Book Reviews - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony

I did this the wrong way around. I read An Elephant in my Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony first. Less than a quarter of the way into that book, we read about the death of Francoise’s amazing husband, the south African conservationists legend Lawrence Anthony. Françoise tells us how the herd of elephants Lawrence had saved…

Book review: Where the Indus is Young by Dervla Murphy

I agree that this book was written back when times were less complicated, when people generally minded their own business and didn’t waste time or energy in trolling others. However. Where the Indus is Young is Dervla Murphy`s 1977 account of three months spent in the wilderness of Baltistan, living the rough life, subsisting on apricots…

Book review: Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup

Latitudes of Longing by Shubhangi Swarup (HarperCollins Books). What an assured debut! Shubhangi Swarup`s Latitudes of Longing is in one short succinct word, astonishing. Writing like a geologist with a magic pen, Swarup spins a story that at its core, is a love story to the mountains, to the sea, to the earth and the…

Book review: Lullaby by Leila Slimani

Cradle fall and all This book is such an immersive experience, you find yourself exhaling long and deeply when you come to the last page. It’s the kind of book where you sit up as something strikes you; where you wince as you see what`s coming before the characters do. Where you sharply draw…

Book review: Pyjamas Are Forgiving by Twinkle Khanna

Pyjamas are Forgiving review: Not much of a twinkle A tale of love and longing within the confines of an Ayurvedic spa. This is the third offering from the sharp and witty chronicler of our zeitgeist. Now, it may be an asset for the author or it may be a liability but there`s no getting…

Book Review: The Friend by Teresa Driscoll

A child is fighting for his life in hospital. The mother is far away, stuck on a train and desperately trying to reach that hospital. She may be responsible for her child having come to grievous harm. Then again, she may not be. Teresa Driscoll’s psychological thriller begins on this explosive note. Former…

Book review: Rebel Sultans by Manu S Pillai

Rebel Sultans by Manu S Pillai. Juggernaut Books. Manu Pillai, where were you when I was swotting for my History finals in high school, confusing the Bahmani rulers with the Qutb Shahi kings, the Bijapur rulers with the Gulbarga ones?! If I`d had your Rebel Sultans to hand, I`d have aced my paper! Plaintive question…

Book review: The Baptism of Tony Calangute by Sudeep Chakravarti

The Baptism of Tony Calangute by Sudeep Chakravarti. Aleph Book Company. Chakravarti`s book was released in 2008 with the title Once Upon A Time In Aparanta but he felt it didn’t reach enough people. A decade later, it`s out again with a new title and a new publisher. I`ll confess I preferred the earlier title…

Book review: Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao

The enduring flame Shobha Rao’s debut novel Girls Burn Brighter is poignant, powerful, a moving read. Reminiscent of the Elena Ferrante books, this book too delineates a deep, enduring bond between two women. As the protagonists move from village to city and finally across oceans, so does the story. The book’s two…

Book Review: The Night of Happiness by Tabish Khair

The Night of Happiness by Tabish Khair. A businessman works late on a rain-drenched evening with his faithful right-hand man. He thinks it`s only decent that he drops the man to his home. So he does. The man, for his part, thinks it only decent to invite his boss upstairs for a bowl of halwa….