2019

This book, at 384 pages, is probably the heaviest I’ve held in my hands in the last few months.

It’s weight is not so much physical, as it is visceral and emotional. It makes you sink deeper into your couch later into the night and may also have the power to tangle you emotionally in the morning… Leaving a cloudy, laden feeling.

I was glued from the very first page, I didn’t have to wait for the story to pick up pace, it was already galloping when I joined in. It became my constant companion till today, I shall miss it, I am glad it’s over.

Tara Westover had an unbelievable childhood, she and her family lived with dynamics that can make ones jaw slack with disbelief, and probably every family drama might pale in comparison to what transpired regularly at the foot of her beloved mountain.

The unfolding of a life, poorly home-schooled at first and then soaring to meteoric academic heights is astonishing and inspiring. However, the normalization of dysfunctional behavior within families, the emotional sea-saw and tug-of-war, can leave a reader drained. How Tara kept her head above water, is the reason this book is a must read.

It is a powerful book with an equally powerful message about grit and determination, it is about being lost over and over and yet finding oneself…always.

Not since, ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara, have I been so deeply moved and so emotionally drained, yet curiously alive and filled with gratitude. Gratitude for writers who share stories such as these, gratitude for their brilliance which makes us forget the passage of time even as our time-lines intertwine seamlessly.

Remember Steve McCurry’s ‘Afghan Girl’, looking over her right shoulder, remember being mesmerized by her eyes? That expression? The juxtaposition of colours? Well, the cover of this book, ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ will do the same to you.

If you pick this book, you’ll find yourself turning back to have a look at the cover, mid-story, stare at the mystique of her eyes, fathom her expression, read those lips… As the story progresses and more of her personality is revealed, one searches for the artist’s genius in her face.

Vermeer is an artist who’s work I have always admired. Reading a fictional story about his life, his family and his approach to art is beautiful.

The real hero of this story, however, is Griet, a sixteen year old who joins the Vermeer household as a maid.

We walk through the entire story holding onto her hand. Her insights and perceptions are sharp and quite often unbelievable in their maturity. She stands apart from the others, mature and independent, as others fumble around, her young life is put in disarray when the artist decides to paint her… How she copes with it and how her life pans out, is what you need to read the book for. It is sure to transport you to another era.
Tracy Chevalier is an author that I wish to read more. All her other books have made it to my ‘tbr’ list 

‘Dark Circles’ comes across as a simple, stark read.

The language is without frills and the dialogues, deceptively mundane.

The author has a story to tell and he goes about doing it with surgical precision.

Even with no life-altering wisdom or deeply insightful commentary on life, this book still had me riveted.

Ronojoy, twelve and his brother Sujoy, six are left in the care of their grandparents when their mother moves into an ashram. Twenty – eight years later, Ronojoy is handed a letter along with his mother’s meager belongings all fitting neatly into a suitcase after her death.

The secret that the letter reveals, however, has the power to derail the lives of many… What should Ronojoy do with it, becomes the burning question.

The letter sheds some light on the events that transpired before and after she shifted. They are gripping and disturbing. The consequent fallout does take one by surprise.

As the story unfolds and finds it stride, one goes along for the ride. The path it takes meanders through the dark abyss of disturbed minds, disrupted during childhood and their fervent effort to come upon some stability in adulthood.

Udayan Mukherjee’s book deals with just that… Layer upon layer of pain originating like concentric circles in a pond after a pebble of a disturbing truth is dropped.

The relationships that are built up are neatly done, their reactions are very authentic…I was left feeling that some more creative risks could have been taken… The story moves around well-known localities of Delhi. It all sounded familiar and sometimes it felt like a friend was narrating a story that could’ve transpired in a neighbours house.

I wonder if this colours one’s view of the story as opposed to a fictitious, unfamiliar setting.

The face and name of the author seemed familiar too. Udayan has been on television, hosting shows and giving his valued inputs on the stock market. That he is a gifted writer too, came as a pleasant surprise.

Alice Munro has the gift of weaving short stories with a very long life.

Much later the skeleton of a story might surface up and you might find yourself becoming completely silent, trying to flesh it out. You’ll move backwards in your mind… Trying to piece a story together. Posing and answering questions in solitude to yourself.

Some of the stories in this collection of ten are quite unforgettable.

I’ll remember ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘Face’. The first for its viciousness and the other for the unconditional love that children have for their best friend. Both stories are intricately built up, immensely readable.

“Wenlock Edge” makes me wonder if things like these do happen… That people take advantage of their money and position to fulfill their quirky idiosyncrasies, taking advantage of the young with impunity.

The peep she gives into people’s lives, makes one feel like a voyeur. It’s ‘none of my business’ I want to say to some stories or ‘get your act together’ to another.

“Deep-Holes” made my blood run cold. Any story, whether fact or fiction involving children disappearing, physically or emotionally, fills me with fear… There’s a helplessness to the situation that seems beyond anyone’s control.

There is roiling emotion, like a heaving sea, behind names and people and their stories. It’s a tremendous ability to capture them and Ms. Munro definitely has that gift.
How does one choose a certain title from a group of short stories, I’ve always wondered. ‘Too Much Happiness’ wasn’t my favourite story but it certainly was the title for which I bought this interesting book.