book review english class 12

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Book Review of Munamadan || English

Title : Muna Madan

Author: Laxmi Prasad Devkota

Publisher: Sajha Prakashan, Kathmandu, Nepal

Publish Year: 1936

Subject: Narrative Poetry

Genre: Romance

Language: Nepali

Is it a darkly passionate tale of love? Or should we call it a highly original gothic story? The classic narrative poetry  Muna Madan by Mahakabi Laxmi Prasad Devkota is, in my opinion, a unique and gripping blend of these genres. Written in 1 936 , it is a folk epic novel f ull of desire, love , passion, humanity a nd regret, focusing on the main characters of Muna and Madan .

The book describes the life of a man (Madan) who leaves his wife (Muna) and goes to Lhasa to make money. Madan represents all the youths of Nepal who go abroad to earn money to earn their living.

The wife of Madan, Muna is the queen of love and sacrifice. She loves her Madan a lot so she is upset as she has to send him to a place, Lahsa, where there are lots of obstacles and risks. But finally, she accepts this challenge and stays in the country with her mother-in-law who is old and weak.

While returning home, Madan becomes sick on the way. His friends leave him on the road and come back home saying he has died. Finally, he is rescued by a man who is considered to be of lower caste in Nepal. That is why it is said that a man is said to be great not by caste or race but by a heart full of love and humanity.

When Madan returns to Kathmandu after regaining his health, he discovers that his mother and his beloved wife had already died. Madan comes to realize that money is of no value at that point.

The story also shows the life of a poor woman who suffered much without her husband and later dies because of grief. In this poem, Devkota has written about the biggest problems of the then Nepalese society.

Through the story of Muna and Madan, Laxmi Prasad Devkota wants to stabilize the facts of traditional societies, unscientific beliefs and the negative impacts of unemployment and poverty in Nepalese society. The poet has wonderfully defined love by writing about the relationship of Muna and Madan. 

Muna Madan is not what I would call an 'easy read'. There is dense description and some of the dialogue is written in dialect, which can be difficult to follow.

Nevertheless, I carried on and, all in all, I can highly recommend Muna Madan . I challenge you to remain unmoved after reading this exceptional book .

Anupam Suwar

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How to Write a Book Review: The Ultimate Guide

WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW?

Traditionally, book reviews are evaluations of a recently published book in any genre. Usually, around the 500 to 700-word mark, they briefly describe a text’s main elements while appraising the work’s strengths and weaknesses. Published book reviews can appear in newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. They provide the reader with an overview of the book itself and indicate whether or not the reviewer would recommend the book to the reader.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A BOOK REVIEW?

There was a time when book reviews were a regular appearance in every quality newspaper and many periodicals. They were essential elements in whether or not a book would sell well. A review from a heavyweight critic could often be the deciding factor in whether a book became a bestseller or a damp squib. In the last few decades, however, the book review’s influence has waned considerably, with many potential book buyers preferring to consult customer reviews on Amazon, or sites like Goodreads, before buying. As a result, book review’s appearance in newspapers, journals, and digital media has become less frequent.

WHY BOTHER TEACHING STUDENTS TO WRITE BOOK REVIEWS AT ALL?

Even in the heyday of the book review’s influence, few students who learned the craft of writing a book review became literary critics! The real value of crafting a well-written book review for a student does not lie in their ability to impact book sales. Understanding how to produce a well-written book review helps students to:

●     Engage critically with a text

●     Critically evaluate a text

●     Respond personally to a range of different writing genres

●     Improve their own reading, writing, and thinking skills.

Not to Be Confused with a Book Report!

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BOOK REVIEW AND A BOOK REPORT?

While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are clear differences in both the purpose and the format of the two genres. Generally speaking, book reports aim to give a more detailed outline of what occurs in a book. A book report on a work of fiction will tend to give a comprehensive account of the characters, major plot lines, and themes in the book. Book reports are usually written around the K-12 age range, while book reviews tend not to be undertaken by those at the younger end of this age range due to the need for the higher-level critical skills required in writing them. At their highest expression, book reviews are written at the college level and by professional critics.

Learn how to write a book review step by step with our complete guide for students and teachers by familiarizing yourself with the structure and features.

BOOK REVIEW STRUCTURE

ANALYZE Evaluate the book with a critical mind.

THOROUGHNESS The whole is greater than the sum of all its parts. Review the book as a WHOLE.

COMPARE Where appropriate compare to similar texts and genres.

THUMBS UP OR DOWN? You are going to have to inevitably recommend or reject this book to potential readers.

BE CONSISTENT Take a stance and stick with it throughout your review.

FEATURES OF A BOOK REVIEW

PAST TENSE You are writing about a book you have already read.

EMOTIVE LANGUAGE Whatever your stance or opinion be passionate about it. Your audience will thank you for it.

VOICE Both active and passive voice are used in recounts.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF TEXTS

⭐ Make  MOVIES A MEANINGFUL PART OF YOUR CURRICULUM  with this engaging collection of tasks and tools your students will love. ⭐ All the hard work is done for you with  NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

This collection of  21 INDEPENDENT TASKS  and  GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS  takes students beyond the hype, special effects and trailers to look at visual literacy from several perspectives offering DEEP LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES by watching a  SERIES, DOCUMENTARY, FILM, and even  VIDEO GAMES.

ELEMENTS OF A BOOK REVIEW

As with any of the writing genres we teach our students, a book review can be helpfully explained in terms of criteria. While there is much to the ‘art’ of writing, there is also, thankfully, a lot of the nuts and bolts that can be listed too. Have students consider the following elements before writing:

●     Title: Often, the title of the book review will correspond to the title of the text itself, but there may also be some examination of the title’s relevance. How does it fit into the purpose of the work as a whole? Does it convey a message or reveal larger themes explored within the work?

●     Author: Within the book review, there may be some discussion of who the author is and what they have written before, especially if it relates to the current work being reviewed. There may be some mention of the author’s style and what they are best known for. If the author has received any awards or prizes, this may also be mentioned within the body of the review.

●     Genre: A book review will identify the genre that the book belongs to, whether fiction or nonfiction, poetry, romance, science-fiction, history etc. The genre will likely tie in, too with who the intended audience for the book is and what the overall purpose of the work is.

●     Book Jacket / Cover: Often, a book’s cover will contain artwork that is worthy of comment. It may contain interesting details related to the text that contribute to, or detract from, the work as a whole.

●     Structure: The book’s structure will often be heavily informed by its genre. Have students examine how the book is organized before writing their review. Does it contain a preface from a guest editor, for example? Is it written in sections or chapters? Does it have a table of contents, index, glossary etc.? While all these details may not make it into the review itself, looking at how the book is structured may reveal some interesting aspects.

●     Publisher and Price: A book review will usually contain details of who publishes the book and its cost. A review will often provide details of where the book is available too.

BOOK REVIEW KEY ELEMENTS

As students read and engage with the work they will review, they will develop a sense of the shape their review will take. This will begin with the summary. Encourage students to take notes during the reading of the work that will help them in writing the summary that will form an essential part of their review. Aspects of the book they may wish to take notes on in a work of fiction may include:

●     Characters: Who are the main characters? What are their motivations? Are they convincingly drawn? Or are they empathetic characters?

●     Themes: What are the main themes of the work? Are there recurring motifs in the work? Is the exploration of the themes deep or surface only?

