Autumn Shadows By Tomichan Matheikal – Book Review

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Autumn Shadows By Tomichan Matheikal – Book Review

Title: Autumn Shadows

Author: Tomichan Matheikal

Genre: Autobiography

Pages: 221

Link For Purchase: Autumn Shadows

My Take:

Pros:

The author has taken us through the various phases of his life, the highs and lows, the happy and sorrowful moments truthfully and sincerely. In presenting himself to the world Tomichan Matheikal has been ruthlessly honest. The book has been written keeping interest alive from the first word to the last and keeps the reader absorbed throughout. Tomichan gives us a look into his childhood when he was admitted to a seminary as the first step towards being initiated into priesthood. He describes his childish delight to be the chosen one for priesthood in his family. The way he describes it, we can identify with Tomichan as a gleeful child who is delighted at something, the real meaning of which he does not appreciate or understand. Tomichan tells us about his growing years when he gradually becomes disenchanted with religion.

He is initially in love with science and mathematics, but he finally opts for English literature as the subject for his degree. As a young man, Tomichan’s impressive mind is influenced by several philosophers like Descartes, Spinoza and numerous others. He describes the conflicts that arise in his mind as he devours books on philosophy. He then proceeds to describe the most difficult years of his life when he faced several problems as a lecturer in a college in Shillong. He describes his relationship with his wife, his colleagues and all the other people in his life with aplomb. The most difficult part of writing your own story is to steer clear of rambling and presenting oneself in a manner that is interesting to the reader. Tomichan has done this difficult job well. The language used in Tomichan’s autobiography is scholarly without making the user feel disconnected at any point in the book.

Cons: The only problem I faced while reading this book is that there are some portions of the book where the timeline becomes jumbled. In these portions of the book, Tomichan describes something that happens later and then proceeds to describe earlier events subsequently. This confused me in a few places.

Conclusion: This book is eminently readable, and I would recommend it for people who are keen on reading autobiographies.

Rating: I am going with a 4/5 for Tomichan Matheikal’s Autumn Shadows. Do read it. It is an excellent book.

Rating Scale:

               1 – Poor

               2 – Fair

               3 – Good

               4 – Excellent

               5 – Outstanding

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