Book review of MICE IN MEN

An unabashed fan of the short story format, I like nothing better than a good collection of short stories. When I started reading Mice in Men by Anirban Bose, I was expecting a good book. But I was pleasantly surprised as it turned out to be a great book. The stories are fresh, innovative and insightful. Anirban writes well with a rare command over the language and a flair for the written word. The language and flow is far superior to his debut novel, Bombay rains, Bombay girls.  What lifts this collection far above average is the warm feeling that these stories leave in your heart.

The fist story of the collection, A new job, is an excellent study of human nature with a twist in the end.

The magic of medicine, a tale of a doctor struggling with a challenging case, touches the heart. Being a doctor, I identified strongly with the storyline and the situation.

Mice in men, the story of a ordinary non-descript person discovering the hero within, is probably the weakest story of the collection.

Neologisms, the story of a man rising above the circumstances of his birth, finding great success, yet faltering at a critical juncture is profound.

The ballonwala is reminiscent of The Gift of Magi.

The temptation of fate, again the story of a non entity finding the hero within, is well written.

Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological thriller, is the pick of the lot. It can easily hold its own against international writing anywhere in the world.

The right way to eat a mango is very sentimental.

The faithfulness of traits, a study of human ego and weakness, weaves a spell.

The last story, The world’s greatest oiban, leaves you feeling nice and warm.

I will rate the book at 8/10 and suggest that it is a must read for short story fans.

All and nothing- Book review

All and nothing by Raksha Bharadiya is a book that stands out in this crowd of new age Indian English Fiction! I picked it up form the Crossword store of Benguluru airport and finished it while waiting for my train at New Delhi railway station some four hours later. Now if a book can be finished in one continuous read, that does say something positive about its readability.

The central theme of the book is about life and relationships that define the existence of most of us. The story revolves round Tina, who falls in love with Aditya, a man yet to come to terms with his failed relationship with Antara. After years of matrimony, two kids and a bout of alcoholism, Tina sees Aditya going back to Antara. Emotionally shattered and alone, she tries to come to terms with her life as well as try to make sense of the lives of few of her friends. Then we have Manas, a kindred soul and his mercurial relationship with Gayatri.  There is Kriya, born to a celebrity father and struggling to hide her mediocrity by covering it with a veneer of success.  Poorvi, born with the proverbial silver spoon, has her own problems in life, mostly to do with her inability to produce a male heir for her family.  Upasna is a victim of recurrent domestic violence. You will have to read the book to find out whether they are able to come to terms with the vexing questions that plague their lives or not?

Raksha weaves this story of urban angst, relationships and contemporary life with a lot of skill and maturity. Her language is simple, yet elegant. The characters are well etched, the situations real and plausible, and at the same time she manages to ask uncomfortable questions about the male dominance in our society without getting too preachy.

As for weaknesses, there aren’t too many, but I think the liberal use of vernacular (Bangla, in this case) could have been avoided. The cover could have been a brighter colour than the deep melancholy blue but these are minor issues.  

Priced at a reasonable Rs.95.00 and published by Rupa, the book is strongly recommended for every booklover. I would rate it at 3.5/5. 

Book review- Chanakya's Chant

Chanakya’s Chant is a nice thick book. When you get so much of reading for the modest price 195.00, it is generally a god deal for the booklover. So did it come up to my expectations? I believe it did. Ashwin Sanghi manages to hold the readers interest throughout the 448 page novel and that is no mean feat.

Chanakya’s  Chant is a book that tells us two stories simultaneously. It is the story of Vishnu Dutt, the original political thinker this country has produced, better known as Chanakya or Kautilya to the historians. The novel goes back to the distant past (around 300 BC) and tells us the story of Chanakya’s epic lifetime struggle to put his protégé Chandragupta Maurya on the throne of Magadha and unite the entire country under his rule.

At the same time a parallel track of the novel tells us the story of Gangasagar Mishra, a modern day Chanakya, who schemes and plots his way through the murky passages of Indian politics to install his nominee, Chandni Gupta (the resemblance to Chandragupta is no coincidence, I believe) on the highest seat the country has to offer.The pace is fast and the interest does not flag despite the fact that the end is a forgone conclusion. Ashwin must have undertaken extensive research to produce this tale of political intrigue, deception, maneuvering, doublespeak and downright trickery as seen through the ages.  I enjoyed reading the book but it did leave me a bit dissatisfied. Reason? While the Chanakya story holds interest and offers us glimpse into the distant past, the story of Pandit Gangasagar Misra is a bit jaded and obvious. The situations and the twists are somewhat predictable and give you the feeling of having seen it all somewhere before. The liberal use of cuss words by the historical characters seems odd (to say the least) Now I wonder if the ancients (including the venerable Chanakya) were as free with profanities as the modern day Indians.