●     Style: What are the key aspects of the writer’s style? How does it fit into the wider literary world?

●     Plot: What is the story’s main catalyst? What happens in the rising action? What are the story’s subplots? 

A book review will generally begin with a short summary of the work itself. However, it is important not to give too much away, remind students – no spoilers, please! For nonfiction works, this may be a summary of the main arguments of the work, again, without giving too much detail away. In a work of fiction, a book review will often summarise up to the rising action of the piece without going beyond to reveal too much!

The summary should also provide some orientation for the reader. Given the nature of the purpose of a review, it is important that students’ consider their intended audience in the writing of their review. Readers will most likely not have read the book in question and will require some orientation. This is often achieved through introductions to the main characters, themes, primary arguments etc. This will help the reader to gauge whether or not the book is of interest to them.

Once your student has summarized the work, it is time to ‘review’ in earnest. At this point, the student should begin to detail their own opinion of the book. To do this well they should:

i. Make It Personal

Often when teaching essay writing we will talk to our students about the importance of climbing up and down the ladder of abstraction. Just as it is helpful to explore large, more abstract concepts in an essay by bringing it down to Earth, in a book review, it is important that students can relate the characters, themes, ideas etc to their own lives.

Book reviews are meant to be subjective. They are opinion pieces, and opinions grow out of our experiences of life. Encourage students to link the work they are writing about to their own personal life within the body of the review. By making this personal connection to the work, students contextualize their opinions for the readers and help them to understand whether the book will be of interest to them or not in the process.

ii. Make It Universal

Just as it is important to climb down the ladder of abstraction to show how the work relates to individual life, it is important to climb upwards on the ladder too. Students should endeavor to show how the ideas explored in the book relate to the wider world. The may be in the form of the universality of the underlying themes in a work of fiction or, for example, the international implications for arguments expressed in a work of nonfiction.

iii. Support Opinions with Evidence

A book review is a subjective piece of writing by its very nature. However, just because it is subjective does not mean that opinions do not need to be justified. Make sure students understand how to back up their opinions with various forms of evidence, for example, quotations, statistics, and the use of primary and secondary sources.

EDIT AND REVISE YOUR BOOK REVIEW

As with any writing genre, encourage students to polish things up with review and revision at the end. Encourage them to proofread and check for accurate spelling throughout, with particular attention to the author’s name, character names, publisher etc. 

It is good practice too for students to double-check their use of evidence. Are statements supported? Are the statistics used correctly? Are the quotations from the text accurate? Mistakes such as these uncorrected can do great damage to the value of a book review as they can undermine the reader’s confidence in the writer’s judgement.

The discipline of writing book reviews offers students opportunities to develop their writing skills and exercise their critical faculties. Book reviews can be valuable standalone activities or serve as a part of a series of activities engaging with a central text. They can also serve as an effective springboard into later discussion work based on the ideas and issues explored in a particular book. Though the book review does not hold the sway it once did in the mind’s of the reading public, it still serves as an effective teaching tool in our classrooms today.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BOOK REVIEW GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (TEMPLATE)

101 DIGITAL & PRINT GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS FOR ALL CURRICULUM AREAS

Introduce your students to 21st-century learning with this GROWING BUNDLE OF 101 EDITABLE & PRINTABLE GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS. ✌ NO PREP REQUIRED!!! ✌ Go paperless, and let your students express their knowledge and creativity through the power of technology and collaboration inside and outside the classroom with ease.

Whilst you don’t have to have a 1:1 or BYOD classroom to benefit from this bundle, it has been purpose-built to deliver through platforms such as ✔ GOOGLE CLASSROOM, ✔ OFFICE 365, ✔ or any CLOUD-BASED LEARNING PLATFORM.

Book and Movie review writing examples (Student Writing Samples)

Below are a collection of student writing samples of book reviews.  Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail.  Please take a moment to both read the movie or book review in detail but also the teacher and student guides which highlight some of the key elements of writing a text review

Please understand these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a piece of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to improve student writing skills and deepen their understanding of book review writing.

We would recommend reading the example either a year above and below, as well as the grade you are currently working with to gain a broader appreciation of this text type .

BOOK REVIEW VIDEO TUTORIALS

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO BOOK REVIEWS

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NCERT Books for Class 12 English

Ncert books class 12 english – free pdf download for 2023-24.

NCERT Class 12 English Book is vital for students and teachers in the learning and teaching process. These books contain a framework of the course content, which is required to study for the entire academic year. The expert faculty curated NCERT Books according to the English syllabus prescribed by CBSE Board. The Class 12 English books aim to improve the comprehension and reading skills of the students. Each chapter is explained in simple language to guide the students in the right direction.

Students aspiring to score good marks in the board exams can refer to the NCERT Books for Class 12 English available on BYJU’S website. The board exam question paper will be according to the concepts covered in the NCERT Books . Students have to answer all the exercise questions to understand the themes of each chapter.

Class 12 English Book NCERT is one of the best study tools prescribed by the CBSE Board to obtain high marks. The highly experienced faculty have provided the NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English in downloadable PDFs for better assistance.

Now, click on the link below to download the NCERT English Class 12  Books PDF for your future reference.

NCERT Book for Class 12 Kaleidoscope English Chapter-wise PDF

According to the latest CBSE syllabus, the elective book  Kaleidoscope of NCERT Class 12 English contains short stories, poetry, non-fiction, and drama. The students should spend equal time on all the chapters to grasp the topics covered in each chapter. These books are considered the best study material prescribed by the CBSE Board for Class 12 during their exam preparation.

NCERT Book for Class 12 Flamingo English Chapter-wise PDF

NCERT English Book for Class 12 Flamingo has eight prose chapters and six chapters of poetry. Students who wish to score good marks in the Class 12 exams are highly encouraged to use the NCERT Books available at BYJU’S. Chapter-wise links provided here help students to download the books for free. Students can use PDFs anywhere and at any time without any restrictions. It is a crucial requirement for students for board exam preparation.

NCERT Book for Class 12 Vistas English Chapter-wise PDF

Class 12 English NCERT Books are the first thing that comes to the students’ minds for exam preparation. There are eight chapters in the Supplementary Book – Vistas. As English requires a lot of grammar knowledge, students should regularly read each chapter present in the textbook. NCERT English Book Vistas Class 12 PDF download option is provided at BYJU’S to enhance the grammatical accuracy of the students.

After completing the textbook questions, students must solve the  CBSE Class 12 Sample Papers and previous years’ question papers. It will mainly enhance time management skills, which is very important from the exam point of view.

Features of NCERT Books for Class 12 English

• The theme behind each chapter can be understood effectively by regular practice.
• Class 12 NCERT English Book is the best study material for CBSE students.
• Students can get an idea of the questions repeatedly asked in the exams.
• All the topics are comprehensive to help the students perform well in the exams.
• It is the best guide for students to complete their homework and assignments on time.

Frequently Asked Questions on NCERT Books for Class 12 English

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Film Review and Book Review – Class 12 English Board Exam

F ilm Review / Book Review

Film Review and Book Review carry 10 marks in Class 12 Board Exam. Students are generally asked to write film/book review that you have recently watched/read.

Word limit : 300 Words

1.Write a film review about any film that you have recently watched in about 150 to 200 words.

