We’ve all had people in our lives who’ve told us that we’re better off shuffling between home and a 9-5 job, rather than discover what we like doing and find our own niche. We’ve all had the non-believers who think we’re good-for-nothings and are the cause of much anxiety for parents. Varun Agarwal also...
Read more »
I was building up quite a hoard at a book sale and going crazy trying to find the fine balance between my budget and my wants.The problem is that the two remain as far away from each other as possible. The turmoil in my mind was suddenly stilled at the sight of yellow writing...
Read more »
Some books grab you by the throat, some lie next to you under shady trees on summer afternoons in companionable silences, and some, you must coax and cajole into a friendship. My Kind of Girl by Buddhadeva Bose (translated by Arunava Sinha) started out being the third kind, but by the time I finished,...
Read more »
Okay, so here’s the thing: I’m not a big fan of Indian authors. Actually, I’m not a fan at all. My opinion is that most Indian authors fall under two broad categories: pseudo-Indian (the likes of Arundhati Roy with her pretentious references to Amma’s pickles et al) and pathetic Indian (Chetan Bhagat). Some rare...
Read more »
WHAT A DRAG! I would begin and end my review with those three words had this not been a review copy. ‘Salvation of a Saint’ by Keigo Higashino landed in my kitty as a book reviewer as a result of fierce PR activity that this writer/publisher is wont to do. I remember the massive...
Read more »
There are some books where you are part of a respectful audience and then there are some when you are a voyeur. I felt like the latter when reading ‘The Other Side of the Table’, written uniquely as it is in the form of letters. Letters, those wonderful things from a bygone era few...
Read more »
Have you ever been burnt by a book? Been trapped between its pages, gasping for air? Have you felt that if you read any more you’d die; but if you didn’t read, you’d die anyway? If you’ve not had the pleasure of such a pain, read Dozakhnama. Page after page of this book, I’ve...
Read more »
The good/bad invention/addiction that is Twitter is perhaps the single most influential sphere of my adult life. I’ve made and parted with friends here, built some real and imaginary relationships, had some genuine camaraderie unnecessary fights; I’ve generally allowed it to dictate big chunks of my emotional life. For me, Twitter is as real...
Read more »
Despite telling a complex grey tale, Kishore Modak’s is one of the coldest voices I’ve ever read. A lot happens in the 239 pages of this short novel, yet the author remains impassive, failing to draw the reader in. It’s more like reading a newspaper than a novel with no emotions evoked, and no...
Read more »
The title of the book should have warned me. It should have raised red flags in my head, but it didn’t. I mean, if a book was written by a journalist with decades of experience covering war zones, then it had to be witty and intelligent and full of substance, right? Wrong. Oh my...
Read more »
