BonsaiAlejandro Zambra2022 (originally published 1997)Penguinpp. 112 It is a beautiful, beautiful book. If you are looking for recommendation, you don’t need to read any further. If you are here only out of interest, read on. The novella talks about the love affair of a young man and women. It is not the intensity of love…
Jakh BabaNilotpal Mrinal2019Storytel Set in the Hindi hinterland, this book is the story of a young man who buys a bike. That is essentially the whole story, the young man wishing for a bike, his father agreeing to buy it, the trip to the city to buy it and the ritualistic worship at the village…
KarachiFahmida Riaz2018Vani Prakashan I listened to this novel in the audio version so I am not sure of the page numbers or the publication details. Storytel lists it as a Hindi novel, which if it is, is a Hindi that I am not familiar with. It is so replete with Urdu words that five minutes…
Padhna, Zara SochnaKrishna Kumar2018Jugnoo Prakashanpp. 68 This short book is a collection of essays by Prof Krishna Kumar. A stalwart in the field of education, his writing is always worth reading. The collection of essays is thought provoking, right from the first sentence of the book. It makes you wonder whether most of us are…
A Doll’s HouseHenrik Ibsen (trans. Robert Farquaharson Sharp)2021 (orig. 1879)Finger Printpp. 127 The play about the life of Mrs. Nora Helmer is divided into three acts. In the first two plays, Mrs. Helmer goes about preparing for Christmas with the new found richness that is coming into their lives with a new position that Mr….
Two Can Keep a Secret2019Karen M McManusPenguinpp. 317 I picked up the book under the impression that it is a sequel to One of us is Next, but I was wrong. I read One of us is lying and One of us is Next in quick succession and I thought the same events will be…
Misfit MadhuDivya Anand2022Puffin Bookspp 277 As the name of the book says, the story revolves around the life of Madhu, a class seven student, who feels that she doesn’t fit in with the rest of her class. She is different from her peers as she is more interested in computers than in fashion, she does…
One of Us is Next Karen M McManus 2020 pp. 375 Penguin In the sequel to One of us is lying, McManus weaves a tale of a set of high school students attempting to carry forward the practice set in place by Simon in the previous book. The game of revealing students’ secrets takes an…
Three Thousand Stitches Sudha Murthy 2017Penguinpp. 250 The book is a collection of about a dozen anecdotes from Sudha Murthy’s life. A non fictional, autobiographical account of Murthy’s life that covers ideas, values and thoughts that she cherishes and that have probably helped her become the kind of person that she is. The book is…
One of Us is LyingKaren M McManus2017Penguinpp. 358 The story is an interesting mystery about the murder of a high school student. The plot begins with Simon serving detention with four other students. Simon dies while in detention and the four students are the main suspects. Besides the mystery that surrounds his murder, the story…
