‘The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina’ book review: A class of its own
I like stories that I can relate to, with characters that force me to look at people around me in a different light. Narratives that leave me pondering life and its idiosyncrasies, make me feel good as a sweet-smelling cup of tea on a warm winter Saturday morning when you know you have absolutely nothing to do, nowhere to be. They are just so comforting—the balm your soul needs to heal from the tiny daggers of everyday life. That is primarily why I’m not very fond of fantasy. It transports you to a different world but offers nothing more that can help you adapt to the realities of life. Then, once in a while, I will come across books like Zoraida Cordova’s ‘The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina’ that is not only the perfect escapism but also a lesson on love, faith, and remaining true to yourself.
The stunning work of magical realism is about Ecuadorian and Ecuadorian-American Montoya families fighting to save themselves from an unknown danger that has its roots in Orquídea Divina’s obscure past. The book begins with Orquídea summoning her entire family to their home in Four Rivers to collect their inheritance. But upon arriving to lay claims to their share of the family wealth, they find Orquídea is slowly transforming into a tree.
Narrated in dual timelines, the story alternates between Orquídea’s grandchildren Marimar and Rey and their cousins as they try figure the secrets of the matriarch’s past, and Orquídea’s own journey from childhood to adulthood and all the decisions and mistakes she made along the way. The novel was apparently expanded from a YA short story about Marimar that Cordova wrote for an anthology titled ‘Toil and Trouble’.
Also read: ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ book review: Beyond marvelous
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina is more than fantasy. It’s an intergenerational family drama that shines the spotlight on the choices we make and their consequences on our loved ones. Orquídea is such a fascinating character and throughout the book you keep discovering new things about her. It makes you realize every person is multi-layered, that what you see is just a small fraction of all there is to them.
There are times the characters speak your mind, especially when they are processing grief or consoling a loved one, reminding you that we are all guided and bound by our shared emotions. Best of all, it’s such an immersive story that you won’t be able to think of much else while reading it.
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
Five stars
Fiction
Zoraida Cordova
Published: 2021
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 323, Hardcover
‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ movie review: The perfect tribute to a musical genius
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ is a musical about a man writing a musical. If you are interested in Broadway, the name Jonathan David Larson would be a familiar ring to your ears. In the movie set in 1990s New York, the dream city for a theater wannabe, Larson–played with kinetic desperation by Andrew Garfield–struggles to craft a successful career out of his passion for musical theater.
The movie is an adaptation of Larson’s semi-autobiographical piece ‘tick, tick… BOOM!’ (1990) about a young composer determined to make something great out of his youth as the clock tick-tocks to his 30th birthday. It takes us back to the time Larson was working on ‘Superbia’, a dystopian, futuristic sci-fi musical which he thought was his big break.
As the movie progresses, we find the protagonist juggling between preparing for his first public presentation of ‘Superbia’ in front of NYC’s finest producers, his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) asking if she should accept a job away in the Berkshires, and his best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús) of 22 years being diagnosed with AIDS, a common cause of death at the time. With the world turned into a ticking time bomb, Larson struggles to manage all this emotional and physical bagagge simultaneously in the hope of not ‘blowing up’ his career and relationships.
Working at a SoHo diner as he nears the age of 30–with an agent (Judith Light) who doesn’t return his calls and a mentor, Stephen Sondheim (played by Bradley Whitford) who believes and supports his talent–Garfield puts up a compassionate performance and displays spectacular musical shows as he full-heartedly morphs into the character of Jon.
Also read: ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ movie review: Bollywood grapples with new sexual identities—and how!
His is a masterful portrayal of the desperation and dedication of a theatrical writer–incredibly charming and always looking out for creative inspiration but also on the verge of exhaustion in a secluded world. Though the fast-paced movie starts cheerful at the beginning, it gradually reveals Larson’s vainer and more helpless side. The contrast between the merry and melancholic is perfectly captured in the musical number ‘Why’, when Garfield travels back in time.
Anyone familiar with Jonathan Larson’s life would know this is a heart-wrenching musical. The hero doesn’t get a happy ending. Larson passed away, aged 35, the night before the off-Broadway preview of his rock musical Rent (1996), and never got to experience his own success. Interestingly, when he started writing ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ he was still lamenting the rejection of Superbia, contemplating the passage of time when he had no idea his own life would end in a few years. This is where, in the movie, director Miranda uses his hindsight to open up new pathways, when Jon thought it was a dead end.
‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ isn’t about success and failure but about the peaks and pitfalls that accompany the pursuit of your passion. Packed with energetic and poignant musical pieces that unfold in a solemn yet realistic storyline, the mood in this musical is constantly changing. It is a tribute and a token of gratitude to, as Larson puts it, a diminishing species – writers and composers of musical theaters. It also serves as a reminder that entering your 30s doesn’t necessarily mean you are past your best.
Tick, Tick... Boom!
Actors: Andrew Garfield, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesús
Genre: musical, biography, drama
Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes
Rating: 4 stars
‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ movie review: Bollywood grapples with new sexual identities—and how!