Title of the movie: Chhakka Panja

Movie : Chhaka Panja

Director : Deepa Shree Niraula

Produced by : Deepak Raj Giri, Jeetu Nepal, Kedar Ghimire

Starring : Priyanka Karki ,Deepak Raj Giri, Kedar Ghimire, Buddhi Tamang,                    Basundhara Bhusal, Barsha Raut , Aryan Sigdel

Genre: Social

Duration: 136 minutes

Language: Nepali

Release Date: 9 Sep , 2016

                                              Chhakka Panja

  Last week I got a chance to watch Nepali comedy film. Chhakka Panja. Chhakka Panja is one of the most popular films in Nepali Film Industry. It has also observed 100 days in the film halls. This is the film directed by Deepa Shree Niraula. The film reflects the bitter truth of our contemporary society. This film gives the lesson to the husbands who go to foreign countries to earn money and also to their wives. The story of the film begins from Atit (Shiv Hari Paudel). He gets DV for America and gets married to Brinda (Barsha Raut). He flies to America alone and promises with his wife that he will come back to take her.

  There is another character, Raja (Deepak Raj Giri) who lives with his widow mother. Neither he wants to marry nor to work. He wanders here and there with his three friends: Jeetu, Kedar and Buddhi. Except Buddhi, all three are unmarried. When Shiva goes to America, his wife Brinda and Deepak fall in love. Brinda shows real love but Deepak wants only to exploit her beauty and youth. She becomes pregnant. At the same time, Shiva comes back from America without informing and knows their love affair but he doesn’t show any reaction.

  On the other hand, Deepak gets married with Champa (Priyanka) due to his mother’s force. Then Aryan Sigdel is seen as a villain. While Deepak and Priyanka are going to Kathmandu, Aryan and Priyanka attack to Deepak in the forest and injure Deepak. Then Aryan and Priyanka run away from there.

  Similarly Jeetu and Namrata are in love but Namrata’s father advises Jeetu to go foreign country and earn money to get Namrata. So he is in Kathmandu. One day Buddhi beats his wife being drunk so she has gone to maiti. Although everybody thinks Kedar is in foreign country, he is in Kathmandu as the head of criminal gang. Deepak and Buddhi go to Kathmandu to search Aryan and Priyanka. They meet to Jeetu and Kedar there.

  One day Aryan phones to Deepak and informs that he is getting married to Priyanka at temple. He also threatens to Deepak to stop that marriage if he can. When four friends (Deepak, Jeetu, Kedar, Buddhi) reach to temple, Aryan reveals a secret plan. In fact, Shiva Hari is getting married to Priyanka not Aryan. Priyanka has got married to Deepak according to Shiva’s plan and he is getting married to Priyanka (Deepak’s wife) to teach lesson to Deepak.

  In this way, the film has happy ending because every problem is solved. Deepak accepts Brinda (Shiva’s pregnant wife) as his wife. Shiva gets married to Priyanka (Deepak’s wife). Buddhi realizes his mistake and promises not to beat his wife again. So his wife returns from maiti. Jeetu returns from foreign country by earning money and gets married to Bishnu (Namrata). Kedar also gets married to Deepa Shree.

  The film is very interesting to every audience since it gives moral lesson to every husband not to play with youth of others’ wives. The dialogues used by the actors are very humorous. The audiences can’t stay without laughing while watching the film. The plot, acting of the characters, comic scenes and dialogues and the message conveyed by the film are really praiseworthy.

 2. Write a film review about any film that you have recently watched in about 150 to 200 words.

Title of the movie: Jhola

Director: Yadav Kumar Bhattarai

Producers: Raj Timalsina, Ram Gopal Thapa and Sushil Shah

Starring: Garima Panta, Desh Bhakta Khanal , Sujal Nepal, Laxrni Gin and Deepak Chhetri

Duration: 90 minutes

Release Date: 7 December 2013

  Jhola is a Nepali film based on Krishna Dharawasi’s short story “Jhola”. It has depicted Nepali society about the Sati tradition that was prevalent until the 1920s. The film has beautifully presented the issues of violence against women. “Has Nepalese society really passed through such in human tradition?” is the question every youngster wonders about.

The plot develops with the death of Garima’s husband in which she has to immolate herself upon her husband’s death, typically on his funeral pyre. She is supposed to be burnt alive with the dead body of her husband according to the tradition. However, she escapes the fire and hides in a cave. The help of her son fascinates the audience.

  Almost all the scenes seem realistic and historical. Traditional tools like dhiki, janto, madaani, etc. give traditional look in the film. Similarly traditional lights like ranks, diyalo and fire place represent ancient environment to the spectators. In addition to Sati tradition, the movie also touch Kamara Kamari(a kind of slavery) tradition. What a beautiful cinematography it is! I think costumes of the artists and the leaf music in traditional tunes touch the heart of every one present in the cinema hall. Garima’s natural appearance, her role and her acting are spellbinding and add to the beauty of the movie.

This is a must watch movie. Don’t miss   it.

3.     3. Write a film review about any film that you have recently watched in about 150 to 200 words.

  Title of the movie: Pardeshi

Director:  Narayan Rayamajhi

Producers:   Rajesh Banshal

Starring: Prashant Tamang, Rajani K.C , etc

Genre: Drama

Duration: 128 minutes

Release Date: October 22, 2015

“Pardeshi’s strong key points are its story and screenplay, music and actors performance. These key elements of the film have made the film watchable one. Ramesh BC and Narayan Raymajhi have written the story and screenplay. Credit must be given to the story and screenplay for adding emotional undercurrent into the film which are appreciable and will hold you in the seat. The emotions touch the right chord and a couple of them could even make the weak-hearted cry.

Musician B.B.Anuragi is another appreciable team member of the film Pardeshi. All the songs of the film are melodious that will get into the nerves of the audience. Every song has its importance in the film which will take the story to next level. The purely folk melody songs will make your movie experience enjoyable.

Actors’ performance is another strong aspect of the film. I could not find any flaw on any actors’ performance. From lead actors to supporting actors, child actors to guest actors, everyone has performed brilliantly. Every actor has got into the character and performed. Every character is developed properly which will give sense to their individual story and will help the audience to relate with them.

Prashant Tamang being an Indian idol and an international celebrity, he is not presented in the film as a celebrity. This is one of the important beauties of the film, Prashant is into the character of Binaya so much that audience will forget that they are watching Prashant in the screen.

Rajni KC was featured in glamorous avatar in her first film Loafer. But in Pardeshi, she has got a big opportunity to showcase her talent as an actress. Her performance as Namrata is brilliant. Keshav Bhattarai as Binaya’s father is good. Naren Khadka has also performed well. All other actors have done appreciable works which have given life to every characters of the film.

  Pardeshi’s major drawback is its cinematography. Shiva Dhakal’s cinematography is poor. Beautiful scenes Palpa are not captured well. All the shots are normål and don’t add beauty to the visual experience of watching a film. If cinematography was improved, the film would have been a masterpiece. The climax also seems filmy but doesn’t hamper the film.

Book Review

1.     1. Write a book review about any book that you have recently read in about 150 to 200 words.

