Once You Have Lived with Mountains by Ruskin Bond (Book Review)

Once You Have Lived With Mountains

By Ruskin Bond


Paperbacke-book


Isn't the book cover beautiful? My sister-in-law said excitedly as she handed over the book to me.  ‘Indeed’ I said as I continued to look at the book cover in awe.

This book was a gift and she wanted me to check it out. 

Can I borrow it for a week? I requested to which she agreed happily. 

Well, I must confess that of all the books I have read to date this book has the best book cover picture. I simply kept looking at the picture it was so soothing to my eyes. 

Thinking that it must be a travel story I turned to the back cover to find out more about the book. It talked about Ruskin Bond’s reminisces of nature and people when he stayed in the mountains. “OK, let’s give it a shot” I thought. 

So, here is a book review of “Once you have lived with Mountains” authored by Ruskin Bond.   

 

 

About the Author

Ruskin Bond is an award-winning Indian author of British descent. He has written many novels, essays, short stories, and books for children. Most of his literary work is influenced by his life in the foothills of the Himalayas where he spent his childhood. 

He currently stays in Landour, Mussoorie. He is known for his simple and expressive style of writing. 

 

About the Book

 This is a small book with just 17 short stories in 126 pages. All short stories are about the author’s relationship with nature and people. These are real-life stories from his childhood, boyhood, and manhood while he stayed in towns in and around the Himalayas.


 The short stories are not related to each other you can choose to read any story from the book randomly no need to follow the chronological order.

 

What did I like about the book?

I feel blessed to have spent a lot of time with my grandmother while I was growing up. I loved interacting with her and listening to her life stories. She would tell me about her childhood and her family, how she met my grandfather and how she managed to settle into a different culture and environment post marriage.

It was a pleasure listening to her and I would often implore her to tell me more.

 This book has reminded me of her stories, and I found myself reading it with the same excitement and wonder as I experienced while listening to my grandma.

Maybe this is because like my grandma’s stories these stories are real, exciting, and relatable.

I particularly liked the author’s account of fairy hill where he described a trek to a scenic hilltop. It was also exciting to read about his tale of smelling a leopard in the tunnel who was just a few meters away from him and I was touched with his aunt’s efforts to find him a suitable match even at the age of 60.

 

Who should read this Book?

 In these covid times as I stay cooped up in my dwelling longing to travel and explore the world, this book has come as a blessing in disguise. With Ruskin Bond I have traveled to cities like Landour, Mussoorie, and Shimla, I have felt the cool breeze of the mountains on my face and seen the beautiful rivers and mountain range of the Himalayas I also met people from different walks of life.   

If you are feeling overwhelmed and fatigued due to COVID travel restrictions, you can pick this up to feel the freshness of the mountains.

 As a book blogger, I am often asked for book recommendations for someone who wants to start reading. I think this is a very good book for beginners. If you want to start reading pick up this book. The stories in the book are  short you can finish one chapter a day.

 Check out the book buying link below. Happy reading.  

 

Book buying link

 

 

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