Indian Readers discussion
Recommendations
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Little known books which you'd like to recommend
Smitha wrote: "I am reading this fantastic novel by Joanne Trollope, "Daughters in law" - a very poignant, astutely written novel, wonderful in its flow and character dissection. It deals with a family of 3 boys,..."He he Col. There have been some books that I always wanted to recommend. Thanks for creating this thread.
You have read Manju Kapur right? Somehow her books have been attracting me. They're very relationship centered, aren't they?
Mod
have read some reviews of Difficult Daughters. but have never read her books though...
There is this author Anne Perry (pen name) who writes crime and detective novels. There have been so many of them but what is different about her novels is that the setting is 19th century England and that they speak of social evils through the books, if not all most of them. There are two main series of novels with a lead detective in each series, Thomas Pitt and William Monk. I would rate the Thomas Pitt series better. Interestingly Anne Perry was herself convicted with the murder of her friend's mother along with the same friend when she was a teenager.
Checkout the books by Githa Hariharan. I read two of her books, 'In times of siege' and 'Fugitive Histories'. Both were dealing with themes of social and political importance. Her prose are very vivid and ideas thought provoking.'In times of siege' is about a middle aged professor of an Open university, whose work on indian social reformer-poet Basava, is challenged by Right-wing outfits. It deals with the censoring of books buckling to the pressure of mob and how he gets courage from a 20 yr old girl and her activist friends.
Similarly 'Fugitive histories' is about religious identities, against the backdrop of Post Godhra violence.
Mod
Sorry I couldnot talk in detail about Manju Kapur books earlier. My son was claiming my attention.
I have read 'DIfficult daughters", "Home" and "the immigrant" by her. Have "custody" too , which haven't read yet. I loved "immigrant" the best, though it deals with the darker side of arranged marriage. Home is about a partiarchal business family who deals with wholesale cloths business , difficult daughters is as the name suggest. All these have female oriented themes.
Mod
Smitha wrote: "Parikhit wrote: "Roger that. Thanks Col."Sorry I couldnot talk in detail about Manju Kapur books earlier. My son was claiming my attention.
I have read 'DIfficult daughters", "Home" and "the i..."
I have been called a feminist. :) I think I should like these books.
How I wish Col. you were in Bangalore. I would keep borrowing them from you and I would not be 'difficult' with the books and they would be in safe 'custody' :D
Mod
Smitha wrote: "LOL. Come for higher studies/work in Manipal, we can start a Manipal group here."I will try my best. :D
Mod
Girish wrote: "I don't know if it is little known, but Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid is supposed to be brilliant.. He is more known for the Reluctant Fundamentalist that is a wonderful read"I have read Reluctant Fundamentalist. Will be on the lookout for Moth Smoke. Thanks!
Mod
I don't know if you have already heard of him but for me he is a very interesting writer: it's E.T.A. Hoffmann. He was a German writer and you will surely know The Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky has made the ballet and also Disney has made a movie based on it) and another famous tale is The Sandman.He is considered a romantic writer but his tales are dark, macabre and he influenced Edgar Allan Poe, Dostoyevsky, Charles Dickens and so on. Perhaps Hoffmann is not very famous now but he had really a big influence in his time. He has written a lot of short stories where we sometimes can't understand if it is dream, reality, madness or supernatural. If I don't go wrong he has written only one novel The Devil's Elixirs and it is really worth to be read but first, to see if you like him, you should try the short stories.
Interesting thread. The one book that instantly comes to mind is "Fifty and Done", by Tara Deshpande.
Mod
Hmm...I wonder if it is the same Jaideep Verma who directed the documentary, 'Leaving Home', about the life and times of the musical band, 'Indian Ocean'.
I'd like to recommend the mystery DEATH OF A MANTIS by Michael Stanley, which came out as paperback with little fanfare but is a nominee for this year's Edgar award. A dead ranger is found in Botswana's Kalahari Desert surrounded by nomadic bushmen...who of course become suspects. It's a tale that winds together people of many races, led by the delightful police inspector (and insatiable gourmet) Kubu. Published in the US and UK and easy to order online.
I came upon this book in Lekhana Lit fest yesterday.the author read a few chapters from this book this is a satirical work.it was so hilarious.Once Upon A Time In Scandinavistan. i found out a article published some months ago which gives you the essence of the book and what its about. the article followsImagine this: a bulky, middle-aged Swedish man running through the streets, waving a sword, naked, smeared with tandoori paste. This, incidentally, is detective Herman Barsk’s finest moment in Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan and it’s also one of the most enjoyable bits in the novel.
