A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman, 2012

Rating: 5/5

There are several things to like about this book. To start off with, the chapter titles. Titles such as “A Man Called Ove Buys a Computer That is Not a Computer” cannot but fail to bring a smile to the reader’s lips. Two, the writing style. Backman writes simply (despite the fact that flashbacks are interspersed with the present narrative) and humorously. While I read the English translation of the original Swedish book, the reading pleasure was not diminished one bit. And finally, the bitter-sweet and heart-warming aspect of the book. The main characters are well fleshed out and despite their shortcomings, one tends to root for them.

The book is the story of, of course, a man called Ove. He’s 59, extremely grumpy, hates change, has lost his job because of age, and is uncomfortable with modern technology, bureaucrats, and even coffee machines. He hates people who trade their Swedish cars for an Audi or a BMW. But Ove has several redeeming characteristics too. He is honest as when he returns a lost wallet at the age of 9, he has high principles and sticks to them, and has abiding love for his wife, Sonja. Mainly, while he will never admit it, he has a soft heart as shown by his interactions with his Iranian neighbour Parveneh and her children, with his friend turned foe Rune, with some local youth, and with a cat that he has been made to adopt.

This book is somewhat similar to The Rosie Project (which was published a year later) – it’s about a slightly dysfunctional man and his wife who are poles apart, and the gradual changes brought about in him. The one issue I had about the book though was that it was a bit too trite. Backman tries to tick a lot of boxes for Ove including his acceptance of foreigners and homosexuality and the ending is a bit too glib with all the pieces falling neatly in place. And like The Rosie Project, it does get soppy at times.

An enjoyable sidenote is the blog that catapulted Backman to fame well before his books did. It’s a humorous and wry complaint and is a poignant take on parenting. You can find it here: https://community.babycentre.co.uk/post/a14203785/i_loved_this_piece_of_writing_from_a_dad_blog

Pros: Funny and well-written, heart-warming, lovely chapter titles

Cons: A bit trite and soppy

The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett, 2020

Rating: 5/5

The Vanishing Half starts off in the fictional town of Mallard, which was built in 1848 by a person with mixed parentage for “men like him, who would never be accepted as white but refused to be treated as blacks”. Even as his black mother keeps him in the sun to darken his skin, he eventually marries a woman with lighter skin than even his own, hoping that future generations get lighter and lighter, “like a cup of coffee being steadily diluted with cream”, as Bennett puts it. This – the tussle between wanting to pass as white, for that meant to pass as free, and the fierce need to own and protect one’s racial identity – then forms the core of this novel.

Desiree and Stella are twin sisters and descendants of Mallard’s founder, physically identical but as different as chalk and cheese. Desiree is the more adventurous and rebellious of the two while Stella is the staider, and they run away from home at the age of sixteen – Desiree because she hates the pretentious town where people are “colorstruck” and Stella simply because she wants a better life. And as fate would have it, and due to individual choices that the sisters make, Desiree returns home while Stella passes as white and leads a life filled with lies.

The story spans about 40 years and touches upon three generations, with intertwining stories, and is filled with an interesting and well-fleshed out supporting cast – Early Jones, who had a childhood crush on Desiree but could not express it due to his color and who eventually becomes her main pillar of support, Desiree’s dark-skinned daughter Jude, who like her mother, is unforgiving of people who refuse to recognize their heritage, her boyfriend Reese who has been grappling with issues related to his sexuality and Stella’s daughter Kennedy, a Californian blonde, with a  chequered relationship with her mother.

The contrast between Desiree and Stella is one of the most interesting aspects of the book, and also likely to be one of the most debated topics for any reading club. Ostensibly, the portrayal of Desiree seems more sympathetic and that of Stella seems somewhat cruel. But the story gradually reveals several layers to their characters. For example, it is unclear whether Desiree’s marriage to dark-skinned Sam is driven purely by love or to an extent by her hatred of what Mallard stood for and Stella’s behavior is partly explained by the racial and sexual violence witness by her during her childhood and teen years.

Finally, Bennett’s writing is top-notch – simple yet evocative. At one point, Stella, who spends nearly her entire life hiding things from everyone around her, notices her husband’s arousal and feels embarrassed for him as “she could think of nothing more horrifying than not being able to hide what she wanted” and metaphors such as these add to the reading pleasure!

Pros: Interesting plot, well-defined characters, beautiful writing

Cons: None really, unless this genre does not appeal to one

The Anarchy, William Dalrymple, 2019

Rating: 5/5

As an Indian, I had learnt a fair amount about the East India Company (EIC) in my school history lessons but after reading Anarchy, I have come to realise that the study was largely superficial — we were fed some broad knowledge of this organisation and the fact that it had looted India systematically over decades. Dalrymple’s book details the nuances extremely well, distinguishing EIC from the British government, and pointing out to the fact that it was the world’s first private multinational and possibly the most ruthless to date.

The book covers the 275-year history of EIC, starting from a meeting of a motley group in London in 1599 to its eventual demise in 1874 – it covers all the significant events during this period as related to India ranging from the roles played by Robert Clive, Warren Hastings and Richard Wellesley and by the French to the fall of the Mughal empire and the rise and fall of the Marathas and of Tipu Sultan, and takes about a fifth of the book to lay the background to EIC’s first military manoeuvres. 

Dalrymple’s detailing throughout the book has been excellent and he quotes liberally from texts and letters of those times – the research that he has put in clearly shows. An added bonus is the list of the “dramatis personae” that he lists -- a few of the Indian rulers, EIC’s officials and the British administrators. Despite having been schooled in the Indian education system, I was unaware of quite a few of them. India has been his adopted home for the past few decades and his fondness for the country clearly shows through as well.

There are parts of the book that do tend to get tiring, especially the second quarter of the book, and some of the descriptions of the political manoeuvres do get repetitive. However, while this is a book on history, his writing is pacy at most times, lending the book a story-telling note that makes it more interesting.

While this book essentially is one about history, the analogy with modern corporates and the perils of their uncontrolled behaviour and the necessity for governments to bail them out cannot be missed. And this makes the book that much more interesting!

Pros: Well-detailed, informative, well-written

Cons: Drags a bit sometimes

The Devil and the Dark Water, Stuart Turton, 2020

Rating: 5/5

I had been looking forward to read this book ever since Turton announced it, given how delightful his first book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (7 Deaths Review), was! While The Devil and the Deep Water is not as complex and jaw-dropping as his first book, it’s still a surprising story, is a page turner from the first page to the last and ends satisfyingly!

