pen.books.and.scalpel

1. MAGIC SQUARE BY SALINI VINEETH Magic Square is a compelling, breezy novella on finding the right purpose at the right time, sometimes even by chance, just like how I stumbled upon this book. The time I took to finish this book since the discovery was hardly an hour—an hour that I am very glad to have spent this way.   This story starts with Amudha’s not-so-interesting PhD life, where her colleague Dheeraj turns out to be the only reason she continues the grind. Pursuing a PhD degree was never Amudha’s dream, but she took it up for lack of better options. One day, while helping Dheeraj with his project, she comes across a book owned by a certain L.V. Sreenivasan decades ago, who turns out to be not just a mathematics genius but also a literary enthusiast and a romantic at heart. A poem on the back of the book addressed to someone else piques her curiosity, and she sets out to do the unthinkable. Thus begins a journey of adventure, mystery, love, loss and more.   What starts ...

1.  FRENCH BRAID BY ANNE TYLER What do you aspire to do every morning when you walk around your house as a 60-year-old with a mug of coffee and a newspaper or Kindle in hand? When I grow old, I imagine myself reading Anne Tyler every single day, sipping my chai, loitering on the lawn, and letting the warmth of the sun penetrate my old, wrinkled skin just like her words do. I would love to read a few pages of her book every day, laugh with her characters, shed tears of joy and sorrow as they disintegrate and unite, hold the book closer to my heart whenever it ends and heave a sigh of relief as I open another.   When you start an Anne Tyler book, you should know what you are getting into. Ritualistically, all her books are set in Baltimore and revolve around a family whose members are all troubled, different, and unique in their own ways. Yet, none of her two books reads the same. It’s the magic Anne Tyler weaves with all the familiar words and unfamiliar territories. ...

1 .  ABSCOND BY ABRAHAM VERGHESE   This short story by Abraham Verghese is gripping, intense and sublime. Ravi’s dream of becoming a tennis star in New Jersey seems achievable with his father’s support, even though his mother wants him to tread in his father’s footsteps of becoming a neurosurgeon, like every Indian mother. But it all flips upside down one fine day, and all of a sudden Ravi must grow up and take charge. He was never prepared for what was coming, but he had no other choice than to accept it. Ravi learns that grief is subjective, taking one of its many forms in everyone. I loved this bittersweet story about loss, grief, and acceptance. With the way it started, I least expected the turn of events, and it really took me by surprise. At this point, I am convinced Abraham Verghese can make 38 pages as interesting as a 500-page novel. He can showcase Indianness in a foreign land with as less words as he is allowed to, and he does so with great finesse. All I can s...

BOOK NAME: THE BOOK OF DISAPPEARANCE AUTHOR NAME: IBTISAM AZEM, TRANSLATED FROM THE ARABIC BY SINAN ANTOON GENRE: POLITICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: SIMON AND SCHUSTER BOOK BUY LINK :  https://amzn.in/d/01LK6uj BOOK RATING: 5/5 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Though I don’t talk much about Palestine these days, I keep thinking about it. In the last year, there has not been a day when I haven’t searched actively about what’s happening in Palestine and its people. When the situation gets out of hand, all we can do is to educate ourselves and share our voices. And so, I picked a book that will help my cause, which is The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem. Alaa is grieving the loss of his grandmother who lived like a refugee in her own land. He reflects on their days in Jaffa, his father’s passing and the struggles his people faced in the hands of the IDF. On the other hand, Ariel, Alaa’s neighbour and friend, who is a liberal Zionist is stunned by the sudden disappearance of the ...

What once used to be a ‘green city’ and ‘The Paris of the South’ is now turning grey and is choking. Don’t take me wrong, I love travelling. I have been to a few places as a tourist, and I have always sensed a kind of hostility from the natives. I used to wonder why. But when I started being the native myself, I finally understood the reason.  Tourism is a very important industry that helps my place thrive. Job opportunities for locals are blooming, and people are happy to welcome outsiders to enjoy our place, including me. But now, things have changed. The reason? Partly the government, and partly a few irresponsible visitors.  1. The cheap alcohol gimmick What once used to be our unique selling point has now become an overrated and unwanted attraction for the town. There’s a bar or liquor store every 100 meters, and that has put many lives at risk. It has turned several locals into alcoholics who do not know how to drink responsibly or socially, adding to the disease and soc...

In a way, life is just like books. We never know what’s coming next until we reach that page. No one prepares us for the twists and turns coming ahead. They might strike us when we least expect them. But you know what? We learn to move on. That's what human resilience is made of. Every loss, every shift, every change passes—slowly, sometimes painfully, sometimes in a wink—but pass it does. And sometimes, a book you thought you might hate might surprise you. Sometimes, a character who didn't quite strike a chord with you might leave you devastated when they part. Isn't it quite life, though? But we cope. We learn, we grow stronger, and we prepare ourselves for the next chapter.   The same book that destroys us also heals us. And when life breaks us down, these words become the comfort we turn to. No matter if it disappoints us or threatens our peace, it will always provide answers—or at least help us ask the right questions at the right time. We learn just as much from a boo...