Reviews & Musings

  Namrata explores Kabul through Taran N Khan’s Shadow City which according to her isn’t just about a city . Stories in Kabul begin with the phrase ‘ Yeki bood, yeki na bood .’ There was one, there was no one. Taran N Khan (Shadow City) Taran N Khan’s first book, Shadow City takes us around Kabul highlighting the varied experiences the city and its people have been through over years. It is neither a memoir, nor a travelogue. Lying somewhere in between, Khan has found the perfect voice to depict a place which has been through so much and yet continues to thrive in various ways. Growing up in Aligarh, Khan grew up with a fascination for Afghanistan due to her Pashtun background. After completing her education in Delhi and London, she has now decided to call Mumbai her home for the time being. Her works have been widely published in India and internationally, including in Guernica, Al Jazeera, the  Caravan  and  Himal Southasian . Her writing has also received support ...

  Evocative and alluring , Namrata reviews  Laksmi Pamuntjak’s Fall Baby   (Published by Penguin SEA, 2019) ‘ Somewhere in mid-flight, it occurs to me that I’m still at home and without a home; its just that now there are two homes instead of one and that must count for something. ’ With lines akin to poetry, Pamuntjak’s latest novel Fall Baby is a compelling read. Interestingly, one of the main protagonists of this novel, Siri, is the illegitimate daughter of Amba and Bhisma, the protagonists of Laksmi Pamuntjak’s award winning first novel,  Amba/ The Question of Red. Laksmi Pamuntjak is a bilingual Indonesian novelist, poet, journalist, essayist and food critic. Her debut novel  Amba/The Question of Red  won many awards and has been translated into several languages followed by her second novel,  The Birdwoman’s Palate  which was adapted into a movie.  She writes across genres dabbling in a poetry collection, a food guide, collection of sho...

  Namrata looks at Krishna Udayasankar’s new novel set in Mumbai in the backdrop of the dark underbelly of the city amidst the world of Saimhas (werelions) Publisher : Penguin Released in :  March 2019 An urban fantasy set in the mega city of Mumbai, Beast by Krishna Udayasankar reminds you of the folklore of Lord Narsimha and Prahalad. The description of one being ‘ Neither a man, nor an animal ’, is the common thread between the two. Krishna Udayasankar is known as the author of  The Aryavarta Chronicles  long with  Immortal ,  3  and  Objects of Affection . Her books have known to be a fascinating point where myth and science meet. Beast also falls in that category where she talks about Mumbai being attacked by werelions ( Saimhas ) who have been living alongside human-beings since ancient times.  The cover of the book is set in greyish blue tones against the backdrop of a lit-up Mumbai skyline with a hazy face of the lion playing hide and...

Source: Amazon.in Not many moons ago, when Siri was launched, I remember the craze it had managed to generate among people. It could save you from suicide, help you do things and be your companion. Today times have changed, and Siri has of course only improved with time. We now have Alexa along with many other such 'techie companions ' as my friend calls them.  “ First we thought the PC was a calculator. Then we found out how to turn numbers into letters with ASCII — and we thought it was a typewriter. Then we discovered graphics, and we thought it was a television. With the World Wide Web, we've realized it's a brochure .” ― Douglas Adams

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN :  978-0143333852 Genre:  Non-Fiction/ Children's books Publishers: Puffin Books Price:  Rs. 199/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Source: Amazon.in ISBN :  978-0143429234 Genre:  Non-Fiction/ Children's /Young Adult Publishers: Penguin Random House India Price:  Rs. 599/-  ( I got the book for review from the  publisher )

Introduction Source: Goodreads.com ISBN:  9780143441199 Genre:   F iction/ Historical Fiction Publishers: Penguin Random House Price:  Rs. 299/-  ( I got the book for review from the  author )

