🍂”The Black Dwarves of the good little bay” by Varun Mathew is an epic dystopia, set in modern-world Mumbai now known as Bombadrome, for there is no land to live on, no resources to replete, and the only way to live is to live in suspended dorms hovered in the air.
When the ecological system collapsed, and the rains stopped all together ‘visiting’ this city, the newly formed government, with the promise to set things in order, proposed an artificially equated society, where everyone is equal and everyone’s lives are technologically driven to happiness, there is one but no man who remembers what it was like to live in Bom Bahia.
.
.
🍂While the city is changed and there seems to be a state of utopia on the surface, the story of how the city came to be what it is now, is harrowing and highly relevant to times today as well.
Layered with elements of ecological deterioration, the protagonist’s childhood, his part to play in the new world order, political agendas and propagandas, the tale is a strong statement on the various facets of Indian society; its mob, its corruption, its casteism, its classism and more importantly, turning a blind eye to injustices if it serves one’s personal purpose.
.
.
🍂Gripping narration, an engrossing storyline, and a scathing recital, peppered with subplots from the last and the present, this dystopian account keeps you on your ends all the time, wondering what will happen next.
Highly recommended.
.
.
🍂 Thank you hachette_india for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: dystopia, indian-literature, contemporary, science-fiction
Tag: contemporary
“The Farm” by Joanne Ramos
“The problem is that she is too pretty. When you are too pretty, the other parts of you do not become strong.”
-The Farm by Joanne Ramos
🍂
Jane a struggling mother and an immigrant from the Philippines finds herself in a valley retreat, one where she can enjoy all the amenities, organic meals, private fitness trainers, daily massages—and all of it for free. And even get paid for her time there.
The only catch, “The Farm” is actually a fancy place to keep surrogates till the time they breed for their uber-wealthy clients.
🍂
While the idea itself is really intriguing and fans of ‘The Handmaid’s tale’ would find themselves leaning towards the novel, but I felt the actual execution lacks the same harrowing and intense experience.
The story primarily revolves around Jane’s character and you do feel empathised by it, her innocence and motherly instincts make you feel sorry for her being trapped in a place like this, but the various subplots and narratives were all scattered here and there without coming to a tangible conclusion.
🍂
The contrast between the rich and the poor and the emphasis on the wealth-divide between the two, by means of a subject like pregnancy, is very well portrayed and worth mentioning.
Overall, an average read touching on a lot of modern-day subjects that hold potential for a good book, if not for the various plots thrown in random directions.
Thank you @bloomsburyindia for the gifted copy in return for an honest review.
.
.
.
Rating:⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Genre: fiction, contemporary, dystopia
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon
“Sometimes we get sad about things and we don’t like to tell other people that we are sad about them. We like to keep it a secret. Or sometimes, we are sad but we really don’t know why we are sad, so we say we aren’t sad but we really are.” -Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
🌷
The narrator and the main protagonist of the story, Christopher is an autistic child, trying to solve the mystery of the murder of a dog in the neighbourhood. Christopher has a thing for details, he loves maths but has his own eccentricities like hating certain colours and being abhorred by touching.
🌷
On first glance, it sounds like a mystery like no one else, one that is seen from the perspective of a different child and sure enough, Christopher’s character is one to be loved for his practical and logical approach to everything around him, which also makes for a funny read.
However, the excessive focus on detailing steers it away from the plot and fails to pique interest as a true mystery novel.
🌷
I would recommend this to know better about the lives and perspective of autistic kids and their loved ones who have a hard time taking care of them.
.
.
.
.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: fiction, mystery, young-adult, contemporary, psychology
Reading Difficulty: ⭐⭐/5
“Small Days and Nights” by Tishani Doshi
“We raise our heads to the sky as if the sea was a window and we were climbing out of it.”
– Tisha Doshani, Small Days and Nights.
🌊
Having had a normal childhood, born to parents of Italian and Indian descent, Grace finds herself in a small coastal village of Paramankeni, running away from her failed marriage and having found her sister, Lucia who was born with Down’s syndrome and was kept a secret from her all these years.