The story is set on a ship, the Sardaam, which is transporting cargo from Batavia to Amsterdam for the United East India Company. Governor General Jan Haan is the senior-most official on board and is also carrying some personal secret consignments. He is accompanied by his wife, Sara Wessels, his daughter, Lia, and his mistress Creesjie Jens – all of them accomplished women but forced to hide behind a veil of mediocrity in keeping with the times. A famous investigator, Samuel Pipps, is a prisoner on board and his journey from being a hero a short while ago to a prisoner is shrouded in mystery. Arent Hayes is his bodyguard and sidekick and in the absence of Pipps’ freedom, takes on a more central role in the proceedings.

The mysteries begin from the end of the first chapter itself. And as the story moves forward, tales of fear, greed, betrayal and revenge emerge, framed in the backdrop of a devil called Old Tom, as various characters get killed off. The “dark water” of the title could refer to the sea around the ship or could refer to the evil in the souls of men. Besides the mysteries of the various protagonists, there is a strong supernatural element through the book and after the experience with Turton’s first book, it is impossible to decide whether this element is imaginary or not.

Like all good mystery novels, this one is a page turner right until the end. And has a big surprise towards the end. And ties up all the loose ends and the questions raised through the book, neatly. There are several references to the period in which the story is based but as Turton pens in an “apology” at the end, he has sacrificed some of the historical realism to befit the narrative.

The absolute ending is perhaps a trifle glib and convenient. And this book is nowhere as jaw-dropping as his first book. But that does not take away from the fact that this is an extremely enjoyable book.  I now can’t wait for his third book!

Pros: Page-turner, satisfying and surprising denouement, well-written

Cons: A trifle convenient ending perhaps

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, 1932

Rating: 4/5

The title of the book is taken from a line in Shakespeare’s The Tempest – “O brave new world, that has such people in it!” – uttered by the character Miranda who has grown up in an isolated society and sees a large number of people for the first time. Huxley’s Brave New World is about the clash between the Miranda-like protagonist, John (who incidentally has read only Shakespeare while growing up), who lives in an isolated settlement, and a world where humans are engineered in labs to lead a perfectly contented life.

The first third of the book describes the dystopian World State where everything, ranging from procreation to employment to recreation, is created and controlled artificially in line with its motto of “Community, Identity, Stability”. Humans are artificially produced in batches and divided into a caste system ranging from Alpha Plus to Epsilon Minus, conditioned from the embryo stage. They (including the lower castes) lead a happy life driven by technology, promiscuity and a drug called “soma” – overall a “civilized infantility” as Huxley puts it. Henry Ford seems to be the presiding god of this world, possibly in line with his famous assembly line system of manufacturing.

The second part deals with the exploration of a “savage” settlement, where people live the old-fashioned way, by Bernard Marx (an Alpha Plus but one who does not wish to conform to the ideal world, like his friend Helmholtz Watson) and his date of the moment, Lenina Crowne. They meet John, a naturally created offspring of a senior functionary of the World State, but one who has grown up oblivious to it. The final part is about John, like Miranda, trying to blend in the World State and the inherent conflicts that it creates. The highlights of this part, in my view, are the discussions between John and Mustapha Mond, the controller. It’s about the eventual salvation of Bernard and Helmholtz and the only possible conclusion of John’s story.

Brave New World, like 1984 published 17 years later, discusses a dystopian world and the perils therein. But the books’ approaches to this end are significantly different – the latter explores control through fear while the former sees pleasure as a tool for control. Brave New World is an interesting and short read about the clash between those who want to “get rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it” and others who would like to “claim the right to be unhappy”, while simultaneously discussing issues such as racism and casteism.

It's easy to see that it would have been a radical book in 1932. It obviously is significantly less so today which makes this book seem obsolete at times. But if one can get past it or if possible, read this book through the lens of a 1930s reader, the book is an extremely interesting and rewarding read.

Pros: Fascinating setting, using Shakespeare as an interesting metaphor, easy read

Cons: May seem a bit outdated now

Stiff — The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, Mary Roach, 2003

Rating:4/5

This is easily the most surprising book that I have read so far this year. First, this book is on cadavers, which is as morbid a topic as one can read on, and yet is quite interesting. Second, this was Roach’s first book and before writing this, she was a journalist — she explains the subject of this book by saying that like all journalists, she’s a voyeur. And finally, for a book on human remains, her writing is refreshingly witty.

Her opening lines hooked me in completely: “The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back. The brain has shut down. The flesh begins to soften. Nothing much new happens, and nothing is expected of you.” She continues in this vein through the book, and in her footnotes — do not miss any of them as they are completely delightful. She explains the reluctance of the churchgoing masses to donate bodies as “who’s going to open the gates of heaven to some slob with his entrails all hanging out and dripping on the carpeting?” In a description on embalming — “opening up an artery, flushing the blood out with water, and pumping in alcohol” — she is reminded of frat parties! 

Her book spans a long history of cadavers and surgery — from the time when “the poor donated themselves as living practice material” to paying tuition at certain Scottish schools in corpses rather than in cash and now to cadaver donations (or willed body programs); or from the era of body snatchers to memorials for cadaver donators. She also explores a range of topics related to cadavers and their uses — from decay, embalming and disposal techniques of corpses to the usage in car safety tests and in airplane crash investigations. She alternates her experiences while researching for the book (which seem to be extensive) with factoids from history, making the book interesting reading. And I learnt new facts as well, such as the ability for a decapitated head to perform most functions for a few seconds! She also raises important questions such as the need for gross anatomy labs given the vast depository of knowledge and the availability of digital models now. Or the moral dilemma of informing families if the cadavers of their near ones are used to test bullets or explosives. Or whether the decision for donations should rest with the donor or the donor’s family (she thinks that the latter should take the call).

Parts of the book can make the reader squeamish, however, such as when she describes the process of decay or embalming with graphic details, even as tries to lighten up the atmosphere with humour. Or the time when crucifixion is described in great detail. The reader needs to be prepared for that. Also, some parts do get trying to read as well. 

The book is enjoyable largely due to her irreverent writing style, even when she speaks about her mother’s cadaver. At one point during her research,  she is told that one should think of severed heads as wax to cope. And I suppose that’s the approach she has taken to write this book — think of everything as wax!

