That's In My Library!

This book is beautifully written, and at a peaceful pace. Nevertheless, it takes your heart for a wild roller coaster ride. If you're able to relate to any of the characters, or even if you're not, you will definitely be left asking for more in the end. Also, the story is left at such a point, I had to check up online to see if there is a sequel. (P.S.- There is.) Like all old traditional Indian stories, Chitra B. Divakaruni writes about unfulfilled desires and sacrificial love in an emotionally charged flowery prose. The story is about two sisters, Anju and Sudha. They are cousins, although there is a little discrepancy there, born on the same day in the same house in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The very same day their mothers come to know that both their fathers have died in an accident. The sisters grow up as best friends, more like soul mates. They have completely different personalities shaped due to the ideas that society imposes on them. Sudha is made to believe that h...

I happened to come across this book at a bookstore sometime back and the first thing that caught my eyes was the stick figures along with big fonts that mimicked handwriting. I knew it was for kids, but picked it up anyway (the cover does play a role at times!). And the book is pure pleasure! Greg Heffley, the protagonist, is a kid in middle school who is subjected to bullying at home by his elder brother and at school by his peers. He is the typical weakling, the middle in a family of three kids and a coward with a lack of perseverance. So throughout the books, he tries to become someone who can't be bullied. In the process, he tries for shortcuts to success; takes advantage of his best friend’s simplicity, bullies his own younger brother, lies to his parents and teachers to name a few. He is not a character everyone would like, but you definitely end up empathizing with him. Also, the book is meant for kids and hence, the good part is it retains the goodness when all o...

RIOT, by Shashi Tharoor, is not a conventional novel. It is not a story that starts with a ‘once upon a time’ and ends in a ‘happily ever after’. It has no linearity, no narrative, and neither a formal structure. It is an engrossing story in its own right; but which serves a much wider purpose in this ambitious and utterly fascinating novel. Yes, it is an experiment; but a pretty successful one at that! It speaks about a troubled time in India. It is about one of the most historic riots of the country, when extremism and provocation by Hindus and Muslims led to militancy. The author has admirable knowledge about the subcontinent’s history and current ills, including the increasing intolerance of religious diversity. The ensuing mayhem gave license to kill and avenge with little chance of accountability. Amidst all this, there is the ill-fated romance of Priscilla Hart, a young American working for an NGO in India, and Lakshman, an older, married Indian civil serva...

There are some books you read and put away; and then there are others, like Gora, that you absorb. You get sucked into it, you feel everything the characters go through, and you come out of it as a better person altogether. Gora is one of the finest and the most complex of the Tagore's writing. It is not merely a novel; it is an epic saga of India, in a troubled time, questioning the basis of caste, tradition, filial piety, patriotism and marriage. Gora (Gourmohan), the protagonist, is intensely patriotic and a strong advocate of Hinduism. He practices his religion with thorough conviction and strict austerity, making him seem an arrogant, self-asserting, aggressive and violent person who thrusts his opinions unto others. On the other hand, Binoy, Gora's best friend, is soft spoken and compassionate gentleman who initially comes across as a shadow of Gora, but subsequently emerges as genuine and self-analyzing. The two boys come in contact with Poresh Babu, a spokesper...