<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10338680-duty-free" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Duty Free" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320492130m/10338680.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10338680-duty-free">Duty Free</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/341426.Moni_Mohsin">Moni Mohsin</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/979953546">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Hilarious!<br>after a long time, I have read a comic satire and I literally thoroughly enjoyed it.<br><br>The narrator is too much funny. Although she depicts the part of our society which does not concern what is happening around them and just cares about their own well being but the way writer has shown her qualities of head and heart and the way it progressed is appreciable.<br><br>The best thing about the book is that it does not leave a lingering feeling in a readers mind. The story focuses on "match-making"for Jonkers'(narrators's divorced cousin), her friends financial matters and her own complicated marriage and thanks to God that writer has so skilfully pened down the end of each in a satisfying way.Jonkers gets married to a person he loved, Mullo 's matters get resolved,and she also realizes that her husband is best for her as he always stands for her.  <br><br>However, the darker side which Moni Mohsin has depicted through her sugar-coated-satire is prevalent. The Pakistani reader recognizes it, agrees to it, embarrasses on it and simultaneously laughs on it. Its a kind of desert that you would like to eat slowly slowly, but unable to restrain yourself to devour it as it is so delicious. <br><br>On the whole, it is recommended read, very entertaining, unputdownable and lol type book!<br><br>
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/24277091-sana-shahid">View all my reviews</a>

Cross

The book under my critical analysis is “Cross” by James Patterson. Reading James Patterson is always a good choice to me. Being a curious soul I always find Patterson offering thrill and excitement to his readers. His books are pacy, page turner and unputdownable. 

His tall, dark and handsome protagonist is Alex Cross, an FBI officer and psychologist. Despite the fact that he is a cop and his work involves homicide, criminals and murderers, he is a very emotional but intelligent man.

The antagonist in “CROSS” is a psychopath, Butcher. The Butcher’s real name is Michael Sullivan. In his childhood he was physically abused by his father, who was a butcher by profession. In his late teens Michael kills his father and joins the Mafia. But soon Mafia realizes that he is a psycho as he mutilates the dead bodies. They decided to get rid of him.

On the other hand John Sampson, Alex Cross’s childhood friend and a cop also, asks for his help in a case of serial rapist. The brute rapes the girls and threatens them to kill and disfigure them or slashing their face with scalpel in case they report the incident. No girl agrees to help in investigation as every victim was scared. Finally, a lawyer (victim) helps them out by telling them that after raping her, the man showed her few pictures in which there were dead bodies of the girls soaked in blood and disfigured.

Somehow Cross makes a connection and it leads him to the time when his wife, Maria was alive and was working on the rape case as a social worker. And, apparently Maria knew something about that rapist due to which she was shot to death.

From here the cat and mouse chase starts. The Butcher sandwiches between Mafia and Cross. This time it is not a usual case for Cross. This time the culprit across him is his wife’s murderer.

The beauty of the story is that a reader engages in the bloody story too much that along with the Cross, he also wants Butcher to be killed by the hands of Alex Cross. As they have seen the emotional and vulnerable side of Cross throughout the novel. And, the pain he has gone through of single parenting and of loneliness. The excitements of the readers are being heightened by the brutal killings of Mafia as well.

In the end, the antagonist meets his end. Though not as much awfully as I was hoping for. I am a true believer of “you shall reap what you sow”, but the villain died just like that, after savagely killing near 100 people. I was not satisfied with the end at all it could have been a lot better.

In the epilogue, after sometime of the incident, Sampson comes to meet Cross and tells him that it was not Butcher who killed Maria it was some Jimmy Hats. Sampson has found it out years ago and has killed him. But he didn’t tell this to Cross knowing the fact that Cross would regret it for not doing the killing from his hands. Cross thanks Sampson for always being there for him. Throughout the novel I was following the idea that the Butcher was a murderer of Maria but somehow Jimmy Hats who did not play any particular role in the wheel of the plot was Cross’s man and Cross came to realize it after Hats’ death. It leaves the reader into a lingering position.  

Though the plot was good and the curiosity and excitement Patterson has created in the reader’s mind is appreciable, the end was not satisfying which makes it earn an average rate. It’s a good read if you are a fan of Patterson but the way antagonist tasted the consequences of his deeds was very abrupt. I wanted him to confess or some insight of him. It could be a lot better.

Only because of the way Patterson has ended his story, I would not recommend Cross.       

Daddy Long Legs

Written in an epistolary style, Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster is a young-adult fiction novel. I haven’t read an epistolary novel before so I found it quite amusing and full of fun.

Jean Webster has written those letters in such a way that while reading the letters of Judy it feels like the reader is actually reading a letter of some living and breathing girl of yesterday’s world. These letters are like a window through which the reader can peep inside Judy’s simple and trouble-free life. Another best feature of Judy’s letters is that they are also ornamented with the small doodles of Judy which are quite pleasing.

As the title suggests this is not at all about a spider. Instead it is about a free-spirited orphan girl, Jerusha Abbott. Though reading about orphans always remind me of Charles Dickens novels and his gloomy and unprivileged protagonists but this book is in complete contrast to the world of Dickens. Jerusha aka Judy is an orphan, lives in orphanage but funny, enthusiastic about life and ambitious.

Despite the fact that Judy is a central character on whose letters the whole novel is based, Daddy Long Legs remains in the lime light.

