Review of Murugan's Current Show by Taarini Andlay

For a review of Current Show by Perumal Murugan  head to Taarini Andlay's Reccos.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

For a review of Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation head over to the Overrated page at the following link:  https://dbookhub.blogspot.com/p/overrated.html

Book reviews, penned but not posted till now!

The perils of multi-tasking is that one thinks one has completed a task but the reality is not quite so.  In my case, it's a situation of having written a number of book reviews and saving them on the laptop, but not getting to post them on this blog as I thought I had.  So, today, am going to put up all those saved reviews and update the book lists accordingly.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Every now and then one comes across a book which serves as a timely reminder of living life in the now.  What sets When Breath Becomes Air apart from a number of these books is Kalanithi's penmanship.  When charting his bitter discovery of cancer and his subsequent battle with it, he exhibits not an ounce of self pity.  Instead, we are offered an account of a life lived with grace and dignity under the most trying of times, written so elegantly.  At the end of the book, I found myself wondering how is it cancer takes away some of our best!
Recommended if you want to be inspired to make the most of your life.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Gosh, what do I say that has not been said before.  A review here seems quite redundant.  What I will say, is that yes, this is a book that must be read.  It is a grim book that horrifies.  And as reviewers have pointed out, the scariest part of the book is that the situation portrayed does not seem unconceivable in today's world as parallels with Trump's America are all too clear.
Recommended to remind one of the need to be vigilant in order to safeguard one's rights.

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
It took me a while to get into this book, perhaps due to the unfamiliar names and locations but then after a bit the narrative really picks up, specially once the monster comes to life.  What I really liked about this book was the way the writer has incorporated people from different economic and religious groups to try and give one a composite picture of Baghdad.  Composite perhaps is the key word when describing this book, for we are presented with a real melange of characters.  The section which really stood out was the description of the different groups of Frankenstein's followers where we are given a commentary on the different types of sects that really exist in Baghdad.  The novel presents a really turbulent picture of the city, so that by the end of the book one gets a sense of the despair that pervades Baghdad with no solution in sight.  However, we are offered a glimmer of hope in the decency that exists in certain people, who do their best to do the right thing even in adverse conditions.
Recommended for an insight into the mess that is Baghdad.

Chinatown Days by Rita Chowdhury
This book stands out not so much for its writing but for what it recounts:  the story of the Chinese in Assam.  This is a story that has eclipsed the mainstream narrative of Indian history.  Interestingly, the Chinese came to Assam as part of the slave trade to escape a bleak existence in China.  They were an industrious group who worked their way up and mingled with the local society becoming a part of the country.  Given that they came in the 19th century, they had no papers with them and never really got around to getting Indian passports leaving them vulnerable to the xenophobia of 1962.  With the Chinese invasion,  all the Indian-Chinese in the North-Eastern states were rounded up and transported to an internment camp making one ask if Nehru was inspired by Hitler. As with Nazi Germany, this was a time when envious neighbours and swayed students (a la the Nazi Youth) seized the hard earned possessions of the Chinese.  With the war, unfortunately, their trials did not end, for many of them were then evicted from India and shipped off to China, where there were never quite accepted and treated shabbily.
Recommended for an account of racism under Nehru's India.

The Power by Naomi Alderman
Dystopian novels are quite the rage and one had thought that there was nothing new left to the genre; but then I picked up The Power and was proved wrong.  For once, instead of having women as the powerless, they are the ones with the power.  Alderman very skilfully presents an alternative history wherein women are wresting control in all arenas of life across the globe.  And as we all know power corrupts and intoxicates; so soon the powerful women start behaving like men.  Unfortunately, in Alderman's vision a world ruled by women is really not much different than one ruled by men.  I guess she too subscribes to the Orwellian revelation that power corrupts and soon the revolutionaries are not much different than those they overthrew.  While a rather bleak premise, I have to say it was quite a change to see men in such a subservient position and I kept thinking…hmmm now you know how it feels!  Through the course of the book, Alderman depicts the various ways in which power can be seized:  spontaneous mob behaviour, murder of the incumbent, unpredictable voters, manipulation of faith and pure brute strength.  The question then is posed that once in power how does one remain in power—and the answer of course is through the manipulation of truth.  What I particularly liked about the way Naomi incorporates historical images such as the Indus Valley Dancing Girl or the prehistoric cave art of France and presents a completely alternative--yet wholly believable--reading of them, which makes one question traditional readings of ancient sources.

Read this book for a 180 degree view of the world as we know it.  

