It's all in the tale

I just finished reading two more books. Somehow my little blog is turning out to be all about books.( bookworm that I am) So these two I'm told are both "life changing" books. John Green author of "Fault In Our Stars" assures us that it is all fiction and he has tweaked facts to suit himself and that a story which is fiction can be life changing too. I agree. Some of my best philosophies are derived not from classic tomes but from fiction fiction. The other book - before I stray off the path- is Paulo Coelho's "Alchemist" about the shepherd boy in search of buried treasure which he does find after a journey in self discovery. It is, I quote "a magical fable about following your dream". At least that's what the book's cover tells me. I've to confess that nothing life altering has struck me down yet; no revelation has burst upon me and changed my life after reading them. I found "Fault In our stars" to be a sweet tender romance of 16-17 year olds trying to fight death (Old old story- remember Ankhiyon Ke Jharonko Se or better still Love Story) with heavy philosophy and doses of poetry thrust in. It is a fresh take on cancer patients and to some it has probably made a difference.(I'm too old I guess) Just as "The alchemist" I'm told has inspired many. Even the President of United States who swears by it. I believe he carries a copy of it around. Sorry. It didn't do a thing for me. Especially the line about the universe conspiring to get you what you want. It's not happening dude. Not to me. Not to a lot of people I know. Life is just giving us lot of sour lemons and we're trying to make lemonade with them only not succeeding I'm afraid. So call it a case of sour grapes or sour lemons - whichever you prefer. 

Maybe it's just sourpuss old me. 

But our fascination with magic, with fairy tales, with the paranormal, the supernatural, the other realm is never ending. Me included. I was a sucker for Cinderella when I was a kid(ages ago!) and I love Harry Potter. What lies behind it? A deeper search for meaning to this life on earth? Or just a desire to escape into a fantasy world where "happily ever after" exists? Because If Santiago in "Alchemist" had failed to find his treasure then maybe we wouldn't have tagged the book "life changing" right? Because we know there is no treasure at the end of the rainbow. But we like someone who tells us there is. So I guess it's a bit of both. The need to find some meaning to our lives as well as escape into the "happily ever after" fairy tales and supernatural worlds that offer tales of these splendid beings with amazing powers while in reality we labor on in Mr. Biswas's (Naipaulian) little universe. Slightly ridiculous, resilient, vulnerable, poignant and tragic beings fighting our little battles. And losing most of the time.