Pros: Surprising, interesting, witty

Cons: Morbid and boring at times

The Paper Menagerie & Other Stories, Ken Liu, 2011

Rating: 5/5

This is a collection of 15 short stories, many of them which won awards or were at least nominated, covering a gamut of subjects. The thing that strikes one the most about this collection is the staggering scope of Liu's imagination, and set in different time periods — the stories one about different methods of writing books by different species in the universe, a world in which a person's soul resides in external objects, Chinese legends and magic, a typical serial-killer-detective story, space travel, engineering marvels, atrocities during WWII, and even about a Google-like company. The second thing that strikes the reader is the fact that Liu does not allow his imagination to take precedence over everything else — ultimately, his stories are about sacrifice, awareness, optimism, love, respect for different cultures, and undoing injustices — the magic and the science fiction are just props for the story.

It's extremely difficult to rank the stories in a collection like this, and this ranking would differ from one reader to another. If I had to choose four stories (in the order in which they appear in this collection), the first would be State Change, where everyone has her soul in an object and die when that object ceases to exist. It is a metaphor on how humans never live to their fullest in fear of death, and only when that fear is overcome can they maximise their potential. The second is Literomancy where a young American girl in Taiwan, Lily, meets a young Chinese boy and his kind grandfather who teaches her the art of literomancy (seeking messages from symbols). Lily inadvertently brings bad luck to them but hopes to keep the art alive. The Paper Menagerie explores the relationship between a mother and a son, who have nothing in common, and who are finally bound together by a menagerie of paper animals that magically come to life. And The Litigation Master and the Monkey King is a story of an ordinary man, Tian Haoli, who turns into a hero after protecting a fugitive and preserving a secret that eventually overthrows the Manchu empire. The Monkey King is his imaginary guide and symbolises his conscience all along.

Collections like these usually have some stories that were probably not worth being included. The amazing part of this collection, however, was the fact that I enjoyed 14 of the 15 stories. The only exception for me was The Perfect Match, about a Google-like company called Centillion that started off as a search engine but now controls all aspects of life through AI and data mining. This story discusses the perils of having AI control our lives, a topic that has been done to death in other books and media.

A bonus: don't miss out the episode of the Netflix show, Love, Death & Robots based on the story, Good Hunting. This is a story incorporating Chinese legends and magic, about hulijings who could change their shape from a fox to a bewitching woman and about their hunters. It’s also a story about the transformation of old customs and practices to modern ones. But the story ends on an optimistic note where modernity is used to keep the old traditions alive.

Pros: The wide heterogenity in the stories, the focus on human emotions first and foremost

Cons: One of the stories is jaded (but that's just one of fifteen)

Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri, 2008

 

Rating: 5/5

Lahiri derives the title of this collection of short stories from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s quote in The Custom House where he argues that humans, like potatoes, need to be transplanted into “unaccustomed earth” every now and then for them to flourish. The eponymous first story, and the others as well, explore this concept delightfully.

The book has six stories, the last of which is a novella in three parts. While all of them deal with Indian Bengali immigrants in the US and deal with the cultural challenges faced by them (except for Nobody's Business which could have been based on anyone), they deal with different aspects, ranging from guilt, fragility of marriages, a secret romance, alcoholism, cowardice, and redemption. Some of them end on an optimistic note, some end tragically while Lahiri has kept other endings open.

I find it very difficult to rank these stories but if I had to choose the one I enjoyed the most, it would be the eponymous one. Unaccustomed Earth explores the dynamics between a retired first-generation US immigrant, and his daughter, Ruma, who is married to an American and settled in Seattle. Ruma resents her father’s impersonal relationship with his family and her forced relocation to a new city. Her father, on the other hand, feels guilty about the lack of intimacy with his children and the fact that he seems to enjoy life more after his wife’s death. He finds redemption through the advice that he gives his daughter during a week-long stay with her and through his relationship with his young grandson. Ruma’s simple action in the last two lines of the story indicates that she may have put some of her own ghosts to rest as well.

One of the complaints that I’ve come across about her writing is that she’s somewhat monotonous. Her stories are usually centred around Bengali immigrants in the US, the inherent conflicts created by this dual identity and the dynamics of inter-generational relationships. While that is true to some extent, it does not detract from the enjoyment of her writing as each story explores different facets of human relationships. Overall, Lahiri’s writing is simple yet elegant and her stories have several nuances that makes even repeated readings enjoyable. I also found it easy to place myself in the shoes of the various characters and wondered how I would have reacted to similar situations. This book is ideal for a book-reading club.

Pros: Simple and elegant writing, even repeated readings are enjoyable

Cons: Her universe seems limited to immigrant Bengalis in the US

21 Lessons for the 21st Century, Yuval Noah Harari, 2018

Rating: 3/5

This is Harari’s third book — Sapiens looked at the past, Homo Deus explored the future and 21 Lessons discusses the present. My ranking of these three books is also in the same order.

This book is a collection of 21 essays divided in 5 sections with all of them neatly fitting into a cohesive narrative, perhaps fitting too neatly in some cases —the conclusion of each essay segues into the beginning of the next and that sometimes seems forced. What also seems forced are some of the essays which either hold no lessons for the reader or the lessons sound too glib — perhaps they were included to enable the alliterative title of the book!

In essence, Harari is a libertarian but still explores the current shortcomings of liberal democracy so that it can be improved and made more sustainable. Harari explores quite a few interesting ideas through the book. For example, in Work, he sees the need for combining a universal basic income with meaningful pursuits for humankind if AI makes most jobs redundant. He underscores the difference between intelligence and consciousness in Liberty. He explores the concept of the rich becoming a superhuman race, due to biotechnology, in the chapter on Equality. In Nationalism, he bemoans the fact that even as the increasing nuclear, ecological, and technology challenges need to be solved by a concerted global attempt, nationalism is on the rise. He explores racism versus culturism in Immigration. In Education, he makes the point that in 1018, we knew that the world would look the same in 1050 and could prepare for it. Today, we don’t know what the world will be like in 2050. The essay on Secularism was my favourite. With great clarity, Harari explains why it is not a simple negation of religion. 

There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that Harari is a fantastic thinker with insightful views on multiple topics, and a 3/5 rating perhaps seems a bit unfair. But besides some essays being force-fitted, I found some of his arguments specious, such as the one about the irrelevance of a majority of humankind —in the new world fuelled by technology, this majority will ultimately be consumers (of advertising for example in the case of Google) or suppliers (of data). Another example is his underestimation of the power of revolutions if inequality widens. This may be of a different kind from earlier ones in the history of humankind but there will likely be one nevertheless. Harari also uses several examples to make each point. While that can be interesting at times, it also sometimes makes this book a tedious read.

