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Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi: Book Review
Before the Coffee Gets Cold, to say in a straightforward way, is a captivating and thought-provoking novel written by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, a Japanese novelist. It was first published in 2015, and the book seamlessly weaves the genres of magical realism and contemporary fiction, making it a unique and memorable reading experience. Anyone who has gone through…
Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh – Book Review
Amitav Ghosh is one of the leading Indian English novelists and a prominent figure in Indian English literature. Whether he lives in India or not is not up for debate, at least this time. 🙂 I will be discussing his novel Gun Island in this article, which is also a book review. I will try…
Indian Superfoods by Rujuta Diwekar – Book Review
Experts are everywhere in India. More than in any other part of the world, you will find experts on this, on that, on something, on some things, and even on everything in every street, vicinity and locality (in India). Who cares about the qualifications or certifications for the expertise? Just savour the acumen! Rujuta Diwekar…
Rag Virag by Suryakant Tripathi Nirala – Book Review
Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, a poet whom almost every reader of Hindi poetry reveres this or that way, was a landmark that still continues to illuminate the new poets and authors writing in Hindi. With the high standards that he set for poetry in Hindi, Nirala’s art of writing poetry developed from narrow lanes of self-search…
Role of imagination in fiction – something some theorists often ignore
Writing fiction is (almost) everybody’s cup of tea. Many of us, those born before our mothers took to Tik-Tok to learn everything, should have aged listening to stories of kings, queens, giants, gods, ghosts, and children from our mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and grandfathers (cannot ignore elder siblings). Weaving fictional stories, creating characters, making them appear…
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – Book Review
Bonnie Garmus made her debut with the bestselling novel Lessons in Chemistry in 2022. The novel has made an emphatic impression on many readers; many may claim millions across the world. However, the novel has many features that many have liked. At the same time, Bonnie Garmus’ book has many things that many readers don’t…
Karma Sutra: Cracking the Karmic Code by Hingori – Book Review
Spiritual and philosophical books (should I take these two names in succession, you decide) are more than just books. Fictional identities and chaos can last a few days, a few months or a year or two, at best. However, things that we learn from philosophical or spiritual books last for life, at least, if we…
The text or context? What matters more in shaping opinions about literature? An investigation
Why is the novel 1984 by George Orwell popular? God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, for that matter, draws its popularity from which source? Why was Lady Chatterley’s Lover so popular in its days? In the contemporary period, why are many novels popular in spite of their mediocre writing – Asura, Sita: the Warrior…
Notable features of the novels by Bhabani Bhattacharya – and major novels by him you must read
Perhaps the only novelist from India I can name to have written excellent novels and remained in the abyss of ignorance and oblivion has to be Bhabani Bhattacharya! Yes, the author of works like So Many Hungers, He Who Rides a Tiger and A Dream in Hawaii, Bhabani Bhattacharya’s publications and his distinguished writing style,…