Columist and critic Zac O’Yeah’s first English novel is actually a translation of his own Swedish language book Tandooriälgen, a tale set in a futuristic Sweden, published in 2006. A film version is rumoured to be in the works. We can easily imagine Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan as a thriller reminiscent of the 2006 Hollywood sci-fi film Children of Men. We can also imagine the novel being read as a horror story by contemporary Swedes. O’Yeah’s vision of the future presents a Sweden that global warming has turned tropical and world economics has turned into an Indian colony. There is a Common Language (English), there is no welfare state and everything, from street names to palates, has been Indianised. So Gothenburg is Gautampuri, native Swedes are jostling for space with Indians, everyone speaks at least a smattering of Hindi, the radio plays Mollywood (Malayalam film) hits and tandoori moose is the preferred late-night meal. After Barsk discovers a restaurant with tandoori-ed Indians in the oven, there begins an adventure that threatens the very existence of Gautampuri.
With its renamed streets and general lawlessness, O’Yeah’s Gothenburg/Gautampuri sounds like a place governed by the Shiv Sena. It’s the city in a sewer: ugly, grimy and infested with vermin. The few moments of calm are as close to beauty as O’Yeah will allow his reader, and invariably, a gory episode will follow. The morbidity is an unsettling contrast to the tongue-in-cheek tone of O’Yeah’s storytelling. Everything seems to be set up like a joke—the bumbling detective, goofy minor characters, ridiculous scenarios—but there’s no punch line. There are punches, however, as well as sliced bodies, bashed dentures and other examples of gore.
Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan is occasionally witty but it is not a funny story. If anything, the joke of giving characters names like Patiparmeshwar Gharwallah or Phillumappa Ishtarjee (he’s a Rajinikanth-like film star, in case you hadn’t guessed) wears thin after a while to an Indian reader. However, there are a few giggle-worthy moments, like Barsk running around wearing nothing but tandoori paste. The novel is a violent satire of the supposedly global society of the twenty-first century. It’s also a crime thriller that looks at the complicated way in which history is remembered, and how identity and racism can be mistaken for one another. But over the course of 400 pages, there are sections of Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan in which O’Yeah struggles to strike a balance between the thriller and the satire. As a result, some of the chunks in which O’Yeah makes his hero lumber around the Indianised life of Gautampuri residents feel tiresome and distract from the plot. Considering all the intrigue that O’Yeah packs in to the build-up, the climax proves to be anti-climactic.
The novelty of Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan is the world it’s set in and unfortunately for O’Yeah, the English translation has followed Super Sad True Love Story, which also shows a future where Asia rules the rest of the world. Consequently, anyone who has read the Gary Shteyngart novel will need to be hooked by the plot and characters. However, Barsk is no Lisbeth Salander and neither is O’Yeah’s storytelling as taut as Stieg Larsson’s. But while it may not be a thriller that you feel a compulsive need to finish, Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan is engaging enough.
Source: http://mumbaiboss.com/2010/12/07/a-sw...
Mod
in my TBR pile
Island of Blood If you like political non-fiction, then try Anita Pratap's Island of Blood. It accounts mainly her coverage of Srilankan chaos - LTTE, civil war, IPKF . And also her stint in Afghanistan and orissa after cyclone.If you have loved George Orwell's fictions, and if you want to really understand George Orwell, I suggest his non-fictions.
Homage to Catalonia
Down and Out in Paris and London
The Road to Wigan Pier
Just found this book!!! Fantasy+India...sounds interesting!!!
Mod
Leaving Microsoft to Change the world by John Wood is one of my favourites. He set up the global NGO Room to Read which provides story books to children including children in India. After reading this book, I began to volunteer for raising funds for Room to Read. They publish relevant story books in local languages also, train teachers how to maintain libraries and provide the books. They also provide scholarships.
They do not collect old story books as this involves a heavy logistic costs, plus some books may not be appropriate such as a book about a snowy Christmas to a kid in Rajashthan.
Here are some relevant urls.
http://www.roomtoread.org/page.aspx?p...
http://www.roomtoread.org/page.aspx?p...
Their contact details are available on the website.
'Crush', by Richard Siken. It is the best poetry book I've ever read.
I recommend The Women in Cages: Collected Stories by Vilas Sarang if you like to read short stories .
Well I read this book Tamasha in Bandargaon
By Navneet Jagannathan.My Literature teacher recommended this book to me. It's written by her nephew....so I found the book a light read. Since I read it when my finals were on, it was relaxing.
Hope anyone else will like it too.
Mod
am just halfway through but finding it so amazing that I cant wait to blab about it.
I am not sure whether its 'little known' though.
Anyone wants to read
, It's not about Vampires but about Demons!
Numey♥{Gifted~Cats*Books}☮ wrote: "Well I read this book Tamasha in Bandargaon By Navneet Jagannathan.My Literature teacher recommended this book to me. It's written by her nephew....so I found the..."
Yeah, good book....
King Fang wrote: "Anyone wants to read
, It's about Vampires but about Demons!"No vampires in this book! you have to edit!
The Complete Yes Prime Minister: The Diaries of the Right Hon. James HackerAbsolutely brilliant .Presented in the form of diaries, official documents, and letters, rather than simply transcribed scripts, this book is a companion to the successful BBC series, "Yes Prime Minister."