The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn
Please, please, please not another novel with a female protagonist suffering from substance abuse…that aside I do have to admit that this was quite a gripping novel and one is in for quite a revelation at the end.  Of course, if like me you have read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine not everything comes as a surprise
Read this book if you are in a mood for some neighbourhood intrigue

A Man Rising by Sam Wyndham
Set in colonial Calcutta this is the first of a mystery series.  The book attempts to give a balanced perspective of India at the time.  It was a quick and easy read and I quite enjoyed reading about the colonial experience from a novel lens—a non Heat and Dust one!
Read for a mystery series set in Colonial India

Mr and Mrs Jinnah: The Marriage that Shook India by Sheela Reddy
I picked up this book with a lot of anticipation…ah, I thought a juicy, gossipy read about a couple that had fascinated one for a long time.  What a let down the book turned to be, no real gossip, nor a  real explanation for what went wrong in the marriage, just lots of information and conjecture but no real substance about the marriage that shook India. What redeemed the book were all the extras: Vijay Lakshmi Pandit's tryst with a Muslim that even Gandhi frowned about, a glimpse into Sarojini Naidu's hectic political life, the brief mention of the discord between Fatima and Rattie.  The real gem was chapter 16 of her book where she recounted the antagonism between Gandhi and Jinnah from 1915-1920.  What was particularly illuminating for me was to see how Gandhi was quite sneaky and underhand in getting his way such as changing the constitution of the Home Rule league without even consulting Jinnah; even more disturbing was how he allowed mobs to heckle Jinnah at the Congress session of 1920--certainly not the actions of a saint.
Read for slivers of insight of our founding fathers.

Khullam Khulla: Rishi Kapoor Uncensored by Rishi  Kapoor and Meena Iyer
This book transports one back to the Bollywood of yesteryears….reading about the stars, musicians and directors of movies one grew up on made this book a nostalgic read.  The narrative  could have been better organised as there was a fair bit of repetition but that did not stand in the way of one enjoying the book.  There was not much of gossip as such in this book..though Rishi Kapoor did present his version of the famous story of Dimple and the ring.  I would have liked to see some of his acerbic twitter comments here but I guess in a book that is collaboratively written that may not have been quite possible.
Read for an interesting chronicle of Bollywood of the past.

China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
I loved his first book and thoroughly enjoyed this sequel set in mainland China.  Sometimes reading about the jet-setting lives of the super rich can be fun.
Recommended if you want a breezy, entertaining read.

My Father's Garden by Hansda Sowendra Shekhar
I was so excited when I heard that Shekhar's latest book was out, though I was a bit disappointed to see how it was a a rather slender volume.  Despite being only three short stories long, the book had enough meat to keep one thinking long after it had been read.  Clearly Shekhar is a master of his art and has once again provided the reader with a thought provoking volume.   The only criticism that I have is that the the first short story was rather too graphic for my taste in its descriptions of the sexual life of the protagonist.
Read for stories that will stay with you long after the book is over.

Half the Night is Gone by Amitabha Bagchi

For a review of Half the Night is Gone by Amitabha Bagchi please go to the Good Reads page at the following link: https://dbookhub.blogspot.com/p/good-reads.html

While I Was Gone Sometime in 2016

While I Was Gone Sometime in 2016

[I had written this post three years ago, only to have misplaced it on my computer.  Today while cleaning up I realised that I had never got around to posting it, so here goes.]

The problem about multi-tasking when one is not really a multi-tasker is that often something gets neglected, which is why last year for almost six months I was away from this blog.  To make amends I have decided to write about all the books I read during this long hiatus in this single entry, so here goes:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a real page turner and am so glad that S recommended this book.  I was a bit hesitant to dip into it as the title was too reminiscent of Gone Girl and I thought that this book might be very similar in content.  Just as well I put my reservations aside as this novel was a real gripping read.  Like Gone Girl it is a thriller but quite different and perhaps a tauter book that hooks one immediately.

Resistance by Barry Lopez and Letters from A to X by John Berger, both suggested by V, are akin in the questions they pose, in a world both similar and yet different from my reality.  The former is a collection of short stories wherein the protagonist of each has been labeled an enemy of the state and has to go into hiding.  What is so ominous is that to one, these people have done no wrong and yet their lives are at risk.  Letters from A to X is a collection of letters from a woman to her lover, a political prisoner.  One is never told where they live, though the government is a brutal, dictatorial one, persecuting its citizens where even basic commodities are scarce.  What binds these two engrossing books is that each one in its own way questions totalitarian regimes.

