Posted in Recommended, tagged Chennai, Indian authors, Indian Fiction, Indian Novels, Indian Writing, Indian writing in English, No Onions Nor Garlic, Srividya Natarajan, Tambrahms on February 16, 2009 | 10 Comments »
I attempted this one more out of compulsion, so that P did not crib about her failed attempts to make me read Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly. By the fourth page even the mallu on the PA system saying, “Ladies and gendlemen, flight number won, seero, seero….. from Chennai to Baaingaluur”….. could not distract me. I have not giggled as much [...]
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Posted in Best sellers, Recommended, tagged Amitav Ghosh, Aravind Adiga, Arundhati Roy, Book review, Indian authors, Indian writing in English, Jonathan Livinsgston Seagull, Kiran Desai, Richard Bach, Salman Rushdie, Sea of Poppies, Spencer Johnson, The White Tiger, Who Moved My Cheese on October 27, 2008 | 35 Comments »
The whole world is talking about Aravind Adiga’s Man Booker Prize but I got to read it only now. The write-ups before the Booker were uninspiring and I stayed away. Come to think of it, I think only Arundhati Roy deserved her Booker, Kiran Desai’s book was lame and Rushdie’s book convoluted. The White Tiger [...]
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Posted in Recommended, tagged Anglo Indians, Bangalore, Book review, Brinda Charry, Indian authors, Indian Novels, Indian writing in English, Life in Bangalore, Naked in the Wind, Nostalgia on September 7, 2008 | 6 Comments »
It almost seems eerie that I read this book given the recent religious strife in Orissa. It also received the Golden Quill Awards this year. An interesting book, I liked it. Scout’s honour, I was definitely not intrigued by the fact that as a boy I stayed on Campbell Road. It had nothing to do with my [...]
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Posted in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Recommended, tagged African Literature, Book review, Books, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Fiction, Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus, The God of Small Things, Writings on July 21, 2008 | 3 Comments »
The Evening Standard said the ‘Purple Hibiscus’ is as revealing as Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’, which I did not really believe. To my amusement I found that the likeness grew stronger as the novel progressed. There are so many striking similarities that at times you wonder if Chimamanda had read Ms. Roy’s book. The sibling attachment, the abusive fathers – [...]
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Posted in Recommended, tagged Book review, Books, Indian authors, Indian Novel, Indian Writing, Kerala, Madhavan Kutty, Malayali Writers, Nairs on July 14, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I do regret missing out on the works of Thakazhi, O V Vijayan, M Mukundan, M T Vasudevan Nair and Vaikom Basheer in their original forms. I believe that at times the texture is lost in translations. However, Gita Krishnankutty who translated this book by Madhavan Kutty has done an excellent job. People who can understand Malayalam can comprehend the [...]
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Posted in Recommended, tagged Book review, Books, Christianity, Fort Kochi, George Thundiparampil, Indian authors, Indian Novel, Indian writing in English, Kaappiri, Kerala, Malayalis, Maya, Portugese in India, Writing on July 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Of late I have been focusing on English Writers of Keralite origins and that was the only reason for me to pick up this book that I have never heard of – Maya by George Thundiparampil. “The turbulent past amid the clamour of contemporary Kerala” begins the back of book write up and also says it is [...]
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Posted in Recommended, Richard Crasta, tagged Blossom Book House, Book review, Books, Indian authors, Indian writing in English, Mangalore, Mangaloreans, Richard Crasta, The Revised Kamasutra on June 29, 2008 | 4 Comments »
One of my favourite book shops in Bangalore is Blossom on Church Street. It is a real book lover’s den, no fancy decor, no piped music, no PYTs in bright tees flashing plastic smiles. The good thing about the store is that the shelves are stacked with books and it has this nice smell of books remniscent [...]
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Posted in Recommended, Shinie Antony, Short Stories, tagged Book review, Books, Indian authors, Indian writing in English, Kardamom Kisses, Seance on a Sunday Afternoon, Shinie Antony on June 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I had bought Kardamom Kisses almost a year ago and gave it up after a few chapters. It somehow didn’t keep me wanting to finish it. Last week I bought Shinie Antony’s collection of short stories, ‘Seance on a Sunday Afternoon’ spurred on by the recent coverage about her book launch. After reading that I tried to give Kardamom Kisses another shot [...]
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I read this book several years ago, but I can still vividly recall the plot and the characters. This is one of those books that haunt you. For a debut effort, ’Madras on Rainy Days’ is definitely a great piece of work. The feelings, the emotions, and the situations feel authentic and realistic. Samina Ali in one of her interviews candidly [...]
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An engaging collection of short stories, this is a good read. ‘The Japanese Wife’ the title of the book and the first story is definitely the best in the collection. Here is a story that talks of innocent love, transcending the physical. The love between Snehamoy, a rural schoolteacher, and Miyage, his Japanese pen friend, is touching [...]
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