Bartleby, The Scrivener by Herman Melville My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars I could ask you to look beyond your desk if you are at work or peep down your balcony if you are at home and spot a Bartleby. But I would prefer not to. I could urge you to frame that calamitous Bartleby … More Book Review: Bartleby, The Scrivener by Herman Melville (1853)
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars If I close my eyes tight, what shall I see? If I shut out all the noises I can sense, what shall I hear? If I shun the world completely, what shall I feel? A dark nothingness? Or a blinding muddle of overlapping images? … More Book Review: Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami (2018)
All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Letters. Those intimate little bits of paper and ink that hold many worlds, some known and some hidden. A best friend who takes all our secrets and refrains from being judgemental. Also, an enemy who slays every icy vein and … More Book Review: All The Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy (2018)
Less by Andrew Sean Greer My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars How long can you walk in another person’s shoes without feeling the pinch of it? A few minutes? Some hours perhaps? Or a couple of days? Now, what if I tell you it doesn’t hurt to walk in those shoes? Will you choose to … More Book Review: Less by Andrew Sean Greer (2018)
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars [Originally appeared here: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/l…] For long now, Khaled Hosseini has cemented his position as an author who imparts a subtle yet searing voice to the victims of war, riots and displacement, especially in the Islamic countries. We have clutched our hearts and have sobbed … More Book Review: Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini (2018)
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski My Rating: 2 of 5 Stars Ham on Rye is flanked by sauces of happenstance and its delectability depends on the preferences of one’s reading tongue. Mine, for one, could not bear its sour, unsavoury ingredients. In this bildungsroman, which is semi-autobiographical too, the protagonist, Henry Chinaski loads his … More Book Review: Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski (1982)
मधुशाला by Harivansh Rai Bachchan My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars यह १३५ बेशकीमती रुबाइयाँ मात्र किसी मधुशाला के लिए एक क़सीदा नहीं है अपितु गाती हुई रूपक है ज़िन्दगी की , वह ज़िन्दगी जो उजाले और अंधेरे से, न्यायनीति और भेदभाव से ,आलिंगन और अभाव से परिपूर्ण है | अपनी कलम को नीली … More Poem Review: मधुशाला by Harivansh Rai Bachchan(1935)
My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars [Originally appeared here (with edits): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/li…] Ah! What have I read here? A delightful take on life? A sensitive take on grief? A wise take on relationships? Perhaps all of it. And more. At the centre of this book, is … More Book Review: My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises by Fredrik Backman (2013)
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett My Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars [Originally appeared here (with edits)] How does a car-ride feel across a long, stretched road? Bumpy? Restless? Exhilarating? Tiresome? While a whole bunch of elements might prompt us to arrive at one or many words, there is, perhaps, a single word that can bring … More Book Review: Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (2016)
Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Confession , as a word, has a strong connotation – prelude to its utterance is a hesitation, and that hesitation alone, is sufficient to engulf the confession-maker with an odour that reeks of both delay and guilt. But Mishima’s protagonist can take … More Book Review: Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima (1958)
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