The fact that North Korea might just be more of an enigma more than Uncle Joe (Stalin) ever was is reiterated by two books I read during this hiatus.  The first one is a graphic novel  by Guy Delisle chronicling his time in North Korea (Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea).  The glimpses of the dystopian world Delisle alludes to is vividly brought to life by Adam Johnson’s oeuvre of fiction The Orphan Master’s Son.  Johnson’s novel is brilliantly crafted to bring to life the horrors of North Korea, once again proving the relevance of fiction.  The book is divided into two parts.  The first part recounts some crazy events through the course of Jun Do’s life peppered with a lot of dark humour.  Interestingly, a lot of the seemingly crazy events actually happened such as the kidnapping of Japanese citizens by North Korea.  In the second section, the book takes a very grim turn, and even though there are lighter moments, the tale remains a dark one.  By the end of the book, I felt that N.Korea is perhaps worse off than Soviet Russia ever was, for no citizen, however loyal, is safe, the moment you have outlived your usefulness to the state you cease to exist. This book coupled with Doer’s makes me feel that The Pulitzer Prize is much more credible than the Booker, for the Pulitzer Prize Winning books that I have been reading are excellent reads.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG is two books rolled into one.  One trajectory charts the misunderstandings in a family that can unfold into an unintended, senseless tragedy.  The second trajectory is that of a mixed marriage in America and the immigrant experience.  The latter is interesting to note, as the experience of the Chinese immigrants to America was in marked contrast to that of Europeans entering the country at the same time.  While the latter were welcomed on large steamers, the former had to make their way in surreptitiously.  Such discrepancies found themselves translated when the American public is confronted with a Chinese professor and his Caucasian wife, a match that raised more than eyebrows in the America of the 60s.  This book in its quiet unassuming manner actually ends up addressing a lot of issues, from familial ties, to racism, to a woman’s role to teenage rebellion.

The next trio of books, read in succession coincidentally, proved to me how little I know about my own country.  In part, such ignorance is because a lot of narratives have never been allowed into the mainstream North Indian narrative.

The Gurkha’s Daughter by Prajwal Parajuly is a collection about Nepalese living in India.  Parajuly has a lovely way with words, yet his stories fell flat.  Each one of the stories began with great promise but unfortunately their endings did not match up to the openings. It’s a real pity that he was unable to live up to the expectations cast as he has touched on some really interesting issues including how Nepalese settlers in Bhutan were evicted from Bhutan and rendered homeless.

Written in Tears by Arupa Patangia Kalita and translated by Ranjita Biswas is an achingly sensitive portrayal of life in Assam during the insurgency movement.  Each story lives on in the reader’s mind.  By the end, one realises how hard life in Assam was for the common citizen, harassed by both the army and extremists.  A book well worth reading.

The Adivasi Will Not Dance by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar.  I am so, so, so glad that I bought his book.  It’s an absolutely brilliant collection of short stories, each one better than the last.  Apart from shaking one to the core, these stories are so relevant to us Indians, stories that one can relate to as they deal with issues that so prevalent in today’s world.  This collection is a fine testament to the writer’s skills.  I enjoyed this book so much that it has been passed on from friend to friend to cousin to my teenage daughter; each and everyone of whom have been floored by this book. This book is definitely a must read.

The Music Room by William Fiennes is a sensitive account of a family’s life and how they cared for an epileptic child set in the English countryside.

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi is a fascinating account of the writer’s difficulties in teaching western literature in Khomeini’s Iran.  As a last stand, she and a select group of students set up an undercover book club reading books that were frowned upon.  It was interesting to see how reading literature can be an act of political defiance.  At times the book drags a bit, but is still worth the read.

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan is sheer entertainment.  It’s primarily a love story revolving around Chinese jet setters and their crazy lives.  Recommended when you want an easy but fun read.

The Search Warrant by Patrick Modiano fleshes out the few available details of a holocaust victim.  It’s a quick but engrossing read, which drives home the senseless destruction of life by Nazi Germany.

Waiting for Doggo by Mark Mills is breezy read about the add biz with a small role for the dog.  The tiny role for the dog was a bit of a let down as one was expecting to see the dog in the lead role.  That aside it was a cute read.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr reiterates the tragedy of war.  This is another Pulitzer Prize winning book, affirming my stand about the credibility of the award.  With two protagonists we get to see the War from two sides: that of the French and that of the Germans.  This is a tale told from multiple perspectives that allows one to understand that the tags of victim and aggressor cannot be uniformly applied to the French and Germans as there were good and bad on both sides.  Definitely a book worth reading about World War II.

