Twenty-seventh book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. A one line review for this book would be – He could have done so much better! Shashi Tharoor is a seasoned diplomat and is very well-known for his astute observations about India. Especially his for his deep insight into the politics of religion in India and the complex web of cultures, mythology and traditions that make India. So, it is natural to assume that when someone like him, who doesn’t hold back while talking about something, […]
This Author’s Note is the Twistiest of Twist Endings, Mind Blown
I finished this book this morning, got to the end and thought, sure, I’ll read the author’s note, and therein I found out that this story–about life and death and poverty and corruption and justice and injustice and good luck and bad luck in a Mumbai slum–is totally, COMPLETELY TRUE. It blew my mind, you guys, because it reads like fiction: the characters are so well-documented in their thoughts and dreams (and sometimes even in the listed cause of death in official records and police […]
Trigger Warning: Life can be tragic
Last month, the New York Times, and subsequently other major news outlets, covered the controversy over trigger warnings in academia, i.e., a growing movement on US college campuses to have professors provide warnings in advance of potentially disturbing topics covered in their syllabi (rape, racism, suicide, etc.). When I saw some of the books listed as requiring trigger warnings (Huck Finn, The Great Gatsby, Things Fall Apart), I was deeply disturbed and I generally agree with those who have spoken out against warnings. And does […]
Manmohan Singh: The man who rode the tiger
Twenty-fourth book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. I loved this book! Of course, a lot of people might want to disagree; calling this book biased, controversial, flagrant, irrelevant, pompous, simplistic or even plain stupid. Yet, they will have to agree that this is a charming tale about a reticent man. A man who accidentally became the leader of the world’s largest democracy and somehow proved himself worthy of that accident. And we would never be able to know about his secret life within […]