book review - Comfortably Numb

Book review: Doab Dil by Sarnath Banerjee

Of matters this and that A contemplative graphic novel filled to the brim with dil. The cover of Sarnath Banerjee’s Doab Dil tells a story of its own, well before the reader reaches the part of the book that provides any context for it. The clouds, the woman on top of the rocks with her…

Book review: A Bend in the River of Life by Marianne de Nazareth

A Bend in the River of Life by Marianne de Nazareth. Leadstart Books. Now here`s a dilemma. Can one label a book that deals with the onset and relentless progress of Parkinsonism in a set of parents, a happy read? Impactful, yes. Informative, very much so. Disturbing, well, that`s a given, dealing as it does…

Book review: Fortune`s Soldier by Alex Rutherford

History as entertainment The story is as much about the two men as it is about the insidious way that the East India Company worked to eventually establish British rule in India. The friendship of two men, the fictional Nicholas Ballantyne and the actual historical figure of Robert Clive, forms the basis of the story…

Book review: Killing Time in Delhi by Ravi Shankar Etteth

A capital send-up Tongue firmly lodged in side of cheek, the author spins a tale about the denizens of Delhi. In this, Ravi Shankar Etteth`s seventh book, he has turned the spotlight mercilessly on the haut monde, the seriously wealthy and even more seriously powerful, the wheelers and dealers, the circles that trade in…

Book review: Twin Tales from Kutcch by Saeed Ibrahim

This quiet story, told in a quiet manner, opens a window into the lives of Kutcchi Memons, allowing us a close look at their lifestyle, their rituals, their dress and customs, and makes for a most interesting read. The author presents to us the tales of Aisha Jan Mohammed and Aisha Usman, two women orphaned…

Book review: Trick by Domenico Starnone

A battle of wits A battle of wits between a grandfather and his four- year- old grandson is at the heart of the deceptively simple premise of Domenico Starnone’s latest book ‘Trick.’ Witty, observant and melancholy by turns, it is a deftly layered book, a wonderful read. One of Italy’s most accomplished writers and the…

Book review: Paradise Towers by Shweta Bachchan-Nanda

Not so towering A close look at people living out their less- than- celebrated lives in a Mumbai apartment block. We`ve had a rash of celebs turning authors, with Twinkle Khanna in the vanguard and others like Rishi Kapoor, Karan Johar, Soha Ali Khan, and now Shweta Bachchan Nanda, following in her wake. Let…

Book review: Jahangir by Parvati Sharma

Jahangir by Parvati Sharma. Juggernaut Books. The king known to history students and history buffs more for being indolent, over-fond of his drink, an emperor who avoided military campaigns, a vicious, even capricious man, becomes a very interesting figure in this book. Nuruddin Muhammad Jahangir. The fourth of the six Great Mughals. An inveterate chronicler…

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…