Just finished reading Shamim Sarif's The World Unseen. It was a pretty intriguing book that kept me engrossed for a good 4-5 hours. It's not really long, so I was able to finish the entire novel in that time span.

I liked the story, theme and setting of the movie. Narrating the book from an Indian culture's point of view in Apertheid  South Africa is different. In the clear, marked distinction between races during that time, Indians were sort of like the middle class. The ultra-traditional approach of an Indian family towards morality and yet their rather callous inhumanity was well presented by Sarif. And of course, who can stop themselves from falling in love with the character of Amina? She's the ultimate female heroine the feminists would love. Miriam's character was sympathetic and you could often get flashes of the subdued spirit inside her. But barring these two lead protagonists, I really loved the character of Rehmat. She was funny, feisty and independent - all rolled in one.

Anyways, storywise, The World Unseen is about Miriam, who is married to Omar and is the conventional obedient housewife. Her life revolves around her husband and her three children and even though she longs to live more than that, she knows that it's not her destiny to be. And then she encounters Amina, the free-spirited woman who is forever shrouded in controversy. As the two woman get closer, we get glimpses of intensified racism, orthodox traditions, regressive situations for women and injustice masked as moral duties. But Amina sparks a fire in Miriam which propels her to dare something different.

There are two things that provided hitches in this book. One was the overuse of rather long sentences, which I believe do lose a reader. The second was the dissatisfactory ending. Maybe Sarif wanted a sense of open-endedness in her story. Maybe she wanted to avoid hysterical flamings from conservative sections, but one cannot help but wonder what happens between Miriam and Amina.

And on another note, I'm finding a new haven in the Grissom/Catherine and Gil/Lady H shipperdom. Season 1-3 seem to be filled with Grissom/Catherine moments. Truth be told, I wouldn't even feel 1% of the annoyance I feel for the Grissom/Sara pairing had the writers decided to let him end up with Cath. Gil and Cath have a natural chemistry. They are like two best friends, complementing each other and being there for each other. I've hardly ever seen Sara be there for Grissom when he needed her. Same can be said vice versa. In fact, all the time that Grissom and Sara didn't have anything between them, he seemed to be a happier person. Whenever he's with Sara, it's like he becomes intense and moody. Not to mention, he doesn't really bring out the best in Sara either. So my ship preferences in decreasing order are:

Sara/Cath: Though I'm kinda not digging this ship as I used to. I think it's mainly because Sara's character is quite unimpressive and irritating during the first three seasons. And then Catherine's character took an about turn and became bitchy and melodramatic during the last couple of seasons. Plus, these two hardly get cases together and when they do, half the time they are fighting.

Gil/Lady Heather: They really sizzle the screen with their chemistry. Every little look they share, seems to be filled with meaning. And Lady H seems to be the only who is both comfortable and even appreciative of Gil's quirkiness.

Grissom/Catherine: Now that's a really cute pair. In fact, when I first started watching CSI, I really thought that these two had something going on between them. Imagine my surprise (read: horror) when I realized that the writers were forcing Grissom and Sara together. I really think Gil and Catherine are the most comfortable with each other.

Greg/Sofia: A highly unconventional pair and one that is not likely to ever happen. But Sofia always looks as if she could need some loosening up and Greg's just the one to do it. Added to that, Greg was the only one who was concerned about her after her demotion. He tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Too bad, she became a detective. A little Greg/Sofia interaction would have been cute.

Nick or Warrick/ Sara: Sara and Nick have a good friendship. They would be good for each other. Except, I see her more with Warrick for some strange reason. Maybe it's the way they were so tensed with each other in the 1st season and then went on to become one of the best working pair.

It's funny how I don't like any of the "canon" pairs on the show right now. Ah, that's what fanfictions are there for .