From memoir to mystery: My latest four reads

(This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025, wherein 10 posts are published in 15 days. This is the fourth one. The prompt: The last four books you read.)

If there’s one thing I treasure, it’s discovering new worlds and perspectives through books. My reading habit had taken a serious hit while I was working. Now that I have more time for myself, I have got back into the habit.

Here are the four books I read last, listed in the reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent first.

1. MEN WITHOUT WOMEN

Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular Japanese authors; perhaps more celebrated outside Japan than within. The last book I read by him was the anthology Birthday Stories, several years ago.

Last month, while on a short visit to Kerala, I entered Aluva metro station to take a train to Kadvanthra. There, I was surprised to find a book exhibition-cum-sale. I spent about 45 minutes browsing the books on display, eventually picking up two. 

One was Murakami's Men Without Women. The other was The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh by Sanjaya Baru, which I have yet to start reading.

Men Without Women is a collection of seven short stories, all revolving around the complex emotional lives of men separated from women.

Each story features a different protagonist grappling with loneliness, longing, and the mysterious presence, or absence, of women in his life. The tales explore a range of situations: lost love, betrayal, quiet marriages, and more.

One of the stories is “Drive My Car”, where an actor forms a bond with his female chauffeur as he struggles with memories of his late wife’s infidelity.

Murakami’s characteristic style of quiet melancholy and introspection runs through all the stories.

2. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

There were two reasons I bought this book. First, it simply appeared on Amazon while I was browsing the book section; second, and more importantly, both the title and the blurb caught my attention.

This novel by Paula Hawkins is a psychological thriller set in London, centred on the lives of three women: Rachel, Megan, and Anna.

Rachel Watson takes the same commuter train every day, passing by her old neighbourhood. She becomes fixated on watching a seemingly perfect couple, Megan and Scott, who live near her ex-husband Tom and his new wife Anna.

When Megan goes missing, Rachel finds herself drawn into the investigation, spurred by hazy memories and her urge to help. As Rachel probes deeper, her unreliable recollections and desire to be useful push her into dangerous territory.

The novel’s suspenseful plot kept me guessing about what happened to Megan.

3. HOW PRIME MINISTERS DECIDE

Neerja Chowdhury is a reputed journalist who has spent decades in New Delhi as a political reporter. When I was with The Indian Express in their Ahmedabad edition, during the politically tumultuous early 1990s, I had the good fortune to edit many of her stories.

She is one of the few top journalists in India who has witnessed at close quarters the changing political landscape in the nation’s capital. She has met all the prime ministers except Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Gulzarilal Nanda.

That’s one reason I picked up this book, which examines the decision-making styles of six Indian prime ministers: Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V. P. Singh, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. 

She sheds light on the intense pressures prime ministers face from several quarters: not just public expectations, but also from diverse groups, communities, and even their closest advisers.

What makes this book particularly interesting is the detail she provides regarding some of the controversial political decisions our prime ministers have made.

Anyone interested in Indian politics will surely enjoy reading this book.

4. RECKONING

A couple of years ago, while my son was preparing for his journey home from Sydney, he asked me what I would like him to bring for me. I told him to get me a book about Australia that I might not easily find in India.

He got me two. One was Reckoning: The Forgotten Children and Their Quest for Justice by David Hill. The other was Born Into This by Adam Thomson.

I will take the first one.

Reckoning tells the powerful true story of how David Hill and other former “Forgotten Children” from the Fairbridge Farm School in New South Wales sought justice for the abuse they suffered as children.

Hill recounts the shocking institutional abuse endured by vulnerable British and Australian children, who were sent to Fairbridge under imperial schemes, and then mistreated; sometimes as young as five years old.

Their battle led to a record $24 million compensation awarded by the New South Wales Supreme Court. Hill describes many personal stories, and with the appropriate historical context, sketches so well not only the resilience of the survivors but also their struggle to hold those responsible accountable.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Each of these books, on diverse themes, left its own mark, sparking thought and, sometimes, even stirring up memories. Have you read any of them? If not, which one of these you would like to read?

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Fiction, non-fiction: Why I read what I read

Image source: Pixabay

I have always enjoyed fiction. Yet it feels like ages since I last read a novel, to the point that I am embarrassingly out of touch with the latest authors.

