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PS: Don’t go by the title of this post. We don’t review only Booker winners. We are also willing to allow you to talk about Five Point Someone. Yeah, we are that open about it.

Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a book that neatly conforms to the phrase ‘poetry in motion’. Set in the times of the Chinese cultural revolution, when every educated youth was sent to the villages to get “re-educated” by the peasants, this book unfolds magically and just as youthfully as its protagonists.

Luo and Ma are two lads from the city whose parents have been classified as “enemies of the people” solely because they were educated doctors. Banished from the city, Luo and Ma find themselves in a village in the mountainous district of Yongjing. The book opens with a beautiful frame of the two kids being inspected by a crowd of peasants led by the village headman. I use the word frame because this book paints pictures very well in your mind. After all that is the quality of literary excellence – to tear away from the boundaries of prose and instead sketch moments in the reader’s mind.

One such moment is during the inspection when the peasants discover that these two kids possess a violin – clearly a Western instrument and hence blasphemous. Luo decides that Ma should play the violin and this act might make the peasants happy. He announces that Ma will play a Mozart sonata. To this, the village headman warily asks what is a sonata. Ma replies that it is a Western song. This raises the vigilante mode of the headman and he insists on knowing the name of the song. “Mozart….,” Ma manages to mutter and the headman snaps at him in anger asking him to name the song. At this crucial juncture, Luo calmly slips in and says that the song’s name is “Mozart Is Thinking of Chairman Mao”. Relief sets in all around, the headman smiles, nods to himself and replies, “Mozart is thinking of Chairman Mao all the time.” With that sweeping sentence he has just answered all questions about Mozart’s loyalty.

As Luo and Ma settle down to work in the fields, they discover and befriend another young boy from the city who has been sent to be “re-educated” to one of their neighbouring villages. This young boy, nicknamed Four-Eyes, has a secret – he is carrying with him a suitcase full of Western books. Through him, Luo and Ma are exposed to the French writer Balzac’s Ursule Mirouet. Luo and Ma read this book through the night and are fascinated about how it exposes them to worlds far away, to thoughts and emotions completely alien to them. Luo and Ma are now addicted – they want all the books from Four-Eyes. At around the same time, they meet the village tailor’s daughter – the beautiful little Chinese seamstress. A country girl, Luo and Ma both fall in love and take it upon themselves to “educate” her via the works of Balzac. Luo’s natural flair for story-telling is put to good use and she takes to Balzac like the proverbial fish does to water. Then one day, when Four-Eyes earned the permission to return to the city, Luo, Ma and the seamstress decide to steal the suitcase of books. After all, they couldn’t think of a life without Balzac!

Their lives become intertwined around works of Flaubert, Gogol, Melville, Romain Rolland and Alexander Dumas. The works of these master writers influence the three to such a large extent that their lives get changed forever.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a breezy little book that talks about the importance of dreaming, the futility of oppression and, perhaps directly so, the influence of literature on a society. While Balzac may have influenced many of the greatest writers of world literature (including Dickens, Dostoyevsky, Kerouac among others), Dai Sijie’s book is also a wonderful piece of writing and is perhaps a fitting tribute to Balzac.

Two young army cadets wanting to break the ranks. One smart, the other a romantic. Two powerful army generals gambolling in power. One is the country’s president, and the other touted as the “second most powerful” person. The country is Pakistan, and in the backdrop is the war between the USSR, Afghanistan and the USA.
The president, General Zia, dies in a plane crash. Pak One smoulders on its final journey into a blast and a whimper. Who killed General Zia? The young army cadets? The second most powerful man? The CIA? The ISI? A crate of mangoes? Did blind Zainab have anything to do with it? Or the crow that flits across India and Pakistan depending on the weather?

Mohammed Hanif’s The Case of Exploding Mangoes is a thrilling page-turner. The protagonist, Ali Shigri, is an army cadet whose outlook towards life has a lot to do with his father, Colonel Shigri’s, alleged suicide. His compatriot, Obaid, is a fragile dreamer and clearly a misfit in the army. General Akhtar is the second most powerful man, heading the ISI and keeping a watch on everything of importance in his country. Then there is the US Ambassador, running his own games to fufill their motives beyond Pakistan and Afghanistan’s borders.

The people who would like Zia dead are quite a few in this fast-paced explosive novel. Who actually does it, and whether you come to know of it is something you need to dive into its pages to find out. Ali Shigri’s ponderings on life’s nuances and its unpleasantries are noteworthy in the context of the proceedings.