Introduction ISBN:  9780143428503 Genre:  Fiction / Mythology Publishers:  Penguin Random House Price:  Rs. 299/-  ( I got the book for review from the  author ) As Yama's Lieutenant, Agni Prakash, has diligently been tracking down demons and spirits that threaten peace on earth and dispatching them to his lord's thousand hells. Danger is a constant in his job, but this time an apocalypse threatens his entire world. Agni must go up against a terrifying sorceress-adept in the ancient art of stone magic-and her bestial army of demoniacal creatures who used to be humans before they were transformed into willing killing machines. The witch has a nightmarish vision for a new world that involves large scale culling of the humans-and it falls to Agni to stop her. He must find the Samayakalas, the mysterious keepers of time and reset the clock before all life is destroyed. However, any contact with the Samayakalas is forbidden to mortal and immortal ali...

Introduction ISBN: 978-0670089420 Genre: Fiction/Drama Publishers: Penguin Random House Price: Rs. 499/-   Set in Lahore, This House of Clay and Water explores the lives of two women. Nida, intelligent and lonely, has married into an affluent political family and is desperately searching for some meaning in her existence; and impulsive, lovely Sasha, from the ordinary middle-class, whose longing for designer labels and upmarket places is so frantic that she willingly consorts with rich men who can provide them. Nida and Sasha meet at the famous Daata Sahib dargah and connect-their need to understand why their worlds feel so alien and empty, bringing them together. On her frequent visits to the dargah, Nida meets the gentle, flute-playing hijra Bhanggi, who sits under a bargadh tree and yearns for acceptance and affection, but is invariably shunned. A friendship-fragile, tentative and tender-develops between the two, both exiles within their own lives; but it flies...

On a usual tropical evening in Mumbai I had the pleasure of being at CSMVS where Anil Dharker and Amit Chaudhuri were in conversation over the latter’s new release, Friend of my Youth. With an ethereal sunset at the Arabian Sea adorning its beige textured cover; this book is a short and crisp novella revolving around friendship and childhood memories in the city of dreams – Mumbai. 

Today at Behind the book, we have none other than the wonderful author Ms. Faiqa Mansab. To tell you a bit more about her : Faiqa Mansab received the MFA in Creative Writing with Distinction from Kingston University London, in 2014. Her short stories and an excerpt from her novel were published in The Missing Slate in 2013. She has been a teacher and school administrator for ten years. She has also published in academic journals, and newspapers. Faiqa conducts creative writing workshops when she is not working on a novel. This House of Clay and Water is Faiqa’s debut novel and she is currently working on another one. Let's hear her story of bringing alive this house of clay and water :

Today my blog completes 5 years! Source: The Gospel Coalition Blog 1300 posts - 366 book reviews- 180 author interviews - 150 guest posts and still counting. The journey has been enthralling for sure. This blog is one place where all that I have asked for has come true. From starting it as a hobby to being a reviewer for all leading publishing houses, from growing up reading their books like a fangirl to getting their books for review it is all still surreal. I still jump in air like a kid whenever I get a wonderful book for review. It is like being introduced to a friend for a lifetime, someone who is going to be there forever. To mark this occasion I am sharing some of the best books I read in 2016 with snippets and links to my reviews in no particular order. They are simply put - THE BEST and the numbers next to them are serial numbers and not their ranks. If you have missed any of these please do read them, they are a treasure to dive into. If you have read them w...

Introduction ISBN: 9780143424963 Genre: Fiction / Young Adult / Romance Publishers:Penguin Price:  Rs.299/- ( I got this book from the publisher for a review ) Siddharth and Veera have a connection they refuse to acknowledge. There is more to Kavya than her snooty social-butterfly act. Mahir is the heartbroken heart breaker. Aslesha has built all her friendships on a foundation of lies. Nikhil has spent his entire life learning how to shut people out.All Aakash wants is a second chance. And then there's Ananya. The one who was born to raise hell and change the world. Behind the book Source: Goodreads.com

