pen.books.and.scalpel

Her eyes welled up like the tides that rose a few feet away. What did they mean by “You can’t come here anymore”? Who were they to stop her from visiting her leisure spot, Kolanji wondered.  It was the same sea she watched with her eyes wide open the first time her parents took her there as a child. The same beach that made her dizzy when she submerged her feet in the waves for the first time when she was three. The same sea where she dipped in now and then when she was drowsy with happiness. She would be left drenched from head to toe, drawing her mother’s wrath towards the end of the day. Her father would giggle and drag her back to the same spot where they would spend hours bathing their dog, Subbu.  “Where the hell have you three been? Do you even know what time it is? No dinner for any of you today,” Kolanji’s mother would vent her spleen out but would not affect the daughter-father duo whatsoever. Subbu would shudder to dry himself up and wind around Kolanji, wagging his...

BOOK NAME: THE TREES AUTHOR NAME: PERCIVAL EVERETT GENRE: SATIRE PUBLISHER: PICADOR BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/gflc12x BOOK RATING: 5✨ BOOK IMAGE BOOK REVIEW I didn’t know there existed a genre that could seamlessly mix horror, humour, social commentary, fantasy, and satire and still be profound and relevant. I am surprised but elated that this did not find itself on the banned books list because it could have easily landed there for pushing all the right buttons!!  In The Trees, the author has chosen to weave a tale around the real-life lynching incident of a 14-year-old African-American, Emmett Till, in 1955, who was wrongly accused of trying to get friendly with a white woman. What starts as a discovery of a gruesome murder of two people, one of them white and the other one black, who disappears after each crime only to commit another, becomes an uprising of the oppressed against the oppressors - a recurring theme that’s enjoyable nevertheless.  I wi...

BOOK NAME: HELLO BEAUTIFUL  AUTHOR NAME: ANN NAPOLITANO GENRE: LITERARY FICTION PUBLISHER: PENGUIN BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/9uC5YlC BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW I so badly want someone to tell me that I read the wrong book this whole time. Or did I, really? Because this was not what I imagined it would be. I am so sorry to admit that I am among the one per cent of readers who hated this book. I am sad I chose the wrong book to end my year with. I was so deceived by the captivating cover and the mention of homage to Little Women. This is more of a rant than a review because I have nothing new to offer than what the 4 lakh people had already written about it, except for my own experiences. And to rant about this book, I don’t know how to do it without giving away a lot of the story and for obvious reasons, I am going to draw comparisons between this one and Little Women. So please feel free to skip this review because I might as well be spoiling two books for...

BOOK NAME: BEAUTY QUEENS OF BISHAN AUTHOR NAME: AKSHITA NANDA GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: VINTAGE BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/2WTxLsG BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW The peaceful coexistence of several small beauty saloon owners in the suburbs of Singapore is threatened by the arrival of D’Asthetique by April Chua. Particularly, Gurpreet, who runs the Monty Spa, develops a rivalry with April Chua, the celebrity makeup artist. They once again lock horns when they style their respective customers participating in the beauty pageant The Glam Slam Singapore, and both of them fight for their place in the saloon society.  Set around the lives of affluent Indian families living in Singapore, the story aptly represents the place and its people. This book felt like a mix of Crazy Rich Asians with any Bollywood festive movie. The vibrant setting, the lighthearted narrative, the theme of beauty, and its depth were appreciable. But I felt its language was a bit we...

BOOK NAME: OUR BONES IN YOUR THROAT AUTHOR NAME: MEGHA RAO GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: SIMON AND SCHUSTER INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/9FTou1f BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW We all grew up listening to stories of witches and huntresses. Often, these women have an eerie past, and their tales are used to discipline young girls. No wonder the male version of these mythical creatures never exists. But what if they weren’t witches or bloodthirsty enchantresses in the first place? What if they were all victims and were trying to fight their oppressors? But why the made-up narratives? Because how else would women stop resisting? But let’s agree that stories of goddesses exist, too, because women don’t need to conform. Esai and Scheherazade meet at St. Margaret’s and become friends because of their eccentricities. Scheher is an artist and a performer who turns her hurt and rage into words that inspire her college mates. But Esai is an adventurer delving deeper insid...

BOOK NAME: CHRONICLE OF AN HOUR AND A HALF AUTHOR NAME: SAHARU NUSAIBA KANNANARI GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: WESTLAND BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/5tMWItm BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW In a small town, Areekode, near Calicut in Kerala, Nabeesumma - mother of five boys who are now grown-up adults, opens her door to a news that is about to shatter her life. Her youngest, Burhan, is accused of maintaining an illicit affair with Reyhana, the mother of two girls who is fifteen years older than him. For any sane person, it’s an issue concerning two consenting grown-ups who should settle it among themselves and their families after reasoning. But what can stop a mob united by a common rage with a common purpose - to teach the seemingly consenting in a relationship a lesson that will cost them their lives?  This book experience for me was close to when I watched a Malayalam movie named Jallikattu in 2020. Both of these are narratives set around exposing the v...

BOOK NAME: THE INSTRUMENTALIST AUTHOR NAME: HARRIET CONSTABLE GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION PUBLISHER: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/9110WxJ BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Anna Maria della Pieta, remember the name. I have hardly heard of this person before reading this book. Strangely, many women of worth get buried in history, among several other names, until someone decides to talk for them. I am glad I read this book. Now I know about Anna Maria and her incredible talent that history has forgotten. Anna Maria, an orphan born in Venice to a sex worker, was abandoned at the ‘Pieta’, an orphanage with girls who shared a similar fate. She became interested in music early in life and soon became a part of the famous ‘figlie di coro’. She was inspired and tutored by Antonio Vivaldi, an extraordinary violinist and composer of his time. He took a special interest in Anna Maria, who swept him over with her musical prowess.  While following her teacher’s foots...

BOOK NAME: THE BOOK OF EXODUS AUTHOR NAME: V.J. JAMES (TRANSLATED FROM THE MALAYALAM BY MINISTHY. S) GENRE: MAGICAL REALISM PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/gm8r1iQ BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW I am literally obsessed with books based in Kerala or translated from Malayalam because of the simple fact that they come with such picturesque settings and a spectrum of unforgettable characters. I am very thankful that this book, written almost 25 years ago, was translated recently so that I could get the opportunity to read it. Set in Potta Thuruthu, a village in the backwaters of Kochi, the book starts with Kunjooty’s desire to reach the mountains beyond his town to join his ancestors. He gets inspired by the tales of the firebird narrated by his Valli Ammachi and makes it his mission to write the book of Exodus based on his village and its people. But Potta Thuruthu is a land of curse - just like Macondo in Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude.  Ku...

BOOK NAME: BATSHIT AUTHOR NAME: KRITIKA KAPOOR GENRE: FANTASY THRILLER / FEMINIST FICTION PUBLISHER: PANMACMILLAN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://amzn.in/d/fiNpAeY BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Pia Bhandari is in her thirties, facing a midlife crisis because her mother is forcing body standards on her, and her boyfriend is cheating on her with an Instagram influencer. She has had a troubled childhood because of multiple issues like her abusive mother, a friend who was perfect in all ways and a sister who had an ideal life. Now, it’s her chance to get what she wants, but only if she listens to the demon inside her. It grants her one wish per sacrifice she is willing to make, but how far can she go till the demon ceases to exist? This is the author’s debut book and my second one by her. I have noticed one thing in common in these books: they both have strong substance, but the execution somehow isn’t balanced. The second half of the book was great and intense, but the first half wa...