Daniel Nanavati

This is a rousing good, nautical, adventure story about a highwayman that has been re-incarnated as a cat, and out for revenge. The book includes a few simple watercolour illustrations.

Note 1: This book might not be suitable for very small children as the beginning includes somewhat gruesome details of hanging and animal abuse.

Note 2: Editor needed to check that all the punctuation and letters are where they should be.

Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for a review.… (altro)

(This review will be available on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl at the beginning of July.


I stopped reading this book at page 19. It was just too gruesome for me. It's supposed to be a children's book (I'm guessing it's aimed at children between 10 - 12), but even I, at 29 years old, had problems with it. It doesn't seem like it was written poorly or anything, I just couldn't stand the gruesome violence.

It starts off talking about the main character being hanged and about the man's body being dropped. Here's a direct quote from the book: "He remembered the sound of the drum roll and a great cheer from the crowd as his body dropped and the rope tightened around his neck." Eesh! Not something I'd want my child reading about, but I thought I'd continue on and give this book the benefit of the doubt. Nope, it still didn't stop. This book describes how the main character used to drink so much that he couldn't stand up and how he used to enjoy kicking cats hard. Here's another direct quote: "He used to kick cats. Worse he had enjoyed kicking cats. He inflicted the maximum pain at twenty paces to a cat of any size with his expert choice of stones." Okay, so that was definitely cringe worthy, but I thought maybe the violence would stop there. Nope, how wrong I was! Here's another direct quote: "He knew all about how they strung cats up in bags and beat them." So that's when I decided to stop. This book was being way too graphic for a children's book. It even grossed me out.

Also, the grammar and punctuation isn't that great. There's words missing and written out of place, and punctuation is missing from a lot of places. However, I was going to overlook that.

It's sad because this story seemed to have the promise of being a fantastic read. And who knows? Perhaps it is a good read if you can overlook all the violence.

One positive thing is that the watercolor pictures are done very well and very beautifully.

Personally, I wouldn't let my child read this book, but if you decide to let your child read it, I'd say use a lot of parental discretion.

Blueskin the Cat by Daniel Nanavati remains unrated by me.

(I was given a free paperback copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review).… (altro)

(This review can be found on my blog The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl.


I absolutely love the cover of this book. It is gorgeous!! Anyway, this book has ten stories in it, so I will review and rate each one individually.
*
Boots

Judith (of an undisclosed age) is a girl that hates wearing shoes. However, she is in a play where she has to play a Polish tramp. She doesn't want to wear shoes, but the director says even tramps wear shoes. She finds some beat up looking boots in the prop room and puts them on. As soon as they are on her feet, it's like they have a mind of their own. They take Judith where they want to go. What ensues in an adventure that Judith won't soon forget.

I thought the story of Boots was a really cute and interesting read. I definitely think this will appeal to children of all ages. The only slight problem was with punctuation, but that's nothing that major. Judith is an interesting girl. I'd recommend this story.

I'd give Boots a 4.5 out of 5.
*
Five Gifts

Lonia is a thirteen year old girl whose parents are already nagging her to get married. (Yeah, it's a bit much, but it does say in the story that this was way back in the day). She'd rather spend her days in the children's glade talking to her elf friend, Pintak. One day, Pintak is kidnapped by a mean old wizard, and Lonia decides that she must go rescue him. She is given five gifts from different creatures of the forest to help her on her quest.

I was impressed with this story, and I found it quite interesting. There's also a lesson to be learned about experimenting on animals. Lonia was definitely a brave little girl and was willing to risk everything to save her friend. There are a few punctuation mistakes and a mispelt word, but other than that, this story was a good one.

I'd give Five Gifts a 5 out of 5.
*
Sintinko

Sintinko is a story set in Japan back when it was all emperors and generals. The emperor is jealous of Sintinko and wants to have him killed. It's only because of Ilyo, Sintinko's love interest, that the emperor spares his life. However, Sintinko is banished from Japan until he can find a maple tree that can sit in the hand of the emperor. Ilyo and Sintinko know that they will most likely never see each other. Unbeknownst to Sintinko and everyone else, Ilyo disguises herself as a geisha to help Sintinko on his journey. Love and loss are the themes of this story.

This was such a bittersweet love story. I felt sorry for both Sintinko and Ilyo. Sintinko thought he would never see his beloved again and swore off any type of relationship. Ilyo had her beloved right there in front of her, yet she couldn't do anything about it.

The names, being Japanese, were a bit hard to pronounce, but it's easy to get past that since the story is so strong. Speaking of names, this story even lets us know how the Bonsai tree got its name.

There's a few punctuation mistakes, but nothing that takes away from the story.

I think this story would be better suited for ages 11 . Personally, I found the story a bit slow, but not painfully slow.

I'd give Sintinko a 3.5 out of 5.
*
Tivurambhat

Tivurambhat is the story of a ghost by the same name of the title who helps people out in times of need in India. A mean man forces people to work for him by letting them borrow money, putting the interest up, and paying them such low wages they can never afford to pay him pack. One man decides to do something about it and goes to Tivurambhat for help.

