tsar

Reluctant Fundamentalist is a monologue given by an unreliable narrator about the emotional upheaval he went through in America post the events of 9/11.
While reading this book, I really liked the portrayal of the downward emotional spiral that Changez goes through but his criticism of the American government lacks nuance.
This book is quite a short read and that's possibly one of the reasons why all the points it makes regarding the American society feel superficial, at best.
I do agree that this book is a good introduction to contemporary fiction that's not western but if you don't need that, this would just feel like a regurgitation.

The Ones who walk away from Omelas is a story inspired from a popular thought expirement that ponders over the following question.
“Is the happiness of all worth the torture of an innocent person?”
The author implies that it isn't and walking away from one such “utopia” is the morally correct path.

To me, however, it feels like we already live in a version of Omelas.
Governments of different countries allow suffering of innocents because those people aren't under their jurisdiction. Or worse they justify it by propagating that those people are enemies in order to maintain the public order.

Is there an escape from the Omelas we live in and are silently complicit in the oppression of others?

This novel by Jame Joyce is considered to be the author's autobiographical work, focusing on his childhood and adolescent years in Ireland. In these formative years, the protagonist (Stephen Dedalus) undergoes different phases of self-analysis.
I really tried to like this book but it is just dreadfully boring to read. While I appreciated certain part of the book, especially the omnipresent political undertone but overall it is needlessly tedious.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas is a famed classic adventure novel. It tells the adventurous tales of four young soldiers, three musketeers and one young man (D'Artagnan) aspiring to be one.
The narrative flow of this book went like this - D'Artagnan picks a fight with someone, his three compatriots (Athos, Porthos & Aramis) join him in the fight, they win regardless of how many odds were stacked against them.
The motives for picking the aforementioned fights keep on changing and these motives are supposed to drive the plot forward.
Herein lies my main concern, the first half of the book portrays the entire party of cardinals as the antagonists and the royalists as the protagonists but the second half transforms into a revenge plot against one of the cardinal's minions (Milady) and the punishment she receives at the hands of the musketeers is the conclusion.
As the reader, there's no particular resolution regarding the tumultuous relationship between the cardinalists and the royalists.
Frankly, it felt like the book made big promises but failed to deliver them.

P.S. I didn't mention the sexist remarks made by the musketeers here because well I should have known what I signed up for when I chose to read a classic about the machismo of soldiers in early 17th century.

A book written chronicling the quarter-life crisis of a japanese woman and showing how to overcome it and learning how to give second chances to the right people. 

The book is divided into 2 parts, both focus on two types of relationships. 

The author emphasizes on two women both at different spheres of their life. Both have regrets, insecurities, yet a completely different way of dealing with things.

According to me, the first part of the book expertly depicts feeling lost and letting life pass by without any interest. 

The second part easily pales in comparison. 

“You can feel so alone but then realise how many songs, poems, and art are about the same thing you are feeling. it's great.”

I Always Think It's Forever is a personal memoir by the graphic designer Timothy Goodman, describing his whirlwind romance in Paris - its conception and ultimate downfall (the name is a giveaway).

This book is like food for the soul for anyone who has experienced a breakup of sorts.
The writing is mushy, at times preachy but the cute doodles distract you from the preachy-ness.

Moreover, it is refreshing to see a man challenge toxic masculinity and advocate for vulnerability and empathy.
(Bonus points for not relying on female characters for emotional heavy lifting but rather doing it himself).

“Madam Sir” is the autobiographical account of Manjari Jaruhar, first woman IPS officer of the Indian State Bihar. The author goes over her 34 year long career in the Police Service.
I really appreciate the refreshing candour the author depicts while talking about the issues faced by the police officers, also how the police is perceived by the citizens in India.
However, at certain times the book seemingly appears preachy.
Overall, this is a book I'd highly recommend my mom and honestly, any middle-aged Indian to read.

I appreciate the writing style but I can't stomach the protagonist's growing obsession with the temple and blaming it for all his shortcomings.
This book reminds me of “Old Man and the Sea”.
I make this comparison because in both the books the protagonist has created this prophecy to “master” something bigger than them.
While the sentiment to gain mastery over your self proclaimed adversary can be appreciated for a while, it is bound to get repetitive.
And that's what happens in this book.