British humour at its best ,I consider "Yes Minister" and its sequel "Yes Prime Minister" to be the best pieces of political satire that I have eocountered. i was a kid when this series was aired in india and most comments passed over my head, my dad used to love the show , years later i watched yes minister and yes prime minister on net and enjoyed every bit of it. ji mantri ji (indian version) was a decent copy but sadly it never took off.
"In Qumran, women get stoned when they commit adultery. Unlike in Britain, where they commit adultery when they get stoned"
Read it.
"I consider "Yes Minister" and its sequel "Yes Prime Minister" to be the best pieces of political satire that I have eocountered."Seconded.
Girish wrote: "The Complete Yes Prime Minister: The Diaries of the Right Hon. James HackerAbsolutely brilliant .Presented in the form of diaries, official documents, and letters, rather than simply transcribed ..."
i have only seen the tv series. and i cannot help but wonder how can it be so relevant even today?.......
it was such a clever piece of work! and i thought the actors were brilliant.....the prime minister and his secretary and the Secretary.....
the books go on my to read list now.
Silent Ragathis was such a delight to read . i do not know if it is well known. not that much as far as i know.
the end is mediocre......but the book starts and flows so well that sometimes i think any end would seem mediocre only in that book......
Mod
BookendsMr. Maybe
i read these a while ago. so cannot remember too clearly about them except that i remember being really glad that i picked them up from a charity shop!! was glad to have found a good author!
Isobel's Weddingagain, read a while ago. but remember liking the writing. and i think i read one more by the same author.
Smoke and Mirrors : An Experience of China - Pallavi Aiyar
(The author's five-year stay in China, her observations, very studied, keen comparisons between India and China)The Rape of Nanking - Iris Chang
(A historical account of the Japanese invasion of the Chinese city and mass slaughter of its civilians in 1937)The Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
(The African-born woman's stubborn resistance to oppression - a very inspiring read)Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
(The Iranian-American writer's memoirs on her life in Iran before, during and after Khomeini's rule, along with her secret literary classes then banned in Iran)Begums, Thugs and White Mughals : The Journals of Fanny Parkes - William Darylymple
(Fanny Parkes, an exceptional woman of adventure and guts and real warmth, her forays into the intimate details of Indian life during the British Raj when few dared to explore the path she treaded upon)Desert Flower - Waris Dirie
(the extraordinary journey of Waris from her oppressed African nomadic society, when she ran away in her teens, travelling through the Somalian desert to Mogadishu, to her culmination into a supermodel in London - the true story of an extraordinary woman and her extraordinary courage and self-conviction)The Worst Desert on Earth - Charles Blackmore
(The only explorer, with his team, to get out of this notorious Chinese desert alive - The Taklamakan desert - the desert of death)
Smitha posted - Jess and the River Kids - Judith O'Neill - one of the best children fiction I've read ever. I've read this book atleast a dozen times, and still want to read it sometime later. Jess And The River Kids
Books from the last two posts are all on GR, but it is cumbersome to post so many links. Apologies for the inconvenience. :(
I initiated the same discussion on a different group, and had a very good response. It is the CONSTANT READER group. Since it is difficult to repost so many interesting titles, I provide below the link for everyone interested to check out. A lovely list has been put up.http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Due to an error, the link I posted here earlier re-directed to the Pride and Prejudice discussion post, so I have now corrected it.
Lit Bug wrote: "Books from the last two posts are all on GR, but it is cumbersome to post so many links. Apologies for the inconvenience. :("U can click on 'edit' for ur earlier post in the prev thread and then copy over the message (along with all the html links) That will retain all the html links and pics of the book covers as well. Not important though, u can do it when u really don't have anything else thats important, thanks for moving ur posts here :)
No issues at all, glad to do so. Thanks for the hint. Will re-post it. :)
Who Walk Alone by Perry Burgess. Non-fiction.A long time ago, in the 20th century, Phillipines was struck with a deadly disease - leprosy - that raged on for 300 years - incurable, stigmatized and deadly. Ned Langford suffered from it and faked his death so that his family would not come looking for him. Lepers from all over the country were put in a fort at Manila, which earned it the title 'The Sanctuary of Sorrow'. The story of a truly courageous man, a hopeless love, a painful life.
Follow every dream by Rashmi Bansal. Amazing book of courage and hardwork. I loved the stories. Perfect for working people.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryU will love this book
U will hate this book
but u wont b able to keep this down until u finish it
Indian Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
WHAT SOCIETY DOES TO GIR (other topics)India's Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Technology and the Indian Language Press, 1977-1999 (other topics)
Tokyo Cancelled (other topics)
Solo (other topics)
Stories in the Worst Way (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (other topics)W.G. Sebald (other topics)
Magnus Mills (other topics)
Rohinton Mistry (other topics)
Perry Burgess (other topics)
More...
I wanted to rant and rave about this book to all and one, and this gave me the idea of starting this thread.
Here we can share less known, nevertheless interesting and well written books. But please remember no Promos here - if you know the author you tend to be biased.