The writers who come to my mind are Arthur Hailey, Stephen King, John Grisham, Somerset Maugham, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, and Indian authors such as Anita Desai, Kamala Das, Shashi Deshpande, R K Narayan, Ruskin Bond, etc.

One of the more recent novelists I read was Paula Hawkins, whose The Girl on the Train I found quite engaging.

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE

One reason my fiction reading has reduced over the years is my preoccupation with work, which has largely revolved around real-life events, people, and issues. Naturally, my inclination shifted to reading non-fiction books or watching programmes related to current events or history which provide a context for understanding the present.

What I enjoy most about non-fiction -- like travelogues, biographies, books on contemporary or historical issues -- is its immediate relevance. It adds to my general knowledge and often helps in work-related situations. Whether it’s a book, an article, or a documentary, I value what it teaches me about the world around us.

LEARNING THROUGH FICTION

Fictional stories are often read for relaxation or entertainment. But good fiction can also educate. Though the plot itself might be imaginary, the details through which it unfolds are often grounded in fact.

Take Arthur Hailey, for instance. His novels are among my favourites because he researched extensively before writing. Each of his books is set in a different industry. For example, cars, tourism, finance, media, medicine, and so on. His stories are not only entertaining but also informative, giving readers insights into how different industries operate.

This is what makes storytelling so powerful: even when the theme or plot is fictional, it illuminates the real world.

STORYTELLING: THE COMMON THREAD

Whether fiction or non-fiction, storytelling lies at the heart of it. After all, both forms narrate something that has happened, or could have happened.

That’s why news reports are also called “stories” in journalistic parlance, though they are based on real-life events. Storytelling, in any form, aims to inform, educate, and / or entertain.

Image source: Pixabay

WHAT MAKES ME PICK A BOOK

If I am familiar with the work of a particular author, that makes choosing the book easier. But if it’s the first book, then I tend to be a bit sceptical.

For me, the plot or the theme should be appealing, something that I can relate to. Even if the plot is unreal, really far removed from reality, I should still be able to connect with it at some level. 

However, what matters to me the most is the clarity of narration. Even if the plot is really good, if I am not able to understand the way the story is told, I tend to lose interest. In a crime thriller, for example, one might not even understand what is happening, but if the language is clear and impactful, that’s enough to keep me turning the pages.

THERE IS NO TEMPLATE

Creative works don’t have a template. It’s very difficult to establish why a book or a movie has been liked by a lot of people. It’s difficult to define “a good plot or a good theme”. It’s a lot about emotions, how one relates to the central piece of work. Each person has their own preferences and inclinations.

It would be nice to know what your reading preferences are.

(This post is part of Blogchatter's Blogchatter Blog Hop)

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Caste: The Lies That Divide Us by Isabel Wilkerson

Though India has made commendable progress in various fields, we are still not free from the shackles of over 3,000 castes and more than 25,000 sub-castes.

True, it's a legacy of the past. But sadly, modern-day education, knowledge, awareness, affluence, etc., have hardly been able to rid the society of caste-based prejudices.  

The fact that caste is a major factor in all elections has only ensured that it stays in public discourses.

In this well-researched book, award-winning American journalist Isabel Wilkerson delves deep into both caste as well as race. 

She narrates many real-life stories to describe the dehumanising impact of stigmatisation, and how the system has got perpetuated by the power vested in the dominant groups.

In India, there are also cases wherein because of their beliefs like "reincarnation" and "life after death", some people, who are victims of subjugation, quietly accept their fate, as the inevitable consequences of the "bad deeds" in their "previous life".  

Why this book needs to be read is because the historical knowledge of this system will help us leave it in the past, and dismantle it from the present.

Goodreads list of books read

Post-book blues

The other day I found my friend a bit lost and sort of disoriented. He looked ponderous, and his gaze seemed to be fixed at some faraway object.

I asked him, "What happened? All okay?"

With a smile that conveyed that all is well, he said, "I just finished reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins."

I too have read that psychological thriller by the popular British author, who is one of my favourite writers. 

I quickly realised that my friend was going through what's called post-book blues also called book hangover. 

It's a strange feeling that we get when we have completed reading a book, or nowadays after listening to an audiobook.