Although the freedom to express one’s sexuality has for years been legal in India, mainstream Indian cinema continues to mostly focus on the stereotypical hetero-normative couples who end up getting married and live happily ever after. Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ is an unconventional love story between bodybuilder Manvinder Munjal aka Manu (Ayushmann Khurrana) and Zumba teacher Manvi Brar (Vaani Kapoor). The audience can sense a chemistry between the two from the time they first meet and, as anticipated, a passionate and intimate relationship ensues.
Gradually the mere lust and attraction turns into love. However, Manvi’s revelation that she is a trans-woman leads Manu into a state of confusion and denial: how can he have feelings for a ‘man’? Brought up in a typical loud patriarchal Punjabi family and with a government school background, Manu struggles to accept that love transcends gender, norms, bodies and societal validation. Instead of beating around the bush, Kapoor reveals Manvi’s past in the beginning of the film itself which will have different reactions from the audience depending on their view about gender and sexuality. As this is a sensitive subject, the lead actors take great pains to internalize their character roles and display the right emotions.
Appreciably, Manvi’s struggles are shown to continue till the present day; Bollywood rarely centers stories on trans characters in a positive light. Although Brar comes from an economically well-off family, she still struggles to carve a space for herself in the society. With only her father (Kanwaljit Singh), a retired brigadier, accepting her true self, she goes through various hardships and heartbreaks, including getting secluded by her own family, even her mother. This also challenges the set social norms of masculinity. Despite being humiliated by everyone, Manvi continues to put up a strong front and doesn’t need an alpha male figure to save her honor. Vaani’s exceptional acting helps us understand her character’s backstory. It was a bold move on her part to play a trans woman as compared to her arm-candy characters in some of her earlier movies.
Also read: Kadaseela Biriyani movie review: Realistically brutal
The concept of what is ‘normal’ is also explored through the Munjal family. From Manu falling in love with an ‘original girl’, as his sisters (Tanya Abrol and Sawan Rupowali) put it, to his father (Girish Dhamija) being in an interfaith marriage, the protagonist is excluded from his own story.
Overall, the film genre shifts from comedy to rom-com to drama and finally ends with sports, grappling with various social biases all the way through, which keeps the audience hooked. Never does the story veer off track; it is quite fast-paced and manages to expertly highlight the difficulties faced by trans people. However, the story could be a little more realistic on how people navigate social biases over their gender identities and how they overcome and accept themselves.
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui is one step towards speaking openly about topics considered ‘taboo’ and also an eye opener for many.
Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui
Who should watch it?
The movie is rated 18+ and so it may not be suitable for the whole family to sit and watch together. Yet for anyone wanting to understand the problems being faced by the LGBTIQA+ community in this part of the world and to explore their own gender and sexual biases, this is a wonderful, refreshing watch.
Rating: Four stars
Genre: Romance, Action, Drama
Actors: Ayushmann Khurrana, Vaani Kapoor
Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Run time: 116 minutes (2 hours)
‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ book review: Beyond marvelous
I will read anything Taylor Jenkins Reid writes because she does so beautifully. Her words resonate on a different level. I generally use sticky notes to mark pages in books so that I can flip to that place and feel that emotion all over again when the mood strikes but I’d have to mark entire chapters in Reid’s books, so I don’t even bother. She understands people and their complex emotions, and she writes with so much empathy that you find yourself feeling bad for even the most unlikeable of characters.
I absolutely loved ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ which was the first Reid book I ever read. Since then, I’ve read a few of her other works and they have all been equally good. I recently read ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’, one of her most popular and hyped books, and I was completely hooked and overwhelmed. I wanted to get to the end but didn’t want the story to finish.
Daisy Jones & The Six is a novel about the rise and fall of a fictional 70s rock band so there’s a lot of sex, drugs, music, travel, heartache, pain and love to deal with. Apparently, Reid only researched for about six weeks but she’s written about the lives of rock and roll artists as if she’s lived it. She’s even written lyrics to songs that you want to sing along to. Your heart breaks a little when you remember Daisy Jones & The Six and their albums don’t actually exist. On a hopeful note, Reese Witherspoon is planning a limited series based on the book so the songs might actually get made.
Also read: ‘Watch Over Me’ book review: Slow but stunning
The story is told in a transcript format as the band members are being interviewed for a book. I liked this interactive style. You feel you are a part of the conversation, that the characters are talking to you, telling you their deepest secrets and sharing their fears and frustrations. There are basically two stories: that of Daisy Jones, the barefoot bangle-wearing singer-songwriter who is stunning with a voice to match, and that of Billy Dunne, the denim-wearing guitarist and frontman for the rock band The Six.
When Daisy and the band team up, they become an overnight sensation. But not all is well within the band where rivalries run deep and love runs deeper. Though Daisy and Billy have all your attention, there are others like Camila, Billy’s wife; band members Graham and Karen; and manager Rod who you enjoy getting to know. And then there is the nagging question at the back of your head: who is taking the interview, telling the story? When you sort of figure that out along the way and eventually find out why, it makes for a very emotional moment and a mind-blowingly satisfying end.