Pros: Insightful views on varied topics

Cons: Some essays seem force-fitted, a bit tedious

Various Hercule Poirot mysteries, Agatha Christie, 1920 to 1933

Rating: 5/5

It had been a while since I had read an Agatha Christie and with some trepidation (often, I've had bad experiences while revisiting things that I had enjoyed when much younger), I picked up the first of the Hercule Poirot (for me, Agatha Christie equates to Hercule Poirot) books, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. To my great surprise, I found that the joy of reading a Christie remains unabated -- I still find her books well-written, the plots well-fleshed out, Hercule Poirot still as clever as ever and overall, her books remain page-turners. I ended up reading three more of Poirot's early mysteries -- The Murder on the Links (#2), Peril at End House (#8), and Lord Edgware Dies (#9), all within a span of 12 days.

If I had to rank these four books in order, it would be Styles, Edgware, Links and End House. I have a fondness for Styles for it introduces Poirot. In this, he investigates the murder of an old, rich, and autocratic woman, who recently married a man 20 years her junior. In Edgware, a beautiful actress wants to get rid of her husband so that she can marry another, and sure enough, he is found dead. Links has the usual elements of a Poirot story -- a dead millionaire and several suspects including his wife, son and a mistress. An added bonus is that Hastings (the Watson to Poirot's Holmes) meets his future wife in this book. End House is slightly different in the sense that Poirot is trying to prevent the murder of a young girl who has had some close shaves in the recent path. For me, this was the most predictable of the four books.

An element of the Poirot books that I really love is the end denouement in which Poirot gathers all the characters of the story and reveals the identity of the murderer, after detailing out his thought process. Not all his books have this, and I prefer those that do. This style of denoument was actually an act of serendipity. In Styles, Christie had initially written a different climatic scene where Poirot reveals the murderer's identity in a courtroom. Her publisher protested that such an event was implausible, forcing Christie to rewrite the end. The legions of Poirot fans should be grateful to this publisher! As a bonus in the Styles edition that I read, the original courtroom climax is included as an appendix. Besides this aspect, all the Poirot books are cleverly plotted, have multiple suspects, enough red herrings and directs the reader's suspicions from one character to another through the book.   

The only complaint, if any, is that Christie keeps some important plot elements from the reader and only Hercule Poirot is aware of those. But then I am okay with this -- when I read the books, I enjoy the flow of the plot and do not necessarily attempt to play detective.

Pros: Cleverly plotted, page-turner, the usual denouement and of course, the inimitable Hercule Poirot

Cons: Some important plot elements are kept from the reader

Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami, 2002

 

Rating: 4/5

Kafka on the Shore is your typical Murakami book -- it is surreal and has magical or supernatural elements strewn about the book, has hidden messages not all of which is clear even at the end, but is extremely interesting overall.

The book is centred around two main characters -- Kafka Tamura who runs away from home to escape a prophecy and searches for his mother and sister, and Nakata, an old simple man who had a life-altering experience when young. and can now speak to cats. During their journey, we come across an imaginary person who is Kafka's advisor, fish that rain from the skies, a man who kills cats and stores their hearts in his refrigerator, a middle-aged rich woman who evokes Kafka's Oedipal complex, a transgendered gay man, alien abduction, soldiers lost in a forest who never get old, and several similar elements. The title itself refers to a painting and a song besides referencing the lead protagonist.

The book explores the fine line between imagination and reality through the book, and the distinction often blurs for the reader. The explanations for many of the occurrences in the story are never completely clear and Murakami allows the reader to make her own interpretations. As he himself puts it, the book contains several riddles, but there aren't any solutions provided. The form the solutions take will be different for each reader. It's one of the books where the journey is infinitely more interesting than the destination and plenty of wonderful thought-provoking quotes enhance that enjoyment.

Murakami is not for everyone, however. Some readers may be put off by the large extent of surrealism and even for those that enjoy it, parts of the story are left unexplained which can be somewhat unsatisfactory. However, most of his books are page-turners, delightful to read and provides the reader ample opportunity to contemplate the hidden meanings and nuances and Kafka on the Shore is no different. And that's what makes this a wonderful book to read!

Pros: Extremely interesting and page-turning, thought-provoking

Cons: Some readers may find this too surreal, no clear explanation for some aspects of the story

Exhalation, Ted Chiang, 2019

Rating: 4/5

Exhalation is a collection of nine short stories with varying lengths, from 3 pages to over 100 pages. Each of them combines science fiction with human emotions such as longing, love, greed, regret and redemption, and that combination makes many of these stories incredible reads.

Most of these short stories had been published previously, but nevertheless, the range of ideas that these stories explore and the imagination behind them is extremely impressive. These nine stories cover a gamut of ideas that include a doorway that allows one to travel 20 years, intelligent digital objects, a robotic nanny, the ability to recall any memory instantly, and a device to communicate with oneself in other branches of the universe.

My favourite stories include The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate, written like an Arabian Nights story, that uses time travel to explore lessons learnt by the protagonists from their experiences. In The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling, Chiang explores the delicate balance between mimi (what one considers right) and vough (a precise fact) through two sub-stories involving colonised tribesmen's struggles with written words replacing oral memories and a modern world where humans can recall any memory instantly. Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom explores greed, regret and redemption using the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, in which humans can communicate and collaborate with versions of their self in other branches of the universe.  

The problem with anthologies, as to be expected, is one of mixed quality of the stories. For example, and the reason for only a 4-star rating, The Lifecycle Of Software Objects takes up a third of the book and fails to grip. It talks about the gradual maturing of AI objects (called digients) and their ability to experience love, independence and even sexual attractions. But overall, Chiang's imagination, the variety in the stories, and the underlying messages in them make Exhalation a satisfying read.

Pros: Very imaginative, wide range of ideas, couples science fiction with human nature, well-written

Cons: Disparate quality with a less interesting story taking a third of the book 

Leave it to Smith, PG Wodehouse, 1923

Rating: 5/5

Leave it to Psmith is the "comfort book" -- the creme custard (for me) of books -- that I always turn to when I need to brighten my mood. I must have read this book from cover to cover at least half a dozen times and parts of it umpteen times. It's amazing to think that I feel this about a book written a hundred years ago!