I loved the message behind the story. Towards the ending, it even had me smiling. I couldn't pronounce the names since they were all Indian names, so I just shortened them so my American self could pronounce them. I loved the character of Tiv. He kind of reminded me of an American version of Casper for some reason. I really enjoyed the conversation between Pradesh and Tiv the most. This was such a happy story!

Again, there's some punctuation mistakes and a few grammar ones as well, but the story itself was excellent.

I'd give Tivurambhat a 5 out of 5.
*
St. Penalyn's Well

St Penalyn's Well tells the story of Rebecca (of an undisclosed age) who ventures into an overgrown garden with her dog. She stumbles across a well with an inscription. It is while reading this inscription that she becomes trapped in the well. Lucky for her, she meets an elf named Opickle who keeps her company and gives her the inspiration she needs to find her way out.

This was definitely an interesting story. I was hooked all the way through. It's a story about friendship amongst diversity and not giving up. I found Opickle to be just a tad bit of a snob but not enough to put me off the story.

A few punctuation mistakes throughout the story but not enough to be distracting.

St. Penalyn's Well gets a 5 out of 5 from me.
*
Quint and Trout's Mistake

Quint and Trout's Mistake is a story I didn't finish because of the name calling and making fun of someone who is overweight. It starts out innocently enough. A lake is being overrun by a white smelly substance. Two brothers, Quint and Trout, talk their friend Ned into investigating why this is happening. Ned swims down to the bottom of the lake and finds an overweight creature living in a cave who has been kicked out of his house. This is when the name calling starts, and I stopped reading.

I do not like stories aimed at children that condone name calling of any sort whether it be because of weight, disabilities, race, etc. Children do not need to read something like this and feel bad about themselves or view it as an excuse to tease others. I was very disappointed something like this was in a children's book.

Quint and Trout's Mistake gets a 0 out of 5 from me. What a vile story!
*
Densus

Densus is a boy who was born with blue fingernails and blue streaks in his hair. This is because he has a destiny to fulfill. When a crab named Arnold asks him if he'd go tell a giant that he has found a perfect wife for him, Densus agrees because it's his destiny even if there's a possibility the giant could kill him.

This is a story about destinies. It lets us know that we all have destinies if only we weren't too busy trying to find out what they are. This is a fun story which I think children would love! I loved Arnold the crab!! I think a majority of children would love him.

Again, there's a few punctuation and grammar mistakes but nothing major.

I'd give Densus a 5 out of 5.
*
Alice's Granddaughter

Alice's Granddaughter takes place years after Alice in Wonderland. Alice's granddaughter, Alicia, is recruited by a thief named Cheng to go down into a rabbit hole to get him a yellow dragon. Alicia discovers that things in Wonderland haven't changed much.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I'm a sucker for everything Alice in Wonderland-esque, and this was no exception! I loved how the author still managed to preserve the original Wonderland in his tale and how he even managed to keep the style of writing similar to that of Lewis Carroll. My favorite character was definitely the talking table. My only gripe is that I wish this story would've been longer!

As like with the previous story, there are some punctuation and grammar mistakes that can be overlooked.

Alice's Granddaughter gets a bit 5 out of 5.
*
The Dragon

The Dragon is a story about death. In this story, we follow a dragon in her very last moments as she dies of what I assume to be old age. We get to see her memories of when she was her prime and when she takes her last breath.

This is a sad story and probably one for the older children unless younger children can handle the topic of death. It's not written in a morbid way though. It's actually written quite beautifully especially when we get to see the memory of the dragon in her prime. I think this story can show that death is not always bad.

There are grammar and punctuation mistakes but nothing that deters from the story.

The Dragon gets a 3.75 out of 5.
*
The Wisdom of a Dog

The Wisdom of a Dog is about a man named Keith and his dog who go on an adventure and wind up in a crystal city. Keith must found out who is destroying the city and save it.

This story was a good read, and I think most children would enjoy it especially as it involves a talking dog. I enjoyed how the author even placed his own dialogue in the story. This is a good versus bad story that shows that bad people never win.

Again, there are grammar and punctuation mistakes, but it doesn't take away from the story.

The Wisdom of a Dog gets a 3.5 out of 5.
*

The Exalted Gate by Daniel Nanavati averages out to a 3.5 out of 5. I'd definitely recommend this book to old and young alike!

(I received a free physical copy of this title from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review).… (altro)

A Brief History Of Lies by Daniel Nanavati and Calvin Innes is an interesting read. While not under the category of deeply researched scholarly works, I nonetheless found this e-book to contain food for thought. The authors thread us through many of the usual passageways of the role of lying in society, interpersonal relationships, the quest for sex. etc. In the process they bring up the much bigger question of lying as a innate trait enabling progress and evolution (societal and otherwise). As with many quickly penned e-books i found myself wanting to read more. but more so I felt as though I had entered a conversation which resolved nothing yet left me inexplicably satisfied. The writing is clean - a bit wandering at times, no blaring typos and misspellings... In all I have to recommend this - cause I'd like to re-enter the room and pick up where we left off.… (altro)