On a Wing and a Prayer - Arun Sarma

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This is the first novel I've read by Arun Sarma. It kept coming up on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a go. I enjoyed the cover art.

The novel is set in Assam as India moved towards Independence. The north east, especially the rural parts, have their own flavour of life and writing. It turns into a generational story, which I enjoy greatly. 

It took me a while to get into the storyline. The author writes simply, matter-of-factly, and doesn't linger on unnecessary details. The book does get into some communal commentary closer to the end, but it doesn't leave you with any verdict on it. 

Honestly, while the story was well written, it didn't catch my emotions like many other partition books have. It feels intentionally set back from the realities a bit, perhaps due to the rural setting. There are better books on this subject.

~Becky~

Tomb of Sand: Geetanjali Shree

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This is one of those large books. The ones that take forever to read. At least it took me quite a while relatively. I was about a third of the way through before my interest was well and truely hooked too.I believe this was a bookstore find and the first I have read by Geetanjali Shree.

Long, but worth it. It's a 2022 Booker Prize winner, which usually means worth reading. This is another flavor of the partition literature that ranges from amazing to awful in India. I enjoyed the novel. It's also a bit of a soft-peddaled manifesto. The mother is done listening to other people and is going to do what she would like. Not in a hurtful way, but in an "I Need to do this" way. It examines intergenerational assumptions and turns some of them upside down.

I enjoyed the protagonist a lot. I enjoyed cheering for me and while she wasn't perfect, she was human, relateable, and I wanted her to achieve what she set out to do. That's a pretty brilliant win for an author. I feel that selling the main character is half the battle of getting someone to read your book. Take it on vacation, take the time to read some daily, but do read this - well worth it.

Read it!

~Becky~

Khwab Nama - Akhtaruzzaman Elias

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This was a confusing one for me. I've been open about how Bengali and Bangladeshi language and culture confuse me. It's like a familiar item, only something is a bit off. Like putting potatoes in Biryani. 

I can't remember why I picked this up, nor have I read anything from the author previously. It's a novel centering around a family living in a small village. They are not a traditional family as a Sufi Pir's daughter was married to a widower and has a step son. Theirs isn't a passionate marriage but she takes comfort in his presence and stability. His health is never good and she finds herself a widow after some time. There are many references to a community lake, local folklore, superstitions, and fishing culture that I found especially hard to identify with. 

There's not much plot going on here. It rambles through every day life without much drama or contemplation. It's also not a small novel. There is some commentary on class differences which I found interesting, but not different from any other novel. 

Read it if you have an interest.

~Becky~

The Death of Mr. Love : Indra Sinha

Fiction

Read it

This was another book that landed high on quite a few read lists, so I decided to give it a try. The book is written in a parallel to the famous Nanavati case in Bombay. It starts out with an idylic childhood in the hills outside of Pune. The story follows the main character, his relationship with the main female character (It's a very strange one indeed) and ties into the Nanvati case at the end.

I wouldn't call it a suspense, because the tension builds very very slowly, but that's what it is. The author has done a very masterful job of storytelling and winding many different threads into a different version of a well known tale. The writing is a bit eccentric, but well done. 

The book does drag in a few places, and it's a long one, but it's worth the effort. 

Read it!

~Becky~

The Seeds of War - Ashok K Banker

Fiction

Read it

I've read many different flavors of both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, some good, some inane. This is another reincarnation of a part of the Mahabharata and one I found very interesting. While this is only a section of the author's rendering of the Mahabharata, I found some of his explanations and story telling skills very good for understanding the underlying thought and logic for some of the familiar stories. 

In general, I'm a fan of multi-generational stories, and this one stretched for a few.  I found the plot pacing to be rather sporadic - in some places the author takes pains to over explain and give too many details and in other places, he races past things. I'm not sure if this was due to the size of the project he was trying to cover or if he wanted to connect stories. Either way, it was a bit awkward to read from that perspective. 

I'm not sure I would sit through the rest of the series if this is any indication of how it would go, but I did enjoy learning new things about old stories.

Read it!

~Becky~

Before We Visit the Goddess - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

I'm a huge sucker for stories that follow families for generations and highlight how success is both found and lost based on decisions that people make. The author has done this very well with this book.

A new Authoress for me, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has rapidly become a favorite of mine. Delving into ambition, success, and the price it can extract from human relationships, it's a thoughtful piece. Jumping back and forth between time periods highlights the difference in priorities, definition of success, and the expectations of personal relationships. This novel follows the rise and fall of a family that develops a very successful sweet shop and wealth, which then ebbs. Cross generational secrets and mental health issues are also examined,  much needed subjects to be breached in India. 

Do read this. I look forward to reading more things from Ms. Divakaruni.

Becky