This collection of three novellas by, arguably, the greatest living Indian writer was a revelation for me. I have never read Desai’s works before and was blown away by the gorgeous tapestry of colors, smells, textures and sights she evoke with her writing. In this collection, she draws on the same themes of art and culture clash to draw out different but overlapping messages about change and stagnation, without necessarily championing one over the other. In the novella of the title, we are introduced […]
Life goes on after a global disaster … or does it?
While a lot of readers have used the word “subtle” to describe Perrotta’s book, I think it is a bit too kind. Yes, The Leftovers has an intriguing plot—the world has undergone a “Rapture” of a sorts, with millions of men, women and children, even babies, suddenly disappearing in front of their families, friends, in classrooms, at the workplace, driving their cars, taking showers, and leaving no clue as to what happened to them. The real story is what happens to those left behind, or […]
Yes, we know strip mining is bad. Where did John Grisham go?
I keep waiting for the real Grisham—the author of “The Firm” and “A Time to Kill”—to return, but alas, it looks like I’ll have to keep waiting. Grey Mountain has a somewhat promising beginning, and although main protagonist Samantha is a bore from beginning to end, the plot has potential even if the most interesting character in the book gets killed off much too soon. And while I have total sympathy with Grisham’s theme in this book, the constant preaching and repetition put my teeth […]
Tattooed corpses and Muslim fundamentalists prove a heady mix in Thailand
Bangkok detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep of the Royal Thai Police returns in another dramatic, action-packed, and nearly hallucinogenic plot involving tattoo artists, mutilated corpses, golden-hearted whores, hard-bitten police captains, Muslim fundamentalists, and the CIA—all of this against the backdrop of an impoverished nation dependent on drugs and the sex trade for survival and a Buddha-worshipping cop who doesn’t hesitate to bend the rules when necessity and/or his conscience dictates. A strangely brilliant and obsessive CIA operative named Mitch Turner is found murdered in the bed […]