The Case of Exploding Mangoes might not be a literary achievement (perhaps because it does not wander its cause on topics like humanities and the war suffering?) but it more than surely is a read that leaves you thrilled on having witnessed (from the inside) one of history’s better kept secrets – the death of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq.

Dilip D’Souza’s Roadrunner is a travelogue that goes way beyond the usual duty of chronicling events and sights. Pick up the Roadrunner if you want to question your assumptions, your prejudices and your understanding of concepts like patriotism and communities. Pick it up if you want to get a clue on how a culture of a country gets defined, how that culture impacts the lives of the people.

The entire concept of he taking up this road journey through the US is an enviable thought. I have lived in that country for a very short while, and yet I was able to comprehend and relate to many of the concepts that Dilip touches upon.

One such topic is that of accessibility. Specifically, tennis courts. During my brief stay in the US, I was able to access the sport, learn it and play it every single day without having to spend a fortune (for the record, I had to discontinue the sport once I got back to Bangalore. Access is too expensive and seems to be reserved for the elite. Ofcourse, getting to tennis courts in the snarling traffic is a huge deterrent too). Second, I had such easy access to public libraries that I was able to read a wide variety of books there for a nominal fee. Most importantly, it was so easy to get around from one place to another. Dilip brings about this contrast in his own distinctive style which is a treat to read.

Then there are interesting details about The Cadillac Ranch and the Prada Marfa. The Cadillac Ranch, as the name suggests, is a place where rows of Cadillacs have been stuck head-down into the ground. Why, you might ask? Dilip asks a more poignant question, ‘Would a Fiat ranch have had the same impact as that of a Cadillac ranch?” Why? And why not? I thought to myself, “Was that something to do with the Cadillac being a home car? Is patriotism defined this way?”

It is the ability of this book to make you ask such questions to yourself that makes it a must read. Then there are the mystery lights at Marfa which have a strange air to it – a platform has been set up in this small non-descript town called Marfa from where in the distance you are supposed to be able to see mysterious lights. Dilip sees the headlights of cars and trucks in the distance snaking through the winding road, but another set of people on the platfom do see them as the famous mystery lights. Who is to deny them the pleasure? And why?

Dilip gets his share of interactions with various sections of the American society. He gets to be with the ‘Bikers of Christ’ at the Sturgis bike carnival, gets to drive a fireman’s truck  and what’s more – he even gets to play music at a blues bar! To add to this, he also gets to meet Obama (and to whom he offered his burger) during the presidential campaigns.

While there are many such events that occur during this trip of his, the thread that binds everything together is his quest for understanding patriotism, freedom and the concept of being ‘liberal’. Here is an Indian, a member of the world’s largest democracy, taking a hard look at a country which is his second home and which is also another large democracy. How does patriotism get defined in the US, how do its citizens define and ‘practice ‘ its patriotism. He then relates the same to incidents back home in India. Why are they different? Who is right? Who is wrong? Or does that really matter as long as every one is compassionate to their fellow human beings?

The Roadrunner is a great read – a book that dwells on many serious topics and makes you think – and is very neatly wrapped in the guise of a fun travelogue.

Buy Roadrunner on Flipkart by clicking here.

If you are in Delhi, then head straight to the World Book Fair at the Pragati Maidan. Why? Well, apart from the fact that it is the largest book fair in India, you need to head there to get a copy of my book of course.

Neumonia and Other Sketch Stories will be available at the Serene Woods stall S1/24 – Hall 3 – 5. Be there and make the world a better place.

If you are not in Delhi and are in Bangalore, head straight to the Oxford Bookstore to get your copy of the book.

If you are not in Delhi and not in Bangalore, oh well, hmmm.

Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a known combination. A combination that has enthralled millions of readers globally with its tag line ‘A Trilogy in Four Parts’. (In fact, there was a 5th book released too and that is for the trivia pursuers).

Hitchhiker’s was a fabulous book with its quirky characters. But for someone who does not really like science fiction and fantasy, the series failed to hold its appeal after the second book. I read the final book with a mutual sense of goodbye and repeated its title “So long, and thanks for all the fish” at its conclusion.

Adams’ Last Chance to See, co-authored with zoologist Mark Carwardine, is a wonderful book, equally or more funny than Hitchhiker’s and at the same time conveying the seriousness of the dangers that various animal species on our planet are facing.