The premise is good but the execution not so much.
This is a tale narrated by an anti-hero, who faces some trials but no retributions whatsoever and that didn't sit right with me.

“Time Shelter” starts off with an introduction to the eccentric character of “Gaustine”. A man who harbours grandeur ideas about the past and helping people with memory loss connect with the present by using the past as a medium, “a clinic of the past” if you will.
Though the book begins with the noble intentions of providing a respite to old people suffering from memory loss, it eventually proceeds to be a satirical comment on the society.
While reading this book one thing became clear to me, that this book is clever and a little too aware of its own premise. This is definitely one of the books I'll re-read.
Unfortunately, the open-ended conclusion, while reflecting the author's preference, left me looking for a more concrete resolution.

One of the very few books I have finished in one-sitting. She just sucks you right in her life and holds your attention with her writing and humor.

This is a collection of eight short stories by Haruki Murakami. It was initially published in a Japanese monthly literary magazine. All the stories involve an older Murakami looking back at his life with nostalgia.
This book hits the right spot with some stories whereas, some stories just missed the point.
Stories like Cream, The Yakult Swallows Poetry Collection and First Person Singular involve passages of honest introspection. Coupled with the usual spellbinding Murakami writing, elevated these stories for me.
However some stories (With the Beatles, On a Stone Pillow) where Murakami's visible inability to write multi dimensional female characters becomes apparent. As usual, the female characters serve as vessels for the other characters' emotions while their own are mystified.

The Color Purple was released in 1982, and it is a novel that defined its own niche in literature. It follows the story of two sisters, Celie & Nettie, who have been separated from each other due to certain circumstances.
Initially, I was skeptical of this book because I was scared that this was just going to be a stereotypical depiction. But I was pleasantly surprised to see the nuance provided to each and every single character in this book. The author has crafted each character with so much care that it is hard to pigeonhole them.
It feels incredible to think that this was published in 1982 because this book is clearly much better than all of the historical fiction books being released every year.
Truly, a well-deserved classic.

This novel revolves around four major characters, 2 relatively well-off city folks (Dina, Maneck) and 2 belonging to a backward caste (Ishvar, Om) in India. Through the book we see them get together inspite of their many differences to laugh together and understand each other's pain points. The novel is set against the backdrop of the emergency period in India, and sheds light on the gruesome acts committed in the name of “development” to the poor people, and how in the end “development” in a corrupt, broken social system is the same as oppression. This is possibly the reason why, most people find this book too hopeless to continue.

In this book, I realised early on that every happy instance for the characters would be followed by something terrible. (Not a good feeling to experience when you are rooting for all the characters)
While all the characters are very-well written and the writing isn't boring at all, I do wonder whether this is the right ending. It feels like, in the end the reader, like Maneck, loses all hope and resigns to the broken system accepting that no change for the better is possible.

An incredibly easy book that you can binge-read.

**SPOILER ALERT**
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig provides a new interpretation to the belief of life-flashing-before-death; instead, the protagonist Nora sees her alternate lives where she took the road not taken.
Basically, she goes through all her regrets and realises that focusing on the what-ifs is preventing her to enjoy her current life.

I will admit that this book oversimplifies a lot of mental health issues but, there's a certain charm to it.

Drive your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead is a murder mystery shrouded by philosophical monologues against animal cruelty.

The novel follows Janina, an old woman who deeply cares about animal rights & astrology. She is an unreliable narrator, someone who makes sense when she is exposing the hypocrisy that's prevalent in society regarding the treatment of animals. Yet, she can still be exhausting with her half-baked astrology theories.

Halfway through this book, I got really bored because the animal cruelty arguments got repetitive. Repetitive to the point, one has to wonder is this all a parody of animal activists?
The book only picked up in the last quarter, during its climax when the tiny pieces started lining up conveniently.
I felt like this book could have been a lot more interesting if you could get the PoVs of other secondary characters like Oddball & Dizzy. Something which shows, you the reader, how is Janine perceived by others.
Overall, this isn't the best murder mystery that will surprise you but when you look at the niche category of murder mystery with sermons against animal cruelty. This might work.

Breasts and Eggs is a novel segmented in two parts - one follows a woman who wants to get breast implants and the second part follows one who wants to have a baby but is struggling to get pregnant.