When I am immersed in a book for many days (I am a slow reader), I get virtually transported to a different world, in the midst of the characters of the story. The book becomes a lot more engaging and unputdownable towards the end.

Finally, when the last page and the back cover have been turned, there is this inevitable feeling of emptiness and loss, that combines with thoughts of various characters and scenes in the book.

It's all the more intense if the book has gripping plots and subplots that wind through many twists and turns.

If the end is tragic, I get a lump in my throat and my eyes well up.

Of course, it's a temporary phase that passes when I get drawn into my daily routine.

There is a similar feeling that comes over after I watch a movie too. It's much more in a movie theatre than at home in front of a television.  

However, there is a difference - films are at the most three hours long, but the association with a book is much longer.

How about you? Do you feel depressed after reading a book, or watching a film?

(Image by Kranich17 from Pixabay)

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

What wasn't intended happens, and that leads the life of an ambitious journalist, Ellis Reed, on a totally unexpected track.

The setting of this historical novel is the post-depression US of 1931. 

Ellis had taken a picture of two children standing beside a signboard that read "Children for Sale". He took the photo because what he saw triggered memories of his own dark past.

The photo reaches his boss who finds the picture newsy because it was symbolic of post-depression life in the US. He wants Ellis to do a story. 

There is a hitch though. (I won't reveal that.) But Ellis finally manages to write the story, which moves the conscience of everyone who read it. Ellis's career takes off in a spectacular fashion. 

But just the opposite happens to the two children whose photo appeared along with Ellis's article. 

Overcome by guilt, he launches himself on a quest to find the two children. 

Along with him is Lillian Palmer, the editor's secretary, who is also looking to become a journalist. An unwed mother, she can relate to the predicament of the two children, and also to the plight of Ellis.

The novel is all about the efforts that Ellis and Lillian undertake to find these children. 

It's also about the life during those days; lives of children who are with a mom who can't support them versus children, who are separated from mothers, living with rich families.

Author Kristina McMorris was prompted to write this story after seeing an actual signboard of children up for sale.

I liked the way Kristina has weaved the plots in the novel and the poignant manner in which she has been able to bring out the emotions that tug at the hearts of people who are struggling to simply live.

Since the main protagonist is a journalist, there are a lot of historical newsroom scenes in the novel, which I found quite interesting.

At times, the narrative is a bit long-drawn-out, but I really liked the book.

Back in British Council Library

The books and magazines borrowed from the British Library, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, have been a constant companion ever since my father got me a membership there, after my tenth grade.

Image courtesy: Pixabay

As I moved to cities like Bhopal, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad and then Bangalore, where I am now, I transferred the membership.

Meanwhile, in 2008, the library in Thiruvananthapuram and many other cities shut down following a paucity of funds. There were some hopes that the one in Kerala would be revived. But the efforts didn't fructify.

BRITISH LIBRARY, BANGALORE

My father and I regularly used to visit the library here to sit and read for some time as well as borrow books. When it became difficult for my father to travel owing to old age, I alone went and borrowed books. 

Then, gradually -- around 10 years ago -- my visits too stopped for various reasons. One, time constraints owing to the heavy load of office work. 

Two, the range of books in the library began to dwindle as the centre focused more on students aiming to appear for various English language examinations like IELTS (International English Language Testing System). A good IELTS score is mandatory to take up courses in countries like Britain, Australia, New Zealand etc.

And thereby my membership expired.  

DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP

Recently, while scrolling through my Facebook timeline, I saw an advertisement of the British Council Library's digital membership. 

In no time I landed on this page and without any second thoughts I signed up for a membership. Annual fee: Rs 1,800.

I immediately received an email acknowledging the receipt of payment. It was followed by another mail mentioning my membership/card number and a link that took me to the library website.

In August of last year, British Council Library in 16 countries including India tied up with MyLOFT, a digital library platform.  

The email had also mentioned that I would soon receive an email from MyLOFT with instructions on setting up my digital library. Owing to some technical issues, I didn't get the email even after waiting for a few days. 

LIBBY

Quite impatient, I searched the British Council website to see how I can borrow books and magazines. It took me to the website of Overdrive, a Cleveland, Ohio-based company that distributes digital magazines, books and movies. 