Commissioned by the Observer Colour Magazine, Douglas and Mark set out around the world to those places where certain animals were on the endangered list (perhaps some of them are no longer around). This journey takes them to meet the Komodo Dragons in Indonesia, the Aye-Aye in Madagascar and the Yangtze River Dolphin in China to name a few. Douglas’ perceptive remarks on the conditions of these animals and their countries forms a major part of the book. While Mark provides a zoologist’s view on the proceedings, Douglas’ commentary borders on philosophy and a satirical take on how the human species is running amok damaging this planet with utter disregard to its fellow co-inhabitants.

The book opens with the line “This isn’t at all what I expected” and chances are pretty good that you would feel the same as you leaf through this book written by an author better known for his travels through the infinite cosmos rather than lurking around forests and rivers on Earth. In an ironical way, it makes sense that someone who wrote about the galaxy was asked to write about the goings on of a planet that is showing no signs of curbing its ruthless massacre of other animals.

Take the case of The Yangtze River Dolphin which relies on sound for all its navigation needs. Now, the river is filled with huge boats driven by diesel engines that are loud enough to blank out all spectrums of sound frequencies. Amidst this noise, the Yantze River Dolphin is unable to hear anything clearly and more often than not finds itself crashing into ship propellers and other man-made artifacts on the water surface. Douglas and Mark, accompanied by a camera technician, dip their microphone right into the river and record the noise. All they hear is a loud constant blast! Such is the area in which the dolphin struggles to survive. The book is replete with many such insightful observations about animals that are nearing their last phase on Earth.

Read the book for two reasons: a) To know the fate of many of our fellow species on this planet and b) to marvel at how a serious topic can be broached and addressed without being preachy.

Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy.

Hindustan Times carried a short and nice review of my book, “Neumonia and Other Sketch Stories”.

Click here to read the review.

In case you are not able to view the epaper link, the review is reproduced below:

Want to buy the book? Click here to order online and get it shipped to you.

Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy.

In the recent past I have read three books – two by Steinbeck and one a classic American detective novel by Dashiel Hammet.

If you don’t have time for reading all three, I strongly recommend reading “The Short Reign of Pippin IV” by Steinbeck.


The Pearl by John Steinbeck 

This novel’s basic story dwells on the age-old theme of good vs. evil. However, trust Steinbeck to give this story in a way you would have never anticipated. Kino is a fisherman and a native of the land.

Intruders from outside have snatched his land’s resources and stolen the wealth of his legacy. To live is to survive for Kino and his family. One fine day, when he dives into the abyss of the ocean, he finds a pearl large enough to get the entire village talking about it. Jealousy floats fast and Kino finds his family and himself stalked and haunted by the evil men. What happens to him, and what happens to the pearl is a story that Steinbeck narrates in his inimitable style.


The Short Reign of Pippin IV by John Steinbeck


After having read two very serious and powerful novels of Steinbeck, this book came across as a complete surprise.

Steinbeck shows that his prowess lies not only in creating emotional serious tales but he is also a master satirist and can excel in humor as well. This book is brilliant, from start to finish. Set in France, this tale is about how a ordinary clerk (who has a fascination for astronomy!) finds himself, due to certain quirky events, crowned as the king of France. What follows is utter chaos in France and leaves the US and England confused beyond explanation.

Steinbeck goes up by many rungs on my ladder of admiration with this book. The sarcasm, wit and satire are all intertwined in the way it takes digs at political leanings of all kinds and at the functionary ways of the major powers of the world. Orwell’s Animal Farm brought out the premise of man’s inherent selfishness in a clinical and metaphorical manner. Steinbeck brings the same premise out but in a much more lucid, chaotic and extremely funny manner. This book is, to put it in the words used in the epilogue, “the French revolution turned upside down”.

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

This is a page-turner, a typical classic American detective novel. The kind that stirs up images of the detective wearing a long coat, smoking cigarettes at the drop of the hat (the very hat which he wears, of course), has a pretty secretary, his office has a door which is half covered with glass and carries loosely his name on a wooden plate.

Enter a pretty client who needs protection from someone and add in a few unexpected murders and before you know it, Sam Spade has a lot of work to do. A bunch of thugs traveling across the world craving for a statuette forms a thread of the story. The twists and turns and more murders as we go along the book make this a hard-to-put-down pulp-fiction sort of a novel. The Maltese Falcon scores high on the keeping-engaged scale. Read it when you have a plane to catch. Time won’t seem that long.

