pen.books.and.scalpel

BOOK NAME: WAYEL KATI AUTHOR NAME: LINTHOI CHANU GENRE: MYTHOLOGY/FANTASY PUBLISHER: NIYOGI BOOKS BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Wayel-Kati-Quest-Seven-Guardians/dp/9391125875 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW Wayel Kati by Linthoi Chanu is a  Manipuri mythological folklore. Wayel kati -  the scissors of justice get stolen, and its seven protectors transform into demigods in the human realm to restore it where it belongs to avoid chaos. Laiba, the chief protector, helps Iwan, the boy king, assemble other protectors in the central kingdom, including Sana, the mother supreme and others. Their quest is disturbed at various points, and they fight against the odds to achieve their goal. There are also personal goals among the major ones which impede their pursuit. Did they succeed in finding the Wayel kati, and what happens to the protectors in the end? Read this to find out more. The book was very enjoyable and introduced me to various Manipuri cultures and ideologies....

BOOK NAME:  I KICK AND I FLY AUTHOR NAME: RUCHIRA GUPTA GENRE:  CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: ROCK THE BOAT - HARPERCOLLINS INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/I-KICK-FLY-Ruchira-Gupta/dp/0861546946 BOOK COVER IMAGE BOOK REVIEW A 14-year-old Heera, living in the red light area on the outskirts of Bihar, has been trained all her life for her Bisi Bele, a tradition where Nat girls were married to a banyan tree after reaching a certain age. But Heera knows what comes after the bisi bele. It is a world of living hell that follows, where girls are sold into prostitution by the dance company that acquires them. She has seen women from her family suffer that fate all along and decides to fight back. Heera and her mother retaliate when Ravi Lala gives them a deadline to join the other women, and that is when she finds Rini, a martial arts teacher who teaches kung fu. Heera is captivated by the art and finds her calling in kung fu. She goes to train herself and achi...

BOOK NAME: INDEPENDENCE  AUTHOR NAME: CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION  PUBLISHER: HARPERCOLLINS BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Independence-Chitra-Banerjee-Divakaruni/dp/9356294585 BOOK COVER IMAGE: BOOK REVIEW:   In 1947, in the remote village of Ranipur in West Bengal, life was all good for the local Doctor Nabakumar and his daughters - Deepa, Jamini and Priya. Deepa is sharp and innocent at heart and is blessed with an enchanting beauty. Though Jamini is a skilled artisan and caretaker of her family, she finds herself unloved and aloof. Priya is forthright and ambitious and wants to follow in her father's footsteps. Though Nabakumar and his wife always find themselves with contradicting opinions, their love bonds the family into a tight-knit one.  While Amit and Priya hope for a beautiful future together and for Nabakumar's family a peaceful life, riots break out in most parts of India which gets dirty in West Bengal. Each of...

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: 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: UNTIL I FIND YOU AUTHOR NAME: KANCHANA BANERJEE GENRE: MYSTERY THRILLER PUBLISHER: OM BOOKS INTERNATIONAL  BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Until-Find-You-engrossing-thriller/dp/9353768004 A good mystery thriller should make your guts twist and squeeze your brains, leaving your mouth agape at the last page with bone-chilling details. If you are reading a good thriller, then it should give you palpitations and leave you pondering over it for days. I experienced all of these while reading this book, which is why it is one of the best mystery thrillers out there. Jenny, the only survivor of the mass massacre of the cult that happened years ago, comes to a small village in Rajasthan named Bannod in search of a boy named Subah. Subah is connected to her life in more than one way, and she needs to meet Subah to relieve the guilt of not being able to help his mother, her best friend, during the massacre. He lives with his so-called father, who is also a powerful...

BOOK NAME: WHERE MAYFLIES LIVE FOREVER AUTHOR NAME: ANUPAMA MOHAN GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: PANMACMILLAN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Where-Mayflies-Live-Forever-Novel/dp/9390742536 ** TIMES OF INDIA ** Friday, 30 August 2002 PUDUKOTTAI  :  MAN BEHEADED, HEAD MISSING On 29 August 2002, around 7 pm, a decapitated body of a man was found outside a local bar-cum-restaurant in the Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu. According to the witnesses and police, the victim is identified as Sengaonoor Adhiban, an All India Tamilakam (AIT) party worker and a local school patron. The early witnesses of the gruesome act say that it was carried out by a woman who walked away with the chopped head to the local temple.  It is notable that 7 years ago, in 1988, a woman named Sriveni alleged that she was gang-raped and sexually assaulted by Adhiban and his four other associates. The honourable high court acquitted all of them in the year 2000 due to the l...

BOOK NAME: GOAT DAYS AUTHOR NAME: BENYAMIN (Translated from the Malayalam by JOSEPH KOYIPPALLY) GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION   PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK :   https://www.amazon.in/Goat-Days-Koyippally-Benyamin/dp/0143416332   This is the story of Najeeb, a miner living his mundane life in Kerala, bewitched by tales of the Middle East and aspires to get there someday. He makes his way into his dreamland with a job offer, only to realise that reality is worse than his expectations. He is forced into slavery to lead a life among goats while tending to them. He did not know that the desert would teach him more about survival and life than anything that he would remember forever.  The author speaks vividly about the life of workers in Arab countries who would kill to reach there to make ends meet. But most get lost in reality, which is far from their imagined lives. To imagine that people go through such experiences in life is a pain in itself. The book was...

