pen.books.and.scalpel

BOOK NAME:  THE BOOK OF EVERLASTING THINGS AUTHOR NAME: AANCHAL MALHOTRA  GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS INDIA BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Book-Everlasting-Things-Novel/dp/9356294003 It's almost the year 1947, and the young perfumer, Samir, is bewitched by the novice calligrapher Firdaus' pistachio green eyes. They are young and very much in love that they ignore the burning borders and hope their relationship survives despite the smouldering rivalry. Only when their worlds shake do they face reality and succumb to fate. Samir realises Lahore is not the same anymore, and Hindus aren't welcome there. The loss, however, opens a portal to his uncle Vivek's secrets to him which is the only other thing he inherited from him apart from his art of perfumery.  What can I say about this book? How many words will be too many words for this review? I am dumbfounded, and anything I say will still be short. This book left an intense gnawing fee...

BOOK NAME: THREE TIMES LUCKY - JASMINE VILLA SERIES AUTHOR NAME: ANDALEEB WAJID GENRE: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE PUBLISHER: WESTLAND BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/THREE-TIMES-LUCKY-JASMINE-VILLA/dp/9395767944 This is the next and final book in the Jasmine Villa series and follows the life of the youngest Hassan sibling, Athiya. Athiya is strong, independent and believes in speaking her mind. She determines never to get married but finds herself falling crazily in love with Farhaan, her sister's brother-in-law. Circumstances force Athiya to get married immediately, and Farhaan offers to marry her the next day. Farhaan and Athiya don't confess their love misunderstanding each other for marrying for the sake of it. Amidst all, they try to kindle their relationship and make it together forever. In the second part of the series, I was not fond of Athiya's character as much as her sisters. But this book has given her character a makeover and with a much better purp...

BOOK NAME: LOVING YOU TWICE - JASMINE VILLA SERIES AUTHOR NAME: ANDALEEB WAJID GENRE: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE PUBLISHER: WESTLAND BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/LOVING-YOU-TWICE-JASMINE-VILLA/dp/939576791X The Jasmine Villa series is about the dynamic relationship of the three sisters - Tehzeeb, Ana and Athiya and their romantic interests. I wanted to read the first book of the series, 'One Way to Love' before starting the other two. But my never-ending TBR said, 'Stay within your limits'. And I decided to look up the summary and reviews of the former and got myself an idea of the setting of it. I agree it isn't the same as reading, but it helped me start with the other two. But do not worry if you are in the same boat as me; you can read them as standalone too. Loving you twice is the story of the middle Hasan sibling, Ana and how she fell head over heels for Luqman. After sharing a flight together, they realise their mutual love for each other, but...

BOOK NAME: HOMELESS BIRD AUTHOR NAME: GLORIA WHELAN GENRE: CONTEMPORARY / WOMEN'S FICTION PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS INDIA BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Homeless-Bird-Gloria-Whelan/dp/0064408191 Some books are written for children but are meant for everyone to read, irrespective of age and gender. Homeless Bird is one such book that genuinely deserves the national book award. It's incredible how many lessons and values can be added to a book that is less than 100 pages. Homeless Bird is the story of 13-year-old Koly, who is passionate about reading from a young age. But her parents get her married off to Hari, far away from their home. Koly is sent off to Hari's home with her self embroidered quilt and her mother's silver earring along with a heavy dowry. She tries to adjust to her new environment though she dreads her villainous mother-in-law. She finds a friend in her sister-in-law, Chandra, who is the only vent she finds in her new home, apart from her fa...

BOOK NAME: BLACK RIVER AUTHOR NAME: NILANJANA S. ROY GENRE: MURDER MYSTERY PUBLISHER: WESTLAND BOOKS, PUSHKIN PRESS BOOK BUY LINK :  https://www.amazon.in/Black-River-Nilanjana-S-Roy/dp/9395767111 Set in a rural village called Teetarpur, a few kilometres away from Delhi, this police procedural is based on religious politics prevalent in India. Chand's lonely world revolves around his 8-year-old daughter Munia who makes his life as a single father meaningful. But Chand's world falls apart when Munia is found hanging from the Jamun tree on his farmland. The villagers and police officers are convinced that the murderer is Mansoor, a drifter living on alms, as the circumstances turn against him even though the evidences say otherwise. The villagers decide to take matters into their hands to punish Mansoor for his alleged crime and take over the police station.  The story moves back and forth between the police procedural and Chand's past, where his relationship with his fri...