One day Judy gets the news of her freedom from the orphanage. Some trustee of the orphanage, without revealing his identity, offers higher studies to Judy as a benefactor on a condition that Judy would write him letters.

And from there, the whole series of letters start through which the readers witnesses the love and compassion she has for her benefactor. Judy calls her benefactor Daddy Long Legs considering that he must have long legs. Through her letters she tells what she is studying and how it is to meet with new girls and sharing space with them.

When Judy realizes that Mr. Daddy Long Legs is not going to reply her, she breaks some rules, sometimes goes astray from her track and deliberately tells all this to her benefactor so that he might give her a small warning through replying her letters. But Mr. Benefactor was wiser than her. Judy’s all efforts go in vain when instead of him his secretary calls and gives his message to behave. During her studies she also meets with Jervis Pendleton (an uncle of Julia Pendleton and Judy’s classmate and roommate). When Judy writes to Mr. Daddy Long Legs, he speaks high of Master Jervie, which gives a hint to the reader that there might be something fishy between the two.    

In the end of the book the mystery of Daddy Long Legs is revealed. How it came? Who was he? Why he didn’t reply? And, what about Master Jervie and Judy? I don’t want to spoil the pleasure of reading by giving the complete details. Please read it yourself and let me have your feedback.

Rebecca

The book I am going to review is one of my favourite books, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The moment I took the book in my hand I knew it that I am going to like it because of its cover, giving a dreamy plus mysterious look. But as it is said, never judge a book by its cover, I put the fondness of the cover back and entered into the dreamy realm of Rebecca.

This novel has been written in first person narrative mode and is a perfect example of Gothic Romance. The narrator (first name not mentioned throughout the book, known as Mrs. de Winter) takes the reader into her past where a reader gets to know how she met her husband Maxim (who is a widower) and who is Rebecca. The book starts with "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…here was Manderley, our Manderley, secretive and silent as it had always been…” makes the reader alert, as Manderley is going to play a significant role in the plot. It would not be exaggerating if it is said that the pivot of the whole story is Manderley. Rebecca’s Manderley!

Our underprivileged narrator meets a very wealthy man, Maximilian de Winter (Maxim) in Monte Carlo and marries him. Not believing her fortune, expecting a good and prosperous life she accompanies Maxim to his native mansion, Manderley. Her confidence shatters when she gets introduced with Mrs. Danvers, a very faithful servant of Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter, who died in a boating accident. And there starts a series of events which perplexes our very innocent and naïve narrator.

The evil Mrs. Danvers again and again reminds our narrator of Rebecca. She always tries to describe Rebecca as an ideal and undermines the narrator’s abilities. She also tries to create a gulf between the newly wedded couple by telling that Rebecca and Maxim were a perfect couple and our narrator can never replace Maxim’s first love.

Knowing the fact that she is a second girl in Maxim’s life, she loses self esteem and gets influenced by the idea that Maxim cannot forget Rebecca and still loves her perfect wife.

At the climax, Mrs. Danvers proudly confesses her profound love for Rebecca and hatred for the narrator. The following pages reveal Maxim telling Mrs. de Winter about Rebecca’s nature and his dark past.

What is Maxim’s past? How was Rebecca? What is the end?

I don’t want to kill your curiosity and ruin the taste of a mystery. Read the book and enjoy yourself. It is a must read.

The best thing about the book is a unique style of du Maurier. She ironically did not use the narrator’s or heroine’s first name ever in the whole story and titled her book as Rebecca who was dead.  

At times it cast a chill over my spine at others my pulse raced. At some pages I was wide eyed and at some I was jaw dropped. But after reading it I felt contended that I read one of the fine pieces of literature.

Javed Miandad - The Hero

The sun was blazing high in the sky. The birds were parched and the spectators were silent. Many hands rose for the prayers.

He could hear the throbbing of his heart in his ears. The tinkling drop of sweat popped out from the skin of head and traveled towards his temple. He closed his eyes for a second. He sighed and said the name of Allah, after all He is the One who can turn the table at any time. He opened his eyes and saw Chetan Sharma who started to run towards him. Sharma bowled a low full toss and he moved his bat with the full force. Tuck! Everyone was dumb founded. Chetan forgot to breath. The ball didn’t bounce and crossed the boundary. Finally, Pakistan won the final of Austral-Asia Cup (1986) and Miandad began to breathe from the ashes. Millions of cricket fans in India died that day. And, in Pakistan a new embodiment of patriotism and heroism rose.

Adjectives

Out of the eight Parts of Speech, Adjectives are my most favourite one; consequently, I fell in love of Similes and Metaphors. During my teaching career I have always tried using different teaching methodologies for teaching different topics. For teaching Adjectives, I have tried Name Game. I would like to share it with you all. Try it with your friends and students.

 

Rule: do not use common adjectives like sweet, good and nice.

My name is Sana. So I have to think of an adjective stating with the first letter of my name and that is “s”. Hmmm…Serene Sana!

Some more examples:

Adorable Aisha

Gracious Gohar

Zany Zeeshan

Isn’t it nice? Try it out.

The PEF Charity Carnival and Bazar 2014

After the exposure in The Crafter's Expo 2013, PEF Charity Carnival and Bazar opened new doors for me.

This was a great success. Thanks Allah Mian, it has been so nice of you to let me have this opportunity.