Category: Bibliophile
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The Weight of Truth in The Dark Room
An incredibly beautiful and poignant book, The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert, presents a different side of the Second World War. A must read, even though the stories are heart-rending, and force you to confront how we process our darkest chapters.
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Rediscovering the Parts of Flowers with Rousseau
A captivating journey into the wonderful world of flora with which we share this planet, Rousseau’s “Lettres sur la Botanique” is a must-read for readers of all ages, from curious 8th graders to gardening enthusiasts.
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A bibliophile in France
The French are known to be people that value the power of reading. Over the last two years, I’ve marveled at how books are so omni-present in their culture, and how differently we perceive and treat books.
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The importance of an intermezzo between books
An intermezzo is defined as “a short connecting instrumental movement in an opera or other musical work.” In a larger context, this absolutely delightful word can also be used to signify a brief interlude or diversion. Though a word of the world of music, I first learnt the word while…
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Seeking Holmes Beyond Doyle & Baker Street
When you’ve grown up reading mysteries, Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, are a very important part of your childhood, especially when you’ve also seen the series based on these characters. I’ve watched the 1984 series starring Jeremy Brett and yes, of course I’ve also seen Benedict…
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Book Review: The Tattooist of Auschwitz
A Holocaust story with an unexpected tone of hope, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris is the heartbreaking tale of how Lale Sokolov fell in love with a girl on whose arm he tattooed the number given to her at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and how they both survived.…
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The Nightingale, a tale of unsung heroines.
“Men tell stories,” I say. It is the truest, simplest answer to his question. “Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We did what we had to during…
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Goodbye Christopher Robin
My in-flight movie viewing tends to include at least one tear-jerker, so it had to be the case even this time. After a few relatively light views on the way out and in (should I reveal here that I shed a tear or two while watching “Murder on the Orient…
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Book Review : Suite Française
Yet another one of my delightful finds at the now-famous books by the kilo sale from December 2012, “Suite Française” is an excellent addition to my growing collection of books based on the Second World War. A veritable masterpiece, though written in 1941 during and after the siege of Paris,…
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The Birth of a Book: The Honey Hunter
A serendipitous collaboration is how Anita Roy of Zubaan Publications described “The Honey Hunters,” written by Karthika Nair and illustrated by Joëlle Jolivet. Developed initially for DESH, a dance show, The Honey Hunters was born out of a discussion about the age-old diasporic problem of the loss of a language.…
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Book Review : Diary of an Ordinary Woman
Flitting desultorily looking for an interesting book to pick up at the second edition of “buy books by the kilo” sale, I chanced upon Margaret Forster’s “Diary of an Ordinary Woman” just as I was about to give up hope of getting anything worthwhile. A good six months later, forced to…
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Book Review : Monet’s Cookery Notebooks
Like most people, I love the Impressionists and I started my lessons in Art with Claude Monet’s beautiful works. Sue Roe’s “The Private Lives of the Impressionists” waits patiently on my bedside table to be finished, giving way to a more recent purchase, “Monet’s Cookery Notebooks.” Acquired at the first…
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