Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer

Check out Good Reads for a review of Cyrus Mistry's Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer.

Why Writers Write According to a 9 Year Old

Guess, I just succumbed to a mommy impulse!!

JLF 2014 Reading List

Am posting a list of books that I want to read, courtesy the Jaipur Literature Festival 2014.  This does not mean that the other books featured at the fest are not worth it, for this list is a personal one featuring titles that interst me.

• A Concise Chinese English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo, a love story between a Chinese student in England and an older man, structured like a dictionary--should be fun!
• A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople: From the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube by Patrick Leigh Fermor, for being hailed as one of the ultimate travelogues.
• Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste, set during the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia it charts the trials of a family.
• Bhima by MT Vasudevan Nair, the Mahabharata from Bhima's point of view.
• Capital by Rana Dasgupta, the latest non-fiction study of Delhi.
• Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry, the 2014 DSC prize-winning novel about Parsi corpse bearers.
• Finding Moonshine: A Mathematician's Journey through Symmetry by Marcus du Sautoy for bringing maths into everyday life and The Number Mysteries for making maths interesting to kids
• Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw for its rave reviews and being nominated for the Man Booker 2013.
• Harvest by Jim Crace as it is highly recommended for its beautiful prose.
• I am Istanbul by Buket Uzuner, for being the only novel by this Turkish writer available on Amazon at the moment.
• Indian Tango by Ananda Devi, a story of forbidden relations. 
• Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? by Michael Sandel, so I can argue knowledgeably about the issue with my lawyer of a husband.
• Magnificent Delusions: US, Pakistan and the Global Jihad by Hussain Haqqani, if I were to read a book on Pakistan this would be it for its honesty.
• Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Alsam, a book reccomended by a number of people for both its evocative language and storyline.
• Much Maligned Monsters by Partha Mitter, for challenging the Western/imperialist interpretation of Indian art, pre-dating Said's Orientalism.
• Pathfinders: The Golden Age of Arabic Science by Jim Al-Khalili for reminding us of the incredible contributions of the Arabic speaking peoples. 
• Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure by Artemis Cooper, 'cause she made it sound like a riveting read.
• Savage Harvest: Stories of Partition by Mohinder Singh Sarna and Navtej Sarna, so that one does not forget.
• Spice by Jack Turner, supposedly an exciting account of the spice trade.
• Story of a Death Foretold by Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, an account of the US involvement in Allende's overthrow.
• Southern India: A Guide to Monument, Sites and Museums by George Michell to prepare me for my travels down South.
• The Body in Indian Art and Thought by Naman Ahuja, because the writer was so articulate on the subject, I just want to read more!
• The Essential Ved Mehta by the writer himself, as I have been told that he writes beautifully.
• The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazereth by Reza Aslam, to see what all the fuss was about.  On a more serious note, what I do want to read is his Tablet and Pen--Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East.  
• The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed, a story the fall of Somalia from the point of view of three women.
• The Remains of Love by Zeruya Shalev, an acclaimed Israeli writer, a story of a family and a state.
• The Second World War by Antony Beevor, the latest magnum opus on WWII
• The Siege by Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott-Clark, a page-turning account of 26/11.
• The Twelfth Imam's a Woman by Fariba Hachtroudi, a 'subversive' Iranian narrative
• This Side That Side curated by Vishwajyoti Ghosh for a collection of comics dealing with Partition.
• We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen, for being voted the best Danish novel in the past 25 years.