Fantasy fiction, a scarcely explored genre in Indian writing in English; not a genre that Indian readers will pick up easily to experiment for we are badly burnt by the incredibly out-worldly and impossibly illogical stories we are fed on our television, all in the name of fantasy. When Dark Things arrived from Hachette for review and the moment I
Read moreLove is in the Air!! Astor Hotel in Shakespeare Sarani of Kolkata was all abuzz with excitement. All in anticipation of a book launching event – Sreemoyee Piu Kundu’s third novel – You’ve Got the Wrong Girl published by Hachette India. Following closely on the heels of her female erotica, Sita’s Curse, this new book has generated considerable amount of interest
Read moreFrederick Drew pointed out emphatically – ‘from Kashmir AND FROM NO OTHER SPOT IN ASIA one may go westward through countries entirely Muhammadan, as far as Constantinople; eastward among none but Buddhists to China; and southward over lands where the Hindu religion prevails, to the extremity of the Indian peninsula.’ What can be more enticing than the above lines about
Read moreWhen I discovered The Edge of Desire by Tuhin A. Sinha, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The blurb sounded promising and the reviews gave a positive feedback. But, the thing about Indian writing is that I could never feel connected to it. Some books just work out fine for me, while others lead to utter disappointment. So it is
Read moreTabrik C’s Prisoner Jailor Prime Minister explores how the twists and turns of fate can play havoc with the life of a man. He is compelled to move between different parts of the world …right from the portals of Harvard to the adventurous city of Mumbai to the political labyrinths of New Delhi. Prisoner Jailor Prime Minister is a fascinating tale
Read moreLet me start this review with an ominous sentence: Indian writers tend to be bad at storytelling. I was wary of picking this book up but then I happened to real Parab’s “About the author”. Slightly overcooked, but he still had my attention. And then I thought, well, what the heck… let’s give it a shot. I couldn’t have been
Read moreStories can go on and on…..they can entangle us in webs and when we are trying to come out of it, wrap us around in another. Can we ever say that there is an end to any story? The novel End of Story? written brilliantly by Arjun Shekhar is a dark, humorous, intriguing thriller which brings us to some probing
Read moreThe half mother is a poignant story of an innocent mother’s search for her lost son, the son who she lost to the political play of governments. Haleema and Ab Jaan are a family of two – a close unit of a father and daughter. With Haleema’s mom’s passing, Haleema is forced to drop out of school and help her
Read moreTo be frank I did not understand why Picture Abhi Baaki Hai is a book at all. It put me off at the outset with a lengthy, vapid prologue justifying its existence as a book – a prologue in which the author keeps bringing up the name of the book twice on every page. For example, Picture Abhi Baaki Hai
Read moreFraudster is R. V. Raman’s first book – a thriller set in the corporate/ financial sector. The premise of the book is the prevalence of NPAs (Non Performing Assets) in a large number of financial institutions and the myriad schemes and machinations involved therein. The core strength of Raman’s book is that the plot is quite realistic and believable. What I
Read moreWhen I started reading this book I thought at worst, Ramulamma would be an Indian derivative of Agatha Christie’s somewhat underwhelming Ms. Marple – a shadow of her legendary Poirot. However, as I got further into the book, I realized that getting an Indian Ms. Marple might have actually been a good bargain. Quite frankly, I did not quite understand
Read moreNothing hurts a reader as much than a disappointing read from his/her expectations of a book. When I picked this book, it sounded promising with it’s back cover description of a plot that involved a female vigilante fighting the evils thriving in the capital city, I was looking forward to have a great time with what sounded like a Kick-Ass
Read moreI really love reading books where foreign authors ramble on India or stories with an Indian backdrop. It is not their story or ideas that attract me but rather their perspectives on the Indian culture and how they entwine them with their characters. Its also the curiosity that I develop to see if they have got their facts right, judgmental
Read moreIndian authors in the fantasy genre is rare. And finding a competent Indian author in this genre is even rarer. And finding a fantasy story that stays with you forever is of the rarest. Charu Singh is one of the rarer. Almost first of its kind, a Tibetan-Buddhist fantasy novel, the novel is a thorough page turner, though the pace
Read more‘The original draft was much darker than the current version.’ said the authoress in an interview. It had me wondering how the book would have panned out had the original draft prevailed, for the final product is anything but dark. An interesting title, a tidy book cover and a particularly appealing blurb at the back. From the outlook, Abirami M.
Read moreWhen I first read the blurb of this book, I expected an emotional drama filled with behavioral and emotional theatrics displayed when a group of individuals, especially those that have migrated to the promised land of generation ‘X’ meet after a decade! I was expecting chapters filled with the display of wealth and success by the main protagonists in true immigrant
Read more