The Association of Small Bombs by Karan MahajanMy Rating: 4 of 5 Stars “Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” – A A Milne It is, in many ways, both a comforting and disturbing thought that events of negligible weight, often elevate to gargantuan heights, lighting and dimming our lives from the … More Book Review: The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan (2016)
Art Matters by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Chris RiddellMy Rating: 5 of 5 Stars When I walk down a street I take often, I don’t need telling where the hump is or where the manhole splays. But even so, on days the street light doesn’t work, I feel a pinch; as if the little streak … More Book Review: Art Matters by Neil Gaiman, Illustrated by Chris Riddell (2018)
This is Water by David Foster WallaceMy Rating: 5 of 5 Stars ‘This is Water’. Water – Now I love that metaphor. I end up addressing many things and their traits and their progresses and their declines through this unbound source of immense satiation. But how does this fit into a speech delivered to students, facing … More Book Review: This Is Water by David Foster Wallace (2009)
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)
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)
Ties by Domenico Starnone My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars Validation is a monster we carry within us – we seek it in abundance for the tiniest of things to the biggest of matters; and in the sordid event of its unavailability in external sources, we turn inwards and grab it nonetheless. We validate ourselves; … More Book Review – Ties by Domenico Starnone (2014)
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