  Review of Book: Palpasa Café

Title of book: Palpasa Café

Author: Narayan Wagle

Publisher: Nepalaya ( Kathmandu , Nepal)

Publish Year:   2005

Genre: Fiction

Palpasa Café

Narayan Wagle is one of few Nepali journalists I admire I have been an avid reader of his gossip column Coffee Guff which is marked by gift of phrases. I’m also a fan of his graphic reporting specially from remote corners of Nepal. Simplicity, I must say, is the hallmark of Wagle’s writing, But, as I waded through the pages of Wagle’s debut novel Palpasa Cafe, I concluded that it’s just an extended version of Coffee Guff.

Let’s begin from the beginning. The novel starts with a metafictional note. The narrator, a journalist, is waiting for his protagonist to show the manuscript before sending it for printing. But then, Drishya (sight, literally) gets arrested. Chapter One opens in Goa, a perfect place for love, it seems! Here a painter falls in love with his admirer (a US returned, amateur documentary maker), solitary loitering.

Let me take a break from storytelling. In fact, if you have read the novel, you know the story and if you haven’t you don’t want to know, for it spoils your curiosity. Anyway, the story goes, as life goes on. But two things are crucial: how it is told and what the content is. Wagle obviously is a formalist. He prefers form over content. Nevertheless, the story weaves both the complexities of ongoing conflict and its consequences.

But, like the protagonist’s shattered dream of opening Palpasa Café in the idyllic hills, the novel seems promising in the outset while needs up in the maze of it’s own making. Conflict is only the backdrop where an artist searches meaning of his love-life. But despite having an encyclopaedic knowledge of nature and painting, Wagle fails to portray Drishya as an artist. Like Wagle himself, he sounds more like a joumalist; so he is an alter ego of its creator. The novel is oddly replete with female characters (Palpasa, Christina, Phulan, Jemina, gradma etc.) whereas males are not only mysteriously absent but are also nameless and faceless in the narrative.

2.     2. Write a book review about any book that you have recently read in about 150 to 200 words.

  Review of Book: Muna Madan

Title: Muna Madan

Author: Laxmi Prasad Devkota

Publisher: Sajha Prakashan, Kathmandu, Nepal

Publish Year: 2008

Edition: Twenty Fifth Edition

Muna Madan is one of the best creations of Nepali poet, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, popularly acclaimed as “Mahakavi” in Nepali literature. He graduated in Arts in 1930 and in Law in 1933 both from Patna University, India. His early poems were influenced by the English Romantic Movement and his later poems speak with a powerful modern voice. Muna Madan is a folk epic written in poetic version in 1935. This book was among the creations of Devkota which challenged Sanskrit scholars who dominated the Nepalese literary scene. While these scholars determined good poetry as those following the Sanskrit form, Muna Madan was based on the Jhaurey folk tune. This book received recognition from the Ranas at that time.

The book describes the life of a poor society of the rural area of Nepal. Madan, the main and the most important character of the book, represents all the youths of Nepal go to abroad to earn money for their living. Madan is such a character who is compelled to go abroad as he is jobless because of the problems of unemployment and poverty prevalent in his country. The wife of Madan, Muna is the queen of love and sacrifice. She loves her Madan a lot so she is upset as she has to send him to a place, Lhasa, where there are lots of obstacles and risks. But finally she accepts this challenge and stays in the country with her mother-in-law who is old and weak.

Madan goes to Lhasa but his journey is not easy. He faces a lot of obstacles and difficulties during his journey and this is beautifully described in the book. The book has tried to show the ups and downs of life by illustrating the problems of Madan’s life. Life is not that easy and only the one lives a meaningful life who accepts the challenges of life and who never runs away from such challenges. While moving through different countryside areas, Madan catches a deadly disease but his friends don’t help him turning out to be selfish. Finally he is rescued by a man who is considered to be of lower caste in Nepal. That is why it is said that a man is said to be great not by caste or race but by a heart full of love and humanity. After Madan gets rid of the disease, he returns his home but his mother and his beloved wife had already died.

Through the story of Muna and Madan, Laxmi Prasad Devkota wants to stabilize the facts of traditional societies, unscientific beliefs and the negative impacts of unemployment and poverty in Nepalese society. He has shown the love between a mother and a son. The poet has wonderfully defined love by writing about the relationship of Muna and Madan. Because of the combination of all these categories of human life, this book has earned a great successful journey in the Nepali Literature. At the time of his death, Laxmi Prasad Devkota asked to preserve his book, Muna Madan,

3.     Write a book review about any book that you have recently read in about 150 to 200 words.

  Review of book: I Capture the Castle

Title:   I Capture the Castle

Author:   Dodie Smith

Publisher: William Heinemann (UK),McClelland and Stewart (CA), Brown (US)

Publish Year: 1948

Edition: First Edition

Genre: Drama , Romance

Language: English

I Capture the Castle

Dodie Smith’s novel I Capture the Castle is a journey through the mind of a young writer as she attempts to chronicle her daily life. Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain has recently learned to speed-write, and she decides to work on her writing skills by describing the actions and conversations of those around her.

Cassandra lives in a fourteenth-century English castle with an interesting cast of characters: her beautiful older sister, Rose; her rather unsociable author father and hist second wife, artist-model Topaz; Stephen, the garden boy; a cat and a bull terrier; and sometimes her brother Thomas when he is home from school. One fateful day they make the acquaintance of the Cotton family, including the two sons, and a web of tangled relationships ensues.

  While I definitely recommend this book to other readers, I would recommend it to older teenagers, mainly because it will resonate better with them. The writing is tame enough that younger teens could also read it, but most of the characters are adults or on the verge of adulthood. Older readers would take the most from it since they can not only relate, but they may also better pick up on and appreciate Cassandra’s sometimes subtle humor. Over the course of the novel, Cassandra undergoes a definite transformation from child to mature young adult, even though it’s only over the course of several months. I love that I could see into her mindset and read exactly what she was feeling when she thought out situations. Her thoughts flowed well and moved the book along very quickly. Cassandra’s narrative voice is wonderful. She is serious at times, but also very witty, which makes for an engaging read. It feels absolutely real, as though I’m reading someone’s actual journal. Sometimes I forget that I am reading a story and not a real-life account. Her emotions and the dialogue are so genuine, and they are spot-on for a seventeen-year-old girl in her situation.

  Cassandra has many wonderful insights on life, on topics ranging from writing to faith to matters of the heart. I personally have had some of the same thoughts as Cassandra, except Ms. Smith was able to put them into words.

  Capture the Castle should be essential reading for aspiring writers, those looking for historical fiction or romance, or anyone who loves reading amazing classic books. Dodie Smith is an exceptional writer, and 1 Capture the Castle is a book that will never become out of fashion.

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Book Review Writing Examples

Examples: learn from the efforts of others.

Learning how to write strong reviews takes time and not a little effort. Reading the reviews others have done can help you get a feel for the flow and flavor of reviews.

If I Never Forever Endeavor Review by Hayden, age 4, Southeast Michigan Mensa

This book was about a bird who didn't yet know how to fly.

The bird has to decide if it will try to fly, but it was not sure if it wants to. The bird thought, "If I never forever endeavor" then I won't ever learn. On one wing, he worries he might fail and on the other wing he thinks of how he may succeed. He worries that if he tries, he may get lost in the world. That makes him want to stay in his nest where he's safe.

I think this book would help other children to learn that trying new things can be scary, but sometimes when we try, we can find things that make us happy too. And this book will help others know that mistakes are okay and part of learning.

