Observations, Thoughts and Stories as they form in the mind! Book Reviews, Art, Travelogue, Economy and Society
Maya Angelou's fascinating memoir of her early childhood, growing up in a Black Town in Southern America in the 1930s. Look forward to continuing her story in the next six volumes of her memoir.
The lady protagonist of ‘Welcome to the Hyunam Dang Book shop’, set up the bookshop. Minjun is the coffee maker at the book shop. They both gave up regular jobs and had decided that they no longer wanted to live a life based on other peoples expectations. As a character in the book put it “a life surrounded by good people is a successful life. It is not success as defined by society. Still, each day is a successful day thanks to the people around you.”
The novel 'The Other Hand' also known as 'Little Bee' by Chris Cleave is written in a dual narrative style, through the eyes of Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee, and Sarah, a British magazine editor. The title 'The Other Hand' (2008) sounds odd, but it refers to the novel's exploration of the treatment of refugees … Continue reading Chris Cleave – Little Bee on ‘the future’
Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh: Hats off to Shrayana Bhattacharya for writing this extremely engaging and provocative account of ‘India's Lonely Young Women and the Search for Intimacy and Independence’. Seeking independence among young women in India and their silent, sometimes not so silent, protest is vividly depicted.
Whoever talks about death? It is definitely not something I dwell on, life is worrying enough! Whoever heard of a death doula? Never heard of a birth doula either. Whoever heard about death cafes? Apparently a lot of people as I understood from Mikky Brammer’s new book, The Collected Regrets of Clover!
Manu Pillai's 'False Allies' and Amitav Ghosh's 'Smoke and Ashes' note a positive role of the Indian Princely states in the colonial era. In regions where the Princely states were progressive and able to maintain their independence from colonial rule, trade, commercial networks and entrepreneurship flourished. Read here a brief account of these exciting treatises.
Abraham Verghese’s novel is about a family in Kerala living among the backwaters and canals, but for whom water is an anathema, vehemently disliked! With my Malayalee background I was amazed at the idea that persons in Kerala were afraid of the water? Abraham Verghese’s novel is about a family in Kerala living among the rivers, backwaters and canals, but for whom water is an anathema, vehemently disliked! With my Malayalee background I was amazed at the idea that persons in Kerala were afraid of the water? Read ‘The Covenant of Water’ to understand this ‘condition’.
Munshi Premchand's ' तेंतर'. How Premchand debunks superstitions in this short story about the girl child.
The Ice Palace is a novel by Norwegian author Tarjei Vesaas. First written in 1963. translated into English by Peter Owen in 1993. It is a magical mysterious story of a palace created by freezing of waterfalls and the tragedy of two 11 year old girls.
The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay is an intensely told story of various hues of love and bonding against the backdrop of turmoil in Kashmir. I wonder why she called it, The Far Field. The more appropriate title seemed to me The Far Away Mountain! It is a story of betrayals, told splendidly within the chaotic land of Kashmir, swinging between chaos and normalcy.. It is an empathetically woven story of various hues and colours of love.
In Greek mythology the Amazons, the fifth Greek women story in Natalie Haynes book ‘Pandora’s Jar: Women in Greek Myths’, were known as a tribe of women warriors known for their skills in riding, for their pride and courage. Natalie Haynes argues that the amazing Amazons are also maligned and reduced in significance in many Greek mythological writings. She argues for a better and fuller description of Amazon heroes using lesser known and used texts of various Greek and Roman ancient historians
Unni-Verse 