These little irritants apart, the book is indeed value for money and will be welcomed by fans of Indian English writing. I would rate the book as 3/5.

Review of Down the Road- Gray Oak Publishers

first thing I did after finishing ‘Urban shots’ by Gray Oak was to order their next anthology ‘Down the Road’. It is a collection of school/college centric stories designed to evoke déjà vu in the youngsters and nostalgia in the not so young. (I prefer calling myself young at heart, slightly older in other places, but that is beside the point)

The book is packaged cleverly and has been promoted smartly. But is it as good as Urban Shots. Not to me at least( but it is almost there). The stories vary in content and quality. Some of them are extremely good.  Sorroricide by Paritosh Uttam ( I am fast turning into a fan, Paritosh) unleashes  powerful and moving emotions; The music room by Tra Trivedi packs a punch; Dimples and cute smiles ( Ranjani Iyer), Well placed ( Ahmed Faiyaz) and the The worm that turned ( Malathi Jaikumar) invoke humor without even trying too hard; Just a moment (Nikhil Rajagopalan) ,Learning and unlearning ( Rohini Kejarival) and Strangers in strange places( Abhijit Bhaduri) succeed in unlocking a strong sense of nostalgia; while Loves me, loves me not ( Vibhi Batra) is plain chilling. The rest of the stories run the entire gamut from good to indifferent/juvenile, but there is enough punch to keep the reader occupied.The pick of the authors? Kunal Dhabalia for An accidental start. But I don't understand why was Between friends ( Paritosh Uttam) repeated. It was featured in Urban Shots just a few months back.

I think Gray Oak is doing a yeoman’s service to the cause of English writing in India by leading a revival of the short story and this book is recommended for all lovers of short stories. My rating 3/5.

Book review- Urban Shots

I started the book with a lot of expectations because of two reasons. One, I am inordinately fond of short stories and two; this book came with high recommendations. I was disappointed initially as the first two stories failed to keep up to my expectations. But things picked up with Liberation ( Malathi Jaikumar), and from Notes of discord ( Paritosh Uttam) onwards the book  proved to be a worthy read.

The book is a compelling read, touching different facets of urban existence. The anthology has five sections sub-titled love, friendship, relationships, angst and longing; each consisting of an eclectic collection of short stories and straddling a gamut of emotions and feelings. What I particularly liked about the collection is that stories talk of situations and characters which are very real life and easily identifiable, sometimes the very ordinariness of the situation making it an extra-ordinary tale.

This is not a book to be read in a hurry. I would describe it as a cup of my favorite Darjeeling tea rather than a cup of Instant coffee. So the best way would be to sip it slowly, savoring every moment. Some stories are worth reading and re-reading. While the best three stories according to me are Serendipity, Stick figures and The biggest problem; the pick of the authors is undoubtedly Paritosh Uttam.

I would rate the debut book of Grey Oak publications as 3.5/5.

If you want to order a copy of the book on-line, click here.

P.S. And if the editors of this book are reading this, please please please drop me an email asking for a contribution, next time you do another collection of short stories. 

Book review- Battle for Bittora.

I have been a reader for most of my life. The recent boom in Indian English writing has made me very happy and I am one of the biggest fans of Indian English writing. It is indeed remarkable that India has produced so many writers who choose English as a medium of expression. But I have always felt, however good Indian writers are, a front where they have lagged behind is humour. Barring an occasional Jug Suraya, no one has really explored this particular genre well enough. When I started reading Battle for Bittora , I was expecting a nice breezy read with maybe a few startling insights into the rough and tumble world of electoral politics, but what took me by surprise was the inherent thread of subtle ( and at times, wicked) humour  running throughout the book.  Maybe the title should have alerted me to the author’s irrepressible sense of humour (Bittora in Hindi means a heap of cow dung). And that is the USP of this wonderful story of childhood friends who find themselves on opposite sides of an election.

