Goodnight and God Bless - Anita Nair

 

Another catch from MBIFL2023*, an absolute gem! Whether I have ever felt this related to any book earlier is dubious. It might be my age or life-experience or my love for books or my imaginations that run amok at times or simply me being a woman, whatever be it, it got me glued to the first page till the very last.

My first Anita Nair book, Goodnight and God Bless is a collection of writings, loosely related to each other, a peep into the author’s everyday life and musings. The book opens a window to the world of a person who reads a lot, who thinks a lot about what was read, who lives life passionately and strongly, yet leisurely at ease. Categorised as non-fiction, the excerpts have a touch of genuinity in them.

 

What I liked

-        Birds of the same feather flock together – I couldn’t help but refer to this age-old proverb. The articles and words resonate a middle-aged, passionate working woman/mother/wife/daughter/friend which is quite relatable to the others in the flock as well as serves as a peep window for outsiders. The female flavour referenced is strictly not about the sufferings or the juggling acts played daily by an average Indian woman. Rather its about a woman living her life carrying along her family and friends and words.  Additionally, there are a lot of instances within the book which mirrored my own self, such as:

o   Bed-time routine – living on my mid-thirties, I have also developed a comfortable bed-time routine – a warm bath followed by the application of a luxurious amount of moisturiser on hands and legs and crack-heal gel on my dried heels, an occasional malted milk (like the author), a blanket to keep me warm and a trusted book by my side (whether I read it or not).

o   Choosing a book by its cover – contradictory to the saying of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’, be it a library or a book shop I have this unknown urge to choose the book whose cover catches my attention – of course I finalise my decision to take it or not only after reading the blurb, but the initial decision is made in the unholy way; for which I was relieved to read that I am not the only one doing so.

-        The infectious reading spree -  I do not call myself a voracious reader, but I love the company of books, just like the author, I need a lot of them, I need at least one wherever I go, be it a delayed train or a family trip, I have my alone moments, usually early mornings when Hari and Appu are still on their slumbers, I like to escape away to a little world of words. This book and its incredible innumerable references to the books the author has read, re-kindled by spirit and I am on a reading spree, unsure of its life though.

-        Strong language – the author studied literature and her mastery over the language is quite prominent throughout the chapters.

What I did not like

-        Elaborate footnotes - the author has a foot-note or a backstory for almost all the events, which is interesting, but in some points, the foot-notes tend to occupy a larger space than the original text, creating a parallel diversion, which when traversed through makes the readers, even forget the original text.

-        Too many references – the author has undoubtedly read a lot ( a looott!) and she effortlessly refers to these books or characters in between the chapters, which at times, leaves the readers (it did to me at least) clueless being not familiar with that story/situation.

Collectibles

-        I had absolutely no understanding of what it is to age. Of feeling that utter helplessness, of the feat that come to haunt. And if recognising that the selfishness we attribute to the elderly is merely a constant self-preservative vigilance of having to watch for one’s self.

-        About her stand on smells and perfume

o   Somewhere out there they all exist. Time in a bottle. A djinn capable of lying bare forgotten secrets and hidden desires. And even tomorrows

-        About the first book publishing event

o   What if no one turned up? Was the chorus that sang in my head. (And you know your name means nothing to them when they pick your book and scan its entire 200 pages and then puts it down and picks a John Grisham.) So when the first group of people straggled in, I was ready to throw my arms around them and wrap in sheer relief.

Overall a simple, strong book I would doubtlessly suggest to all my friends and family (especially women).