My favorite part is that the bird tried and learned that she could fly. I also liked that I read this book because it gave me a chance to talk to mom about making mistakes and how I don't like making them. Then I learned they are good and part of learning.

Boys and girls who are 3 to 8 years old would like this book because it teaches about trying a new thing and how it's important to get past being scared so you can learn new things.

I give the book 5 stars since I think it's important for other children to learn about courage.

Flesh & Blood So Cheap Review by Umar B., age 8, Central New Jersy Mensa

I liked this book. People who are interested in national disasters and US history as well as immigration will most probably be interested in reading this book.

Readers can gain knowledge of what it was like to work in New York City in the early 1900s. One of the things that was especially interesting was that there were no safety laws at work. Also, there was a big contrast between the rich and the poor. Some people may not like this book because it is very depressing, but it is an important event in history to remember.

This book was very well written. It has black and white photos along with descriptions of the photos. These photos give us a better idea of what people's lives were like. This book is suitable for 9-20 year olds.

I give this book 5 stars.

Galaxy Zach: Journey to Juno Review by Young Mensan Connor C., age 6, Boston Mensa

Journey To Juno is the second book of the Galaxy Zack series. It is just as good as the first one. It's awesome!

Zack joins the Sprockets Academy Explorers Club at school. They fly on a special trip to Juno, a new planet no one has ever visited. Zack gets paired up with Seth, the class bully, and that's dreadful but Zack is excited when he finds a huge galaxy gemmite. A gemmite that large had not been found in 100 years! Kids will love this book!

Boys and girls will both like it. It's an easy chapter book with pictures on every page. I love the illustrations. I think ages 6-8 would like this but younger kids would like the story being read to them.

My favorite parts are the galactic blast game (it is similar to baseball except there are robots playing), recess at Zack's school where everything is 3-D holographic images, the rainbow river in a crystal cave on Juno, and the galaxy gemmite that Zack finds on Juno. I also loved when a life-size holographic image of his Earth friend appears in Zack's room because he calls him on a hyperphone. I give this book one hundred stars! There is a "to be continued" at the end so you have to read the next book see what's in store. I can't wait to find out what happens!!!

I Capture the Castle Review by Lauren W., age 17, Mensa in Georgia

Dodie Smith's novel I Capture the Castle is a journey through the mind of a young writer as she attempts to chronicle her daily life. Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain has recently learned to speed-write, and she decides to work on her writing skills by describing the actions and conversations of those around her.

Cassandra lives in a fourteenth-century English castle with an interesting cast of characters: her beautiful older sister, Rose; her rather unsociable author father and his second wife, artist-model Topaz; Stephen, the garden boy; a cat and a bull terrier; and sometimes her brother Thomas when he is home from school. One fateful day they make the acquaintance of the Cotton family, including the two sons, and a web of tangled relationships ensues.

While I definitely recommend this book to other readers, I would recommend it to older teenagers, mainly because it will resonate better with them. The writing is tame enough that younger teens could also read it, but most of the characters are adults or on the verge of adulthood. Older readers would take the most from it since they can not only relate, but they may also better pick up on and appreciate Cassandra's sometimes subtle humor.

Over the course of the novel, Cassandra undergoes a definite transformation from child to mature young adult, even though it's only over the course of several months. I love that I could see into her mindset and read exactly what she was feeling when she thought out situations. Her thoughts flowed well and moved the book along very quickly.

Cassandra's narrative voice is wonderful. She is serious at times, but also very witty, which makes for an engaging read. It feels absolutely real, as though I'm reading someone's actual journal. Sometimes I forget that I am reading a story and not a real-life account. Her emotions and the dialogue are so genuine, and they are spot-on for a seventeen-year-old girl in her situation.

Cassandra has many wonderful insights on life, on topics ranging from writing to faith to matters of the heart. I personally have had some of the same thoughts as Cassandra, except Ms. Smith was able to put them into words.

Capture the Castle should be essential reading for aspiring writers, those looking for historical fiction or romance, or anyone who loves reading amazing classic books. Dodie Smith is an exceptional writer, and I Capture the Castle is a book that will never become obsolete.

Frankenstein's Cat Review by Zander H., age 12, Mid-America Mensa

I appreciated Frankenstein's Cat for its fascinating explanation about the often baffling subject of bioengineering and its sister sciences. Emily Anthes explains the many sides of today's modern technology, such as gene modification, cloning, pharmaceutical products (from the farm), prosthesis, animal tag and tracking and gene cryogenics. This book provides a well-rounded summary of these complicated sciences without being boring or simply factual. Her real world examples take us on a journey from the farm, to the pet store and then from the pharmacy to the frozen arc.

Have you ever wondered if the neighborhood cat is spying on you? Read about Operation Acoustic Kitty and find out if this feline fantasy fiction or fact. Do you think bugs are creepy? What about a zombified cyborg beetle? Is Fido so special that you want two of him? Money can buy you an almost exact copy of your pooch BUT don't expect the same personality. Emily Anthes makes you crave more information. She makes you want to know the future of Earth's flora and fauna, as well as humanity itself.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who desires a guide to the future of biological science and technology. Frankenstein's Cat is best read by the light of a glow-in-the-dark fish, while cuddling your favorite cloned dog and drinking a glass of genetically modified milk.

About Marsupials Review by Connor C., age 6, Boston Mensa

About Marsupials is the title so the book is about...marsupials, of course. It's non-fiction. I really think everyone would like the book. I think someone who likes animals would especially like to read it.

The glossary of facts in the back of About Marsupials is the most useful part. I thought the most interesting parts were that some marsupials have their pouch at their back legs and one marsupial, the Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby, is very small but can jump 13 feet wide!

Kids in the 4-8 age range would like this book. Even though it's not a story book, 4 year olds would like the few words on each page and they would love the beautiful pictures. But older kids would like it because of all the facts in the back of the book. There's a lot of information for each animal. I think boys and girls (and parents) would enjoy reading it. This book is very interesting. I give it 4 stars.

Mapping the World Review by Umar A., age 10, Central New Jersey Mensa

Every day, people around the world use maps. Whether it is an airplane pilot or businessman, housewife or museum group, maps have always and will continue to provide useful information for all.

Mapping the World talks about the uses of maps, as well as how to differentiate between the type of map projection and type of map.

In this series, we travel to the past and learn about historical mapmakers, from Claudius Ptolemy (who stated the idea that the Earth is at the center of the universe) to Gerardus Mercator (who created one of the most widely used map projections) and more. This series goes into tremendous detail on the cartographer's life and maps. We then journey to the present era to learn about map projections and the diverse types of maps used today. You might ask, "What is the difference between the two? They sound the same to me." No map projection is perfect, because you cannot really flatten a sphere into a rectangle. An uncolored projection could be used in many ways. We could use it for population concentration, highways, land elevation, and so many other things!

For example, we could make a topographic map of the U.S., which shows land elevation. We could make it a colorful map that shows the amount of pollution in different areas, or it could be a population map, or it could even be a map that shows the 50 states, their capitals and borders! Our last step in this amazing excursion is the near future, where we see some hypothetical solutions as to what maps will be used for. Currently, we are working on better virtual map technology.

