Neeraj Chavan

I have a new found admiration for Irish writers and this year has been the year where I have read a lot of Irish literature. And Barry Sebastian managed to impress me with his beautiful prose and style of writing. Reading this book has been a journey into historical Ireland and I loved every bit of it.

The story takes place in a mental asylum in Roscommon and the narration keeps switching between two main characters. Roseanne, an almost centenarian woman who's been lodged in the asylum for nearly her entire life, reflects upon her past and starts jotting it down on paper.

Meanwhile, the other narrator is, Dr. Green, the psychiatrist who looks after the asylum patients and is now trying to assess the inmates as the asylum is due for demolition and about to be shifted to a new place.

Barry's writing flows like a honeytrap which pulls you in and then hits you in the gut towards the end. It's a tragic story of loss, grief and how we humans have no control over our fate and destiny. The story of endurance and resilience in the face of tragedy and its lasting impact on the human soul. Of how truth is eventually a mere story that we tell ourselves to go on living in this world!

A brilliant read! 4.75 out of 5. I would love to explore more of Sebastian Barry's works!

I think this is the best dystopian novel I have ever read! Ray Bradbury has created a masterpiece here which is bound to make you think long and hard about the world and where it's headed.

The story begins with the protagonist Guy Montag, who is a fireman. And in this dystopian world, the firemen burn down books and the houses hide them.

The metaphorical message this book tries to convey is thought provoking and profound. It instills the importance of critical thinking and highlights how humanity is doomed if we stop reading books and learning from them. And how our role is to educate people who have abandoned books, and eventually abandoned thinking altogether.

And given the times we live in now, with social media being in cahoots with governments and billionaires, which in turn influences our minds and almost everything about the way we think, reading this book felt like a bleak and haunting experience. It also highlights how important it is to educate people and the role of an individual in a society that's deteriorating without being aware of it.

A must read book. I would recommend this to every reader out there! 5/5 for this work of literary brilliance!

I have a new found admiration for Irish writers and this year has been the year where I have read a lot of Irish literature. And Barry Sebastian managed to impress me with his beautiful prose and style of writing. Reading this book has been a journey into historical Ireland and I loved every bit of it.

The story takes place in a mental asylum in Roscommon and the narration keeps switching between two main characters. Roseanne, an almost centenarian woman who's been lodged in the asylum for nearly her entire life, reflects upon her past and starts jotting it down on paper.

Meanwhile, the other narrator is, Dr. Green, the psychiatrist who looks after the asylum patients and is now trying to assess the inmates as the asylum is due for demolition and about to be shifted to a new place.

Barry's writing flows like a honeytrap which pulls you in and then hits you in the gut towards the end. It's a tragic story of loss, grief and how we humans have no control over our fate and destiny. The story of endurance and resilience in the face of tragedy and its lasting impact on the human soul. Of how truth is eventually a mere story that we tell ourselves to go on living in this world!

A brilliant read! 4.75 out of 5. I would love to explore more of Sebastian Barry's works!

This is one of those books that is bound to stay with you in that little corner of your heart, ages after you have finished reading it. A beautiful coming of age story of a woman who has been through some unexpectedly dangerous incidents in the past and has survived to be a rather responsible adult. Well, as per what the society expects of responsible adults. Except for one thing, she has never got around to exploring what it means to be an emotionally intelligent adult.

She is an extremely awkward character who is discombobulated in social settings one can even say an unlikable misfit who doesn't even try in the slightest to fit in. On top of that, she's judgemental to her very core and often comes across as rude and mean with her words. Although, I enjoyed her internal monologue throughout, which is funny and makes it a hilarious read.

The whole story is divided into three parts, the good, the bad and the better. I loved how the book explores the theme of loneliness in adulthood and its devastating consequences on our mental health. The story also sheds light on how important it is to come to grips with our past and how crucial it is to learn to forgive ourselves and make peace in the present.

Eleanor Oliphant highlights those parts of us which we may have maybe hidden away in the crevices of our hearts, never to be bothered again. The message the book tries to impart is one of hope and how it's very important to talk and share our heart out from time to time with the people who care about us and our loved ones. And that it's never too late to start doing that. The conclusion when Eleanor comes to realise that how everyone is going through something or may have been through something and it's imperative to be kind to people. It's a long way for her and damn difficult but good to see her walking down that path of growth, towards the end of the book.

A beautiful read! I'd give this one 4.75 out of 5. Deducting 0.25 stars for how the writer has shown Eleanor being mean to people at times, with her words. That something I think could have been toned down a bit. Overall, it's an amazing read!💯

This one was a fun light-hearted read. Filled with lots of typical young adult drama, peppered with some romance.

The story is about the lead girl who happens to be a chess prodigy but has stoped playing the game due to some traumatic background story relating to her Dad and her family.

The lead guy is this unbeaten world chess champion who is described as some hot shot celebrity genius, which reminds me somewhat of Magnus Carlsen. The story begins when somehow the protagonist enters an open chess tournament with reluctance and somehow ends up beating this lead guy. This makes the lead guy fall for her and keeps on trying to "play chess with her", throughout the novel.

The plot revolves around their everyday lives, their emotional back story, family dynamics, friendships and yes, chess. Mostly chess. I enjoyed reading this book as it reminded me of my college days when I was pursuing my master's and also pursuing the love of my life, who's now my wife. We used to play chess online during covid lockdown where I used to teach her how to play and eventually she ended up mastering it and started defeating me regularly. Fun times indeed!

