Published 2022 | Fiction A boy caught between the real and an ‘alternate reality’, ‘Out of the Woods’ by Neikehienuo Mepfhu-o takes a look at the struggles that mental health illnesses bring with them – for the person and their immediate family members. During a recent trip to Nagaland, I decided to pick up a book or two written by…
Published 2017 | Self help Sharing the Swedish concept of ‘death cleaning’, Margareta Magnusson’s ‘Dostadning’ is a handy book to have, if for nothing but tips that can help the decluttering process too. ‘A fond and wise little book’ is what the New York Times called it and I would agree. I stumbled on this book at a time when…
If On A Winter’s Night A Traveller by Italo Calvino, translated by William Weaver was released in 1979; it is written in postmodernist narrative and takes readers through a whole spectrum of sensations as they read the 10 stories woven together in this masterpiece. Highly recommended! Italo Calvino | Italian publication 1979 | English transl. 1981 | Postmodernist novel Not…
Bestselling author Fredrik Backman’s Beartown – translated by Neil Smith – set in a small community explores the secrets that tie it and courage that can fracture even the strongest bonds. At once profound, dazzling and hard-hitting, Beartown is a must read. Fredrik Bachman | 2016 | Fiction Bang bang bang bang.That’s how this book will seem if you’ve read…
Ocean Vuong | 2019 | Semi-autobiographical, literary fiction Once in a while, a book comes along that reminds you why you read. A book that makes the world realise why books must be written, why authors must be celebrated and what beauty the written word holds. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is not a book. It’s a celebration of language,…
Audrey Niffenegger | Published 2003 Boy meets girl. They fall in love. They get married. They live happily ever after. Only, the boy meets the girl again. And again. And again. No, not in the conventional sense of the word. And not different girls. Henry meets Clare for the first time when she is six, and he’s thirty-six. But, he’s…
Patrick Symmes | 2000 | Non-fiction, Politics, TravelogueErnesto Guevara de la Serna is a name that is, more often than not, repeated with a revered romanticism. He is spoken of like a hero, one of the famed warriors of mythology. Yet, few know what made him so. In this book, the author retraces a journey that Guevara made with his…
Anne Bogel | 2018 | Non-fiction, humour Recently, a book walked into my life. It felt like the writer had taken a peek at my thoughts, seen the way I think and read books, and then written a book about that! I’ve seen very few books that talk about reading as a habit or practice. I highlighted (virtually, of course)…
Samar Yazbek | 2015 | Autobiography, Literary non-fiction I purchased this book while ambling through a book fair sometime towards the end of 2018. But I didn’t get around to reading it until I pulled it out recently to give to my father in law. He didn’t read it. But I started it. It took me a long time to…
Betty Smith | 1943 | Semi-Autobiographical, Fiction I picked this one up because a. I had heard a lot about it. It is heralded as a modern American classic (and it deserves to be) b. The edition was remarkably pretty. I have a weakness for beautiful looking books. This one was a Reader’s Digest Special Edition, hard bound with the…