Now, scientists have been able to put maps on phones. Back in the early 1900s, people had to lug a lot of maps around to find your way from place to place, or just keep asking for directions. Now, all the information is on a phone or global positioning system (GPS). It is amazing how much maps have changed technology and the world in this century.

The Mapping the World 8-book set goes into amazing levels of detail. It is a long read, but it gives an immense range and amount of information that you would not find in any other book or series on maps. The flowing way the chapters and books are organized makes it easy to link passages from different books in this series together. Mapping the World is a treasure box, filled with the seeds of cartography. Collect and plant them, and you soon will have the fruits of cartography, beneficial to those who want to be cartographers. Use this series to the utmost, then the fruits of mapping will be sweet for all who endeavor to succeed in cartography.

This series of lessons was designed to meet the needs of gifted children for extension beyond the standard curriculum with the greatest ease of use for the educator. The lessons may be given to the students for individual self-guided work, or they may be taught in a classroom or a home-school setting. Assessment strategies and rubrics are included at the end of each section. The rubrics often include a column for "scholar points," which are invitations for students to extend their efforts beyond that which is required, incorporating creativity or higher level technical skills.

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• Class 12 English Notes on Flamingo and Vistas
• Revision Notes

Flamingo and Vistas English Notes Class 12 PDF (Free Download)

Class 12 English is a crucial subject that holds immense importance for the students to score well in the board exam. The handpicked chapters boost the development of English language and comprehension skills among the students. To make it happen, refer to the CBSE English Notes Class 12 PDF prepared by the subject experts of Vedantu. These notes have a concise explanation of all the chapters that will help you to frame answers perfectly and score more in the exams.

Detailed Overview of Class 12 English Notes

Importance of cbse english notes class 12 pdf.

There are two important sections of the Class 12 English syllabus . These two sections are Flamingo and Vistas. The prose and poem portions of Flamingo are based on the marvellous work of famous authors and poets of different eras. The Vistas section is based on stories written by great writers. Hence, understanding the concepts of these stories, prose pieces and poems will need the complete study material that contains the Class 12 English Notes .

The English Notes Class 12 PDF designed by the experts are the ideal material to follow. The context of the chapters has been concisely depicted in an accurate manner by the experts so that students can easily understand and follow. This will help students to get a hold of the contexts and learn to compile answers for fundamental questions perfectly.

The easier format of these notes will enable students to recall what they have studied faster. For instance, when the first chapter of this syllabus is complete and all the exercise questions have been answered, students can follow the Class 12 English Chapter 1 Notes to recall the chapter’s context. They will certainly remember what they have  studied even after a few months. Hence, the guidance of English Class 12 Notes becomes mandatory for the preparation of Class 12 English syllabus .

Advantages of CBSE English Notes Class 12 PDF 

The concise version of the chapters will reduce your revision time. You can refer to the notes to get a glimpse of the chapters and recall what you have memorised earlier.

The doubts related to these chapters can be easily resolved when you have these notes with you. Download and access them anytime based on your curriculum and resolve doubts faster.

The neat presentation of the notes will also help you recall the contexts and answers during an exam. Hence, you can compile the answers to exam questions precisely and score more.

Class 12 English Notes are provided in this article. CBSE students who are preparing for their Class 12 English exam must be thorough with their preparation and this will only be possible when proper study material is included in the study routine of the Class 12 students.

In Vedantu, we provide chapter-wise English notes for Class 12 (PDF download) which will be beneficial for the study of the students. We provide these English Class 12 CBSE Notes in the form of a free PDF that can be freely accessed by the CBSE Class 12 students. Download the chapter-wise Class 12 English Notes now!

English Class 12 CBSE Notes (Free PDF)- Flamingo Prose

CBSE has introduced Flamingo as a Class 12 supplementary textbook which has both prose and poems. In this section, we will be providing you with CBSE Class 12th English chapter-wise summary notes which will be a form of material for the students.

Flamingo Prose Chapters

The Last Lesson

Lost Spring

The Rattrap

Poets and Pancakes

The Interview

Going Places

Flamingo Poetry Chapters

My Mother At Sixty-Six

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

Keeping Quiet

A Thinking of Beauty

Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger

English Class 12 CBSE Notes (Free PDF)- Vistas Prose 

Vistas is another supplementary study that the students of CBSE Class 12 are required to study. Below mentioned are the chapter-wise Class 12 English Notes of Vistas . Download the same and save it for later.

The Third Level

The Tiger King

Journey To The End of The Earth

Should Wizard Hit Mommy

On The Face of It

Evan Tries An O-Level

Memories of Childhood

English Notes Class 12 PDF - Salient Features

English Class 12 CBSE Notes are provided to help the students revise the CBSE Class 12 English syllabus properly. We provide efficient English Notes which can be quite reliably used by the Class 12 students.

In this section, we will check the features of   English Notes Class 12 PDF which will assist the students to secure great marks in their CBSE Class 12 English examination.

CBSE 12th English chapters’ summary study is provided in these notes. 

Chapter-wise English Notes Class 12 are provided which cover the whole content of each chapter. 

The Class 12 English Notes are quite reliable as they are prepared by expert teachers who have invested abundant knowledge and research in making these notes.

The structure of the notes is very simple and the content is lucidly explained; thus one can easily revise this study material.

The best part of the English Notes Class 12 PDF is that it is absolutely free. This means you can download the PDF at zero cost and also save it for later, thus making it highly convenient for the students.

These were some special features of the  English Notes Class 12  which the students will have access to once they download the free PDF. 

Benefits of The English Class 12 Notes

Class 12 English Notes will help the students of CBSE Class 12 in many advantageous ways, following are the benefits of studying from the  English Notes Class 12:

Revising is one of the fundamental aspects of every study which must be done regularly by the students. Revisions lead to better marks in the exam.

Revision can consume your time if you do not have proper notes with you. Thus, these ready-to-revise revision materials will save your time and you can focus elsewhere like on revising or studying new chapters.

The English Class 12 Notes will help you keep your lesson fresh, so revise as much as you can.

The Class 12 English Notes will lead to smart study, as you are not required to re-learn the chapters again and again.

These were some benefits that can be rendered from revising. Thus, download the  English Notes Class 12 PDF and revise regularly.

Here in this article, we have provided you with the chapter-wise Class 12 English Notes . We hope the students will gain an advantage from this study material. Revision is the key to scoring high marks in CBSE Class 12 English exam ; thus students must take note of these English Notes for Class 12 PDF download and use them for their own revision sessions.

Download CBSE English Notes Class 12 PDF

Perform the Class 12 English Notes PDF download and focus on your studies. The organised format of these notes will help you remember what you have studied before and complete revising the syllabus of an exam better. You will also gain confidence when you can easily remember the contexts of these chapters and stay ahead of the competition.

CBSE Class 12 Study Materials

Other cbse class 12 notes related links.

FAQs on Class 12 English Notes on Flamingo and Vistas

1. From where can I study the CBSE 12th English chapter summary?

In Vedantu, we provide free  PDF notes for CBSE Class 12 English where the students can also find the summary of each chapter. 

One can study the summary thoroughly and revise the whole content from these PDFs, thereby enjoying twin benefits from our English Class 12 Notes.

2. How do I revise from CBSE Class 12 English?

Students can download the free PDFs of each chapter from our English Class 12 Notes and revise it from them. They can revise before the exam and even during their regular revision time. 