One can access the Overdrive resources using a library card membership. I searched for "British Council", chose India, and it took me to the library website, where I entered my credentials.

However, to borrow and read books one has to either download the Libby app or go to the Libby website. It was done without any problems. 

And there I was back in the British Library. I felt so good browsing books and magazines. I couldn't find newspapers though. That's okay.

Strangely, I can keep a magazine for 21 days, but I can keep a book only for 7 days. Normally, I won't be able to finish a book that fast. I am not sure how many times I can extend the due date. I have to figure that out.

Currently, I am reading a historical novel Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris. It's set in the early 1930s in depression-hit America, and one of the main characters is Ellis Reed, a newspaper journalist-photographer.

There are lots of good magazines - Time, Newsweek, Guardian Weekly, Readers Digest (various continent-specific editions), New Scientist, India Today etc. 

MYLOFT

A few days later, after reaching out to the library's customer service, I got a mail from MyLOFT. The digital library setting up process was a bit long-winded but managed to do it. 

The app is a bit more complicated than Libby, probably because it has access to a lot more resources of the library than Libby, because of the direct partnership both have. Unlike on Libby, here I can access IELTS material, research journals, watch movies etc as well. 

MyLOFT takes me to Press Reader where I can access thousands of newspapers from around the world. That was amazing! However, I am unable to access the Press Reader app via the British Library membership credentials. Reading the papers on the web wasn't a smooth experience.

So far so good. Unlike earlier, when I used to visit the library once or twice a month, now I am in the library even multiple times a day!

E for e-books - My favourite things to counter COVID-19 stress

(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. I am writing this month on activities that keep me refreshed during these depressing days. It's Day 5 today.)

Books are a great companion, always. It transports me to a different realm. Unlike movies, books leave a lot to our imagination, making our creative cells work a bit. I am not a fast reader, and rarely I get a long stretch of time to read a book. Mostly it's short spells of 20 or 30 minutes.

Ever since Kindle came, I have been reading a lot of e-books. I find it quite handy, comfortable, and easy to read. So many advantages: you can adjust the font shape and size, change the background, adjust brightness, check meanings of words, and make notes, which are later searchable. Since I can have the Kindle on my phone too as an app, I don't have to carry either the Kindle or the book along with me.

Additionally, the annual Kindle Unlimited subscription gives me access to a huge collection of books.

I tend to read more of non-fiction, generally biographies and travelogues.

Some of the non-fiction books I have read are:

India Shastra: Reflections on the Nation in Our Time, by Shashi Tharoor,

Federer by Chris Bowers,

Tuesdays with Morrie by Albom Mitch,

Barack Obama: Life Lessons by Michael Winicott,

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama,

This Unquiet Land: Stories from India's Fault Lines, by Barkha Dutt,

Across the Chicken Neck: Travels in Northeast India by Nandita Haksar.

Some of the other authors I have enjoyed reading are Arther Hailey, A J Cronin, John Grisham, Dan Brown, R K Narayan, Preeti Shenoy, Chethan Bhagat, Anitha Nair, Shashi Deshpande, etc.

I am currently reading A Hundred Little Flames by Preeti Shenoy. This is her fourth book I am reading. The other three are The Rule Breakers, Life is What You Make It and The One You Can't Have.

I am on Goodreads where you can find some of the books I have read.

Review -- Irish Shorts: Nora's Escape and other true stories of love, loss and resistance

This is a small book of six lovely real-life short stories. The author, Maria Hall, grew up in Ireland and now lives in New Zealand.

The stories -- about Agnes, Nora and Patricia, three generations of Irish women in the family of Maria Hall -- have historical references as well as a strong Irish Catholic underpinning.

The stories have no complex plots and subplots; but they are so full of life, weaving the disparate emotions centred around everyday joys and tribulations. This is the first book of this kind I have read. The story I liked the most was The Intruder.

My rating on Goodreads: 4 of 5 stars

Book Review: Farewell: The Greatest Spy Story of the Twentieth Century

Over the past two years at least, ever since we had the American presidential elections, we have been continually hearing about the Russians' covert activities. How far it is true or false is still being investigated, and we may not know that for sure for some time.

In this context, when I was surfing Amazon for a book to read, I stumbled on this; and the title stopped me in my tracks. I read the blurb, and in no time I bought the book.