The Pregnant King by Devdutt Patnaik is perhaps his masterpiece.  The book is a fictional account set in the world of Indian mythology peppered with references to the epics.  The key question that is posed is what makes one a mother—is it one's gender or the bonds and caring one has for the child.  Do read for all the thought provoking questions posed.

Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy is a book to be avoided, as it is more a case of how not to write a book.  The novel begins with a lot of promise but then fizzles out as it devolves into a checklist of issues (including allusions to the Mahabharata), rather than focusing on a few and doing them justice.  In terms of the plot and characters there is a lot of ambiguity.  Roy in the book presents a very western picture of an Indian coastal town as an exotic temple town where no local language is spoken, even the songs sung by Johnny are English.  And then if you move past the exotica, nothing seems new in the book be it the Albino monk so reminiscent of the one in The Da Vinci code, or the pigs in the beginning clearly borrowed from Mr Pip, Suraj drowning and then not quite—one has read a countless of times.  At the end of the book, I really wondered what's wrong with the Indian literati circle—why did they gush so much about this book.  Perhaps here in India, it is more who you are, who your friends are and the picture you present rather than the book you write that matters most.

January 2019 Readings

January 2019 Readings

January 2019 saw me make a great start to the year by catching up on my reading, making up for lost time so to speak.  

The first book I read was Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig, my book club's monthly read.  While the writing was not the most gripping, the insight one got into the complexity of Burma's history kept me hooked.  Till now I had no idea that Burma had so many different ethnic groups and that the Burmese were just one of many.  Furthermore, Burma was another victim of the British divide and rule policies.  The British, as has been their tradition, in the end betrayed their loyal supporters so as to have a bulwark against the communist threat posed by China.  Burma too was a victim of the Great Game politics of the West.  This book made me realise how little one knows about the outside world.  Moreover, after learning about Aung San from this book, Aung San Suu Kyi's actions against the Rohingyas does not come as much of a surprise. This book was a fictionalised account of Craig's mother, who was an extremely interesting character.  Unfortunately, I wish the book had focused on her life with the rebel forces, rather than ending there.  The plot of the story was quite engrossing so much so that when the book ended, I wanted to know what exactly happened to all the main characters of the book and was quite frustrated when those details were not really available online. Read for a History of Burma 101.

From Burma I shifted to the Arab Spring in Egypt with Chronicle of a Last Summer, a novel by Yasmine El Rashidi.  This book was structured around three summers in a woman's life in an attempt to chart the impact of Egypt's dictatorship on the both its citizens and its capital—Cairo.  At the end, one was left with a picture of just how stifling life in Egypt is, resulting in a sense of despair and futility.  Read to gain a sense of Egypt's trajectory over the last 30 years.

I then made my way back to India with Mahasweta Devi's short story "Draupadi".  Hmmm, just another tale of Naxalites I thought after the first page.  Clearly, I forgot that here was a master at work and therefore it could not be just another story.  Totally recommended, if you want to read a story about a feisty woman!

Continuing with the theme of epics, I picked up Anand Neelakantan's Vanara. I loved his Asura and therefore could not resist this book, a retelling of episodes from the Ramayana.  Neelakantan certainly did not let me down, for once again his narrative had me hooked.  Sure there were editing mistakes and perhaps the writing was not so fine, but here is a gifted storyteller whose tale just whisks you to another land in another time.  And yes, I must confess I was teary eyed at the end even thought there are no surprises there.  Recommended for an alternative take on Indian mythology.

Home Fire: A Questionable Book

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

I must confess that I have never taken to Kamila's previous works and so I picked up this book with a lot of apprehension, perhaps with a slightly more critical attitude than I might normally have had.  And yes, after an ambivalent start I found myself quite intrigued by the characters, wanting to see how the story would unfurl. I soon found myself agreeing with friends that this was a good book, especially in the way it explored the deadly lure of terrorist organisations and their recruitment processes.  I found myself not wanting to put the book down and finally I reached the end only to discover that…spoiler alert…Ms Shamsie ripped her ending from..hold your breath…Bollywood's "Dil Se".  Then I thought, hmm, I should have seen that coming…after all there was that awkward description of the iconic Chaiyya Chaiyya song ("… a man dancing on top of a train, declaring—in Urdu, with subtitles—that if your head is in the shade of love then surely your feet are in Paradise") clearly an attempt to portray it as a Pakistani song and not the famous Bollywood song that it is (of course, anyone who knows Bollywood would never have mistaken the song for anything else).  Then to make sure that I was not being overtly critical, I showed the end of the movie to my English class, as we were talking about Intellectual Property, followed by a reading of the last page of Home Fire to them. They too were struck by the similarity!