Introduction ASIN: B01BYD1J24 Genre: Fiction / Fantasy Fiction Publishers: Penguin Random House Price:  Rs. 250/- ( I got this book from the  publisher for a review ) How would you feel if you got what you really wanted? What would you do if you were given the power to change the world? Everyone on BA flight 142 from London to Delhi got off it with a unique superpower. A power they didn`t even know they wanted. Everyone, that is, who`s still alive. Because someone is hunting down the passengers. And now Aman Sen`s ragtag collective of rogue super humans is in grave danger. They must decide what to do with their powers and their lives – and quickly. This explosive new blockbuster moves at hyper speed across two continents as colliding forces move towards an action-packed finale that will leave the world – and you – changed forever. Behind the book Source: Goodreads.com

Introduction ISIN: 978-0670086115 Genre: Non Fiction / War Stories Publishers: Penguin Random House Price:  Rs. 699/- ( I got this book from the  publisher for a review ) Between 1939 and 1945 India underwent extraordinary and irreversible change. Hundreds of thousands of Indians suddenly found themselves in uniform, fighting in the Middle East, North and East Africa, Europe and—something simply never imagined—against a Japanese army poised to invade eastern India. With the threat of the Axis powers looming, the entire country was pulled into the vortex of wartime mobilization. By the war’s end, the Indian Army had become the largest volunteer force in the conflict, consisting of 2.5 million men, while many millions more had offered their industrial, agricultural, and military labor. It was clear that India would never be same—the only question was: would the war effort push the country toward or away from independence? In India’s War, historian Srinath Raghavan p...

Introduction ISIN:  9780143426424 Genre:  Fiction / Indian writing Publishers:  Penguin Books India Price:  Rs. 299/- ( I got this book from the  publisher for a review ) High-school best friends Ameena and Jamilla couldn’t be more different: while one smokes cigarettes in their school playground, the other is a member of her mosque’s discussion group in suburban Yorkshire. When heartbreak and doubt leave Ameena bereft and alone, she turns to Jamilla’s beloved Allah for solace and purpose. It is then that both girls find themselves entranced by a powerful Internet preacher—Hejjiye, a woman running an orphanage-home in support of the men fighting in the name of jihad. Leaving their families and country behind, they run to join the Islamic State in Syria to serve a cause they unquestioningly believe in. However, things begin to change for the worse once Ameena marries Hassan, a jihadi leader, and suddenly Jamilla begins to see the world that she ...

Go to Book No. 70 Check all the Books Here   Name of the Book: ALL ABOARD Author: Kiran Manral The Story: When Rhea Khanna is dumped just days before her wedding, by her boyfriend of four years, the only thing she wants to do is to get out of the city to clear her head. The opportunity presents itself immediately when her aunt, a retired school headmistress, invites her to accompany her on a Mediterranean cruise. As Rhea struggles to cope with her grief of being dumped at the altar, she finds herself getting attracted to the seemingly unavailable Kamal Shahani—the infuriatingly attractive ex-student of her aunt and a hot shot entrepreneur.  To add to the confusion, Sonia, Kamal’s very attractive ex-girlfriend boards the ship in a bid to win him back. Will Rhea heal her broken heart, or will she end up even more shattered than she was when she got on this cruise? Read, to find out.

Introduction ISIN: 978-0-143-41921-1 Genre: Fiction Publishers: Penguin India Price: Rs. 299/- ( I received the book for review from the publisher ) The Duttas - Sudhamoy, Kironmoyee, and their two children, Suranjan and Maya - have lived in Bangladesh all their lives. Despite being part of the country's small Hindu community that is terrorized at every opportunity by Muslim fundamentalists they refuse to leave their country, as most of their friends and relatives have done. Sudhamoy, an atheist, believes with a naive mix of optimism and idealism that his motherland will not let him down... And then, on 6 December 1992, the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in India is demolished by a mob of Hindu fundamentalists. The world condemns the incident but its fallout is felt most acutely in Bangladesh, where Muslim mobs begin to seek out and attack the Hindus... The nightmare inevitably arrives at the Duttas' doorstep - and their world begins to fall apart Behind The book  ...