The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: From Text to Screen
For bibliophiles, a book about books, authors and
reading clubs is nothing less than sheer delight. And the Guernsey Literary and
Potato Peel Pie Society is exactly that. Mary Ann Shaffer’s first and only book
is based in the London of 1946 and post occupation Guernsey of the Channel
islands.
The title is nothing but uncanny for a book and now a
motion picture. Juliet Ashton is an upcoming author who wrote Izzy
Bickerstaff Goes to War. While her book was doing well and she wa…
Jangam: A Forgotten Exodus by Debendranath Acharya
Jangam written by Debendranath Acharya (1937-1981) won the Sahitya Akademi Purashkar in 1984. It has been recently translated from Assamese to English by Amit Rahul Baishya. The book is based on real accounts that took place during the Second World War. It is the story of the exodus of a large number of Burmese Indians when Japanese reached Burma. It was a massive movement of some 4.5-5 lakhs Indians. However it has not found much space in mainstream literature. Amitav Ghosh…
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The Meursault Investigation – A Review
In Albert Camus’ novel The Outsider, the anti-hero Meursault commits a random act of violence. He murders an Arab for no specific reason. The closest hint he gives to the motive behind murder is his utmost physical discomfort on a hot day, the sun shining so close to the beach and the sweat getting in his eyes. The murdered Arab is someone who had a problem with Meursault’s friend Raymond. According to Raymond, the Arab was getting back at him for misbehaving with his sister…
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On Jihadi Jane
Tabish Khair’s new book like Jihadi Jane is a tale of disaffected second generation immigrants finding solace in radical Islam. It is a book that traces the radicalization of young women who willingly go to fight for ISIS and becoming jihadi brides. The two friends, Jamilla and Ameena are daughters of Pakistani migrants who moved to Britain. They were as different as they could be – Jamilla, the hijab wearing religious one, Ameena – the regular British teenager fooling aroun…
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Vanity Bagh- Anees Salim
The second novel of Anees Salim won the Hindu Prize for fiction 2013 award. As the name suggests the book is about a residential area or a Mohalla titled Vanity Bagh. The residents are prominently Muslims. Through the experience of a nascent gang called five and a half men who romanticize a life of crime as a quick shot to fame, the book encircles around the tussles of the Mohalla. Pitted next to a Hindu locality, the interaction of the two is a resonance of the larger comm…
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Bollywood fiance for a Day: Ruchi Sachdeva
Different from the usual books that I read and something I would have never picked up had I not signed up for this reading challenge. Vishakha a doctor gets ditched by her fiancé Munish who chooses Vishakha’s younger sister Saira. Feeling let down, she goes on to prove it to herself as well as others that she is worthy of being cherished and not stepped over. And how she does that? In a very typical Mills and Boon fashion by achieving approval of a hunk. In this case it hap…
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Our Moon has Blood Clots: Rahul Pandita
It is a personal memoir of a Kashmiri Pandit. It outlines the trauma of being rendered homeless in one’s own country. Kashmiri Pandits got caught up in the politics of freedom or azaadi. The angst of Kashmiris against the Indian nation was often manifested in their attitude towards the Kashmiri Pandits. While the antagonism was at its peak in 1990s, there was a large scale exodus of Kashmiri Pandits who felt threatened by the extremist turn of politics in Kashmir. The well …
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The Patience Stone: Atiq Rahimi
What a book!! In one word exhilarating. The book does not delve much into time and space where it is located. It seems to be somewhere where people are engaging in fights in the name of Islam. The entire book is a woman’s monologue with her comatose husband who took a bullet to his neck in his war for God. It starts with the lament of a loving, dutiful wife pleading to God to bring back her man. Because she realizes full well the danger of being left alone in such a society…
Read moreOur Lady of Alice Bhatti: Mohammad Hanif
Mohammad Hanif’s second book Our Lady of Alice Bhatti gives an insight into the lives of religious minorities in Pakistan. The protagonist Alice Bhatti is a Christian woman who belongs to a chuhra community who traditionally work as sweepers and manual scavengers. Despite being Christians, caste continues to play a role in the lives of these people. They are doubly marginalized in a country known for persecuting religious minorities. She starts working as a nurse in a Catho…
Read moreThe God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Reading this amazing debut novel of Arundhati for the second time, I would like to start with emphasising on the beautiful language. Based in the state of Kerala in India, the book is a strong comment on the caste system and the experiences of Christian minorities in India. It is the story of the childhood experiences of two fraternal twins Rahel and Esthappen. It is set in Aymanam in Kerala and the temporal set up is 1969 to 1993. Few issues that the engrossing novel touch…
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This blog is authored by Parvin Sultana. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor at Pramathesh Barua College, Assam, India. She regularly writes on contemporary socio-political issues.
