1943: The Mouse in the Mountain by Norbert Davis

Some time in 2013, I discovered American writer Norbert Davis through his book Holocaust House Though published in 1940, the book has nothing to do with what the Nazis were doing at that particular period, it is instead a delightful read featuring a pair called Doan and Carstairs. While reading about Davies at that time, …

Pulp

Want to write a commercially successful novel? Here are certain guidelines to help you achieve your goal:1. The title of the book should carry a woman's name - and it should be a sexy one, like 'Miss Leela Mohini' or 'Mosdhar Vallibai'.2. Don't worry about the storyline.(!) All you have to do is creatively adapt (love …

Forgotten Books: Holocaust House by Norbert Davis

A man wakes up after a night of drunkenness."Carstairs!" He calls out. "Carstairs."The aforementioned Carstairs comes in and looks at the man with a wearily resigned disgust. The man apologises for his regrettable condition. Carstair's expression of weary disgust doesn't go away. After looking at the man for a few moments, he lumbers out of …

L is for Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

There is something sad and sorrowful about the sound of rain-water as it flows into the drains. After the heady feeling that a downpour ensues, there is a feeling of an ending as the rain-water gurgles in the gutters with a lingering sound.Or perhaps these thoughts came to me only because I was reading the …

The Best Laid Plans: Two Books and a Movie

It began on a summer afternoon in July, a month of intense heat, rainless skies and scorching, dust-laden winds.His eyes fell on the headline and unconsciously it registered on his brain.RACE TRACK BANDITMAKES CLEAN BREAKWITH TWO MILLION.Quite suddenly, a desire to read pulp fiction gripped me…hard. Since taking the metro to Hardayal library, which has …