in your life. It's a read that is going to stay with me for a while, but I still don't know how much I liked it - I did not know that the two feelings could co-exist, but apparently they can, and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

I had been meaning to post something since a long time. I had been meaning to read this one since a long time. And I had been meaning to finish one in a sprint since a long time. I guess the Universe did its magic to make all three come true!