🌊
Escaping the restless and highly active social life in States, grace decides to move into her mother’s house, with Lucy, the village housekeeper Mallika and little dogs to surround the house.
A story that looks so simple on the surface, turns complicated as one unveils the layers of a life of a single woman living alone without any men in a village in India, by the sea.
🌊
Grace’s days are filled with taking care of her sister, feeding the dogs, taking them to the beach and in the process trying to find her lost self, and make meaning of a life she has spent in Madras, Italy, the States, Kodaikanal and now Pondicherry.
But the nights are full of fear and anxiety, for the endless glares and attention a house being lived by a single woman attracts, of someone breaking in, of someone marring the beauty of the life they are trying to build here.
🌊
The prose is absolutely lyrical full of metaphors and analogies, that warms the heart and can be cherished long after one is done reading.
The beautiful description of the sea and the sand, and the nights and the days, and you can almost feel yourself walking on the beach or strolling on the streets of Italy suckling on a gelato.
The writing reminded me of Subhangi Swarup’s portrayal of all the alluring landscapes.
🌊
An absolutely marvellous account of a story of survival, or finding one’s lost self, making peace with the misgivings of a family, of mistrust and finding trust, unveiling secrets and accepting them.
But above all, it is a tale of the one’s self-discovery amongst all the chaos, loneliness, heartbreaks and confusion.
.
.
.
.
A sad yet thought-provoking novel full of life and the various emotions of ecstasy it has to offer.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Genre: contemporary, fiction, indian-literature
Reading Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
“The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction” by Hachette India
“The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction” by Hachette India is a collection of contemporary sci-fi stories, focusing on themes such as dystopia, climate change, space travel, the arrival of aliens and man’s quest to find sustainable ways to live.
These are some tales from the masterful minds of some of the most inventive minds, and barring a few pieces here and there, all of the narratives were exhilarating and thrilling.
🐝
The book being first of its kind of a selection of historical sci-fi and new age dystopia from the South Asian subcontinent to appear in the twenty-first century, did hold a lot of potentials and it was able to live up to the hype albeit by simple yet effective narratives that one can enjoy and be left with something to ponder on at the same time.
🐝
Some of the anecdotes didn’t work for me, because of their long, tedious and unnecessary description, but the others more than made up for the experience, especially in the latter half of the book.
I absolutely loved the last one, a hypothetical future where a group of young scientists is trying to find a way to combat climate change by coming up with ideas such as sustainable colonies and to seek a way to communicate with the forest even though the web of life has reached a point of destruction.
🐝
Read it with an open mind and overlook the minute nitty gritty and I am sure you are in for a culmination of laughter, wonder, amuse and intrigue.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: sci-fi, south-asian-lit, short-stories, future
Reading Difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐/5
“A Man called Ove” by Fredrick Backman
“People said Ove saw the world in black and white, But she was as color. All the color he had.”
– Fredrick Backman, A man called Ove
🌈
Ove is a grumpy man on the exterior but if one peel through the outer layer, they will find a loveable man, one who is staunch on his principles and has come to become bitter in life due to the loneliness and sadness that surrounds him.
What happens when a chatty couple moves next door and tries to strike a friendship with our cranky old man.
🌈
The story is packed with all the emotions, sadness, heartbreak, laughter, the joy of an unexpected friendship and the innate bond of selflessness.
It highlights the sorrows of losing a loved one, the constant melancholy that reminds one of the loss, and the isolation that eats you up.
🌈
Adjourned with beautiful metaphors, the humour, and witty narrative makes an impression on you, even while discussing sombre or depressing topics.
What really stands out is the relationship between Sonja and Ove, their marriage, their relationship, their heart-rending love even when the two people were at the opposite end of the spectrum.
“Ove had never been asked how he lived before he met her. But if anyone had asked him, he would have answered that he didn’t.”
🌈
A highly recommended warm and fuzzy read, one that is sure to make you laugh and cry at the same time.
Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Genre: fiction, contemporary, humour, swedish, adult-fiction
Reading difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐/5
“The Lowland” by Jhumpa Lahiri
“Isolation offered its own form of companionship” – Jhumpa Lahiri, The Lowland
🌼
Subhash and Udayan, two brothers born fifteen months apart, spend their childhood in a Tollygunge, a typical Calcutta neighbourhood and even though they were inseparable growing up, due to their stark opposite personalities, they make different choices in life that take them to separate paths when they grew up.
🌼
Udayan, the ever enthusiastic and charismatic being, finds himself in the Naxalite movement while Subhash, the obedient son, leaves home to pursue scientific research in America.
🌼
It is only when Subhash finds about his brother’s plight in the lowland outside their house, he returns back to his home in hopes of making everything right for his family and Udayan’s wife.
🌼
Beautifully written with touches of intimacy, heartfelt emotions and bittersweet pangs of separation and exile, this tale of what happened to two beings that deeply loved a person who is now gone. Subhash, trying to take responsibilities that his brother left and Gauri, trying to discover things for herself and move forward from the flawed choices her husband made.
🌼
The sense of separation that the book takes you to lasts almost the entire life of the two protagonists and it is nothing short of magical.
Another masterpiece by Jhumpa Lahiri.
🌼
Genre: fiction, indian-literature, historical-fiction, contemporary
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Reading difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐/5
“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett
“You is kind. You are smart. You are important.”
– Kathryn Stockett, The Help
Three wonderful women, Skeeter, Minny, and Aibileen, are set to change the course of history by bringing out a change in their small town of Jackson, Mississippi.
In a time when black women work as domestic help for white women, Skeeter, the white lady, decides to pen down the experiences of the ‘help’ to the white society in the hopes of exposing the white folk’s hypocrisy and stirring the already brewing black rights movement at that time.
What will she have to go through by turning against her own people?
How is Minny’s and Aibileen’s experience going to change the air of racism in their town?
The narrative style is so fast-paced and dramatic that one finds it hard to put the book down. Although the characterization was simple and the writing style easy to read, the way the various characters were woven and how well the characters take forward the plot, demands applause for the author.
The only downside to the story was that the book was the stories of the black woman were narrated by the point of view of a white woman. It would have been better if the actual stories were elaborately told in the novel.
But that aside it was a riveting read, a story of not just racism but the bond between one’s househelp and oneself.
.
.
.
.
Genre: fiction, historical-fiction #contemporary, black-history
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Reading difficulty: ⭐⭐⭐/5
“Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden
“At the temple, there is a poem called ‘Loss’ carved into the stone. It has three words, but the power has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it”
– Arthur Golden, The memoirs of a geisha
⛩️
A historical fiction that talks of the loves of geishas in the Japanese town of Gion, a world where appearances are important, where woman are taught the art of enchanting men by their mannerism, art, and the skill to hold conversations.
⛩️
Chiyo and her sister are taken away from their poverty-stricken fishing village and sold to an okiya at a young age. Thus began Chiyo’s journey of becoming a geisha in the true sense. The hard realities and pains that she had to take on her journey take you on a bittersweet ride.
⛩️
While the author’s style of narrating the tale in a conversational style is really engaging and interesting, the book gets dull in the latter half.
One would expect more to learn of the Japanese culture and the history and lives of geishas, but in the end, it was just another fictional tale intended to weave a dramatic story, which ultimately failed to spike any interest.
Overall a pretty decent read, and I recommend it if you want to get started on learning about the Geisha culture.
⛩️
Genre: fiction, historical-fiction, memoir, Japanese-literature
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Reading difficulty:⭐⭐⭐/5
“Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman
“If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for consecutive days. FINE is what you say.”
– Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Eleanor Oliphant is a thirty-year-old woman who leads a simple life. She works the same job since university, wears the same clothes to work, eat the same meals every day, doesn’t involve herself in mindless office gossip and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend. Continue reading ““Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman”
aBookByTheWindow 