There are books which you like and make you exclaim in wonder after you are done reading them. These are good books and we have written about some of those here. They touch you, move you and leave you in applause.

Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face. The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid. Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions. How perfectly hideous they are!

And then he goes on to say this:

“I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream–I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy that we would forget all the maladies of mediaevalism, and return to the Hellenic ideal–to something finer, richer than the Hellenic ideal, it may be. But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself. The mutilation of the savage has its tragic survival in the self-denial that mars our lives. We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. The body
sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its
monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also. You, Mr. Gray, you yourself, with your rose-red youth and your rose-white boyhood, you have had passions that have made you afraid, thoughts that have filled you with terror, day-dreams and sleeping
dreams whose mere memory might stain your cheek with shame–”

This conversation has a very deep impact on Dorian. He looks at his wonderful portrait created by Basil and instantly wishes that his youth remains forever. This wish, in a strange manner, comes true and Dorian never ages. He indulges in all the pleasures of youth and vanity, mostly ghastly acts, and yet, none of his acts affect his soul. Instead, they show up on the picture. Every act that is supposed to age his soul, has an illustrated impact on the picture. Seeing this, in turn, gives Dorian a “terrible sense of pleasure” and fuels his ambitions. How far does he go in this space of narcissism is the story of this book. The separation of the actor and the result is a beautiful concept of the book, which in effect, keeps the soul separate from the human form. The soul corrupts and the human body does not. How does this influence a person’s behavior in society? How does he use this extraordinary power, which removes any stains of guilt from his heart and brain and instead darkens the picture alone?

The plot of this book is unique in the sense that it explores the deep annals of the human mind and at the same time keeps the virtues of conscience aside. The ending of the book is exceptional. It is perhaps something you can anticipate, but yet, it leaves you with a feeling of being highly surprised. That is the power of Oscar Wilde’s prose. And that is the power of a book which, unfortunately, raises the bar of literature higher. Unfortunately, because it is difficult to then read any literature without comparing it to one of its own pinnacles.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

When I turned over the last page of this book and stared at the blank page that publishers put in before the jacket takes over, I couldn’t get myself to put this book down. For this particular book, the blank page actually was a necessity. I needed a placeholder to fix my eyes on as my mind continued to marvel at the fabulous book that I had just finished. Detailed sketches of the story and the emotions drew themselves on that bare page and I finally put this book down with reverence, firmly believing that this was one of the best books I had read so far.

George and Lennie are ranch workers, migrating from one ranch to the other, in the hope of making some money, saving it, and then heading off to utopia. Utopia, for these labourers, is a piece of land for themselves, which they sow and harvest on their own terms. Utopia, for Lennie, is a place where they can “live of’ the fatta’ the lan’ “. However, there is one slight problem. Lennie is mentally challenged and George has been around since his childhood to help him sail through life’s complexities.

For George, Lennie has been like the proverbial albatross around his neck, preventing him from leading a worry-free life. But, this is an albatross he loves. And takes good care of. When one of Lennie’s acts causes the two to run away from their employer’s ranch, they head South and get work in another ranch. Another ranch where the work remains the same, their dream remains the same. Lennie continues to wait for living off the fatta’ the lan’ and George continues to keep him away from trouble from intellectually refined men around him. But till when can George continue to do so? When does the albatross become too heavy to carry around? What does Lennie do to make George question himself? Read the book, is my simple answer.

Steinbeck, through his writing, paints brilliantly the American ranch way of living, American dreams and in the process, makes the reader come on a head to head confrontation with one of the book’s most painful moment. What happens next? Do you deal with the moment? Does it simply go away leaving you to contemplate on just what happened? Or does it consume you leaving you at the mercy of the hopelessness of your role as a reader?

Of mice and men derives its title from a Robert Burns’s poem titled “To a mouse” which has given English the now famous literary quote “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.

There is something about books whose titles are inspired by Robert Burns’s poems. The other famous book to have done so is Salinger’s masterpiece – The Catcher in the Rye. This is a personal favourite and is also a book which I cherish the most.

Ladies and gentlemen, read Of Mice And Men and prepare to be taken into the depths of human understanding. And of course, remember to buy an edition which has a blank page at the end. You will need it.

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