It's a simple read with the language and narration catering to a young audience. The dialogue sounded teensy to me but that's alright as that's how young adult romance is I guess.

The book also highlights the gender gap in chess and lack of women representation and the issues they have had to face with casual sexism. That part was interestingly eye opening.

Would like to explore more of Ali Hazelwood's works. Maybe something that's more mature.

Overall, I'lll give this 3.5 out of 5.

A heartwarming read that's going to make you emotional and on the verge of tears as you reach towards the end of the book.

I stumbled upon this book on Libby, labelled under the cozy reads section. It's about an old guy who has recently lost his wife and is coming to terms with his life without her presence.

The story revolves around how the protagonist's children take care of him and try to watch over him in this period of grief and mourning. A few days later the old man is visited by a white dog which only he can see. What follows is a rather humourous tale of his family's reaction to it and them being concerned if he's going crazy.

It's a beautiful story with the theme of death and loss of a loved one. I enjoy books which have pet dogs or any other animals in them. The book portrays the beauty of having strong family relationships and the beauty of love.

The end of the book nearly got me to tears. Surely worth reading!

Ever read one of those books that make you wonder about your life and how you're living it? Well, this book manages to do that.

The story is about an old guy who upon receiving a letter from an old friend who's dying of Cancer, heads out to post a letter back to her but instead decides that he'll go and meet her. He abandons everything and just sets off on foot, walking nearly 700 miles, for 88 days straight to meet her one final time to wish her a proper goodbye.

The book is a journey into Harold Fry's life, while he takes this unlikely journey to meet his friend. The book reflects on many themes like relationships, friendships, parenting, life, love and loss.

The book is like Vodka. A bit slow paced in the beginning but halfway through you get pulled into Harold's walk and then out of nowhere the ending hits you like a brick. It's emotionally intense and bound to make you feel things. Especially if you have lost a loved one. Surely worth a read.

Well, this book took me by surprise. Going in, I didn't have a lot of expectations from it but I liked its premise. By the time I finished the book, I was hooked to it. Especially the last few chapters of the book were really good!

Based in town of Ballina, in Mayo, Ireland, the story revolves around a few characters and how their lives get intertwined. The story has everything, right from dealing drugs to kidnapping and robbery. The best part is that it doesn't feel exaggerated or unrealistic. The writing takes getting used to and it takes time to understand some of the local slangs. But Colin Barrett has done a very good job with narration and storytelling. That makes this book worth reading.

Wild Houses is indeed a wild novel and is bound to leave you pondering. A farily quick and short read. The Irish in me enjoyed reading this one!

This is the second book from Claire Keegan that I have read and I'm in awe with her writing style! Her writing evokes a strong sense of belonging and makes you live in the shoes of the characters. A fairly quick read but it packs a punch.

The story's based around Magdalene Laundries in Ireland and how the young girls and women were subject to exploitation by the Roman Catholic church. The story follows a protagonist who's a family man and finds himself in a quandary when he stumbles across one of the girls from the convent, who's being exploited. What follows is the moral dilemma the protagonist undergoes on whether to save this girl or to turn a blind eye and continue living his own life with his wife and five daughters.

Keegan's writing is powerful and thought provoking. It is bound to grip you in through its descriptive storytelling and narration. A masterpiece of literary fiction! 5 out of 5 for this one!

This is one short and sweet read! It has three chapters which consist of three beautiful stories. Each story will make you empathize with the characters and grip you in their little tale and the lives that they lived.

The premise of the book is that there's a photo studio, which acts sort of like a pit stop where people arrive after their death. The narrator of the book is the guy who runs this photo studio. Every time someone arrives there, carried by Yama, they have to choose a picture for every year of their life that they have lived and then these pictures are shown to them before they move on towards the afterlife.

The book explores the idea of death, afterlife and visiting the past through time travel. I think Japanese writers have mastered the art of magical realism! Sanaka Hiiragi has woven a magic of her own with this book and the stories within.

Definitely worth reading if you like books like What You're Looking For Is In The Library or Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

A tragically heartwarming read which is bound to make you feel all those strong emotions and bring out a lump in your throat!

John Boyne has written a brilliant story that spans nearly a century. Starting off in Dublin of 1945 and ending in Dublin of 2015, this is one beautiful tale of love, friendship and societal stigmas. It also explores Dublin, Amsterdam and New York during this period.

The book's protagonist narrates his story of growing up homosexual in an adoptive family. The story took me through streets of Dublin which made it even more fun to read as I'm living and have walked along these streets. The book sheds light on human emotions and what it means to be human and to accept oneself and others, with your whole heart, in a society that's trying its best to trap you into its ambiguity and depravity.

One strong character that stood out for me is Catherine Goggin, the mother of the narrator. I was hooked throughout the whole story and the end was satisfying indeed!

Surely worth reading! John Boyne writes is a great storyteller and I would love to explore his other works!

I remember Stephen King referring to this book as his breakthrough book which established him as a writer in his memoir;On Writing. That's when I decided I need to give it a read. It's a masterpiece!

A hotshot writer gets trapped in a psychotic woman's bedroom, who claims to be his "number one fan in the world". What follows on is a story of Annie Wilkis making the writer write for her and his failed attempts to escape the wrath of this woman's descent into psychotic madness. Initially when I read the premise, I had my doubts over the limited setting of the story. But King has managed to build out this book beautifully. It's action packed, thrilling and an absolute page turner!

Another one of King's novel which I have to give 5 out of 5.