I love PG Wodehouse's brand of humour and I rank the Psmith books and the Blandings Castle ones ahead of the Jeeves and Wooster series. Leave it to Psmith brings the first two together and has a cornucopia of characters that gather together at Blandings Castle, some of them who are imposters and many who are trying to steal Lady Constance's necklace. Besides Psmith who is looking for a change in his profession and is willing to do anything Provided It Has Nothing To Do With Fish, there is the bone-headed Lord Emsworth - master of the castle, his  imperious sister Lady Constance, his vacant son Feddie, the suspicious secretary Baxter, the crooked Smooth Lizzie and Eddie, the cheerful Eve, some of Psmith's and Eve's friends and the list goes on. There are several sub-plots within the main plot, quite a few of which include romantic entanglements. The book proceeds at a laugh-aloud, leisurely yet madcap pace and all the umpteen threads are neatly disentangled at the end.

It is said that "brevity is the soul of wit". Wodehouse clearly does not believe in that -- he often uses several words where one would suffice and a paragraph or two where a sentence would have been enough, and that's what makes his writing brilliant! Characters do not turn, they "spin on their axis". They do not slouch but "droop like a wet sock, as was his habit when he had nothing to prop his spine against". He takes about twenty lines at the start of the book to essentially say that Lord Emsworth was sad because he had mislaid his glasses.

I've often laughed aloud while reading this book and if there is a bemused person sitting next to me, I invariably ask him or her to read the page that I am on. Sometimes, that person fails to find the humour, so clearly, PG Wodehouse is not for everyone. But for me, this is my #1 fiction read of all times!

Pros: Evergreen, laugh-aloud, a "comfort book"

Cons: The Wodehousian style of humour is not for everyone

The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger, 2019

Rating: 5/5

When I picked up the book, I wondered what my expectations from it were. I was not very familiar with the Disney story so insights into it would help. I would have liked a candid discussion of various issues that Disney has faced over the years, those which were not in the public domain. Like any memoir, one would expect to get insights into the person behind the story. And finally, a book like this should carry some business lessons. The book satisfies these expectations well, though some more than others.

The book is divided into 2 parts: the first one leads to his ascension to the top job at Disney and the second talks about his leadership years. It is thoughtful in parts, provides leadership lessons in others and is downright exciting in some, especially around the run-up to the acquisitions of Pixar or the creation of the Black Panther movie, which many thought was a bad idea because of the lead superhero being black. There are even the poignant parts, especially his relationship with Steve Jobs.  Even as you get to know Iger the successful CEO well, he does occassionally provide insights into himself including his thoughts behind a possible run for the US President. Iger walks the fine line between being too humble about his achievements and glossing over his failures — “finding that balance between accepting credit and not making too much of the hype”, as he puts it. At one place, he talks about feeling guilty in front of his colleagues when attention and credit is directed towards him, and that is particularly endearing.

For readers looking to take away some leadership lessons, Iger provides his 10 lessons at the outset: optimism, courage, focus, decisiveness, curiosity, fairness, thoughtfulness, authenticity, perfection and integrity. And at the end, he also lists down in one place all the various business lessons strewn throughout the book.

There are a few aspects of his story that are missing though, for example, his initial rise from a lowly level at ABC (it's completely omitted for some reason) or the pressures of his job on his personal life — he covers the separation from his first wife in just a couple of lines. Iger does say, though, that this book is not a memoir and as the title suggests, it’s more about business lessons. I would disagree though — given the profile of the writer, that distinction will blur. The book is a fairly short one and a few more pages would have been more satisfying. Also, it's a pity that the book was written in 2019 — it misses out on the biggest challenge that Disney may have ever faced ... that of the corona virus!

Pros: Insights into the Disney story and into himself, useful leadership lessons

Cons: Some important aspects of his story have been omitted

Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense, Rory Sutherland, 2019

Rating: 5/5

Rory Sutherland is the vice-chairman of Ogilvy UK and uses his vast experience and trove of interesting anecdotes to put together a book on how irrational thinking often works better, which is interesting even for a logical thinking reader such as me. Right at the outset, Sutherland lists downs his 11 rules of alchemy. These are basically all variations of each other and Rule #6 encapsulates the direction that the book will take: The problem with logic is that it kills off magic.

Sutherland's basic premise is that rational analysis is based on big data that comes from the past and cannot account for an unexpected event. Which is why irrational thinking creates alchemy. Also, humans do not behave rationally all the time. Why else would perfectly sane people pay $5 for a drink that they can make for pennies at home (Starbucks) or why would a coarse uncomfortable fabric that takes ages to dry and popular with labourers become fashionable (jeans)? He gathers his argument in six well-structured sections and then follows that up with a seventh where he lays out his recommendations. While a large part of what he writes is related to the advertising or marketing fields in some way or the other, he has used examples from other areas as well to buttress his arguments.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book are the various anecdotes strewn through it such as the one on Red Bull's success (it was expensive, came in a tiny can and had a disgusting taste as per consumer trials, all counterintuitive to a successful launch) or the story of striped toothpaste (it mixes in your mouth anyway but signals to the user that it fulfils two functions) or how mailer donation campaigns work better if the return envelope has the flap on the shorter side (as it seems more appropriate to slip a cheque in).

The book is not without its problems. In his desire to hammer down the key argument of the book, Sutherland makes it completely one-sided. In the process, he pooh-poohs economists and logical thinkers several times in the book which can be somewhat off-putting. Having said that, the breezy style of writing and some fascinating insights coupled with interesting stories make this a worthwhile read. The various footnotes in each chapter, by themselves, would make compelling reading!

Pros: Fascinating anecdotes, compelling arguments

Cons: The constant putting down of logic is somewhat off-putting

The Guest List, Lucy Foley, 2020

Rating: 5/5

While choosing this book, I came across a few descriptions that compared this book to those by Agatha Christie. This book, however, is no classic murder mystery; in fact, the identity of the victim is revealed only 90% into the book. What this book is, though, is a very good psychological thriller!

A reality show star, Will, and an online publishing celebrity, Jules, host their wedding on a remote Irish island that is beautiful and eerie in turn. The presence of the cormorant birds on the island, a harbinger of evil and death as per folklore, quickly indicate the direction that the book will take. The main cast of characters also include Will's best man Johnno, Jules' best friend Charles and his wife Hannah, Jules' half-sister Olivia, the event manager Aoife and her husband Freddy, and an assortment of family and friends. As the book progresses, it becomes clear that most of the characters harbour dark secrets, and these are revealed slowly, layer by layer, leading to the climatic revelations.