This book by Sergei Kostin and Eric Raynaud is the English translation of their Adieu Farewell. It's been translated by Catherine Cauvin-Higgins.

The story truly justifies the title. A tale of a man's academic brilliance, excellence in undercover operations, alcohol, women and passionate love. His name: Vladimir Vetrov.

The book is about his life, how he joined the KGB, the then Soviet secret service, how he got frustrated and disillusioned with his country's ideology under Leonid Brezhnev, and how he betrayed his nation by leaking to France all the scientific and technical details his country had gathered about NATO.

His code name was Farewell, and all the information he leaked was called the Farewell Dossier. In 1981, when France elected a socialist Francois Mitterrand as President. It raised the hackles of the West, especially the US and its President Ronald Reagan. But all that vanished when Mitterrand passed on to Reagan the Farewell Dossier.

The dossier contained lots of information regarding who were spying for the USSR and where. Based on it many diplomats were expelled, leading to rising tensions between the NATO and the USSR.

It is said that Vetrov's actions and the steps that the NATO took against the USSR, effectively put an end to the scientific and technological research that the USSR was undertaking, and that in turn led to the weakening of Soviet political establishment giving Reagan the edge in bringing the Iron Curtain down.

The book is also about Vetrov as a person: his personality, his strengths and weaknesses. His personal life is a parallel plot in the book: alcoholism, marriage, son and love affairs. Though the Soviets lost the spy plot to Vetrov, he too lost out in the process.

The book is very well researched, contains lots of information about Vetrov's life, his work, the Soviet system etc. But it is not a very fast-paced book. There are too many details, and too much of analyses, that might put off readers who are looking for an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Farewell: The Greatest Spy Story of the Twentieth Century by Sergei Kostin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

Right from the moment Donald Trump threw his hat into the presidential contest ring, I have been following updates about him. So, when I got to know about this book, I naturally wanted to read it.

Unlike other books, the problem with this one was that, the most explosive or sensational points had already become headlines in major global news platforms, even before the book became available for purchase. So, when I bought the book and read it, it didn't have the sort of impact it should actually have had.

Almost all persons connected to the Trump administration figure in this book. It is all about how he dealt with them, how they dealt with him, what they did, what they didn't do, how he hired them, how he fired them, what they thought about the President etc. And, Michael Wolff adds his own interpretations to all of that.

If you have been following news headlines related to Trump, a lot of pages of this book will just evoke a feeling of deja vu. You would get a little more of insights into those controversies, their contexts, and implications.

There are references to Trump as a person, and his habits as well. Apparently, he reprimanded the housekeeping staff for picking up his shirt from the floor. And he said, “If my shirt is on the floor, it’s because I want it on the floor.”

Wolff writes about Trump, "Personal dignity — that is, apparent uprightness and respectability — is one of his fixations. He is uncomfortable when the men around him are not wearing suit and ties."

After a point, the book becomes boring and predictable, with lots of details of intrigues, deals and strategies. As I reached the end of the book, I was wondering if Trump doesn't have any pleasant side to him at all. I don't know if he doesn't really have; or the author hasn't been able to get that out, or he didn't want to highlight that in the book.

If Trump is a person who has no quality worth writing home about, then how did he reach the position he is in now?

View my list of books on Goodreads

Print -- is it dying or is it dead?

A question I am asked often, especially by students of mass communication is: "Is print dying? Or is it dead?"

My answer: "It might be dying. But it's not dead. I don't think it will die."

Yes, especially in the United States, many publications have closed down. For many newspapers, like the NYT, their digital subscription has been growing. But the print medium will be there, surely at least in the foreseeable future. Only that the number of physical newspapers, magazines and books might come down.

The printed document, all said and done, has its own impact on the reader. When we see a headline across up to around 15 inches of a newspaper, it has its own impact on us, compared to a similar headline across around less than half of that on a laptop, or still smaller on a mobile phone. Headlines on newspapers also signal to us the relative importance of news items, which is very difficult to achieve on a mobile phone.

Newspapers, magazines and books are unique in the sense that they have just printed words and photos on them, and nothing else, like a mobile phone are a computer.

