FREE THE BLUE NOTEBOOK PDF James A Levine | 228 pages | 06 Jul 2010 | Spiegel & Grau | 9780385528726 | English | United States The Blue Notebooks - Max Richter | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? The Blue Notebook if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. The Blue Notebook by James A. Dear Reader: Every now and then, we come across a novel that moves us like no other, that seems like a miracle of the imagination, and that haunts us long after the book is closed. It is the story of Batuk, an Indian girl who is taken to Mumbai from the countryside and sold into prostitution by her father; the blue note Dear Reader: Every now and then, we come across a novel that moves us like no other, that seems like a miracle of the imagination, and that haunts us long after the book is closed. It is the story of Batuk, an Indian girl who is The Blue Notebook to Mumbai from the countryside and The Blue Notebook into prostitution by her father; the blue notebook is her diary, in which she recalls her early childhood, records her life on the Common Street, and makes up beautiful and fantastic tales about The Blue Notebook silver-eyed leopard and a poor boy who fells a giant with a single gold coin. How did Levine, a British- born doctor at the Mayo Clinic, manage to conjure the voice of a fifteen-year-old female Indian prostitute? It all began, he told me, when, as part of his medical research, he was interviewing homeless children on a street in Mumbai known as the Street of Cages, where child prostitutes work. The powerful image of a The Blue Notebook prostitute engaged in the act of writing haunted him, and he himself began to write. The Blue Notebook brings us into the life of a young woman for whom stories are not just entertainment but a means of survival. Even as the novel humanizes and addresses the devastating global issue of child prostitution, it also delivers an inspiring message about the uplifting power of words and reading—a message that is so important to hold on to, especially in difficult times. Levine is donating all The Blue Notebook U. Sincerely, Celina Spiegel Publisher Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. More The Blue Notebook Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Blue Notebookplease sign up. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Blue Notebook. Jan 29, Elizabeth Sagan rated it really liked it Shelves: easy-fast- amazing-read. This is a heartbreaking story told through the eyes of an young The Blue Notebook girl who was sold into prostitution by her father. I couldn't get my hands off it. It was fantastic. Sadly, one day I forgot the book at school under my desk and I had to go through the whole day without reading. The worst 18 hours The Blue Notebook my life! View 1 comment. Sep 09, Lynn G. This is not a pretty book about a pretty topic. Batuk, the 15 year old protagonist who was sold into sex slavery by her father when she was only 9, has devised means by which she can dissociate from her life in order to survive. The Blue Notebook is by way of The Blue Notebook rich fantasy life into which she escapes. The other is through her own words This is not a pretty book about a pretty topic. The other is through her own words, written down on purloined paper, to make her thoughts "visible", to show that she exists. She writes: "I am not sure why I write but in my mind I shudder that it may be so that one day I can look back and read how I have melted into my ink and become nothing She is referred to as a "toy", "dolly", "thing", and other terms that attempt to erase her humanity. Frequently she is brutally assaulted and there are no ramifications for those who brutalize her. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the images; to want to put the book down because of the emotional onslaught; to feel that there is an element of gratuitous violence. But there is also the need to immediately pick the book up again and read further and to know more. This story does not invite the reader to pity Batuk, and all those in her situation, but to The Blue Notebook outrage that Batuk's life is accepted and acceptable. It is a call to action. View 2 comments. Feb 10, jess rated it it was amazing Shelves: The Blue Notebook, audiobook-dfiction. James Levine. As part of his medical research, he interviewed homeless children in Mumbai. This book came from those interviews, the main character is inspired by one small girl sitting outside her cage writing in a notebook. I was very skeptical of an author who writes from a place of incredible amount of privilege in the voice of an extremely marginalized protagonist, but I suspended judgement until after I The Blue Notebook i The Blue Notebook was written by a British-born doctor from The Blue Notebook Mayo Clinic, Dr. I was very skeptical of an author who writes from a place of incredible amount of privilege in the voice of an extremely marginalized protagonist, but I suspended judgement until after I read it. This book contains fairly graphic accounts of the rape and abuse of children; be forewarned. This is definitely for more mature readers. I audiobook'd this on my drive to work, and it had a profound experience on me every time I got in the car. It was hard to listen to when I was The Blue Notebook with the narrator and only traffic to distract me. The Blue Notebook subject matter is upsetting, can I emphasize this enough? I was left with a profound sense of obligation to humanity to help solve this problem, but the book didn't have answers - only more questions and despair. There are organizations out there working to help these kids - my favorite is CRY Child Rights and You and they can be found at www. They do really great work addressing the multiplicity of issues that affect children's rights in India. So, this The Blue Notebook Batuk's journal. She's a 15 year old girl in Mumbai, sold into a life of sex slavery on the Common Street by The Blue Notebook father at the age of 9. She has survived TB, abandonment by her father, the brutal orphanages of Mumbai, and innumerable counts of rape and abuse. Her daily life is lived in a small cage, in a wall of other child prostitutes who also live in small cages, where up to 10 men each day "visit" her. The narrator's voice is sincere and her delivery is matter-of-fact. She is separated from her reality by her imaginative fantasy life, where she lives in a gilded room instead of a tiny dirty nest, where men are "bakers" who bake "sweetcakes" with her instead of paying customers who fuck a little girl. In her imagination, her friend, Puneet, is a prince on a throne, worshipped by a parade of his devotees all day; this is in sharp contrast to his reality as a castrated 14 The Blue Notebook old boy who nearly dies after being raped by two police officers. This book does carry a sort of uplifting sentiment. Batuk's optimism, perseverance, cheer and steadiness provide a welcome alternative to the sadness of life for exploited children, and there is a sense that the human spirit can transcend these most miserable circumstances. Her imagination and storytelling go against the adversity she faces. Several people have compared this book to Anne Frank's diary, which is not entirely accurate but gives you a sense of the intention of the message. Batuk's vivid imagination allows her some distance from daily life. Her days are the mostly the same, making sweetcake with up to ten men a The Blue Notebook and watching the comings and goings of the Common Street where she lives, until a Mumbai billionaire rents Batuk. Out of her cage, into a car, into a luxury The Blue Notebook where she is scrubbed down, dressed up, made over, and handed over to The Blue Notebook billionaire's son. The contrast between life on the street and life in the hotel is an alarming shift for Batuk - who has never ridden in an elevator or ordered room service. But this is no "Pretty Woman" story. There is no heart of gold or redemption here. Batuk's story is so horrifying and terribly sad, I couldn't even cry over this book. I was just paralyzed The Blue Notebook sorrow and left alone with my grief. Jun 18, Sara rated it it was amazing. I think we all know that the sickening practice of child sex slavery occurs, and we are justifiably disgusted. And his method is the tortuous The Blue Notebook of atrocities that are committed against his narrator and other children. Batuk was sold into slavery by her impoverished family at nine.