Penguin
pp. 250
Chronicle of a Corpse BearerCyrus Mistry2012p. 245Aleph Mistry’s fictional autobiography of a Parsi corpse bearer is a tale marked by the many dimensions of what is often considered to be a mundane life. Struggles to survive in pitiful job circumstances, face constant discrimination, and live an ordinary life as a son, a husband and a…
Ek Chithda Sukh Nirmal Verma 2017 (first published 1979) Vani Prakashan pp. 242 The book title, loosely translated as a patchwork of pleasure, is an exploration of pleasure, happiness and contentment. The life of each of the characters presents a struggle for finding meaning, purpose, and peace. These are ordinary people with not so ordinary…
Name: Shikhandi and Other Tales They Don’t Tell YouAuthor: Devdutt PattanaikNo. of Pages: 179Publisher: Penguin/ Zubaan About the Book:The book is a collection of mythological stories about transsexuals/ transgender/ homosexual/ cross dressers and all who fall under the umbrella category of queer. The book begins with an introduction to what is queer and how it…
Name: Pakistan ki Sarvashrestha Urdu Kahaniya (Best Short Stories in Urdu from Pakistan)(translated in Hindi)Author: Several different authors writing from 1970s onwardsReading Time: 10-15 metro rides About the Book: The book is a collection of short stories written in Urdu and translated in Hindi, by writers from Pakistan. When you read the book, you would…
The Twentieth WifeIndu Sundaresan2002Harper Collinspp. 374 The twentieth wife covers the story of Nurjahan’s marriage to Salim. Somewhere in between is the story of deceit and strained father and son relationships, of Akbar and Salim and Salim and his sons. The hunger for power in almost all the men in the story is barely tolerable….
Name: Digital FortressAuthor: Dan BrownReading Time: 10-12 metro rides About the Book: Digital Fortress is a science fiction, political drama. It repeatedly questions the world scenario of Big Brother watching and the uncalled for US domination. It raises ethical issues but does not talk about them explicitly. The ethics seem to get lost somwehere in…