A comment I keep hearing is: "Children don't read newspapers or books, nowadays. They are all watching videos or movies, and listening to music."

My reply: "True there is more of photos, memes, GIF and videos. But it's not that kids aren't reading anything. They are reading "newspapers" but it's online, mostly on their mobile phones.

Also, look at the crowds at some of the book stores, no one will ever say that people have stopped reading actual books. And it's mostly youngsters who are reading these books.

Where digital scores is in storage, portability, and easy retrieval of data. So, it will be too far-fetched to say that print will vanish all together.

(This post is a part of the "Blogging from A to Z Challenge April 2018.")

Book review: Rain Stops Play by Brian Johnston

I was introduced to this book many, many years ago by my English teacher in Sainik School, Mr Prem C Nair, who himself was a cricketer. He taught us not only prepositions and compound sentences, but he also spoke a lot of interesting anecdotes about the game, and the rich association between cricket and English language. That's how I got to know about authors like Neville Cardus, E W Swanton and John Arlott.

He also introduced us to the great Test Match Special programme on BBC. During my school days, I used to regularly listen to the TMS commentary; and gradually got hooked to the colourful, engaging and often hilarious descriptions about the match and the game in general, by commentators like Brian Johnston, Henry Blofeld, Don Mosey, and Christopher Martin-Jenkins.

Usually, when a match is interrupted by rain, commentators return listeners to the studio, where they play some music till the match resumes. But in the case of TMS, they never went back to the studio; instead they engaged in banter among themselves, and in conversations with listeners who called in.

This book is all about what used to happen in the BBC commentator's box with rain stopped play.

I read this book first in early 1980s, borrowing it from the British Library, Thiruvananthapuram. Recently, a conversation with a friend about TMS, rekindled in me a desire to re-read the book, and I ordered it on Amazon. It was a used book, but in very good condition.

It's an easy read book of 83 pages, full of anecdotes, categorized under various sections like In the Box, Jokes in the Rain, Batting, Bowling, Fielding, Umpires etc.

There are plenty of jokes that the commentators played on each other. Then there are those gaffes on air. One of them: "Rex (Alston) is reputed to have said: Over now to Old John Arlott at Trafford." And when there is one when an aghast listener called in on hearing that the batsman had been dropped when he was two. The commentators also tricked their colleagues into getting onto air, while the latter was least prepared to get on air; and all others having a good laugh.

It's worth a read, if you are interested in cricket and you can appreciate typical British humour.

Rain Stops Play by Brian Johnston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Book review: Shadows of the Past by Jeena R. Papaadi

There are different reasons why you pick a particular book to read. I selected this one because of the theme that ties different short stories together: coincidences.

The introduction says: ... Sometimes these coincidences stop us on our tracks and make us wonder, “Was that really just a coincidence – or did the hand of Destiny strike ever so gently?” We call them ‘eerie’ or ‘uncanny’, or ‘a miracle’ or ‘a stroke of luck’ or ‘fate’.

In my personal life too, I have had many experiences which have led me to think: was that a coincidence or was some force at work?

The author, Jeena, has weaved together a good number of incidents, and each of the stories has an interesting twist. Though in a couple of stories the narration drags a bit, the author has been able to hold the plot well, and keep me engrossed, awaiting the twist. The language is very simple, the book is small and easy to read.

Jeena says, "Shadows of the Past” takes you to the crossroads where coincidence meets luck, miracle meets destiny, on the thin line between the strange and the eerie. Maybe those incidents are indeed mere coincidences, and there is nothing inexplicable about them. I leave you to judge.

I wouldn't delve into the stories, lest I be a spoilsport!

Book Review - One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat

​Generally, you get to hear people saying they don't like Chetan Bhagat's books but I didn't find any reason why I should dislike his latest book One Indian Girl. This is one typical Chetan Bhagat book, with a simple story line, easy to read. Period.

One comment I have heard is that the protagonist, Radhika, stereotypes Indian women. She is just one Indian girl and there are many such young women in this vast country, and Chetan Bhagat has chosen to write about one such woman.

Another comment that I have heard is that she exemplifies the new Indian feminist. That's a term I am not comfortable with simply because I haven't really understood what that means, in spite of the best of my efforts.