Sarojini Pandey (Jinni) a twenty-five year old animator suddenly finds herself the candidate for parliamentary elections, thrust on the center stage by her grandmother, an aging but seasoned politician. Then we find out her opponent in the election is none other than Zain Altaf Khan (Zak), a close friend from her growing up days. The two meet after a long time and sparks fly when they discover that they are still hugely attracted to each other. The story moves forward in the dust and grime of Pavit Pradesh where the two engage in a no holds barred electoral battle as the candidates for Pragati Party (PP) and Indian Janta Party (IJP). (There are no prizes for seeing through the thinly disguised allusions to real political parties in present day India.) The curiosity about the eventual outcome eggs the reader on. Who will win? Jinni or Zak? And will they eventually succumb to the mutual attraction they feel despite being on different side of the great political divide? No, I am not going to spill the beans. You will have to read the book to find out.

And the book is good; in fact, very good. The characters are well etched and the pace nice. Sustaining the reader’s interest through-out in a 423 page narrative is no mean feat. Yes, it has a few weaknesses, the main one being that the author looks at the political process through rose tinted glasses. The truth on the ground is far more crude and cruel. But then, the book it has its strengths as well. I have already told you that I loved the inherent sense of fun and the wicked humour.  I also liked the fact that the book is unabashedly and unapologetically Indian.   It has been written for the Indian reader with no footnotes to explain the Hindi words / Indian perspectives that creep in to (prospective?) foreign readers.  (How many of them read our books anyway?)

I will rate this book as 3.5 /5. If you want to order a copy on line please click here .

The best of Satyajit Ray- published by Penguin

I am writing this review with the express motive of highlighting a relative unknown facet of the versatile genius, Satyajit Ray. Well known as a brilliant movie maker, he was honoured by an Oscar for lifetime achievement and a Bharat Ratna in 1992. But apart from this, he was a brilliant writer who excelled in writing for children. His stories (written originally in Bangla), though primarily written for children, have a huge following in adults, who discovered subtle shades and hidden messages in them. In addition to many short stories about super sleuth Feluda (thirty five) and super scientist Professor Shonku (forty), he wrote some seventy five short stories, mostly about the super-natural and the unexpected.

And this book contains twenty one of those, some translated from original Bangla by the master himself and the rest by Gopa Majumdar. The short stories are a rare blend of humour, intrigue, supernatural, science fiction and the unexpected. In fact, when I hark back to my childhood, when I grew up reading these stories in Bangla, I realize that it was my first taste of the exotic. And some thirty years later, when I read the translated version, I found that their charm has only increased over time.  The stories will take you to a world that has an undying appeal and the twists in each and every story will leave you breathless. Ray’s world has ghosts (both friendly and malignant), aliens in unexpected shapes, carnivorous plants and extinct animals making an appearance in everyday life. There are brilliant descriptions, vivid passages blending with a rare economy of words. The first twenty stories are those which are popularly classified as Ray’s children stories and the last one Pikoo’s Diary was specifically written by Ray for adults. It is perhaps a very fitting end to this extraordinary book. (Incidentally, it was made into a tele-film by Ray in 1981)

The book has been published by Penguin and I will recommend it to each and every booklover. 

Cocktail - short stories by Vikram Karve

First and foremost, three cheers for APK Publishers for publishing a book of short stories. Almost everybody in the publishing industry (from publishers to agents to writers) assure me that short stories do not sell unless from a celebrity pen and are therefore unpublishable.  It is heartening to see that Prashant Karhade of APK does not subscribe to this philosophy.

Now coming to Vikram Karve, a familiar name to those who have been following his blogs on Sulekha.com, this is his first collection of short stories. He writes about today’s urban lifestyle, about love (and lack of it), life, relationships, desires (both fulfilled and unfulfilled), yearning and boredom. His characters are real life and well etched. The twenty seven stories traverse familiar ground, invoking in the reader feelings as diverse as joy, pathos and at times amusement. But there is a problem. After a while, the emotions get repetitive. Most of the heroes are bearded, he-man, master mariner types;  the women are sexy and attractive (usually dressed in tight fitting pink t-shirts tucked into hip hugging jeans) and certain phrases(Drying a divorcee’s tears is one of the most dangerous pastimes known to a man) and situations appear multiple times. That does not mean that the book is not an enjoyable read. I loved some of the stories.Lovedale touched my heart, Parting Gift is both sad and funny, Rendezvous at sunrise is different, A lazy hot afternoon in Mumbai is exquisite, Deccan Queen ingenious, Freedom is honest and Chilled beer is well, chilling. Some stories do not work that well (Every dog has his day is corny,Electrophoresis is plain silly) but none of them can be called bad.

Karve writes well and did surprise me with a few words I had not heard /read before (must get myself a good dictionary, the one in Microsoft Word has serious limitations). Overall, a good attempt and a must read for short story buffs. (My rating 3/5)

To buy the book online, please click here.

