There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book while sipping a hot cup of tea.
Though I love books of the vintage kind, occasionally I do read books published recently. Here are brief descriptions of three books that were published in the second decade of the current century.THE CASE OF THE MAN WHO DIED LAUGHING (2010)Vish Puri, India's most 'private' detective is the creation of author Tarquin Hall. In this, … Continue reading Three Twenty-First Century Novels
sourceWhat is about Sherlock Holmes that people can't bear to see him die? His own creator pushed him down the Reichenbach Falls but then brought him back to life as the public clamour grew too strong to resist. Other writers have followed suit and have not allowed Holmes the comfort of bee-keeping but have rather … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Revisited: Anthony Horowitz’ The House of Silk
What happens when reviews pile up, the year is drawing to an end, and time is limited? Well, you resort to short reviews especially if you haven't enjoyed the books.I had heard a lot about Donna Tartt's The Secret History. The story revolving around a group of students studying Greek classics seemed unusual, so when … Continue reading Short Notes: The Secret History, The Sisters Brothers, Drinking Midnight Wine
According to the writer of The Modern Sportsman: His Dress, Habits and Recreations - whom D.J. Taylor quotes at the beginning of his book - if there is a place which has a meadow and a rail for jumping than you will find the sporting men of England over there. With such a beginning and … Continue reading A Day at the Races: D.J. Taylor’s Derby Day: A Victorian Mystery
What are we if not an accumulation of our memories?At the end of The Great Gatsby, Nick calls Tom and Daisy, Careless People. This is the phrase that came to my mind as I finished S.J. Watson's Before I Go To Sleep.But first the facts. A woman wakes up to find herself in a strange … Continue reading Careless People: Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
"When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers."Only Oscar Wilde could have come up with something so bleak and so subversive. And so true, as Nuri el- Alfi, would have added in writer Hisham Matar's poignant bildungsroman Anatomy of a Disappearance.Living in Cairo, young Nuri, finds himself unable to fully comprehend his … Continue reading Arriving into Absence: Hisham Matar’s Anatomy of a Disappearance
Is Truth something set in stone or something shimmery seen differently in different lights? This is the question that Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya attempts in his novel: The Storyteller of Marrakesh.A young couple - the man an Indian, the woman a westerner - are seen walking round the Jemma on a particular day. Soon afterwards the couple … Continue reading Review: The Stroyteller of Marrakesh by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya
Vienna. 1939.The Second World War has started, Austria is part of the German Reich, and the times are full of danger.Dr. Beer is called to examine the niece of Professor Speckstein, Zuzka. The professor is supposed to be a Nazi spy and his dog had been brutally killed a couple of days ago. Even as … Continue reading Diseased Society: Dan Vyleta’s The Quiet Twin
What do you make of the mathematical formula that runs like a2 + v + a1 x s = b?If you are able to decode it than you'll have solved the mystery of the universe. Okay. Okay. Nothing so grandiose; you'll have solved the mystery of Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending. Or would … Continue reading Review: Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending
1974 was a forked tongue of a year, it spoke to me of murder and madness, and love and laughter in equal measure.It was Enid Blyton's St. Clare's series that made me fall in love with stories set in boarding schools. My sister, who was a Malory Towers fan, found St. Clare to be second-rate … Continue reading M is for Miss Timmins’ School for Girls
a hot cup of pleasure 