'Intimacy' - Hanif Kureishi

"It is the saddest night, for I am leaving and not coming back."...Thus begins 'Intimacy' by Hanif Kureishi which tells the story of Jay, a middle aged writer who is about to leave his partner of 10 years, Susan and their two sons and going to live temporarily with his friend Victor. The novel describes the state of Jay's mind the night before he decides to leave his family for good. Jay tries to justify his decision and also reflects his life with Susan and the sons. The small details of his family and his likes and dislikes towards its members gets zeroed in on this narrative. The book depicts the restlessness of Jay's mind as he reasons his longings, complains about what he did not get out of that life which he is about to leave and endeavors to hold on to what is very dear to him, as for example his relation with his two sons.The night before he will leave his house, Jay reflects on the change that underwent in his relationship with Susan, over the course of time, accepts his misgivings and tries to imagine the life his family will have after he is gone. 
The story flashes back and forth in time as Jay remembers the time he spent with his parents, how he used to look upon his father and the way his mother's indifference affected him. Jay also remembers about his friends, their relationship with the spouses, the lovers he had, especially Nina, a girl much younger to him. His leaving the family sometimes suggests his wish to be with Nina and sometimes that very reason fades away in the protagonist's denial. In 'Intimacy', the author portrays a certain aspect of human life, where uncertainty attempt to paralyze our spirit, age to restrict the risk-takings but the mind compels to break-free and savor the fantasies. 
The language of the novel is crisp, bearing a nonchalance of speaking to our own selves. The decisions and the states of Jay's mind described are very honest and unapologetic. The novel is written in the voice of the protagonist and the reader sees his world through his eyes. 
The book catches my attention because of the situation it is in and the ways that emerge. It does not talk about idealism and is not reluctant about it. The book delves on very human problems, wishes and desperation which are very crudely humane. The only thing that does leave a gap is that the characters remains as  Jay's version of them only. They express themselves very little through dialogues and incidents which are their own and are not observed or judged by the protagonist. 


My favorite quote from the book: "Nothing is as fascinating as love, unfortunately".


Image courtesy : http://books.google.com/books/about/Intimacy.html?id=zx2oAAAAIAAJ

Squash...anyone?

I am a foodie, but not that great a cook…but that does not deter me from trying my hand at cooking, and sometimes something I cook comes out as good tasting too. I have been cooking for four years now…and I love it. That is why in addition to all the food websites I love to visit, the group Facebook Cooking Club has become my favorite browsing destination nowadays. I am thus reasonably excited about the First Day First Show event in the FB Cooking Club tonight featuring Squash.

We also invited two of our friends over for dinner. The occasion is just the wish to dine together and have a real chat with the friends as we eat..!!!

So, along with the dinner menu that we had planned, the squash recipe got included.

I was excited about puling off the two events together and to observe how it goes. For my kind of not-so-good-cook, the day was certainly challenging….and of much fun.

I am going to share my recipe with squash that I cooked for the Cooking club. It is inspired and adapted from a similar recipe on Betty Crocker’s website. I have made little alterations with the ingredients. The recipe is an easy one and a quickie, too…J..So here we go…

Roasted Squash and Pepper  

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 16 pieces
• 1 small red onion, cut into rings
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees F, spray one 13x9 inch pan with oil/cooking spray.

2. Mix all ingredients (except the onion rings) in a large bowl and spread in the pan.

3. In the oven, roast for 15 minutes, take the pan out, stir the whole thing well, mix the onion rings now and roast it for another 15-17 minutes, until the squash is tender.

4. Serve hot.)

 

The Glass Bowl

On my last vacation to India with my 5-month old son, my mother gave a glass bowl from her crockery trove. The reason I write about this apparently trivial object is because this particular bowl (it is from the time when I was a baby and just started being fed rice cereal from a bowl) is almost my age....i.e., nearing thirty.
Maa has preserved this bowl from its potential brittleness like she also has kept our (me and my sister's) first shoes, frocks, kindergarten report cards and many such souvenirs of our childhood. The bowl was carefully made to survive trough the years by my mother. I cannot even imagine being capable of preserving a glassware for so long.
I came back with it and now my son has his cereals and pureed fruits from the same bowl......how interesting does that sound to you? To me it is amazing, and a wonderful emotion.....even more so now as the petals of motherhood are slowly blooming in my life.
In this special phase when I feel the responsibilities along with the joy of being a mother, I also get to understand my mother in a whole new light....like never before, and suddenly sometimes I miss being around her, living far away in another land, with only social networks and telephone to turn to in today's 'tech-all' times. 
I could always relate to her in a mother-daughter way, but now I have started to relate and feel our motherhood....although I have a long way to traverse....