Munro's New Selected Stories forces one to introspect

If there is one short-story writer I would like to meet and know more about, it would be Alice Munro. Her skill and magnificence of the craft have always left me speechless. She writes without caring, without knowing and without expecting or so it seems every time I read her collection of stories. There is something about them which maybe cannot be defined. It can only be felt by the...

Ten Things I've Learnt about Love is almost magical

It was the title's unusual quality that drew me to it. I wanted to then read it and find out more. What was the book about? Why this title? I was guessing that it would be a love story for sure, however I did not for once think it was a love story of a father and his daughter. Of the relationship they share and what they don't and how...

It's hard not to love Horowitz's book On Looking

We think we see all the time. We think we observe. We also think we possibly know the world around us the way we are meant to. We see what we expect to most of the time. Maybe our mind conditions itself to show us only those things which we want to and the ones that we do not want to, well, they just get hidden. It could happen anywhere....

Legacy is a book that forces you to introspect

The relationship between a parent and a child cannot be explained in words. It is much more than that. A parent is a child's first friend, teacher, guide and motivator. At times, we think that the upbringing of children of rich and successful people is far different from that of a common man's child. Well, Legacy by Sudha Menon successfully breaks this myth, at least for me, it did. I...

The Homing Pigeons is a riveting, easy read

I have been reading a lot of debut authors lately. Some of them are good and most of them are not so good. Not trying to discourage anyone here but after reading some of the books, I felt that writing a book has become a fad more than a passion these days. Still, whenever I pick up a book by a debut author, I keep my prejudices and expectations aside...

Follow Every Rainbow is about the success, inspiration

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, this was the first book by Rashmi Bansal that I read. The title was intriguing and when I read the blurb of the book, I was sure that it will be an interesting read and it didn't disappoint me at all. Ever since then, I have been looking forward to her books and have been recommending her books to almost everyone who wants to read something...

Essence of every emotion is well captured The Interestings

It is never easy to write about the world the way it is. To talk of love and friendships and everything that takes place in between is never something that can be done without wrenching the way you feel about them. I have always admired writers who can manage this and continue to do so, because it takes a lot out of the writer to dig in and generate stories...

Following Fish reads simply, speaks of different things

I believe in discovering books on my own. I do not believe in recommendations because I am scared that most people do not know what I love to read or do not care to ask. It is a fact. Most people just put a book in your hands and tell you, "You must read this." There is nothing more to that interaction. And yet there are times when I am...

Atulya Mahajan's 'Masters of America' is a handbook of easy laughs

New Delhi: It's unfortunate that author Atulya Mahajan's 'The Masters of America' will always be compared with writer Anurag Mathur's quirky guide to surviving in the US - 'The Inscrutable Americans' - mostly because Mathur got it out first. If you have read 'The Inscrutable Americans', you will appreciate the struggle that Fresh off the Boat (FOB) Indian immigrants face in the mythical land of opportunities and Mahajan takes the...

'Just Send Me Word' is a moving love story

To live a life away from the one that you love is not easy at all. It almost leaves me breathless thinking about it. I mean just the thought of it is enough for me to send out a prayer for it to never happen to two people who love each other deeply. And while I type this, I am thinking of a wondrous book I finished reading this month....

One should not miss reading Crossing to Safety

I had heard a lot about "Crossing to Safety" from a lot of people online. It is one of the American Classics that demand a read and once you have read it, you will be ever thankful. Or so I had heard from everyone who had read the book and could not stop talking about it. I had to read it. I tried reading it initially and then gave it...

Baker's Daughter reflects quiet power of narration

A lot of books have been written about the Second World War by now. More so from the perspective of the Holocaust and nothing else. At times, you also think that you have read it all. After all, how different can one story be from the other? I have always thought that or rather used to. To read enough all the time about a particular incident does not make you...

By Blood, a literary fiction read like no other

There are books that you have been wanting to read since a very long time but never got around to. They are just laying there on your shelf, waiting silently and more so patiently, so you can get to them. "By Blood" by Ellen Ullman was one of those books for me that just lay there for the longest time. I did not pick it up and even if I...

The Childhood of Jesus is allegorical in nature

JM Coetzee's books are not easy to read. His writing is not easy to comprehend either at times. It takes a while for the reader to figure where he is going with the plot, but once the reader gets the hang of it, it is a cakewalk from thereon. Every time I pick up a Coetzee, I am a little apprehensive of how is it going to turn out. I...

Life After Life, a read that you must gift yourself

I had never read anything by Kate Atkinson before this one. I had heard a lot about her, but of course and was quite intrigued by the titles of her earlier books. At the same time, every time I would try reading an excerpt from any of her books online, I could not connect with them. I guess maybe the timing wasn't right. Maybe there are times when some books...