Revision from these study materials is to be done in a lucid manner, as we do not include any textual complications. 

3. How do I download the English Notes Class 12 PDF of each chapter?

You are only required to click on the links of the chapters and you will be directed to another web page where you will find the option ‘ Download PDF ’ from here you can fill in the required contact details for verification and then download the English Notes Class 12 will start automatically. 

4. Do revision help in scoring good marks in CBSE Class 12 English exam? 

Yes, of course. Revising is one of the important study strategies to be followed by the student. Revising will help the students to keep the memories fresh in their minds thus helping them to remember the concepts and answers of each chapter. 

5. Can I refer to these CBSE Class 12 English Notes before the exam?

Yes, definitely. In fact, these  notes are prepared for the purpose of revising the English chapters before the exam. Studying the vast chapters just one day before the exam can be hectic and time consuming. Thus, revising in a compact manner from these notes will definitely help you before your CBSE Class 12 English exam . 

6. Are there any tips for effectively using  Class 12 English Chapter 1 Notes?

To effectively use  Class 12 English Chapter 1 Notes:

Read the notes alongside the original text to gain a comprehensive understanding.

Take notes on key themes, characters, and literary devices discussed in the chapter notes.

Discuss the text and notes with peers or teachers to gain diverse perspectives and insights.

Use the notes as a reference while answering practice questions or preparing for class discussions.

Class XI – How to write a Book Review

What is a book review.

A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. It is a thorough description, critical analysis, or evaluation of the quality, meaning, and significance of a book, not a retelling. It should focus on the book’s purpose, content, and authority. The four stages of writing a book review are:

(a) introducing the book

(b) outlining its contents

(c) highlighting parts of the book by selecting particular chapters or themes, and giving a detailed evaluation.

Word Limit  for a Book Review

Book reviews are usually 600 to 2,000 words in length. It is best to aim for about 1,000 words, as you can say a fair amount in 1,000 words without getting bogged down. But from the examination point of view, it should be written in about 150-200 words. 

Difference between summary and book review

While a review gives an evaluation of the book along with the background information about the author, a summary is to describe what the book is all about. A summary usually presents the main idea of the book and may list one or two intrigues developed in the text.

Format of a book review

1. Title of the Book

2. Author of the Book

4. Language

5. First originally published in the year

6. was the book a best seller?

8. Cost of the Book

9. Name of the Publisher

10. Edition and year of Copyright

11. No. of pages

12. Writing style

14. Setting

15. Summary

16. Characters

17. Your Impressions

18. Your ratings

A Sample Short Book Review of “The Time Machine” 

1. Title of the Book: The Time Machine

2. Author of the Book:  H.G. Wells

3. Country: United Kingdom

4. Language: English

5. First originally published by : William Heinemann, London in 1895.

6. was the book a best seller? : Yes

7. Genre: Science Fiction Novel

8. Cost of the Book: $2.70

9. Name of the Publisher:  Dover Publications

10. Edition and year of Copyright: April 3, 1995

11. No. of pages: 80

12. Writing style: Narrative

13. Plot: The story follows a Victorian scientist, who claims that he has invented a device that enables him to travel through time, and has visited the  future , arriving in the year 802,701 in what had once been London. The narrator recounts the Traveller’s lecture to his weekly dinner guests that time is simply the fourth dimension and demonstrates a tabletop model machine for travelling through the fourth dimension. He reveals that he has built a machine capable of carrying a person through time and returns at dinner the following week to recount a remarkable tale, becoming the new narrator.

14. Summary:  A group of men, including the narrator, is listening to the Time Traveller discussing his theory that time is the fourth dimension. The Time Traveller produces a miniature time machine and makes it disappear into thin air. The next week, the guests return, to find their host stumble in, looking disheveled and tired. They sit down after dinner, and the Time Traveller begins his story.

15. Characters: The Narrator-Hillyer, Eloi, Morlocks, Weena

16. Your Impressions: The time traveller’s machine is described in such sketchy terms that it can scarcely be believed as an instrument of science, and the time traveller’s account is similarly sketchy and bizarre. The very nature of time travel means that he’s away for only a short period of time, and the only “proof” of his travels is a crunched up flower. And given that the narrative is told in a twice-removed manner, the reader can’t help but wonder whether any of the novels is true at all. Did the time traveller truly engage in such chronological shenanigans, and did he experience what he claims? Or is he simply using an imagined future to provide a warning about the current state of society? But the reality is that neither the truth nor the journey matters: it’s only the outcome.

14. Your ratings: *****

A Sample Detailed Book Review of “The Time Machine” 

12. Introduction: The Time Machine was first published in 1894 as a serial under the name The Time Traveller in the National Observer. It was brought out as a book the next year under its current name and sold more than six thousand copies in a few months. H. G. Wells was just twenty-seven years old when the story, which came to be called a “scientific romance,” was published. Wells’s friend, William Henley, edited the National Observer, and Wells became part of a group of writers called “Henley’s young men.” The novel’s appeal lies in its attempt to fathom what will become of human beings in the distant future. By making the central character of his story a time traveler who can transport himself back and forth in time with the aid of the machine he invented, Wells is able to explore many of the themes that obsessed him, including class inequality, evolution, and the relationship between science and society. In describing the future world of the effete Eloi and the cannibalistic Morlocks and the world beyond that in which all semblance of human life has been erased, Wells illustrates what he believes may very well be the fate of humanity. The novel’s enduring popularity is evident in the three films adapted from the novel and the scores of others inspired by it.

13. About the Author: Herbert George Wells was born in a working-class family in 1866. He came from a poor background, which was unusual for a writer at that time. He won a scholarship to study science at university. With a first-class degree in biology, he briefly became a teacher. His career in the classroom was ended by a sharp kick in the kidneys from an unhappy pupil, which left him too unwell to continue teaching. He then lived on a s mall income from journalism and short stories, until his literary career took off with his first science fiction novel, The Time Machine, in 1895.

Wells wrote with tremendous energy throughout his life, producing many science fiction stories, short stories, sociological and political books, autobiographical novels, and histories. He became very successful as a writer, perhaps because his work was both popular and intellectual, and he lived in some style. He married twice and had a reputation as a womanizer. He moved in socialist circles and used fiction to explore his political ideas. Wells died in 1946.

14. Summary: A group of men, including the narrator, is listening to the Time Traveller discussing his theory that time is the fourth dimension. The Time Traveller produces a miniature time machine and makes it disappear into thin air. The next week, the guests return, to find their host stumble in, looking disheveled and tired. They sit down after dinner, and the Time Traveller begins his story.

The Time Traveller had finally finished work on his time machine, and it rocketed him into the future. When the machine stops, in the year 802,701 AD, he finds himself in a paradisiacal world of small humanoid creatures called Eloi. They are frail and peaceful and give him fruit to eat. He explores the area, but when he returns he finds that his time machine is gone. He decides that it has been put inside the pedestal of a nearby statue. He tries to pry it open but cannot. In the night, he begins to catch glimpses of strange white ape-like creatures the Eloi call Morlocks. He decides that the Morlocks live below ground, down the wells that dot the landscape. Meanwhile, he saves one of the Eloi from drowning, and she befriends him. Her name is Weena. The Time Traveller finally works up enough courage to go down into the world of Morlocks to try to retrieve his time machine. He finds that matches are a good defense against the Morlocks, but ultimately they chase him out of their realm. Frightened by the Morlocks, he takes Weena to try to find a place where they will be safe from the Morlocks’ nocturnal hunting. He goes to what he calls the Palace of Green Porcelain, which turns out to be a museum. There, he finds more matches, some camphor, and a lever he can use as a weapon. That night, retreating from the Morlocks through a giant wood, he accidentally starts a fire. Many Morlocks die in the fire and the battle that ensues, and Weena is killed. The exhausted Time Traveller returns to the pedestal to find that it has already been pried open. He strides in confidently, and just when the Morlocks think that they have trapped him, he springs onto the machine and whizzes into the future.

