Meera Nair's Blog, page 18
June 23, 2019
With The Fire On High
Emoni Santiago has a lot to work for – her school grades, her 3 year-old daughter, helping her grandma run the house and maintaining a cordial relation with the father of her child. But despite the wearisome nature of her days, there is one thing that helps soothe all her worries. Emoni’s very soul speaks the culinary language, prompting her to take to the kitchen every time there’s something on her mind. Now that an opportunity has come her way to go on a trip and display her talents as a c...
June 21, 2019
City of Girls
City of Girls, penned by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a wholly satisfying novel that encapsulates the stories of women who set themselves apart in society by way of exercising their individuality and ambition.
When 19 year old Vivian Morris gets sent to New York City to live with her aunt, she is enveloped by the culture of the land and begins to discover herself anew. At her Aunt Peg’s theatre company, young Vivvie realizes that her skills are much required and she fills the role of costume designe...
May 22, 2019
The Near Witch
In the town of Near, there are no strangers. The resident families have been there through it all. So when the arrival of a mysterious boy precedes the gradual disappearances of the children in the town, the people of Near call for retribution. Although Lexi spied this stranger from her window, becoming one with the night and floating away with the wind, she is certain that he is not to be blamed. And so, despite her uncle’s warnings and at the risk of invoking the townsfolk’s wrath, she sets...
May 3, 2019
Small Days and Nights
As a fictional novel that dwells on topics of family, politics and health, Small Days and Nights tells the story of Grace, an Indian-Italian woman whose life takes an unexpected turn. When news of her mother’s demise reaches her in London, she makes her way to her childhood home in Pondicherry to perform the last rites. Grappling with a failed marriage, Grace must also come to terms with the fact that for a large chunk of her life, her parents hid the truth about her having a sister.
Surpris...
April 30, 2019
Heroine
Mindy McGinnis’ Heroine goes above and beyond what a typical YA fiction does. It gets rid of character stereotypes, depicts the alienating nature of adolescence, shows the disconnect between parents and children, all the while narrating a heartrending story about a softball player battling opioid addiction.
Mickey Catalan finds herself at crossroads when an accident injures her leg, making it improbable for her to be fit in time for the game season. A brief stint with pain medication goes ho...
April 1, 2019
Harley Quinn: Mad Love
Image Courtesy – Goodreads There’s actually a great backstory to the eccentric nature of one of DC’s most beloved characters, Harley Quinn. In Harley Quinn: Mad Love, Paul Dini and Pat Cadigan take us through the formative years of Harleen Quinzel’s life. From the very onset of her childhood, she develops a sense of aversion to authority figures and those who are said to be the “good guys”. How that mentality leads her, as a doctor of psychiatry (years later), to falling in love with Gotham C...
March 26, 2019
23:59:59
Sadashiv Pradhan, in his contemporary fiction novel, attempts to familiarize the reader with the world of Business schools. In doing so, he unearths the cut-throat environment within these colleges and tells of the daunting task that lies ahead for the students. Just as there is much conjecture surrounding the pursual of an MBA degree within Indian society, this work mirrors the various thought processes with which students embark on such a rigorous journey. 23:59:59 is the story that encompa...
February 23, 2019
The Queen’s Last Salute
Writing historical fictions about characters from Indian history is never an easy feat. It is like treading on thin ice. While the liberty to creatively bridge the gap between the known and the unknown rests with the author, chances are that they are bound to offend someone with their interpretation of these historical occurrences. Moupia Basu’s The Queen’s Last Salute is one such novel that takes you through the inner workings of the Bundlekhand region of India during the nineteenth century....
February 14, 2019
The Flower Girls
Twisted.
It is the one word that keeps echoing in my mind when I think about this mind-boggling story by Alice Clark-Platts. It starts out much like any other thriller, introduces the plot to us, delves into the minds of the suspects and teases us with the flashbacks that are interwoven in the present-day narrative. But unlike the usual murder mystery, the plot of which is driven by the need to know who the culprit is, The Flower Girls opens with two girls being caught for a crime they suppos...
January 20, 2019
The Peshwa: War of the Deceivers
Image Courtesy – Goodreads Tell me that a 400+ paged novel about politics, war and strategy will have me rooted to the spot for over 6 hours and I’d probably have laughed in your face. Well, I’d have done exactly that before having read The Peshwa: War of the Deceivers by Ram Sivasankaran. Set against the backdrop of the Mughal Empire and the increasing agitation of the Marathas against the Mughals, this second installment in the Peshwa series begins with a sense of alarm as someone from the...