I do not consider most murder mysteries, including those of Agatha Christie, as particularly well-written -- after all, the focus is on the mystery rather than on the writing. However, The Guest List is a notable exception. Foley writes very well and has a nice turn of phrase. At the same time, her writing is very easy to follow so that the reader can spend her energy in thinking about the various characters and their secrets, rather than in keeping pace with the story. The construct of the book is interesting with the events of the wedding evening narrated in the third person interspersed with those of earlier in the day and of the preceding evening narrated in the first person by Aoife, Hannah, Jules, Johnno, and Olivia. The story is told in the present tense throughout, and this along with the vivid descriptions, makes it extremely immersive for the reader.

The pace is languid but at no time will the reader's interest flag -- the slow peeling of the finer details and the interesting psychological studies of the various characters ensure that. The only fault to find, if any, is that some of the standard tropes of a murder mystery have been used, enabling us to guess the identity of the victim and the perpetrator as we progress through the book. But that does not detract from the enjoyment of reading it one bit!

Pros: Extremely well written, interesting construct, unputdownable

Cons: Somewhat predictable before the end

Tata vs Mistry, Deepali Gupta, 2019

Rating: 4/5

While this book is strictly for those familiar with the boardroom battles between Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry, and will likely not engage others, it's a comprehensive and pain-staking compilation of what transpired during that period.

Ratan Tata had chosen Cyrus Mistry to succeed him in December 2012 as the first non-Tata chairperson of the vast Tata conglomerate but fired him in October 2016, even before his first term was complete, due to a significant fall-out between them.  This book covers the events leading to the fall-out and subsequent ones, leading eventually to the court cases, the coverage is comprehensive and in 20 succint chapters (although the chapter titles towards the end could have been a little less juvenile). Gupta is a financial journalist and her writing style, which is easy and fluid, is especially suited for the book.

Gupta has cast herself in the role of a narrator of facts and does not attempt to superimpose her own views on them -- given her profession, it is likely that she may not have wanted to be seen to take sides. Reading between the lines, this fight has been positioned as one between a professional who coldly evaluates the businesses (Mistry) and a Tata with an emotional connect to the brand who is probably driven by his individual passions too. The former is focused on immediate gains to minority shareholders while the latter cares about the long-term impact on the brand. It is tough to conclude who is right from the narrative, and that is probably Gupta's objective as well.

While picking up a book of this nature, one would expect some "insider" insights or even some credible gossip. That, sadly, is missing for the most part. So, for a reader like me, who was closely following the events, there is not much new to learn. But I would still give it 4 stars for the comprehensive coverage of events and I would recommend this book to any reader who has a basic familiarity with this saga but is unaware of the details.

Pros: Well-written, painstakingly compiled, a solid overview of this saga

Cons: No new information for one who had closely followed the events, will not engage a reader completely unfamiliar with them

The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion, 2013

Rating: 5/5

I enjoy the occasional romcom movie but I'm not a fan of this genre as far as books are concerned. The Rosie Project, the first of a trilogy, is a notable exception, however. It's a delightful read, funny and bitter-sweet.

The book's opening line, "I may have found the solution to the Wife Problem" is the perfect opening to this heart-warming tale. Don Tillman, who has Asperger's Syndrome, is a 39-year old genetics professor at a reputed Australian University and embarks on a project to find a wife (the Wife Project) with the aid of a sixteen-page questionnaire. In the process, he meets Rosie Jarman, poles apart from himself, who would probably score a zero on his questionnaire and who upends his life. Don and Rosie start spending time together, and despite their misgivings, get attracted towards each other. On the way, Don embarks on the Father Project where he helps Rosie in finding her biological father among 44 doctors in her mother's medical class. He has just two close friends, womanising Gene and his psychologist wife Claudia, who guide him along the way. The book is narrated in the first person, and there are clear differences between Don's version of events and how they actually transpire. This makes the book even more endearing.

The book is not without its drawbacks. While the book does talk about the challenges faced by Don with his parents, during his childhood and in social settings, it does not really delve into the difficulties faced by a person with Asperger's. Consequently, a reader with a near one with Asperger's could view the book as a trivialisation. Such a reader should be willing to overlook that aspect to enjoy this book -- it's a romcom after all. Also, the book becomes somewhat soppy towards the end. But given the overall breeziness of the book, I was willing to overlook it.

Simpsion was an information systems consultant with a PhD in data modelling and had co-authored a book on that subject. That background makes The Rosie Project even more remarkable. Overall, it's a feel-good book that leaves you with a smile on your lips, perfect for the current Covid-related environment or for any other time for that matter. An interesting sidenote is that Don Tillman now has his own Twitter account, @ProfDonTillman.

Pros: Heart-warming and feel-good, funny, a very easy read

Cons: Some may consider this a trivialisation of Asperger's, a bit soppy at the end

Being Mortal, Atul Gawande, 2014

Rating: 5/5

I must admit I approached this book with some trepidation -- this book has been hyped up quite a bit, is written by a practicing surgeon and is about aging and terminal illnesses, mundane topics. But was I incredibly and pleasantly surprised! This book is one of the most useful books that I have read and is remarkable from beginning to end.

Gawande starts off by making the point that unlike in the past, when death was sudden, there is now a prolonged period of aging and the inexorable decay of the body and faculties. He wonders how we reached a situation where the only option for the elderly is to get "institutionalised" and lose control of their lives. The book essentially focuses on the issues with the current medical approach towards terminal illnesses, especially of older people, and towards aging. As Gawande puts it, this approach concentrates on repair of health, even if it means just slightly prolonging the inevitable and tremendously increasing the pain, rather than on the sustenance of the soul. And this sustenance may mean different things for different people -- as one of his patients says, "the best thing in your life is when you can go yourself to the bathroom".

One of the things that I liked about the book was its prescriptive nature -- it does not stop at just laying out the trouble with modern medical care. With real examples, he details what medical practitioners can do to overcome the above issues, and more importantly, what individuals can and should do when grappling with their own aging or that of their loved ones. Ultimately, the job of medicine is not to ensure health and survival but to enable well-being. And in this context, it is important to have difficult conversations and also knowing when to let go.

This is the first book that I have read of Gawande and found him to be an impressive writer. The book is a fascinating and easy read despite the seriousness of the subject, and he has filled the book with personal anecdotes that are immensely relatable to. His brave description of his father's last days, who himself was a medical practitioner, add to the credibility of his arguments and enhance our learnings too. Parts of the book can be a bit depressing given an element of morbidness but I would strongly recommend this to any reader, whether she is elderly herself, has aging parents, or even otherwise.

