Book Reviews - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara

A dismayingly familiar dystopia Writers who create new worlds lead you to them through the proverbial Narnian cupboards. Suddenly, you are in a different world; the contours may seem vaguely familiar but the rest of the world is thrillingly new. Vauhini Vara’s `The Immortal King Rao` does just that. It is speculative fiction but the…

The Living Mountain by Amitav Ghosh

THE LIVING MOUNTAIN, A Fable for Our Times, by Amitav Ghosh. Fourth Estate Books. This is Ghosh, back at what he does so effectively: holding up a mirror to our acts of ecological destruction, telling us there`s still time to get our act together, to stop our marauding ways, to clean up after ourselves….

Book review: Languages of Truth by Salman Rushdie

Languages of Truth Essays 2003-2020. Of late, Salman Rushdie has been offering us long-winded, over-garrulous works of fiction, disappointing those of us who have long been fans of his writing. With LANGUAGES OF TRUTH, a collection of essays comprising various lectures, published articles, introductions to books and exhibition catalogues between 2003 and 2020, he redeems…

Book review: The Odd Book of Baby Names by Anees Salim

A bleak kind of hope Anees Salim`s new book is laced with equal amounts of melancholia and quirk, with the former gaining a slight edge over the latter, which will not surprise the writer`s fans one bit. The plot hinges on a slender story, that of an erstwhile ruler lying in a comatose state in…

Book review: The Temple Tiger and Other Man-eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett

THE TEMPLE TIGER AND MORE MAN-EATERS OF KUMAON by JIM CORBETT. Rupa Publications. When I return to much-loved books, it`s usually PG Wodehouse or Georgette Heyer. However, this time it was to Jim Corbett`s The Temple Tiger and More Man-eaters of Kumaon (Rupa Publications). The book is a treat for all Corbett fans, and we…

Book review: Handle with Care by Shreya Sen-Handley

Travels with the kids So, here comes a book that is something of a departure from others of its genre found on bookshelves today. This is a straight-up travelogue, one that falls back on tried and trusted tropes of travel writing: have an interesting place to go to. Tell of that visit in an interesting…

Book review: The Earthspinner by Anuradha Roy

Another little gem from Anuradha Roy, THE EARTHSPINNER (Hachette Books) traces the troubled path of potter Elango in the Kummarrapet basti somewhere in the Deccan,. He has the temerity to fall in love with a Muslim girl Zohra, and what`s more, to sculpt a large terracotta horse as attribute to what they think is their…

The Harry Potter-Boy Wizard Ged connection

A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA by Ursula K. le Guin. Puffin Books. A young boy with newly discovered wizarding powers. A prophecy about this boy becoming the greatest of wizards. The boy going to study at a school for wizards. The boy connected in some strange way to a Shadow that chases him. Their first confrontation…

Book review: Kim Jiyoun, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo

KIM JIYOUNG, BORN 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo, ScribnerUK Books. 2018 release. We meet Jiyoung just as she turns 33 and starts to have the most startling behavioural aberrations, startling her caring husband and antoganising her in-laws. Apparently, Jiyoung is a Korean version of Jane Doe and this Jane Doe has been stifled under all the…

Book review: 84, Charing Cross by Helene Hanff

84, Charing Cross by Helene Hanff. Virago Modern Classics Books. This reproduction of a most delightful correspondence between American writer Helene Hanff who has a pronounced predilection for ye olde English books, and the seemingly stiff and starchy `FPD` Frank P Deol, over at the antiquarian bookshop Marks and Co at 84, Charing Cross, London,…