pen.books.and.scalpel

BOOK NAME: DINNER AT THE HOMESICK RESTAURANT AUTHOR NAME: ANNE TYLER GENRE: DOMESTIC/ LITERARY FICTION PUBLISHER: VINTAGE BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Dinner-Homesick-Restaurant-Anne-Tyler/dp/0099916401 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Remember when your grandma used to tell you stories as you followed her like a shadow before falling asleep in her warm, comfy hug? Well, yes, I do. Watching my Nani narrate me stories as I gape at her with dreamy eyes bewitched by the characters in her tales, the effortless narration as if she had done it a hundred times already or even lived through it, the vivid and lifelike dramatics and the turn of events is a photographic memory etched forever in my brain. And yeah, I think if my Nani had ever decided to publish her tales, they would have sounded just like this book.  Anne Tyler's storytelling, too, feels so intimate; just that Tyler telling you her story will not put you to sleep but will make you very much alive. The char...

BOOK NAME: WILD WOMEN - SEEKERS, PROTAGONISTS AND GODDESSES IN SACRED INDIAN POETRY AUTHOR NAME:  EDITED AND COMPILED BY ARUNDHATHI SUBRAMANIAM GENRE: POETRY ANTHOLOGY PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Wild-Women-Seekers-Protagonists-Goddesses/dp/0143464906 BOOK COVER IMAGE  BOOK REVIEW As a fiction lover, I think the idea behind an anthology is just brilliant. It's the only place where you get to read either multiple voices or multiple stories in a single volume. The variation in each story or poem brings out the best in each writer or just elevates the prowess of the author. This anthology, too, is wonderfully edited and compiled by the author and poet who has also contributed to the book. This book features over 200 sacred poems by a total of 56 authors across the nation. It starts with a few prominent names from before the 1000 BCE up until recent times. Not only does the book feature women's voices, but it also spotlights sacred poems...

BOOK NAME: THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE AUTHOR NAME: ELIF SHAFAK GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: PENGUIN BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Forty-Rules-Love-Elif-Shafak/dp/0241972930 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW I waited almost two long years to get my hands on this book until I finally decided to read it. But maybe because I was reading it after patiently and impatiently waiting for a long time, the book turned out to be a sour experience for me. I know this is one of the most loved books by most readers or, let's say, by almost all of bookstagram.  About the book, there is Ella Rubinstein, who is the protagonist in one half of the story. Ella is a mother of three, unhappy in her marriage and is currently working on her client's manuscript 'Sweet Blasphemy', based on the story of Rumi and Shams of Tabriz, the other major part of the book. While Ella finds the book intriguing, she starts investing her time in finding the one behind the story instead of ac...

BOOK NAME: THE MOUNTAINS SING AUTHOR NAME: NGUYEN PHAN QUE MAI GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: ONE WORLD PUBLICATIONS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Mountains-Sing-Que-Phan-Nguyen/dp/161620818X BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Women are tough, especially when they are in a position to protect their families and friends. And people who think otherwise should definitely read this book. This multigenerational war saga is an ode to such women whose stories were either forgotten or overlooked. This rippling, dual narrative told from a Vietnamese point of view of the internal turmoil called the Great Land Reform, and the war that happens later is sure to leave you devastated and humbled. It's been a while since I finished this book, probably sometime last month, and it's still one of the most difficult reviews I will ever write. Reasons: one, because it was way too traumatic, and two, because it is a slightly challenging read as compared to many other historical fictio...

BOOK NAME: THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT AUTHOR NAME: MARIANNE CRONIN GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION  PUBLISHER: PENGUIN BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/One-Hundred-Years-Lenni-Margot-ebook/dp/B08F7SS35N BOOK COVER IMAGE  BOOK REVIEW Are you done with the list of the most devastating books ever known to readers, and you feel empty right now and have no idea what to do next? Worry not; I am here with another recommendation that will tear your heart with its uplifting yet tragic dramedy. This book has stayed in my TBR for so long because I didn't want to get it over with so soon. But I realised it was time when I desperately needed a book with some delicious comedy and a heartbreaking plot. Lenni, a seventeen-year-old Swedish girl settled in Scotland and diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, finds it hard to cope in the Mayward. She keeps nagging the nurses and Father Arthur with her never-ending questions. Things are mundane until she meets an...