Instead, I would say Radhika is typical of the new generation young Indian woman in a big city who has benefited from the comforts and advantages of these modern times to be independent, confident, devoid of inhibitions, determined and persevering to realise her goals in life.

The story is not just about Radhika as a successful banker, but also about Radhika as a woman.

Be it for a man or a woman, the pulls of the mind and the heart can be in the same direction or in different directions. When it is the latter, there is conflict, and life becomes complicated. Radhika summons the strength of her mind to settle a serious dilemma staring at her.

This is the first book where Chetan Bhagat writes as a woman. He said at the Bengaluru Lit Fest that he wasn't confident, and ended up showing the script to about 20 women before publication, and went on to incorporate some of their suggestions. At the end of it all, I don't think it is a bad job at all.

One Indian Girl by Chetan Bhagat
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Book Review: The Madras Affair by Sundari Venkatraman

It was the catchy title of this book that made me check it out on Kindle Unlimited.

But, even before getting over 25% of the book, I was impressed by a very unlikely aspect of it: there were no typos or grammatical errors. I have spotted many mistakes in e-books even by well-known authors, and I wondered if the physical books too had them, or these errors were there only in the e-version, due to some technical issues. Kudos to the publishers, Readomania!

The book made very easy and good reading. The theme is a socially relevant one. Urban or rural, there are many families that give traditional customs precedence over individual comforts and happiness. "What will people say ... " often determines decisions. This book deals with it at different stages.

The story revolves around the life of Sangita. How much ever we are advanced in terms of money, education or technology, there are many 'Sangitas' around. They are trapped by the diktats of family elders who take false pride in adhering to some age-old customs, at the cost of the happiness and well-being of their own daughters or sisters. Some remain trapped for their entire lives; some manage to escape. The author has done well to not only focus on the life of a Sangita, but also give a positive spin to her story, and debunk a few myths.

The plot is well-structured and the story line generally flows well, though I thought at a few places the author could have detailed the scene a bit more, for emphasis. I shall refrain from mentioning those, lest it will be a spoiler.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Trump dream of mending a broken America

If you have been following Donald Trump's campaign speeches, you wouldn't find anything extraordinarily new in this book. However, the book elaborates on some of the pet themes of this realty mogul and reality star.

Trump's premise is that America resembles a Third World country. Everything is broken. But not beyond repair. And he alone can fix it.

His arguments are superficial; and often unidirectional. On the face of it, some of the things he talks about seem to make sense, but when you are talking of a huge, multicultural nation like the US, its Presidential aspirant can't have blinkers. He needs to have a holistic and a macro view of different aspects of the nation.

Somewhere towards the latter half of the book I began getting the feeling that he has just one solution: create more and more business opportunities for people. So create more and more hotels, resorts, malls etc etc. even if heritage structures or whatever have to be broken down.

That way, he will bring in more jobs, and prosperity. His route to fixing America is only via more and more dollars. Not surprising, because, he is basically a businessman. And, I doubt if he has any interest in or understanding of any other facet of a multicultural society.

At the same time, he says somewhere in the book, that getting rich is no guarantee to becoming happy. He talks of American values, which are not elaborated. And, there is somewhere a disconnect.

The book is more about his dreams, of mending a broken country. But the full, long road map isn't there. Just elect him as the next President of the US. That's all. Leave the rest to him.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars 

Book Review: Beyond Love Lines: Do You Know Jeevan Who Loved Nancy? by Krish

The disclaimer is that author, Krishna Raj, is my schoolmate. Last month, we had an alumni meet, and during the event, he got a few copies; and all of them were sold out among the alumni.

The book revolves around the life of Jeevan, who had a crush on his neighbour and childhood friend Nancy. But he reads too much into every action her or absence of it, and mistakes them as love. There are many other characters too who come into the story.

Half way into the book, I realised how apt the title of the book is. The story is not actually about the love/ infatuation of Jeevan and Nancy. It is all about the militant uprisings in Kashmir and how Jeevan as an officer in the Indian Army deals with it. The entire relationship issues of Jeevan and others are narrated as flashback.

The author has done well weave the plot and many subplots, the present and the past, without confusing the reader too much. Probably, at a few places, the flashback portion could have been separated with asterisks, as has been done in a few other places.

