Tag: reviews

5 Star Reads, Book Review, Contemporary

A Man Called Ove: A tale of loss, a tale of life ★★★★★

Ove is a curmudgeonly old man who is disappointed about everything around him. He has taken upon himself to make sure everybody sticks to the rules because if he doesn’t monitor the situations around him everyday like a hawk then things would awkwardly go wrong. He had been the same cranky, principled, uncompromising person who is pretty much devoid of emotions until he met Sonja. … Continue reading A Man Called Ove: A tale of loss, a tale of life ★★★★★

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Book Review, Japanese Lit

Men Without Women: Cats, Music and Murakami

It is a collection of seven short stories with a similar sense of eerie, alienation, vulnerability, and loneliness of the male characters dealing with either grief, unrequited love, betrayal, or something completely peculiar. This book is translated from original Japanese by Philip Gabriel and Ted Goossen. Cats, Jazz, and Murakami with the usual surrealism are the elements that one can expect from this book. You … Continue reading Men Without Women: Cats, Music and Murakami

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Book Review, Japanese Lit

Convenience Store Woman : #JapaneseLit ★★★.5

It is a short, quirky and idiosyncratic story with its set of blemishes. The protagonist Keiko won’t leave you easily. Though she may not be very relatable you would want to read about her more to get some insights on how she functions. Keiko is socially oblivious yet she makes multiple attempts to fit into the same ‘social circle’ by imitating others. The circle of … Continue reading Convenience Store Woman : #JapaneseLit ★★★.5

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Book Review, Contemporary

Normal People: An unusual love theme ★★★

The entire narrative is about its characters and their progression over the years. It is an unlikely love story which can tear you apart but can fill your heart with warmth. The novel is gripping in the beginning but plummets down in the middle. It talks about issues like depression and people transcending it. A twisted tale of two people falling in love over and … Continue reading Normal People: An unusual love theme ★★★

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Book Review, Japanese Lit

A short but dense novel to begin with #JapaneseLit

Title: South of the Border, West of the Sun Author: Haruki MurakamiGenre: Fiction, Japanese LiteratureRating: 3.5/5 You know you are reading a Murakami when you feel you are lost in the world of a pensive mood nostalgic enough to make you emotional, melancholic and composed. Being a regular Murakami reader I have noticed that he has a distinct style when it comes to writing. Even though … Continue reading A short but dense novel to begin with #JapaneseLit

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Book Review

Wheels of Wish | An amalgamation of mystery and mythology

Title: Wheels of Wish Author: Bhibhu Datta Rout Genre: Mystery Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆ A combination of variegated knowledge systems including history, biology and mythological, ‘Wheels of Wishes” turns out to be one of the most enriching and engaging reads. The novel focus on three parallel stories following three separate timelines. While Shashank Chaudhary is charged with the heinous crime of sexual assault of Roohani, this … Continue reading Wheels of Wish | An amalgamation of mystery and mythology

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Book Review, Indian lit, Short stories

Review: Arranged Marriage

Title: Arranged Marriage Author: Chitra B. Divakaruni Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆ One of the towering female writers of India, Divakaruni’s texts have always proved their merit in determining the ultimate question of female emancipation from the regulating forces of patriarchy by providing a narrative space for the feminist voices to flourish. This book is a collection of eleven short stories where the female protagonists coming from diverse strata … Continue reading Review: Arranged Marriage

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5 Star Reads, Book Review, Japanese Lit

Kafka On The Shore: Magical Realism ★★★★★

Kafka Tamura, a fifteen-year-old abandons his home to embark upon a journey in the quest of something, something which makes him feel free, something which gives him a profound comprehension of himself, something which absolves him of the devastating prophecy and something which gives meaning to his otherwise meaningless life. Nakata is an old man who has lost the ability to read or write but … Continue reading Kafka On The Shore: Magical Realism ★★★★★

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Book Review, Mystery

Review: Murder on the Orient Express

Title: Murder on the Orient Express Author: Agatha Christie Rating: 4/5 ★★★★☆ This is going to be a short and spoiler-free review aiming to tempt those who haven’t been able to catch up on this book. This was a book which was not initially on my TBR list for November but was carefully bounced up because of the movie adaptation being released this month. And, I … Continue reading Review: Murder on the Orient Express

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African Lit, Book Review

Review: Things Fall Apart

Title: Things Fall Apart Author: Chinua Achebe Rating: 3/5 ★★★☆☆ Set against the backdrop of colonial times, this book is written with a political agenda of showcasing that impact of modernism on the lives of Nigerian communities. This story permeated within me a sense of empathy towards the lost and forgotten cultures who fell victim to the impending reformation. I dealt with a sense of epiphany … Continue reading Review: Things Fall Apart

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