In 2012, Curtis Evans reviewed Ethel Lina White's 1937 novel The Third Eye, very-very favourably (read his review here). As I had liked all the books that I had read of White till then it immediately went on my wish-list. But it is only now that Project Gutenberg, Australia has made it available (along with … Continue reading Forgotten Book: The Third Eye by Ethel Lina White (1937)
Tag: Wish Fulfilled
Forgotten Book: The Last Labyrinth by Arun Joshi
Relationships are often complex, holding the men and women involved in a vortex of emotions. Som Bhaskar, the protagonist of Arun Joshi's prize-winning novel The Last Labyrinth, seems to have it all: a beautiful, sensible wife; two adorable children; education at the world’s finest universities; an industrial empire; millions in the bank; every conceivable luxury…and … Continue reading Forgotten Book: The Last Labyrinth by Arun Joshi
The Night was thick and heavy as Velvet: Knut Hamsun’s Mysteries
When you have a book titled Mysteries, the author is the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, and critics say that the whole modern school of fiction in the twentieth century stems from Knut Hamsun, than of course, it is going to be on your wishlist.And the beginning does seem to fulfilling your expectations. … Continue reading The Night was thick and heavy as Velvet: Knut Hamsun’s Mysteries
Review: The Stroyteller of Marrakesh by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya
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
Sherlock Holmes Deconstructed: Partha Basu’s The Curious Case of 221B
In my early school-going days, Sherlock Holmes was THE DETECTIVE. My bhuaji's husband (whom as is wont in our family, we called Jijaji) told us enthusiastically about how as a young boy in Quetta, he and some of his schoolmates, who knew English, would narrate the adventures of Holmes to the village elders. So impressed … Continue reading Sherlock Holmes Deconstructed: Partha Basu’s The Curious Case of 221B
His Father’s Thoughts: John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Little Bruno's world changes when he shifts from Berlin to a place called Out-With as his Father has been posted over there. But what exactly his Father does,Bruno has little idea. All he knows is that his father was a man to watch and that the Fury had big things in mind for him and … Continue reading His Father’s Thoughts: John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Review: Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending
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
Review: Lesser Breeds by Nayantara Sahgal
It happened during a conference. The professor was singing a paean in praise of a novel called Mistaken Identity and I was slowly getting enraged. I had read the novel a couple of years back and had found it no great shakes. In fact, to me, the writer had committed a cardinal sin. Though the … Continue reading Review: Lesser Breeds by Nayantara Sahgal
FFB: The End of Her Honeymoon by Marie Belloc Lowndes
And then Dampier turned and caught her, this time unresisting, yielding joyfully, to his breast. "Nancy?" he murmured thickly. "Nancy? I'm afraid!""Afraid?" she repeated wonderingly."Yes, horribly afraid! Pray, my pure angel, pray that the gods may indulge their cruel sport elsewhere. I haven't always been happy, Nancy."And she clung to him, full of vague, unsubstantial fears. "Don't … Continue reading FFB: The End of Her Honeymoon by Marie Belloc Lowndes
As the War-Clouds Gather: E.P. Oppenheim’s The Double Traitor
The Right Honourable John William Hebblethwaite took the hat from his footman, stepped into his car, and was driven rapidly away. He leaned back among the cushions, more thoughtful than usual. There was a yellow moon in the sky, pale as yet. The streets were a tangled vortex of motorcars and taxies, all filled with … Continue reading As the War-Clouds Gather: E.P. Oppenheim’s The Double Traitor