The story also juxtaposes the ironic difficulty of Jeevan to deal with emotional turmoils with the life-threatening situations in the valley to which he squares so boldly and effortlessly. The novel is truly all about love lines and what lies beyond them.

I found the initial portions a bit slow and lumbering. The narrative is a very easy one, without heavy literary expressions or syntax. A good start for Krishna with his first book.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Review - 101 Amazing US Presidential Facts

This is the Presidential election season in the United States, and that's one reason I picked up this small book of trivia. Good fun reading lots of interesting things about all the US Presidents, right from George Washington to Barack Obama. This can be a good resource for people who are interested in quizzing. It talks of:

• The first President to actually live in the White House.
• Presidents who have died on Independence Day.
• The President who died within one month of being sworn in.
• The first President to wear a blue jeans to the Oval Office
• The President who got a speeding ticket because he drove the horse too fast
• The first President to use a telephone in the White House
• The first President to ride in an automobile. But more interesting is what was special about that journey
• The President who is related to 11 other presidents by blood or by marriage
• The first President to run a full marathon.
• The President who gets hair cut every week

And so and so forth...

101 Amazing Presidential Facts: Fun trivia about every American President from Washington to Obama! by Children's History Press
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Book Review - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I received an Amazon gift coupon for Rs 200 recently, and I began looking for a book to buy. I zeroed in on 'Between the World and Me' by Ta-Nehisi Coates for a few reasons.

One, the book deals with a subject (race) that is at the heart of contemporary social fabric of the US. We wish the country has moved on, but regularly we get to hear of issues and events that only point to the contrary.

Two, the author is a well-known journalist. He works for The Atlantic.

Three, this book, his second, is a very recent one, and the news of its publication is fresh in memory.

The book is in the form of a letter to his 14-year old son, about what it means to be black in the US. Apparently, the book came about after Coates asked his editor why no one wrote like James Baldwin (whose The Fire Next Time, is in the form of a letter), and the editor told him to give it a try.

Drawing a lot from his childhood in Baltimore and many other personal experiences, Coates brilliantly paints a haunting picture of violence. References to brutality are powerful enough to linger in our minds for long. He constantly refers to the body that is always under the threat of being harmed, his feelings of being in a country that has been built by whites with the labour of blacks.

I haven't been in the US long enough to know first hand how race relations play out in everyday lives. I have heard both versions: one, that the country has moved far, far ahead from where it was once; and two, there is still lot of racial ill-will among the whites for the Afro-Americans. Segregation may not legally exist, but in reality it does still, if not so much on the ground, definitely in the mind.

The book paints a very pessimistic picture: almost tells you there is just no hope of anything getting better. I got a feeling that he was going on and on. The bleak tenor was off-putting. One shouldn't be taking so much pains to explain and convince why something will not improve; it should be for the contrary, why there is still reason for hope.

Nevertheless, Coates's autobiographical accounts and his arguments on why he doesn't see much hope, is a good read, giving us a frame of reference to understand the complex topic of race relations in the US.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Book Review: Life is What You Make It by Preeti Shenoy

This is the second book of Preeti Shenoy that I am reading. The first was "The One You Cannot Have". One of my friends suggested that I must read Life is What You Make It.

I am glad I read it.

It's a work of fiction, but it's very real. (Maybe because, as the author herself says, "... it's based on some real-life experiences".)

Ankita, the central character, could be any one of us. Many things that happen in her personal life -- as she moves from an undergraduate course in Kerala to a very coveted Management course in a Mumbai institute -- can happen to anyone of us, albeit in different forms, proportions and intensities.

The book tells us that successes and failures are ephemeral. It's the way we deal with them that finally matters. As the title aptly says: life is what you make it.

The book is inspirational: it is about a fight, not with people but with emotions, with intangible elements, difficult-to-understand perceptions and feelings. Physical scars and injuries are visible; but the hurt that is caused to one's emotions and mind are difficult to understand: not just for others but for the person who is suffering too.

Preeti has a very simple writing style. The story-telling form of narrative makes her work easy to read. The little twists and surprises keep the reader engrossed even while she delves deep into commonplace thought processes, simple as they may seem but could have very defining repercussions.

I won't introduce spoilers here. Pick up the book and read.

Life is What You Make It by Preeti Shenoy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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