Reviews & Musings

Namrata reviews Jerry Pinto’s latest book, The Education of Yuri (Speaking Tiger, 2022) emphasizing how everything about this book spells classic.   “We are born alone, and we die alone. In between, we reach out to other people.”    From the book blurb  Jerry Pinto’s latest work of fiction, The Education of Yuri (Speaking Tiger, 2022) is a tender portrayal of a young boy growing up in Bombay in the 1980s. Jerry Pinto is one of India’s finest writers with award-winning works to his credit across genres ranging from translation, poetry, memoirs, and fiction. Time and again, he has proved that he is a writer par excellence. In his writings, he is known to capture Mumbai and its nuances with an unmatched exactness. This is exactly what he does with The Education of Yuri too. Mumbai (then- Bombay) is the heart of this story which takes you through some of the early days of Yuri, as he grows up in the 80s.  Pinto tells us his story with a certain profundit...

Namrata reviews A Book of New Beginnings: Some Words for Living – Edited and with an introduction by Jerry Pinto (Speaking Tiger, January 2022) and calls it perfect food for thought.  Long after I was done reading this book, I kept thinking about the one story I had read long ago in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series which had changed the way I think drastically. I come from a dysfunctional family, where abuse in any form is normalized. I grew up believing that to be the way the world functioned. There was no reason for me to think otherwise as everyone I was surrounded with had a similar story to narrate. The ways of abuse changed, but the abuse was the common thread that bound us all, I felt.  Coming to the story from Chicken Soup for the Soul- I do not remember the author’s name or the complete story verbatim but I remember the basic crux which I will share with you. It was written by someone who was a prominent name at that time (in the UK if I am not wrong) and credite...

“Words and the music of words are closest to my heart.” – Jerry Pinto (Poet, Author, Translator) Team Kitaab is in conversation with award-winning writer, translator and poet Jerry Pinto where he speaks about his love for writing, his inspiration behind all his work and the changing scenes within the publishing industry.  Jerry Pinto is an award-winning writer and translator based in Mumbai. His works include Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb (2006), which won the Best Book on Cinema Award at the 54th National Film Awards, Surviving Women (2000) and Asylum and Other Poems (2003). His first novel Em and the Big Hoom was published in 2012 and won The Hindu Literary Prize that year. It was also shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize. 

Namrata reviews Jerry Pinto’s poetry collections – Asylum & Other Poems (Speaking Tiger, 2021) and I want a poem & Other poems (Speaking Tiger,2021) and shares how she discovered a newfound love for the poet Jerry Pinto.  I want a poem like thick tropical rain Jerry Pinto  These words by Jerry Pinto from the blurb of ‘I want a poem and other poems’ hang heavily in the air as I let my thoughts wander with the clouds floating away above my head. It is peak July and Mumbai looks like a million shades of grey at the moment.  Recreating the cover images of both these poetry collections by Jerry Pinto on my desk, nudging me to finally give words to the wandering thoughts long after I have finished reading both the books. Jerry Pinto is a writer who needs no introduction. He is an award-winning poet, writer, and translator based in Mumbai.  Having read his work across genres, I still cannot pick which side of his do I enjoy reading the most. Though this is the...

Introduction ISBN #978-0-670-08684-9 Category: Fiction Publishers : Penguin India Price : Rs. 399/- Indian Fiction happens to be my all time favourite reads always for various reasons. One easy to connect, understand and most importantly feel the characters with the story. I accidently happened to read a review of this book in The Times of India and fell in love with it. Just to clarify I am not those type of persons who pick up a book just like that. It has to click with me somewhere to make me read it. And this one did that, with that mind blowing review.  I feel Indian fiction has some wonderful tales hidden in those beautiful dialects that we are surrounded with. And this gem happened to be in one such which got translated for readers like me. I pray and hope that more of such gems are translated in future too. Behind the Book Source: Google Images