My Favorite Nature Stories by Ruskin Bond - Book Review by Apoorva Kalan
Ruskin Bond and his books!! Aren't they just AMAZING!! Unfortunately, this book is my very first, and I can't wait to dive in for more of his books. I am clearly going to have an excellent time reading them. There is a famous Bollywood movie adaptation on his book 'Susanna's Seven Husbands.'
Favorite Nature Stories is a collection of all of Ruskin Bond's favorite write-ups on Nature. This book was released as a tribute to Ruskin Bond by his Publisher 'Rupa Publications' on his 82nd birthday. He expresses his gratitude that he could never receive a more perfect gift. Reading Ruskin Bond stories is like unleashing that creative part in you that you never imagined could exist.
This book is full of short stories where he shares his experience; when he was surrounded by nature, be it in the laps of the Himalayas, his old rental stay in Mussoorie, or London. Nature never stopped surprising him nor do his stories. He explains in detail his rendezvous with the different species of flowers, trees, birds, animals, mountains and people circling him. Right from his stay in Maplewood Lodge to his stay in London, which lasted just for a couple of years, he makes sure all the details are precise and descriptive, to spark that imaginative frame of your mind and go explore the wilderness as he does so himself.
"Once you have lived with mountains, there is no escape. You belong to them." This is so very true; by the end of the book, I had wished the book never ended. Even with the scorching heat around me, I could feel the coolness of the mountains, the refreshing breeze circulating in his cottage, the insects and birds making noise when it starts raining and the beauty of nature. You are simply transported to his world and forget all the realities encircling you. Isn't that something that a book should perpetually do.
As you venture deeper into the book, you cannot help but notice the depth to which he has explained about each and every insect, flower, animal, unlike his claims of being immature in this field; it takes in a great deal of effort to research and then explain it to the reader in a simple language and make sure the reader is on the same emotional level as his. His works are totally effortless and mind-boggling. I would recommend this book to each and everyone to be transported to Ruskin Bond's nature world minus the concrete jungle.
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