Pros: Superbly written, tremendously useful for everyone

Cons: Slightly depressing perhaps

Recursion, Blake Crouch, 2019

Rating: 4/5

I love good mind-bending, time-turning stories, movies such as Inception and Interstellar for example. And for the most part, Recursion does not disappoint.

The book begins with great promise -- NYPD detective Barry Sutton is called to prevent a possible suicide by a woman suffering from FMS or False Memory Syndrome, an affliction in which the person suddenly wakes up one day with extremely detailed memories of an alternate life that she has led. The extreme vividness of those memories and the conflict with memories of the current life can often drive a person insane. The second chapter, set about 11 years earlier, features Stanford neuroscientist Helena Smith, whose sole mission in life is to find a possible cure for Alzeimer's that he mother suffers from. And there is billionaire visionary entrepreneur Marcus Slade, who employs Helena with the promise of changing the world.

As the plot unfolds, we learn about the demons plaguing the minds of Barry and Helena -- Barry struggles with coming to terms with his daughter's death (an event that he blames himself for) and the subsequent break-up of his marriage while Helena is consumed with making her mother's life better. Barry can't get the FMS suicide off his mind and sets to explore that. Meanwhile, Marcus Slade appears to have his own motivations for hiring Helena and it becomes clear that he will go to any length to achieve them.

The book moves along at breakneck speed with key elements of the plot being revealed within the first 100 pages. But, after that, as the book stretches to its 300+ page length, parts of it seem repetitive and new plot elements make the book somewhat bewildering. I give 5/5 for the first half of the book and 3/5 for the second. The other issue is that time manipulation is always a tricky subject. At one point in the book, Barry is told that "time is an illusion, a construct made of human memory ... there's no such thing as the past, present, or the future". Barry finds it difficult to process it and so did I at the end of the book. But with books or movie of this genre, one needs to accept this inherent issue and enjoy the ride!

Pros: Unique and fascinating plot, page-turner

Cons: Repetitive at times, unresolved plot points inherent in this genre 

Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo, 2015

Rating: 5/5

It had been a while since I had read a fantasy novel and the Covid-induced lockdown seemed a perfect time to do so. And The Six of Crows, the first of a duology, did not disappoint!

This book is set in the same world as Bardugo's earlier-written Grisha trilogy. The key characters are all new though.  Bardugo has crafted this world exquisitely with different regions, varied characteristics of their residents, interesting dynamics among them and magical elements. I have not read the trilogy but that does not take away from the enjoyment of this book.

This book is essentially about an heist. Six rogue characters (the leader Kaz, a spy called Inej, sharpshooter Jesper, a Grisha called Nina, prisoner Matthias and runaway privileged Wylan) set out from Ketterdam to Fjerda to rescue a scientist who can make a very powerful, magical drug. The motivations for each of them are different. Each chapter is narrated through the eyes of one of the characters (one of five with Wylan being excluded for some reason and the first and last chapters from the perspective of minor characters), making it an interesting read.

The Six of Crows has all the elements of a good fantasy novel - a gripping plot, an interesting set of characters, magical elements, romance (including a gay one), betrayal and some doses of humour. The Grishaverse, as it is referred to, is now replete with online fandom and backstories. Netflix has signed up the Grisha trilogy as well as the Crow duology. So, while this world is no match for that of Harry Potter, it may be worth spending some time in it!

Pros: Superbly detailed, gripping plot, easy read

Cons: Not for the reader who finds fantasy novels childish

The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides, 2019

Rating: 4/5

The Silent Patient belongs to the genre of mystery/thrillers that's constructed cleverly, is a page-turner, has a big reveal at the end, and which can be kept aside and forgotten once it is read. And for that genre, the book delivers!

The book is centred around two key characters. The first is Alicia Berenson, who appears to have shot her husband, Gabriel, five times in the face and who refuses to speak after the incident (and hence the title of the book). The second is Theo Faber, a criminal psychotherapist, who is extremely keen to work with Alicia, strangely even at the cost of his career.

The book peels off layer after layer of the mystery at a rapid pace with Theo as the narrator, exploring Theo's motivations and the mystery of Gabriel's death through their backstories (Alicia's diary in her case). One interesting aspect of the book is the usage of Alcestis as a trope - a Greek heroine who sacrificed her life to bring back her husband from death and also the title given by Alicia to a self-potrait painted after her husband's murder.

Standard elements of this genre have been liberally used. For example, there are the usual red herrings on the way. And I felt just a little bit cheated by the aid used for the plot twist at the end. But nevertheless, the end is quite satisfying and most of the motivations of the various characters are explained by the time we finish the book. This is Michaelides' debut novel and is quite impressive for that.

Pros: Page-turner, clever plot, a fairly satisfying end

Cons: A read-and-forget type of book

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell, 2013

Rating: 4/5

One way to approach David and Goliath is to treat it as a collection of essays or interesting stories rather than as a book - a reader could pick up any one of the nine chapters of the book (divided equally into three sections) or even the introduction and read it on a standalone basis. It did not work as a single cohesive book for me, however.

It starts with an interesting take on the story of David and Goliath, set  over three thousand years ago in the Valley of Elah in modern-day Israel. Unlike the traditional interpretation of the underdog beating the giant in that famous battle, Gladwell argues that David's success was due to the strategy that he adopted - he was a projectile warrior pitted against infantryman Goliath and in most such battles, the former would usually prevail. And that interesting version of the tale sets the tone for the book!

The book is packaged into three sections - the first two discuss how disadvantages can be advantages and vice versa, and how some difficulties can actually be desirable. Each anecdote has a "David" of sorts. And they usually succeed because they change the rules of the game and adopt atypical tactics or they are forced to do so due to some inherent challenges that they have. Apparently, underdog strategies increases the possibility of the weaker side winning from 29% to 64%! But underdog strategies are hard to adopt. The third section is about the limits of using power and I'm still not clear how that fit into the overall theme.

Some of the anecdotes are extremely interesting and cover a range of topics such as a junior school basketball team, the choice of colleges, the London bombings during World War II and even Ikea. Others are less fascinating though or seem out of context. Like some of his other books, Gladwell does not really have much substance on the topic of his book itself and he ends up force-fitting examples to justify the title. But I found many of the stories interesting and informative. Like I said at the beginning, I approached this as a collection of essays and that merited a 4/5 rating for this book.

Pros: Interesting anecdotes, diverse topics

Cons: Parts forcibly fitted into a whole

Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond, 1997

Rating: 4/5

At the outset, let me warn you that this book is a laborious read - I had to alternate it with another "lighter" book while reading it. But, at the end, there is an incredible sense of achievement in the ability to understand human evolution better!