The Time Traveller makes several more stops. In a distant time, he stops on a beach where he is attacked by giant crabs. The bloated red sun sits motionless in the sky. He then travels thirty million years into the future. The air is very thin, and the only sign of life is a black blob with tentacles. He sees a planet eclipse the sun. He then returns, exhausted, to the present time. The next day, he leaves again but never returns.

15. Plot: H. G. Wells’s fascination with the idea of time travel into the future was first expressed in his story “The Chronic Argonauts” (1888). He wrote at least four other versions before the first book publication of The Time Machine: An Invention in 1895.

The Time Machine is a frame narrative. The outer narrator, Hillyer, briefly sets the scene for the much longer inner narrative, the Time Traveler’s story about his experiences in the future. Hillyer concludes the narrative with a description of the subsequent disappearance of the Time Traveler and offers a brief speculative epilogue.

Hillyer is one of a group of professional men who regularly gather for dinner and conversation at the Time Traveler’s house. One evening, the host explains to his skeptical visitors that he has discovered the principles of time travel. He demonstrates a miniature time machine and shows his visitors an almost-completed full-sized version in his laboratory.

At Hillyer’s next visit, the Time Traveler enters, disheveled, and limping but eager to tell his visitors about his travels in the far future. He begins by graphically describing the subjective effects of compressing years into moments of time. He then tells them how he arrived in c.e. 802,701 and encountered a race of creatures, evolved from humans, called Eloi. They are small, frail, gentle, childlike vegetarians. He theorizes that humanity has reached a state of contented inactivity in harmony with nature. Soon thereafter, the time machine vanished into the hollow pedestal of a statue, and he realized that this future world harbored disturbing secrets.

Other occurrences made him determined to explore the mysteries beneath the placid surface of the world. He discovered the Morlocks, small, apelike creatures who tended vast machines in dark caverns and visited the surface only during the night. He concluded that the Eloi and Morlocks were the descendants of the capitalist and laborer classes of his own time and that social separation had led to the evolution of two distinct human species. He also learned to his horror that the Morlocks killed and ate Eloi.

He and Weena, an Eloi female whom he had saved from drowning, then visited a ruinous museum in the hope of finding some means of freeing the time machine from the Morlocks. On their return journey, they were surrounded by Morlocks at night in a forest. Weena was lost, but the Time Traveler escaped. He returned to the statue and found the pedestal open. He mounted the time machine as the Morlocks sprang their trap but were able to escape by traveling in time.

Curious about Earth’s fate, he voyaged farther into the future and found that all traces of humanity had vanished. More than thirty million years hence, he found himself on a desolate beach facing a swollen red sun, life has devolved to the point of extinction. Horrified, he returned to his own time.

Hillyer, deeply affected by the Time Traveler’s story, returns the next day to find his host about to depart. Invited to wait, he does so, but in vain.

16. Setting: There is but one physical setting for the entire story, but three temporal settings are used over the course of the novel. The book begins in late 19th century London, specifically, in the Time Traveller’s home in Richmond, a borough on the Thames River, on the outskirts of London. The dining room, smoking room, and laboratory are the only rooms seen and are not fully described, as they are only the setting for the narrative frame which surrounds the real story, told by the Time Traveller himself. The men gather in the smoking room, seating themselves around the Time Traveller, who sits near the fireplace and begins to tell his tale in the dim light of the fire’s glow.

The most important setting–the time and place in which most of the story takes place–is still the site of the Time Traveller’s house and the area surrounding it, but hundreds of thousands of years into the future. In the year 802701, the buildings that once formed London are completely gone, and all that can be found are the buildings used by the aboveground dwellers, a very large statue of a Sphinx-like creature, the ruins of several other structures, and scattered circular wells. Everything else has gone back to nature; trees and flowers fill the Thames Valley.

The third temporal setting is even farther into the distant future, thirty million years hence, and the landscape is even more dramatically different. Now the Thames Valley is a desolate beach, facing an aging ocean with no waves, only an occasional swell. Large white butterflies and huge crablike creatures populate the world, and even further in the future, the crabs are gone and only lichen and an amorphous black creature remain.

17. Writing style: Narrative

18. Character Analysis:

The Time Traveller: A well-read and intelligent man of science. He is versed in the theories of his day, and very clearly a Darwinist, like Wells himself, and his thoughts echo much of Wells’s own theories about the Britain of his time. He is a man of observation, and muses quite a bit about his surroundings, in an attempt to use logical thinking to draw conclusions about the future and its inhabitants. The Time Traveller has a sense of humor about almost everything he encounters and accepts his friends’ skepticism. Witty and somewhat of a joker, this aspect of his personality is part of the reason his friends so quickly dismiss his story and demonstration as a joke.

The Narrator, Hillyer:  One of the three men present at both dinners. The narrator is the only character who gives any credence to the Time Traveller’s claims; he seriously considers the possibility of time travel.

Eloi: A peaceful but weak and lethargic people who populate the surface of the earth in the year 802701. Small in stature and delicate featured, the Eloi play all day, feast on fruit in great halls, and sleep in a large communal chamber in order to protect themselves from the dark and the possibility of Morlock attack. Easily tired and childlike, they are not interested in intellectual pursuits, or in the Time Traveller beyond his function as a diversion.

Morlocks: An aggressive, predatory, ape-like “people” who live beneath the earth’s surface in the year 802701. The Morlocks are the descendants of the working class of the late 19th century and continue to labor, maintaining, and running huge machines deep in the earth. They have adapted physically to live beneath the surface, with large, eyes very sensitive to light, and light, unpigmented skin, and fur. Carnivores, they feast on the Eloi, who they maintain as a source of meat.

Weena: An Eloi who the Time Traveller saves from drowning. She becomes a special friend of the Time Traveller, following him around and occasionally serves as a source of information. She eventually is attacked by the Morlocks and dies in the forest fire.

19. Your Impressions: The time traveller’s machine is described in such sketchy terms that it can scarcely be believed as an instrument of science, and the time traveller’s account is similarly sketchy and bizarre. The very nature of time travel means that he’s away for only a short period of time, and the only “proof” of his travels is a crunched up flower. And given that the narrative is told in a twice-removed manner, the reader can’t help but wonder whether any of the novels is true at all. Did the time traveller truly engage in such chronological shenanigans, and did he experience what he claims? Or is he simply using an imagined future to provide a warning about the current state of society? But the reality is that neither the truth nor the journey matters: it’s only the outcome.

20. Your ratings: *****

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Related posts:

• Class XI – How to Write a Book Review

2 thoughts on “Class XI – How to write a Book Review”

Not at all very well

This is too lengthy. Book review in ISC has to be around 300 words only.

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