Book Reviews - Comfortably Numb

Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

Book review: Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan

I was blown clean away by Deepak Unnikrishnan`s Temporary People (Penguin Books). It is a set of short stories, a poem or two, some pages of artwork about the `guest workers` the migrant labour of the Gulf, mostly Malayalis, who toil without any recognition, without much dignity, without adequate creature comforts and worst of all,…

Book review: A House for Mr Misra by Jaishree Misra

Trivandrum Diary A House for Mr Misra (Westland) This slim volume is the ideal read when you are between books that tackle matters of a more serious, even grim nature. Or in my case, a break from editing a turgid manuscript. Written rather like a Trivandrum diary fleshed out in engaging detail, it keeps the…

Book review: The Cows of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan

For the love of cows A book about cows of India in this day and age? That kind of subject can either be an inspired one or plain minefield-walking. However, Shoba Narayan sticks to her set script and delivers an easy read that will delight cow-admirers as well as intrigue those who view…

Book review: A Faceless Evening by Gangadhar Gadgil

Of the human condition… Fourteen evocative short stories by the Marathi master. Gangadhar Gadgil carved a niche for himself in Marathi literature decades ago, and is a known name to those who read translations but alas, not to scores of other readers. Now, Ratna Books and translator Keerti Ramachandra have rectified that omission with this…

Book review: Hush A Bye Baby by Deepanjana Pal

When the cradle falls Deepanjana Pal`s Hush A Bye Baby (Juggernaut Publishers) is a police procedural where the action shifts focus continually amongst a small group of participants, rather like an Agatha Christie mystery. Mumbai socialite and gynaecologist Dr Nandita Rai (we get a cracker of an intro to her) stands accused of female…

Book excerpts: The Lake District, An Anthology compiled by Norman Nicholson

The Lake District An anthology compiled by Norman Nicholson. Penguin Books. 1977. This delightful composition of prose, poetry and essays, some of them in the Cumbrian dialect, contains such nuggets as the ones reproduced below. Gentleman in a hurry It was customary, I am told, to dash by them (i.e. the Lakes) with an…

Book review: The Story of a Long Distance Marriage by Siddesh Inamdar

A marriage of inconvenience Rohan and Ira are an “unjinxable couple” (Rohan’s words, not mine) and that, of course, tempts fate. Ira goes off to NYC to study, Rohan stays behind at his newspaper desk job, and a series of jinxes proceeds to hit them. A gulf begins to yawn between them, their…

Book review: Jasoda by Kiran Nagarkar

Jasoda by Kiran Nagarkar. HarperCollins. We meet Jasoda the eponymous hero/heroine/protagonist of Kiran Nagarkar`s novel as she takes a quick break from working the family`s barren field to deliver a child. The moment she sees it’s a girl, she quickly puts it between her thighs and squeezes till the little girl is still. Because Jasoda…

Book review: The Brahmin by Ravi Shankar Etteth

The killing game A fast-paced thoroughly entertaining read that mixes up some history, some espionage and some gory stuff. Ravi Shankar Etteth is back with his fifth book and this one The Brahmin (Westland Books) is a spy thriller. Not your routine spy thriller, though; this story is set in the times of Ashoka ruler…

Book excerpt from Two by Gulzar

And somewhere in Gulzar`s re-visitation of the trauma of Partition, a novella titled Two, is this throwaway line: Before Pakistan took shape on the map, it started taking shape in the minds of the people. This was true of both Hindus and Muslims. The untouchables had been similarly alienated centuries ago. In one masterstroke the…