It can't be you- Prem Rao ( Book review)

The man was dead….So begins Prem Rao’s debut novel, It can’t be you. And to the writer’s credit, he weaves a tale of murder, intrigue, deceit, bravery, love, lust and other myriad emotions with a lot of skill. The protagonist is murdered in the first line of the book but by no means is his role in the book over. A series of flashbacks tell us the story of Colonel Belliappa, war hero and psychopath rolled into one. We are introduced to his equally complex family which consists of his second wife, the beautiful and seductive Elena; his hot blooded and promiscuous daughter Shefali; his son Preetam, an apparently affable young man who has darker shades to his character and his long deceased first wife Dinaz, who casts a long shadow on his present. The story moves forward and we discover that every surviving family member had a motive and opportunity to kill Colonel Belliappa. Prem has developed this part skillfully and pointed the finger of suspicion at all members of the family, one by one. And this suspense is well maintained till the end. The end is unexpected, as befits a thriller and leaves the reader satisfied.

Talking of other pluses, the cover is intriguing; the language good, the pace nice and the characters well etched. The portions describing Coorg are vividly done. The description of Belliappa’s life in the army and the action sequences are the highlights of the book. Prem Rao shows flashes of brilliance and a lot of promise as a debutant.

Of the negatives, the portions about sex seem to be added as an afterthought, maybe as a concession to market forces. I would have been happier with crisper editing and a font size at least two points larger. Hopefully, these shortcomings will be taken care of in the next edition.

Overall, a good first book by Prem Rao, who has  turned to writing after almost 36 years of professional work as a Talent Management Specialist and an executive coach and I am sure there will be many more from his pen/ laptop/desktop/ whatever.

If you want to buy a copy of the book online please click here.

Book Review- Benaami

Benaami, the debut novel of Anish Sarkar is a significant step forward in many respects.  First, the excellent production quality makes the discerning reader happy. (True, the printers devil has struck in a place or two but then I have yet to see a completely error free novel printed in India.)  Amaryllis, a relatively new entrant in the field of English language publishing, deserves kudos for the high standards of editing and production.

 Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, it stands head and shoulders above the present lot of offerings in the market. A taut and pacy thriller, it moves effortlessly between the past and present as it tells us the compelling story of the past incarnation of Arjun, a software developer, as Kartik, the founder of a secret society named Benaami dedicated to uprooting British rule in India. Arjun is on a quest to solve the conundrum of his recurrent nightmares. Enter the charismatic Prof. Sheila Guha, who provides the support as well as the romantic angle. The story draws its strength from a secret from the past which poses a threat to the present of both Sheila and Arjun. The technique of moving alternately between the past (printed in italics) and the present is used well. Despite the complex storyline, the two stories intermingle well. The link between the past and present is brought out beautifully as the story hurtles along at a breakneck speed towards the explosive climax. The suspense about Brahmasrta, the secret weapon of Benaami is preserved till the end. The characters have been etched well, the pace never slackens and the suspense and intrigue is maintained till the last page. The story, though far fetched is plausible. I do see the plot of a major block buster movie in this novel.

I am sure Anish Sarkar will be a significant name in Indian English fiction in coming years. If you are fond of fast paced thrillers, you will like this one.


Order your copy of the book here.
Tweet

My first interview.

Click here to read my first interview about my début novel The Long Road.

2 States- the latest Chetan Bhagat Novel

I am no die hard fan of Chetan Bhagat. Sure, I have read all his books and have found them entertaining. I have identified with many events of Five Point Someone and recommended his books to many friends. But his books did not have the raw resonance of say, Jhumpa Lahiri. That is before he came out with his latest offering, 2 States, the story of my marriage. This is undoubtedly his best till date. The simple and sweet boy meets girl love story has been presented in a wonderfully innovative and refreshing manner. The cultural and linguistic divide between the two families (yes, the boy is Punjab da puttar while the girl is a Tam bam, no less.) has been brought out in a manner which is humorous as well as poignant. Bhagat manages to put across his point with remarkable candor without being preachy. The best part of the book is that the sense of fun never goes away. Some Tamils and Punjabis may be a bit miffed at the mild dose of sarcasm directed at them but as Bhagat says you only make digs at people you care for. I don’t really know how much of the book is autobiographical but the situations seem real enough. The book is an easy read (which is the USP of all Bhagat works anyway) but the underlying message is not lost. The book is priced at a reasonable Rs.95.00 and I am sure it will be a runaway success like all his other works. My recommendation- Go for it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.