What does a chuckle at a crime scene do? An anecdote slipped into an interrogation being done for a murder (or two, or more)? It heightens the senses, I realized, after reading this book, and one looks for the clues with an even keener sensorial wand. Because you see, a least expected thing in a … More A family that kills together, sticks together
Somewhere in the middle of this loosely drawn, pencil-shined sketches, sits an instance in which Adrian Tomine, a fair figure in the cartoon industry, is at a book fair in Tokyo and is about to scribble, in palpable excitement, his first autograph of the day when he notices the book slipped under his fingers carrying … More Tonnes of goofiness, handed with a bow
At some point in the story, where something scandalous has already unfolded, this paragraph appears involving the two brothers, of which, one is a narrator – Sree didn’t say anything. I’d rather he turned mad. I wanted to both punch him and be punched by him. I felt that if we punched each other just … More Fun Outdoors, Riot Everywhere
Days of My China Dragon by Chandrahas Choudhury My Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Universally, very few things bind people the way food does. And endorsing this view emphatically, Jigar Pala opens a Chinese restaurant in Prabha Devi, Mumbai, taking a detour from his family’s legacy of well-established Udipi restaurant. Enter the ‘China Dragon’. He … More Book Review: Days of My China Dragon by Chandrahas Choudhury (2019)
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)
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)
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)
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars Words. This book is all about words – words written, words unwritten, words spoken, words unspoken, words imagined, words deleted, words carried, words discarded, words believed, words treasured. And why wouldn’t it be? At the heart of this book, is the book … More Book Review: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2005)
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal My Rating: 4 of 5 stars This little novella can, at once, be discarded as a long, never-ending chapter on corporeal pursuits from the life book of a mindless rambler, a libidinous exhorter, a senile raconteur. And for some part, one might be right in … More Book Review: Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age by Bohumil Hrabal (1964)
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett My Rating: 4 of 5 stars [Curtains Fall] Stage: I lived good, within all of you. Heck! You would not even survive a second without me. Why? I even took that wretched boot and that stinky feet on my chest! Feet: Ha.. Stinky you say! Did you ever eavesdrop … More Book Review: Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (1952)
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