12 August 2009

Serena , not so Serene..

Its a saying somewhere that 'A woman is behind every battle and every war' ... Take Ramayana , Mahabharata ... they've all proven that
'Heaven hath no rage like a love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned' ..
 
and then meet Serena Pemberton , the heroine of the book with same name , by Ron Rash..
She is ambitious - dreaming of logging in the un-chartered jungles of Brazil,
fearless - she tamed an eagle and it kills snakes @ her bidding ,
equal to any man - back in 1920s she is wearing trousers, riding horse astride and greeting each man with a strong handshake, also
power-thirsty - anyone who comes in her way is 'taken care of' and not with much discretion since she is the overlord,
overbearing - though her husband is a huge man and has done a lot before she came into his life, he is diminished when she is around ,
evil - she sends her 'stub' to track down and kill her husband's illegitimate son because she cannot have her own ,
autocrat - she has her own sense of right and wrong, moral and otherwise and infinite power to exercise
 
She is the heroine of this expansive and intriguing story , a contemporary portrayal of Macbeth and the levels to which hunger for power can take you..
READ it !