Eleanor Oliphant is Completely FineGail Honeyman2017Harper Collinspp. 383 Oh my! This Book! The author chronicles the story of Eleanor, a young woman, a social misfit, a victim of past trauma that has led to present distress. Like most people who are psychologically disturbed, Eleanor partly knows that something is amiss, but also like most people,…
Khauf Ka Saudagar (Hindi)Ibn E Safi2009Harper Collins pp. 132 Khauf ka Saudagar (Literally translated as Trader of Fear) is a 2009 thriller book by Ibn E Safi. It is a concise book both in terms of the story as well as the size of the paperback. It dawned on my why I used to often…
Half of a Yellow SunChimamanda Ngozi Adichie2007 (first published 2006)Harper Perennialpp. 433Adichie writes about the forgotten civil war in Biafra and the making of ‘united’ Nigeria. The story revolves around the lives of twin sisters of upper middle class Igbo family. A life spent in realising and living the contrast between the haves of middle…
Rumi- The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and LongingColeman Barks2003Harper CollinsThe book is a collection of poems by Rumi, organised by themes that revolve around love and life. Some of the themes that were covered included Spontaneous Wandering, Sudden Wholeness, Madness, Absence, Romance and Friendship. The commentary by Barks is interesting and a good read…
Ice Boys in Bell BottomsKrishna Shastri Devulapalli2011Harper Collins Indiapp. 263(Available here https://amzn.to/2Hs5uS9)Ice Boys in Bell Bottoms is a coming of age story. The chief protagonist is the grandson of a famous Telugu poet and a nearly equally famous illustrator. Set in Hyderabad and then Chennai, the story gives a vivid description of life in a household…
Love Kills Ismita Tandon 2014 Harper Collins pp. 235 One of the many books that I had picked up at Harper Collins Garage Sale, Tandon’s Love Kills has redeemed my faith in young adult fiction. I had almost written off young writers from India as not to my taste, but Tandon has come to the…
The AmericansChitra Viraraghavan2014Fourth Estate (Harper Collins)pp. 287 Viraraghavan writes about life in America. It is a story of people of all age groups, all social classes, different learning abilities, different professions. There is drama of every kind. Problems in relationships, parenting, finances, crime, morality, career, uncertainty. Everything is happening together. Much like it is in…
