Comfortably Numb

Sheila Kumar's Storehouse

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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Book review: Rafina by Shandana Minhas

    And they all fall flat A dramaybaaz protagonist, but where’s the drama? Shandana Minhas wrote this story in 2004; it saw the light of day 14 years later. Luckily, the story, that of a determined if rather naïve girl’s attempt to carve her niche in the world, is such that it can’t really…

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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,…

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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…

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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…

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