After a long and tiresome day, a good book often helps you tune in with yourself all over again. So what’s on our reading list? LBBD’s Neha Kirpal handpicked some new titles for you to curl up with and enjoy. The books are a mix of heavy and light reads …Figure out what kind of mood you’re in and take your pick!
1. ‘WONDERSTRUCK’ | by Brian Selznick
About the Book |
A boy named Ben longs for the father he has never known. A girl named Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother’s room, and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.
Ben’s story, set in 1977, is told entirely with words, while Rose’s story, set fifty years earlier, is told entirely with pictures. The two stories weave back and forth before ultimately coming together. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful–with over 460 pages of original artwork–‘Wonderstruck’ is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.
Reviews |
“Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret,’ Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey.” Goodreads
“Everything about this book begs you to love it. The printing and design are gorgeous, the paper of the highest quality, and the heft of the book, a Selznick trademark, would shame a Russian novel…It is a visual tour de force, part stop frame animation, part picture book. This technique is at the heart of the book, and the book has heart.” The Guardian
Memorable quote |
“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.”
2. ‘PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM’ | By Kyung-Sook Shin
About the Book |
Winner of the Man Asian Literary prize, 2011, ‘Please Look After Mom’ is the story of a missing mother and her family, told from the shifting points of view of each of the family members. The novel tracks down the mother’s life of self-sacrifice, which coincided with Korea’s dramatic shift from a pre-modern to post-modern society, and in the course has restored a place for motherhood in the Korean psyche.
Reviews |
“The book is about the selfish family of Park So-nyo, a woman who got lost in the crowd at a train station in Seoul and has not reappeared. Shocked into decency, her husband, two sons, and two daughters find themselves replaying all the button-pushing, tear-jerking moments that illustrated this woman’s love and devotion.” NY Times
“It certainly taps the universal tendency to take one’s mother for granted, as the children of the missing woman decide to distribute a recent photograph, then discover that none of them possesses one. There are sightings of a disoriented figure in blue plastic sandals eating out of restaurant dustbins, yet she slips out of the narrative as obliquely as she absents herself from family portraits.” The Guardian
Memorable quote |
“When people started to hold ancestral rites in time-share vacation homes, they worried whether the spirits would be able to find them, but now people just say, ‘Ancestors, I’ll be back’ and go to the airport.”
3. ‘POWDER ROOM’ | by Shefalee Vasudev
A book that manages to spill it all about the inside workings of the glittery and murky fashion world, complete with interviews of well-known designers, students, and fashionistas. As its tagline aptly describes it, ‘Powder Room’ speaks the ‘untold story of Indian fashion.’ There’s dope on everything in this book – from models to darzis, Bollywood to journalists.
A fascinating perspective provided by the author who is the founding editor of Marie Claire in India and currently an editor at The Indian Express, ‘Powder Room’ is brilliantly researched in its subject. A light and contemporary read for anyone remotely interested in fashion – or not.
Reviews |
“There are bridezillas who huff and demand their Sabyasachi’s; designers both young and old who fall prey to the industry’s unforgiving cycle; Fashion Week scrimmages; and old-school artisans loath to take their craft into the new consumer century.” Mumbai Boss
“Vasudev takes you through every ‘waft, wrap, and cleavage’ of the fashion industry. From obvious accounts of small-town girls/aspiring models sipping the gullible cocktail of drugs, sex, and partying to the often unheard tales of muddiness that makes a fashion journalist, her stories introduce you to fashion, without any subtext.” Hindustan Times
Memorable quote |
“Ludhiana is Delhi on steroids.”
4. ‘JUST MARRIED, PLEASE EXCUSE’ | by Yashodhara Lal
About the Book |
Yashodhara, a quick-tempered gal from the big city, is hitched to Vijay, a laidback desi boy from a small town– in one word, trouble! The young couple must learn to adjust to married life and to each other– whether it is Yashodhara’s ‘tamper tantrums’ or Vijay’s foot-in-mouth syndrome – with a little help from their idiosyncratic staff Zarreena and Vinod, their nutty friend Vivi and, of course, their respective families.
A fresh and honest take on marriage and parenthood, this is a story of self-discovery that will have you laughing out loud, and sympathizing wholeheartedly with its quirky and likeable cast of characters.
Reviews |
“A hip girl from the city meets a small town guy living in the city, love happens leading to marriage, all is hunky dory till baby arrives, but then all is well that ends well.” The Book Lover’s Review blog
“The book is a reality check on the married life of the urban couples who stay alone far away from the comfort zone of the families. As one reads, you will find yourself laughing over smallest of the matters which are detailed out in the book.” Ginger Chai
Memorable quote |
“It was clear that despite our mutual attraction, we had too many differences – he referred to himself as a ‘simple man’ and was easy-going, good-humoured, and even-tempered. He also was a small-town boy, had been brought up as part of a conservative family in Jaipur and had a distinctly desi flavour. I, on the other hand, was a ‘modern’ Delhi girl who had always had a bit of a hot temper and clearly favoured Alanis over Amitabh.”
5. ‘SCENES FROM EARLY LIFE’ | by Philip Hensher
About the Book |
Heshner’s semi-fictional account of his husband’s Bengali childhood is a fascinating hybrid of novel and memoir. The book traces the childhood of Saadi, a young scion of the Bangladeshi haute bourgeoisie, who ‘speaks in the voice of the author’s husband, Zaved Mahmood.’ In setting down the events of his own young life, Sav, who steps back from his child self into adulthood occasionally, also bears witness to the birth of a nation: the final creation of a ‘national home’ for the Bengalis.
Reviews |
“Saadi begins with memories of his grandfather’s sprawling home in Dacca {modern Dhaka}. Born into an upper-middle class Bengali family in 1970, at a time when post-Partition Bengal is buckling under Pakistani sovereignty, Saadi’s voice gives us vignettes of early life – his favorite aunt, his pet chicken Piklu’s antics, his childhood games. These read like nostalgia-drenched snapshots accompanying – and resembling – the grainy black and white photographs occasionally printed alongside the text.” The Independent
“Politics is a constant backdrop, not least on account of Zaved’s grandfather’s friendship with Sheikh Mujib, the country’s first president…Hensher perfectly captures both Zaved’s tone and the rhythms of the wider society. This is his most purely pleasurable novel to date.” The Daily Mail
Memorable quote |
“At that time, there were children you weren’t supposed to play with. You knew why. Their parents had been informers during the war. And it hadn’t been long since you could have got into trouble for singing a song. My grandfather hid all his Bengali poetry in the cellar.”
