pen.books.and.scalpel

I read not one, but two children’s book after a long, long while because why should only kids have all the fun? I am sharing with you the review of both these books so you can do the same, too.  1. BOOK ONE: THE INVENTION OF SHOE BY  RABINDRANATH TAGORE - RETOLD FROM THE BENGALI BY NIRMAL KANTI BHATTACHARJEE, VISUALISED AND ILLUSTRATED BY SEKHAR MUKHERJEE This is a colourful, illustrated book on a king who demands that his people find a way to keep his feet free from dirt. People rummage through the options from carpeting the land he steps on to covering the entire earth with leather. But nothing seems plausible until one intelligent man steps in to find a solution that is simple and reasonable. Sounds pretty interesting right? That’s what I thought too.  I read it aloud with my nephew and he was bewitched by the beautiful illustrations and I had to start over plenty of times because he did not want this book to end. It works wonderfully to get your little ones into the ...

                                  “Martyr,” they said.  “The saviour,” said someone else. They said he had turned immortal. He will return like a phoenix in his next life, reported the Daily Tales newspaper. He was brave and brutal for a few, and a hero for many. But for me, he was my Shree—my soulmate, my better half. I lost him in the summer of 2022, in the crossfire that happened near his camp, when he was attending to his wounded friend. The day the nation mourned his death, the sky wept with me. It was shades of grey everywhere since the colour that brightened my life had disappeared. They let us touch him one last time before bidding him farewell. I sat by his side the whole time, grieving in silence as the officials offered their condolences. His belongings were packed neatly in a parcel and promptly returned to me just after we laid him to rest, six feet beneath the ground.  It all...

BOOK NAME: SMALL BOAT AUTHOR NAME: VINCENT DELECROIX, TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY HELEN STEVENSON GENRE: LITERARY FICTION PUBLISHER: SIMON AND SCHUSTER BOOK BUY LINK:  https://amzn.in/d/hXNxAYw BOOK RATING: 5/5  Small Boat is a short novel based on a real incident in 2021, when a dinghy carrying immigrants from France to the UK capsized, causing the deaths of 21 on board, sparing two. While the dinghy was submerging, calls were made to both French and English officials seeking help, but they were left waiting until death arrived. This book captures what went through the minds of the victims as they awaited rescue and the French official who believed they did not deserve to be saved. This small book carries a world of emotions, told mostly from the point of view of the apathetic French official who dismissed their call for help and downplayed the seriousness of the situation. It was disturbing to read how she viewed immigrants in general because of her trauma, and how th...

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding a recent Tamil movie for its diabolical portrayal of the female protagonist. In the film, the female lead falls in love with the male protagonist and proposes to him who dismisses her initially. But when he falls back in love with her 6 months later, she is already with someone else who soon gets pregnant with his child but is now forced to marry the male protagonist owing to circumstances. The hero is well aware of her situation and still proceeds to “fake marry” her so that he can unite the lovers silently later while sacrificing his love. And then, he is heartbroken. At the end, the heroine lives a life she always needed but at the cost of his. Now do you see where all the problems started? Don't you?    The movie could have silently portrayed the struggles of both protagonists as they navigate life through this complex situation. It would have been widely accepted and also would have served as a solution for the modern-day problems....