BOOK NAME: FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN  AUTHOR NAME: ANITA DESAI GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK :  https://www.amazon.in/Fire-Mountain-Anita-Desai/dp/818400057X What do you think about the current plight of older adults in today's world? Is the current younger generation treating its elders with respect, or are they taking them for granted? If you have not wondered about it earlier, you will after you read this book. This Sahitya academy award winner has rightly broadcasted the lives of widowed and isolated women in India. Nanda Kaul is a widow living her sunset years secluded and content in Kasauli in a building named Carignano. Besides her house help, Ramlal, she doesn't entertain anybody on her premises. The news of her great-granddaughter, Raka's arrival in Kasauli threatens her peaceful and routine life. But she is bewildered that Raka, just like her, despises engaging with people and lives in her own world. Raka roams around the forest, se...

BOOK NAME: A MURDER ON MALABAR HILL - PERVEEN MISTRY INVESTIGATES AUTHOR NAME: SUJATA MASSEY GENRE: LEGAL THRILLER PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Murder-Malabar-Hill-Sujata-Massey/dp/0143428233 This book is the first in the 'Perveen Mistry investigates' series and is heavily inspired by the lives of Cornelia Sorabjee, the first woman to study law in Oxford to become India's first female attorney and Mithan Tata Lam, the first Indian woman lawyer to appear before a judge.  The book is set in old Bombay in the 1920s during British rule. Omar Farid's three widows decide to give up their mahr for the wakf board after his untimely death. Their decision worries Perveen as she feels they were heavily manipulated by Farid Mukhri, the family's guardian appointed by the late Farid. But before she could uncover the scandal, a murder happens in the palace under mysterious circumstances. Perveen must now find out the murderer on the loose whi...

BOOK NAME: THE FAR FIELD AUTHOR NAME: MADHURI VIJAY GENRE: CONTEMPORARY FICTION, POLITICAL FICTION PUBLISHER: FOURTH ESTATE INDIA ( HARPERCOLLINS INDIA) BOOK BUY LINK:   https://www.amazon.in/Far-Field-Madhuri-Vijay/dp/9353570956 I finally read this book that was waiting on my shelf for so long that I even forgot I owned it. What prompted me to pick it up was my quest to read books based on Kashmir for the readathon. Nevertheless, just the perfect time to read it.  Shalini, a 30-something onlyborn to wealthy parents, shares her life journey from childhood to adulthood. She starts with her mother, with whom she shares a wavering relationship. Sometimes, she understands her and wants to be just like her. And at other times, she is confused about her behaviour and wants to avoid her drama.  After losing her mother, she feels an irresistible urge to find Bashir Ahmed, a textile salesman who used to visit her house years ago. Shalini thinks he might have the answer to her ...

BOOK NAME : TERESA’S MAN AND OTHER STORIES FROM GOA AUTHOR NAME : DAMODAR MAUZO (TRANSLATED FROM THE KONKANI BY XAVIER COTA) PUBLISHER : RUPA PUBLICATIONS GENRE : SHORT STORY COLLECTION  BOOK BUY LINK :  https://www.amazon.in/Teresas-Man-other-Stories-Goa/dp/8129134667 This book is a collection of short stories set in different timelines based in Goa. I was so excited to start this book because it is my first book based on Goa and I wanted to read about its culture and background apart from being a tourist place. After reading this book, I would say that authors should write more Goan literature because the setting and culture is so rich and diverse.  A few stories in the book were witty, a few melancholic, and a few were thought-provoking. Though I would say I loved a few stories, I did not get entirely invested in a few others. That is because most of the stories had an open ending. It is one thing to finish a book on a cliffhanger, and it is entirely different to stop ...

BOOK NAME : COME, BEFORE EVENING FALLS AUTHOR NAME : MANJUL BAJAJ GENRE : HISTORICAL FICTION PUBLISHER: HACHETTE INDIA BOOK BUY LINK:  https://www.amazon.in/Before-Evening-Falls-Manjul-Bajaj/dp/9350090430 Honestly, if there is a time when I can't find the right words to describe how I exactly feel about a book, it's right now. I, for a moment, couldn’t think of any word to fill in the blank pages. But I have tried my best to do some justice to this book. This poignantly beautiful book is a story of a forbidden love entangled in the mess of family honour, caste issues, childhood trauma and morality. Raakha, the new teacher in kala Saand, is a revolutionist trying to change his society. He is surrounded by a strong aura that pulls everyone towards him, men and women alike. They all want to be liked by him and steal moments just to be around him. But he is unable get over Jugni since their first encounter when they locked eyes and horns with each other. Jugni- his Jugniye, is an u...

BOOK NAME: The Blue Umbrella AUTHOR NAME: Ruskin Bond NO. OF PAGES: 90 (illustrated) PUBLISHER: Rupa Publications BOOK BUY LINK:  https://www.amazon.in/Blue-Umbrella-Ruskin-Bond/dp/8171673406 BOOK 1 of explore India readathon for the state of Uttarakhand. As nostalgic as it can get, picking up Ruskin bond's book yet again is always a pleasure.  The blue umbrella is a short story that follows Binya, who lives with her brother, Bijju and her mother. She is happy tending to her cattle, Neelu and Gori, daily. As a ten-year-old, Binya's idea of fun is walking around the hills and watching tourists on her way back home. One day, she falls in love with a blue umbrella carried by a lady traveller, and Binya sacrifices her leopard claw charm with her beaded chain in exchange for the umbrella. While the other children never miss an opportunity to praise it and hold it for seconds in their hands, the adults are already jealous and disparage it. Ram bharosa is hell-bent on having it for h...