At the heart of this novel lies the history of South Africa. The story of the Swart family, which spread over a significant four-decade period, is intricately woven into the social, political, and cultural changes in their home country, providing a rich context to their narrative. This extensive backdrop is one of the redeeming qualities…
Tag: Africa
africa continent
The Family Remains By Lisa Jewell
When you leave the original storyline on a pause, this is how the saga should unfold towards a satisfying ending. The first book closed on all sorts of cliffhangers, so it’s hard not to imagine how this sequel kicks off with the discovery of mysterious bag of bones. Where the first novel presents the background…
Problems With People By David Guterson
There are so many books whose covers disappoint and then there are those whose cover delivers as promised. This book by David Guterson comes in the second category which delivers problems faced by people as promised on the cover of it. To be frank, it is not all gloom and doom narrative but rather peculiar…
Mythos By Stephen Fry
Mythos written by Stephen Fry is a contemporary and concise retelling of Greek mythology but with a classical narrative. It doesn’t necessarily travel in a linear manner and sometimes we find similarly named people or places in more than one stories. Having said that, this retelling of classical stories with a relaxed timeline and emphasis…
The Visit By Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
What a powerful short story this is!! Coming from the acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, this story definitely continues her brilliant writing style. Like her previous works, the main setting of the story is Nigeria with glimpses beyond the horizon of the western world. However what is most striking about this gem of a short…
Caste By Isabel Wilkerson
There is a saying in Marathi which roughly translates into English as, Caste is something you can not cast away. We see numerous examples of this in today’s day and age too, well into the second decade of the 21st century. As Isabel Wilkerson points out in this phenomenal book, this social issue has impacted…
From Words To Views: Lovecraft Country
Based on the 2016 novel written by Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country is basically a fantasy horror series which pays homage to the dark horror world of H.P. Lovecraft and successfully tries to bring the racism in the American society to the forefront. So, it’s indeed an interesting screen adaptation and a pre-requisite to watch this…
The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by Hisham Matar
How do you write about a loss? Specially, if the loss is so acute and bearing it is breaking your life. And, then how do you talk about grief? Which encompasses like an endless ocean, not letting you see the horizon beyond without the misty eyes or for that matter, not letting you sleep in…
Zikora By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This is an Amazon exclusive short story by the noted Nigerian author. In fact, this is her latest work of fiction post the acclaimed novel Americanah. You can call this as a short story, a stand-alone work of fiction or even a novella due to it’s form; but whatever you would like to classify this…
The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden By Jonas Jonasson
When I first picked up this book and went through the blurb on the backside cover; my immediate reaction was the plot seems bit weird but might be wonderful. And yes, I can now summarise that my initial guess was correct – quite a charming but weird tale with multiple whacky characters. So, the story…
The Cairo Trilogy- Palace of Desire By Naguib Mahfouz
The lyrics of a famous Hindi song were the ones came to my mind when I completed the second novel in the Cairo Trilogy. As the song goes, this novel talks about descending into recesses of one’s soul because of unrequited love. हम बेखुदी में तुमको पुकारे चले गये हम… हम बेखुदी में तुमको पुकारे…
The Cairo Trilogy – Palace Walk By Naguib Mahfouz
The Cairo Trilogy is more than just a book; it functions more like a time machine, taking you on a trip of bye gone era. This Cairo is far off from the pyramids and pharaohs you have heard of. This is a city of living, breathing neighbourhoods behind the massive gates & narrow alleyways of…
My Sister The Serial Killer By Oyinkan Braithwaite
How do you define love? What makes a family? What breaks it? And more importantly what do you mean by loyalty? Is it defined by love, morales, faith or utter disbelief in any/ all of them?