Penguin Books - Comfortably Numb

Book review: This is Where the Serpent Lives by Daniyal Mueenuddin

Dangerous aspirations The focal point of the story is deceptively simple in its linked concepts: greed, overarching ambition, not knowing `one`s place` in life (Pakistani society, in this particular case), the courage required to step out of line, and the inevitable nemesis that comes to those who do step out of line. The one major…

Book review: The Last days of Earth by Deepa Anappara

To map a sacred land The ethics of map-making and the invisibilisation of those who helped the British Empire in doing so, is at the heart of Deepa Anappara’s second book of fiction. Coming many years after Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, her first, well- received one, this book too, is meticulously researched and…

Book review: Intemperance by Sonora Jha

The quest for love With a quirky central premise, this book draws you in straight away. A middle-aged Indian academic based in Seattle decides to hold a swayamvar to find a groom. The author follows up her previous critically acclaimed award- winning book ‘The Laughter,’ with this witty, perceptive, sparkling story. The book is narrated…

Book review: Mother Mary Comes To Me by Arundhati Roy

MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME by Arundhati Roy, Penguin Books. Roy`s memoir is an artful blend of a tribute to her mother, a slow deep nod to the turbulent relationship she had with `Mrs Roy,` and a walkthrough of her own life and times till date, giving us an understanding of just who Mrs Roy`s…

Book review: For No Reason At All by Ramjee Chandran

Cloak and dagger with a dash of silicon Ramjee Chandran`s debut fiction contains a cracker of a story. Written in the most elegant manner, infused with generous doses of wit, guile, dash and daring, the story is set in New Delhi when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister of India, when scams came under the…

Loal, Kashmir by Mehak Jamal; The World with its Mouth Open by Zahid Rafiq

Just finished reading two books from Kashmir. Mehak Jamal`s beautiful ode to Kashmir, LOAL KASHMIR, 4th /HarperCollins Books. Loal in Kashmiri means love, longing, and Jamal has transcribed 16 accounts of love in a torn land. It makes for heart-breaking reading. We know the path of true love has never been smooth but here …

Book review: Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq

HEART LAMP, Penguin Books, a set of short stories written by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi. Simply put, these are some of the most moving stories I have read recently, an intimate look at the lives of Muslim women in Karnataka`s villages. These braveheart women navigate difficult-by-default lives, with the multiple chains of poverty,…

Book review: Mad about Cuba by Ullekh NP

Notes from contemporary Cuba The only thing quirky about this book is the title. In actual fact, Mad about Cuba is a compact report from the field. The tagline informs you that the author is a Malayali revisiting the revolution. And the first pic on the front jacket is one familiar to most Malayalis: that…

Book review: Brotherless Night by V V Ganeshananthan

BROTHERLESS NIGHT by V V Ganeshananthan, Penguin Books. So, here is another `bearing witness` story from Sri Lanka, a wrenching tale that will stay with the reader a long, long time after they have turned the last page. The tale, narrated by young Sashikala Kulenthiran takes us year on year through the terrible conflict that…

Book review: The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota

Working class hero We are back in Sahotaland, in this his fourth book, The Spoiled Heart. His Booker shortlisted second book, The Year of the Runaways was about three migrants, the horrors that force them to leave their homeland and their struggles in the UK. In his next book, China Room, longlisted for the Booker,…