Hence - Breasts and Eggs.

The protagonist Natsuko, a struggling writer in Tokyo, serves as a vessel for other people's stories, and slowly builds her own arc.
The novel is clever but as a reader, you don't really feel any connection with Natsuko. She floats through life with a general apathy towards everything but that's not necessarily bad.

I really liked the pacing and structure in the second part of the book. The author really found her footing in this part.
The arguments made for and against artificial alternatives for pregnancy are well-articulated.

That said, the book isn't without its flaws - especially, the first part centered around her sister and niece is very disconnected from the same characters shown a couple years later in the second part.

The niece is really bothered about her career and wants to stay away from dating but after 3 years she's working part-time and dating someone, which is contradictory to what was shown before. It is possible that might have been a nod to the fact that as one grows up, they mellow down, but I would've liked to know the niece's reasoning.
Overall, this is a clever book that really takes a deep dive in the lives of adult women and critiques on the popular question - to have a child or not to have?

This was the first book i read by Agatha Christie (yes i gave it a full rating partially because of this)
Other than that i liked this book and it introduced me to the twisted yet great mind of Agatha Christie.
Now coming back to the book the lead characters Tommy and Tuppence both are loveable and absorbing and the story is very interesting
Overall i remember i could just not put this book down because it was just so good.

Phantom of the Opera is a french historical fiction book, which explores the devastating consequences of the dubious relationship between the Ghost of the Opera and a beautiful opera singer, Christine Daaé. It tackles the obsessive, crazy, kind of love (or fascination) that starts between the two.
The plot feels like a mix of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Wuthering Heights.

I really enjoyed the climax of this novel, it is truly one of the most dramatic, emotional endings I have encountered. I love how the novel explores the idea of being loved by being accepted for oneself.
Will definitely check out the play once.

Tender is the Night is F. Scott Fitzgerald's last completed novel and his most personal. It explores the marital life of the Drivers, Nicole and Dick—their union and ultimate downfall.
The characters are deeply influenced by Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, who was suffering from schizophrenia.
This lends a strong bias toward Dick's perspective and vices: his resentment toward Nicole, his guilt for feeling that way, his self-hatred for failing to meet his own ambitions and eventually turning to alcohol for an escape.
The other characters largely serve as plot devices, fading in significance next to the Drivers.
This book feels messy and raw, more like a therapy journal than a carefully structured novel. Unlike Fitzgerald's other works, which hold a window to the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age, Tender is the Night holds up a mirror to the author himself.

This book feels like reading a play having four acts. While the writing and characters are simple enough, the book as a whole makes you feel raw with emotion.
I loved that.

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell is a very well thought out book. It has a lot of interesting ideas and the references that Jenny Odell makes with historical instances are very astute and important even now. The idea of bioregionalism as a way for people to connect with their actual surroundings rather than some political idea of unity and the notion which the author advocates for a retreat are very well-put among others.

The chapters in the beginning are connected to the main theme of the book but the chapters that are supposed to contain the crux of the book are somehow lax. When the author actually has to answer the “How to” question the answer is very vague.
But overall I really enjoyed the book.

Like a Love Story follows the life of thee high school kids - Art, Judy and Reza.
Set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic, this book deals with a lot of tragedy, homophobia and its impact on gay young adults.
The author does a fantastic job of treading the line between serious issues like coming out and dealing with homophobia while simultaneously preserving the fun, youthful aspects of teenage life.

Although, I felt like the love triangle was a little too messy but apart from that it is a solid read.

Okay honestly this is one of those books that was kind of boring (for me) in the starting but I ended up enjoying it way more than I expected.

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy is fine at best, forgettable at its worst.

It follows a woman in the eighteenth century, striving to become a doctor when everyone and everything around her is telling her to give it up, because it is just a pipe dream.

That’s a strong hook and a solid plot.

I like some elements which it touches upon - self doubt, asexuality, internalized misogyny. All of these themes are explored in Felicity’s (the aforementioned woman) narrative.

There’s substance there and the book at least in the first half sticks to this.

In the second half though, it is as if the pacing decided to go on 2x speed and the character motivations aren’t as fleshed out as they were in the beginning.

It is not bad - I really enjoyed some parts of it but I’d prefer the first book (Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue) over this one.