So now I must ask, does Shamsie deserve all the praise and even the Women's Prize for Fiction which she won in 2018, after all is the end not a matter of plagiarism given that there is no credit to the movie anywhere.  Ironic isn't it—for once Bollywood is being ripped off! 

So now I am confused: how do I classify this book?!?!?!?

Maid in India by Tripti Lahiri

For a review of Lahiri's Maid in India please head over to T's Reccos

Jaipur Literature Festival 2019

Last Friday, saw me headed to Jaipur after four years to attend the Lit Fest once again, though this time it was with my daughter and her friends in tow.  

And yes, the festival still continues to offer a smorgasbord of writer discussions to attend and, dare I say it, the organisation of the festival seems to have improved.  Entry into the festival was smooth and trouble free; while the use of cash cards made all purchases at the festival hassle free as change was no longer a problem.  Even lunch was a smooth process, probably in part due to the proliferation of food stalls all across the grounds of Diggi Palace.

Interestingly, the page 3 type attendees seemed to have decreased and their place taken by a younger local crowd.  Nonetheless, weekend afternoons still remained super crowded making navigation quite a feat.  The festival bazaar has expanded to accommodate more stalls, though one can't complain if it helps in ensuring the free entry to the festival.

Well enough of general observations, lets move on to the actual writers and their sessions.  

I kick-started the festival by catching Princess Di's brother's dramatic account of Charles II's escape after the Battle of Worcester.  Charles Spencer made this period of English history seem almost as fun as Henry VIII's!

While on royal escapades, I sat in on master storyteller Simon Sebag Montefiore's sketch of the Romanovs.  He single-handedly kept the Charbagh audience riveted with his gory account of the cursed dynasty, reminding one of the Horrible History series (and that is a compliment!)

The session on Indian Princes vs the Raj had Moin Mir, Stewart Gordon &; Sunil S. Amrith share fascinating stories about Indian Royalty.  Gordon explained how the patronage of Yunani medicine by the Begums of Bhopal was a subtle form of resistance against the British.  Amrith pointed out how the Kaveri water dispute has its origins in the conflict between the Princely State of Mysore and the British.  Moin Mir gave a brief of the Nawab of Surat's fight against the EEIC, whose final face off was in the English Parliament—quite unique I must say!

Sitting in on Sven Beckert's talk based on his book Empire of Cotton:  A Global History, I was privileged to witness the new approach that history writing is taking today, the shift away from nationalistic accounts.  Sven explained that to gain a global perspective of history he went local—looked at cotton—and then located it in a network of global connections.  His book basically charts how cotton was crucial for the unfurling of the Industrial Revolution and interestingly the book opens in Surat.  

What was lovely to see was  Venki Ramakrishnan the Nobel prize winning biologist asking Sven a question at the end of the talk!  It is not often that one sees speakers sitting in the audience.  Perhaps, here is a man who loves to learn and does not consider himself above us mere mortals.  My take-home from Venki's session was an insight into the world of scientific research where competition spurs people on one hand but on the other monopolies make people complacent.  
As a student of history I quite enjoyed the session titled after Richard Evans book In Defence of History.  Here the participants all argued in favour of the relevance of the discipline of history in today's world.  Of course, they might just be biased as all of them have written history books!  During the session, Evans pointed out that history writing is now focusing on cultural, transnational and global themes—evident in the writings of the panel.  He also mentioned that the internet was a threat to historical writing as online writing bypasses the guardians of information and anyone can post anything claiming it to be fact.  Stewart Gordon stated out that history should be taught as a way of knowing, wherein students are taught how to separate facts from opinion.  He also mentioned how in today's age we need to be wary of the way in which numeric evidence can be manipulated into making falsehoods appear as the truth.  Sanjay Sanyal stressed on how facts cannot be altered, though everyone is entitled to form their own interpretations.  He also sensitised the audience to how evidence is not static, rather it evolves with new discoveries.  Ruby Lal brought up the need to think of authorship of the evidence: who was recording the evidence and why.  Dan Jones with his tattooed arms clearly dispelled the image of a tweed coat clad historian!  At the end of the hour, the historian in me was satisfied and my view of history as a discipline that fosters critical thinking was reaffirmed.

