This slim book, winner of the Prix Goncourt, and translated from French by Polly McLean, is extraordinary on every level.  It is poetic, lyrical, moving, crude, tragic, sometimes funny in an earthy way, and absolutely engrossing. The plot is simple, the action confined to one room, the characters very few, and as a result there [click here to read more]

 

“The Devotion of Suspect X,” the cult Japanese thriller by Keigo Higashino has at long last been translated into English. This story of murder and its consequences, set in modern-day suburban Tokyo, is (in the words of all good book reviews) a gripping page-turner.  Seriously, however clichéd that description might sound, this novel really and [click here to read more]

 

Before I even start writing the review – disclosure time. I am in book club in Delhi with the author’s wife, Theo.  So I am not totally impartial, especially since we were all privy to some of the labour pains involved in the final stages of this fascinating book.  I cyber-followed Jim’s book tour earlier [click here to read more]

 

Reading this funny, clever book about Venice and Varanasi, the two ultimate water-based dramatic, atmospheric, crumbling cities, sitting in Varanasi made the whole experience that much more fun.  If not a little bizarre. Well, to be honest, I read the Venice section in Varanasi, and the Varanasi section once I was back home in Delhi, [click here to read more]

 

There have been few books that have moved me as much as this extraordinary book by the Pulitzer prize winning journalist Katherine Boo. It is a stunning read, and one that every thinking Indian should read -  well, not just Indians, everyone who has a heart and a conscience should read it, but to Indians [click here to read more]

 

If ever a book needed to be a biography rather than an auto-biography, it is Simon Mann’s “Cry Havoc.” What could have become, in the hands of a writer, a rather exciting derring-do, gung-ho type of book about white mercenaries trying to stage a coup in Africa is, instead, a badly written, profanity-laced, confusing story. [click here to read more]

 

This collection of 29 short stories, written by 21 authors, is a mixed bag – as one would naturally expect.  There are stories that are quite clever, ones that are sad and moving, others that are a little pedestrian and contrived, and one that is outstanding. I’ll leave that one till the end. There is [click here to read more]

 

Before reviewing Ursula Graham Bower’s “Naga Path”, let me put a couple of things in context, so that I don’t seem to be unfairly partial towards this wonderful book. The author’s daughter, Catriona, is a friend, and indeed we are in book club together in Delhi. So, yes, I knew a little from Catriona about [click here to read more]

 

Alaa Al Aswany’s novel, “The Yacoubian Building” is an endearing tale of life in Cairo, in the period of political and religious turmoil during the first Gulf War. The famous, formerly elegant Yacoubian Building is now a tad run down, and home to a host of characters, some of whom live in the elegant apartmens, [click here to read more]

 

Having gone on several heritage walks in Delhi led by the historian Swapna Liddle, I was particularly interested in this book, which is a welcome and very worthwhile addition to any Delhi lover’s library. As the title implies, Ms Liddle takes you, the reader, on 14 historic walks through the city, in which she describes [click here to read more]

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