BOOK NAME: THE WITCH IN THE PEEPUL TREE AUTHOR NAME: AREFA TEHSIN GENRE: MURDER MYSTERY PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS INDIA   BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Witch-Peepul-Tree-Arefa-Tehsin/dp/9356992401 BOOK REVIEW: Dada Bhai and his wife, Mena Bhai, are a reformist couple sought out by women and minorities while criticised by the rest of the village. It is the year 1950, and on the day of Mahar Sankranti, Dada Bhai's son Ahad finds his sister, Sanaz, dead in her room. Just before Sanaz's lifeless body was discovered, Dada Bhai's house was flooded with visitors. From Rao Sahib - the Zamindar, to Hariharan - the middleman, Khadija - Dada Bhai's childless sister, Parijat -the nightsoil worker, Ismail - the housemaid and Nathu - the Bhil, was seen inside Dada Bhai's house on the same day. Inspector Tanendar Tapan Singh investigates the murder starting from Dad Bhai to everyone else, including Dad Bhai's widowed mother, Sugra and his housemaids, Badi Bi and I...

BOOK NAME: FRUITS OF THE BARREN TREE (PHOOLANGE) AUTHOR NAME: LEKHNATH CHHETRI (translated from the Nepali by ANURAG BASNET) GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA   BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Fruits-Barren-Tree-Lekhnath-Chhetri/dp/0670097411 This is my second book based on the Gorkhaland movement in Darjeeling after 'Song of the Soil', and Phoolange literally translates to 'those who scatter flowers', indicating the peaceful nature of the movement. But according to the author, it also means 'flowers from a tree that don't transform into anything and get wasted away', indicating the result of the Gorkhaland movement. Set in the 1980s in the village of Relling in Darjeeling, this story focuses on the battle between the Green Party (the GNLF) and the red party (the communist party) in establishing a separate state of Gorkhaland. Contrary to the title, this battle doesn't seem peaceful and looks to have caused chaos and trouble....

BOOK NAME: MEDICAL MALADIES AUTHOR NAME: HARIS QADEER GENRE: MEDICAL ANTHOLOGY PUBLISHER: NIYOGI BOOKS   BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Medical-Maladies-Stories-Disease-Languages/dp/9391125751 The Indian medical field is vast and versatile, and writing stories based on medical experiences needs keen research or first-hand encounters. This book is a collection of 19 short stories translated from different languages like Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Odia, Bengali, Kashmiri, Hindi, Assamese and Marathi. All the stories are either medical fiction or nonfiction, involving the works of prominent writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Saadat Hasan Manto, Premchand and many others.  The stories involve every aspect of medicine, including modern medical practices like allopathy, homoeopathy, ayurveda, and Siddha, traditional practitioners like Vaids, Hakims, folk healers, and midwives. I was so glad to read tales accurately representing the medical field in all its aspects. M...

BOOK NAME: THE BANDIT QUEENS AUTHOR NAME: PARINI SHROFF GENRE: MYSTERY THRILLER PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS   BOOK BUY LINK :  https://www.amazon.in/Bandit-Queens-LONGLISTED-WOMENS-FICTION/dp/9356296200 Longlisted for the women's prize for fiction for the year 2023, this book had heads turning towards it from the start of its release. I have read a few dark humour books in the past. But Honestly, I don't remember laughing out loud, unaware of my surroundings while reading a book, and this was my first time doing it.  Geeta was abandoned by her good-for-nothing husband five years ago, who suddenly disappeared from her house and life one day. But people in her remote village in India believe she had killed and fed him to the dogs. The women in her microloan group, Farah, Saloni, Priya and Preity, also seem to think the same. One day, her frenemy, Farah, approaches her for ideas to get rid of her abusive husband, just like Geeta was believed to have. Things go downhill from...

BOOK NAME: UPON A SLEEPLESS ISLE AUTHOR NAME: ANDREW FIDEL FERNANDO GENRE: NONFICTION (TRAVELOGUE) PUBLISHER: PANMACMILLAN INDIA (PICADOR INDIA) BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Upon-Sleepless-Andrew-Fidel-Fernando-ebook/dp/B07SQQZ1C6 This book made me believe that travelogues are the best form of literature to learn about a place in its entirety. From the start till the end, the book did not seem to bore me at all, given that it's nonfiction and was very rightly chosen as the winner of the 2019 Gratiaen Prize. Being a Tamilian, I have learned a lot about Sri Lanka through the Tamil media ever since childhood. But reading and witnessing the account through the lens of a Sri Lankan writer was mesmerising. The author has beautifully given an understanding of the Srilankan culture, religious practices, internal conflicts, landscapes, war memorials, cuisines and much more. The journalist in the writer shows throughout the book in the way it has been narrated with wit, humour...