TRENDS
The Cooking of Books Review: Ramachandra Guha’s striking memoir of a long-distance relationship between a writer and his editor
With self-deprecating frankness, Guha details his growth as a writer in the hands of his editor Rukun Advani. The memoir, a rich mine for budding writers, looks back at a vanished pre-internet publishing world, where books were celebrated more than authors.
BOOKS
Short stories of diaspora dilemma: Nishanth Injam’s The Best Possible Experience is a collection of extracts on the emotional price of relocation
According to government data, an average of 618 Indians renounces their citizenship every day. Injam’s stories are a moving reminder that their choice has difficult personal consequences. Given the statistics, immigrant literature will grow. This well-crafted collection stands out in its candidness and maturity.
TRENDS
Book review: Vauhini Vara's This Is Salvaged | Outstanding collection of short stories about American life
A polished, precise yet nuanced and deeply moving collection of 10 stories by Vauhini Vara, who also wrote The Immortal King Rao (2022).
TRENDS
History’s Angel: A fine novel about what it means to be an Indian Muslim today
A surfeit of history? Yes. A broad cast of characters? Yes. A range of sensitive issues? Yes. But writer Anjum Hasan manages to hold it all together, making History’s Angel an altogether absorbing read.
BOOKS
Book review | 2023 Booker Prize-Longlisted The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is a spellbinding tale of an Irish family in free fall
Set in an Irish town, 'The Bee Sting' is about a family of four, and a saga of decisions that turn out badly.
TRENDS
Quarterlife book review: A powerful first novel about millennials and politics
Quarterlife is that rare novel that dares to speak differently. The zeitgeist it depicts is one of anger and uncertainty but it’s also about hope, ambition, and an impulse to emerge on the right side of history.
TRENDS
Perumal Murugan's Pyre didn't make the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist. Here's why you should read it any way
Originally published in Tamil in 2013 and translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan in 2016, Perumal Murugan's Pyre is a story of forbidden love.
TRENDS
Book review | 'Grave Intentions', a cosy crime mystery set in Bundelkhand
Already known for his corporate thrillers, RV Raman, at the leading-edge of the whodunit trend, who launched his investigator, Harith Athreya, in 'A Will To Kill' in 2019, returns with 'Grave Intentions (A Harith Athreya Mystery)'.
TRENDS
Ambapali book review: Prolific writer Tanushree Podder deftly blends fact with fiction
Tanushree Podder's 17th novel - her third historical fiction - traces the legend of Ambapali, an unassuming girl who found courage in an adverse situation 2,500 years ago.
LIFESTYLE-TRENDS
Book Review | George Saunders' 'Liberation Day' is a parable for our times
The nine stories in the American writer's latest collection, 'Liberation Day', are not simple reads; the interior monologues and multiple viewpoints capture a sense of entrapment, of love and loss
TRENDS
The Seven Moons Of Maali Almeida book review: In war-torn Sri Lanka, a ghost probes into his own death
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Shehan Karunatilaka’s second novel after Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, has won the 2022 Booker Prize.
TRENDS
Book review: Long-listed for the Booker Prize 2022, 'Glory' is a punchy political satire from Zimbabwe
In language that crackles with innovation, wit, wild exuberance and a sharp bite, Bulawayo choreographs the transgenerational trauma of a postcolonial nation where one tyrant is brought down only to be replaced by another.
TRENDS
'Lessons in Chemistry' book review: A riveting story about sexism in science
'Lessons in Chemistry' is a fizzing first novel for a number of reasons. Despite the serious theme, Bonnie Garmus’ writing, characterized by a dry wit, keeps us entertained.
TRENDS
Cold Justice review: When the judge is the accused
Vish Dhamija writes in an easy, direct style and the basic premise of 'Cold Justice' is interesting. However, the characters, for the most part, are cardboard cut-outs.
TRENDS
The enduring magic of Ashwin Sanghi's Bharat Series
With so many moving parts, it’s a wonder that the narrative throughline of 'The Magicians of Mazda' doesn’t get hopelessly entangled - and herein lies author Ashwin Sanghi’s ingenuity.
