Embers by Sándor Márai My Rating: 5 of 5 stars My fingers were interlocked around my Baba’s arm and my head was resting on his shoulders. I was stealing a glimpse of his face every now and then, convinced that the lines of exhaustion were going to creep upto his tongue any moment, tendering me … More Book Review: Embers by Sándor Márai (1942)
The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic My Rating: 4 of 5 stars Throw a pebble into the pool and see it dissolve into shimmering currents, carrying burdens of ashen leaves that autumn has swept beneath the silent tremors, teaming to cry their laments; Or hide behind a ripe tree and cast a glance, all … More Book Review: The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic (1989)
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut My Rating: 4 of 5 stars Kurt Vonnegut. Four syllables, once pronounced, suspends in the air like a rock star swishing his name into the air for chanters to latch on and treble the echo. Slaughter-House Five, god knows how many syllables (depending on stress-points of your tongue), once sprinkled from … More Book Review: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
Stoner by John Williams My Rating: 5 of 5 stars As a child, I had a thing for inanimate things. A sling, a pond, a pebble, a mica chip; they would catch my attention and hold it hostage. I would play for hours together with these silent, placid beings, drawing great solace from their harmless, … More Book Review: Stoner by John Williams (1965)
Life and Times of Michael K by J M Coetzee My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars “War is the father of all and king of all. Some he shows as gods, others as men. Some he makes slaves and others, free.” But how does one differentiate between The Slave and The Free? Is that Man … More Book Review: Life and Times of Michael K by J M Coetzee (1983)
Ulysses by James Joyce My Rating: 5 of 5 stars Some works are not written; they are lived. The authors write not with ink, but with breaths. Every breath that finds its way in, sucks in a piece of the world and releases it into the author’s being, letting it permeate, gauge, prod, absorb and … More Book Review: Ulysses by James Joyce (1920)
A Schoolboy’s Diary and Other Stories by Robert Walser My Rating: 3 of 5 stars That is the most useful thing about school: It tires you out, upsets you, gets you going, it nourishes the imagination, it is the anteroom, the waiting room as it were, of life. Neat Poster. And a far neater mind … More Book Review: A Schoolboy’s Diary and Other Stories by Robert Walser (2013)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce My Rating: 5 of 5 stars APRIL 19 (Evening): Alright. This is insane. It has been almost eighteen, 18 (has more impact) hours since I sat down to scribble something about what is going on in my mind but the right words are … More Book Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (1914)
The Loser by Thomas Bernhard My Rating: 3 of 5 stars Grey – The color that most of the characters created during large part of twentieth century and whole of twenty-first century till date, are painted in. Cruelly banishing the evergreen Black and all-star White to secondary positions,Grey has risen in ranks to be the … More Book Review: The Loser by Thomas Bernhard (1983)
The Waste Land and Other Poems by T S Eliot My Rating: 4 of 5 stars Thomas Stearns Eliot. A lot is hidden between those three words. A whole world perhaps. A depth measured by many oceans, a mystery viewed from bewitching lenses, a song marrying numerous notes, a candle thriving on inexhaustible wax. During … More Book Review: The Waste Land and Other Poems by T S Eliot (1922)
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