But after some highs there must be lows.  Richard Evans' session on The Coming of the Third Reich was a bit lacklustre in that it was a lecture on how Hitler came to power—not a very juicy topic.  What he did stress on again and again was the widespread of use of violence by the Nazis to squash any opposition.   

The Fog, the Smog and the Flu—what a catchy title for a session on the perils of pollution and epidemics.  Laura Spinney pointed out how we tend to glorify mass deaths by war but not those by other causes, because of which we are unaware of the fact that the Spanish Flu caused more deaths than World War I.  Christine Corton provided a very entertaining account of the London Smog and its impact on London society while Siddharth Singh reminded one of the perils that air pollution causes us today in India.  Clearly after this session I needed some cheering up!

At earlier editions of the festival,  I was quite an autograph collector but this time I was keen to get only one autograph—Manoranjan Byapari's!  His book Interrogating My Chandal Life: An Autobiography of a Dalit really sensitised me to the injustices the Dalits face.  So varied are the twists and turns of his life, that the book seemed like a movie.  His conversation on stage was fascinating and one quite admired him for being so loquacious on stage.  So imagine my shock when I found such a different persona when I went to get his autograph, it was almost a volte-face—the chatty man on stage had metamorphosed into an angry old man; he just did not want to sign the book (but I persisted!).  Perhaps this explains why his translator (who just happened to be his editor) was making such odd faces while on stage during his session and and instead of paying attention to what he said presented a memorised speech when she was asked to translate what he had just said.

The last session that I attended at the fest this time was Perumal Murugan's.  He is always a joy to listen to.  A pertinent point he made this time was that the term regional literature needs to be done away with and instead the umbrella term Indian literature should be used for all Indian writing.  It was also interesting to note how he credited Justice Sanjay Kaul's judgement for motivating him to write again (Kaul's 2016 judgement concluded with the lines: "Let the author be resurrected to what he is best at. Write.")

While this is a summary of the sessions I attended, what of the rest? Well, here is some feedback on a few of them:  R really enjoyed Markus Zusak's session and can't wait to read his Bridge of Clay.  She found Yann Martel's session equally engaging.  The girls enjoyed the sessions on Brexit, The Right to Know, Why I Am No Longer Talking About Race, Bloodhead, Climate Change: A Call to Action, Beyond Borders: On Migration and the Novel.  In contrast, they found the session on Directorate S a bit dry.  

Thinking of the festival as a whole I realised that what bound a lot of speakers together were the political potshots they took; the targets being the trinity of Trump, Brexit & Modi.  Criticism of the latter made me realise just how leftist the Indian intelligentsia is barring one lone voice: Sanjay Sanyal's.  

In this huge melee the absence of the larger than life William Dalrymple was striking.  The co-founder of the festival was clearly missing in action; a contrast from previous festivals where he was buzzing around the venue introducing virtually half of the speakers and taking part in a number of discussion.  His absence was so not in character that it made me wonder what is afoot…… 

  Strangely, while I enjoyed the sessions, perhaps I'm a bit jaded as no single session stood out.  My high instead was interacting with the artist Abhishek Singh and getting a sketch in lieu of an autograph, which will now be framed and placed on my souvenir wall.

Overall the best part of the weekend was seeing how much the girls enjoyed the festival; their enthusiasm & curiosity ensured that they were an engaged audience rather than mere passive listeners—questioning the speakers when they could and carrying the conversations long past dinner to chasing down authors to get an autograph to collecting their insta moments (how else would one know that they were teenagers!)  It was with a heavy heart that they left Jaipur. On the ride back home they unanimously decided that the next time they were to attend the festival it would be for its entirety! 

And yet, despite not being floored by the festival itself, I do want to go back next year since Neil Gaiman is supposed to come (but then again wasn't he supposed to come this time?) along with George Saunders…won't it be great if they could be conversing with each other?!?

Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo

For a review of Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo please proceed to T's Reccos page.

Taarini Andlay's Reccos

You know time has flown when the child you created this listing for now wants to add her reviews to the site.
So, now my daughter's book reviews will feature on the page titled "Taarini Andlay's Reccos"
Happy Reading!

The Wife by Meg Wolitzer

For a review of The Wife by Meg Wolitzer please proceed to the Good Reads page of this blog.

The Black Hill by Mamang Dai

For a review of Mamang Dai's The Black Hill please turn to my Good Reads page.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

For a review of Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata please turn to the Quiet/Interesting Reads page.

Benyamin's Jasmine Days

For a review of Benyamin's Jasmine Days please go to the Overrated page.