Jared Diamond is an enviable polymath - he has significant knowledge on multiple fields including anthropology, biology, ecology, and geography and puts together this knowledge in Guns, Germs and Steel for us to understand how humans evolved the way they did. He seeks to answer a question put to him by a politician acquaintance in New Guinea, basically, why human development occured at different rates on different continents. Or in other words, why didn't native Americans reach Europe and colonise it rather than the other way around. Diamond repeatedly makes the point that race had nothing to do with this. He attempts to answer this basic question over 500 pages, by discussing the history of human evolution, the progress of food production, the translation of that into guns, germs and steel (the building blocks that enabled some humans to develop faster than others) and then finally gives examples of such different rates of development across different parts of the world.

As to be expected with a book of this size exploring just a single question, parts of the book are dry to read and some parts are repetitive. The lack of the fifth star in the rating is simply on account of this. But the book succeeded in making me think of issues that I would never have and gives an entirely different perspective of commonly-held beliefs about human evolution. And during this journey, I picked up some fascinating pieces of information. For example, that the first cultivated plants in the Americas (bottle gourd) was not as food but as containers. Or that of the modern world's 6,000 languages, 1,000 belong to just New Guinea! All of this makes the book a satisfying read eventually.

Pros: Extremely informative, challenges commonly-held views about human evolution, interesting trivia

Cons: Laborious read, repetitive at parts

Shoe Dog, Phil Knight, 2016

Rating: 5/5

Memoirs of successful entrepreneurs can be tricky for a reader. They could become boastful, making the memoir a tedious read, the entrepreneurs'  achievements notwithstanding. They could be airbrushed - for example, serendipity can be positioned as great strategy. They could be whitewashed - any business would have operated in grey areas at some point of time and a good memoir should faithfully record and explain it. Or they could simply be boring - a successful entrepreneur need not be a fascinating storyteller! Fortunately, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the co-founder of Nike, avoids many of these pitfalls.

Knight, unlike some entrepreneurs, had a reasonably comfortable life even from his early days. He belonged to a stable middle-class family and went to reputed colleges. An important turning point in his life was a paper that he produced for a business class at Stanford, Can Japanese Sports Shoes Do To German Sports Shoes What Japanese Cameras Did to German Cameras? He revisited this idea later in his life and the rest is, of course, history. Knight recounts this without exaggeration, taking credit where due and exhibiting modesty when he should.

A positive surprise for me was that this book was a page-turner - JR Moehringer (who collaborated with Andre Agassi too) helped with the book. That was an added bonus!

Nike has not been without its fair share of controversies, notably the one surrounding its use of "sweatshops" across the globe. Knight does discuss that, but just over a page and a half. And half of that is spent in giving a positive spin to the outcome. For a controversy that raged over several years, its treatment in the memoir was a bit disappointing.

This is not a "self-help" type of book with lessons for a budding entrepreneur. But ultimately, a good memoir should be inspiring and I think this book will be exactly that for any young reader. The story of Nike, from the initial unconventional idea of importing and reselling Japanese shoes to the early Blue Ribbon days to the eventual establishment of one of the world's best known brands and logos should all motivate any person to dream. That, to my mind, is the greatest success of this book.

Pros: Page-turning, insightful, inspirational

Cons: Could have addressed controversies in more detail

Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng, 2017

Rating: 3/5

There are three things that I seek from a good piece of fiction: (1) Great plot, (2) Good writing, and (3) Post-read mulling. In Little Fires Everywhere, I thought the plot was okay, the writing mediocre, and I can't wait to finish this review and move on to the next book!

The premise of the book is interesting and it starts with promise, highlighting the title of the book and making us want to understand its meaning. The book could have been an interesting study of class differences and racial tensions through its diverse array of characters. There is the seemingly perfect Richardson family -- husband Bill, supercilious but thwarted Elena, clueless Trip, superficial Lexie who then has a life-altering experience, strait-jacketed Moody and the rebellious Izzy (my favourite and I suspect that of most readers). We have the mother-daughter duo of Mia and Pearl with a secretive past who are completely unlike anyone the Richardsons know and who manage to upend their lives. Even some of the relatively minor characters such as Bebe Chow have promise. However, critical parts of the plot (Mia's dark secret, for example) are so improbable, that they make some of the characters look artificial and make it difficult to remain vested with them. The class-related and racial issues are also treated quite superficially.

The writing was disappointing for me as well. As I read, I usually highlight sentences whose construct I find particularly interesting or which I can quote at a later date. I ended up highlighting nothing in this book! Popular highlights on the Kindle include sentences such as: It was like training yourself to live on the smell of an apple alone, when what you really wanted was to devour it, to sink your teeth into it and consume it, seeds, core, and all.

The writing, and the plot to some extent, seem contrived at places. Nothing underlines this as much as the description of the artwork created by Mia for different members of the Richardson family towards the end of the book. That was the last straw for me!

Pros: An easy read, interesting premise

Cons: Trite writing, improbable plot developments

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Stuart Turnton, 2018

Rating: 5/5

In hindsight, I was really lucky that I walked into this book blind, with no significant knowledge of the plot. And about 70 pages later, with the first major plot twist, my enjoyment of this book was greatly enhanced. I would strongly recommend everyone to do the same if possible.

At its heart, this book is a mind-bending murder mystery. But it is also about the myriad interesting characters populating this book. And eventually, it is about redemption. So that's what makes this book doubly delicious ‒ as the mystery unfolds page by page, we are treated to some fascinating characters through the course of the book, many of who are neither black nor white, as we are initially led to believe.

Like all books or movies of this genre, there are inherent flaws to the "circular logic" used. I cannot explain this further without revealing some spoilers, but this book overcomes most of the flaws. I re-read the book, noting down questions that needed answers as the book progressed, and it was immensely satisfying to see that practically all the questions had been answered by the end. That make this one of the cleverest books that I have read. And finally, I'm a sucker for interesting trivia. The fact that this book was published in the US as The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to prevent a conflict with another title was, by itself, worth half a rating point!

His next book, The Devil and the Dark Water, is expected later this year. I can't wait for it to be published!

Pros: Gripping from start to finish, an extremely clever plot

Cons: An extremely convoluted plot too (which may not work for everyone)

PS: I'm reactivating this blog after over 10 years, and am also moving to a simpler 1-5 rating system. 3 would mean that the book is just about readable, 1 or 2 would mean that the book deserves to be binned, while 4 or 5 would imply different degrees of a very good book.