Who's reading what,when & the experience

chAos

Happy to know I'm not the only one having trouble getting into The Inheritance of Loss. phew.
Not reading much right now, but started Mark Twain's Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World. Hmmm... I guess this is a stretch as I only made it to the dedication, and I just realized that the book's been packed already.

But, oh, what a dedication!

Rachmilievitch

I received a gift copy Sunday for Father's Day of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. I could hardly put it down and finished reading it this afternoon. My suspicion is that there is a lot more of the gritty truth about India in this novel than most Indians or visitors will want to acknowledge. There is an excellent set of reviews for the book at Amazon. Anybody else read it?

Aishah

Rach. - I've noted your title, sounds a great read. Scando - Yes I read 'Train to Pakistan' quite a while ago - it was sad but excellent. I do like Khushwant Singh's writing - his newspaper columns are good, also 'India Burning' - a short historical viewpoint re Ayodhya (not sure how to spell this - away from my book cupboard at the moment).
Have just finished Anne Enright's 'The Gathering' - won Man Booker 2007. I can see why her writing won her the prize but the novel became boring for me even though I finished it. Now reading Stephen Fry's 'The Liar' - feel I've read it a long time ago, but not quite sure! Rather schoolboyish humour in it, which becomes tedious, but I will finish it. Not too much choice on my shelf at the moment - I found it in the local book exchange which doesn't have much on offer.

__________________
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Scandojazzbuff

How about Kiran Desai's winning of the Booker! How? Why? This books loses its way too often and she doesn't seem to be able to write real dialog but resorts to narrative to tell her story.

Here's one for you, 'What is the What' by Dave Eggers. An amazing piece of writing based on true events of the 'Lost Boys' in Sudan.

BTW, what are you doing in Jaisalmer?

wonderwomanusa

I've just finished THE ELEPHANTA SUITE by Paul Theroux. It's a very dark mood, reminded me of his MOSQUITO COAST, which I disliked and never finished.

An interesting view of India in these three short stories.

theyyamdancer

Hi there, Wonderwomanusa. I am a huge fan of Paul Theroux, especially of his travel litterature. I recently read the book you just mentioned, "The Elephanta Suite". It is hardly an ode to India. Theroux seems to be getting more of a misanthropist in his old age. It is nevertheless an interesting read, I agree. But I prefer his early work. Have you read his adventures in Malawi as a Peace Corps volunteer, in "Jungle Lovers"? I also liked very much his famous travellogue "The Old Patagonian Express" and - more appropriate to recommend the next title here on a forum about India (after all) - his book "Sir Vidia's Shadow", in which he somewhat character-assassinates his old friend and mentor V. S. Naipaul (whom he met in Africa).

machadinha

Our VPRO TV guide featured an article that put me onto these two sites that I thought might interest some:

http://noveldestinations.com/ Blog maintained by Shannon McKenna Schmidt & Joni Rendon, authors of Novel Destinations: Literary Landmarks from Jane Austen's Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West, which the blog seems to be something of an extension of.

http://www.salon.com/books/literary_guide/ Salon.com's "Literary Guide to the World."

__________________
Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

wonderwomanusa

Yam Dancer, I've read some of Theroux's travel books and certainly liked The Great Railroad Bazaar a lot better than Elephanta Suite!

I don't believe we have to like (or finish) every book we pick up. I'm currently reading The Assassin's Song by someone named Vassanji; I'm not sure if it will hold my interest to the end. But it takes place in Gujurat, which is a nice change!

Aishah

Links look interesting Mach. WWUSA - I must look out for those Theroux's you have mentioned - I have to confess reading only one book of his years ago and can't remember the title! But these with Indian content sound interesting.
I'm currently reading whatever I can pick up at the book exchange top of Landour Bazaar - some lightweights but have been enjoying them all. A re-read of Margaret Atwood's 'Wilderness Tips' (not lightweight!), marvellous short stories and like reading a new book again; Billie Lette's 'Shoot the Moon' - very easy read that kept interesting to the end; and currently, Colleen McCullough's Angel - set in King's Cross, Sydney in the early 60's and her detail is good especially since I came to Sydney in the late 60's and much is very recognizable for me. It's a good plot.

Scando - Yes, I agree re your comments on Desai's winning the Booker.. I'm in Jaisalmer because I married Mr K who lives there.

capt_mahajan

Manto's (full name Saadat Hasan Manto) short stories.

Genius.

Casey

I recently finished The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar. I enjoyed it but found the last 1/4 was a bit weak. I also read The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks, again not bad but not outstanding. Lullabies for Little Criminals by a Canadian author was a pretty good read, although it was more a collections of episodes in a young girls life than a novel, but still worth the read. Upon reflection, all of these were first novels and I would read more by the authors (Iain Banks having gone on to write quite a bit).

kidsan

Well, i have just finished a wonderful book called A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam. I did a quick search and am surprised that it has not been mentioned before in this thread.

It is a novel set in 1971 in Bangladesh during its war for seperation from Pakistan.

Not cheerful reading but wonderfully written and with a compelling lead character.

Highly recommended if you want to learn more about the history of Bangladesh.

karuna

I don't really "do" fiction these days, my recent conquests are memoirs and social commentary!

If You Don't Know Me By Now, by Sathnam Sanghera. I really enjoyed this. Sounds strange when you hear that it's about his father's schizophrenia and its effect on his Punjabi-born parents, in their insular, illiterate world in 1970s Britain. He manages to give it a really light touch, including amusing anecdotes about growing up Sikh in Wolverhampton, oblivious to his father's condition, whilst still giving a fascinating insight into how mental health difficulties are/were viewed by his parents' generation.

Unimagined: A Muslim Boy Meets the West, by Imran Ahmad. Didn't like this one so much. It's a series of vignettes in the life of a boy whose family move from Pakistan to London when he is a toddler. His story is very average- school, not fitting in, going to University and falling in love, and getting his first job. It's interspersed with doubts and musings on his religion. Ultimately there's no story arc, it's just his young life, in bits, on paper. I can only think it's intended to demonstrate his ordinariness given the current hysteria about Islam. Dull.

I'm currently on Pavan K Varma's Being Indian, which isn't even a memoir, but I'm totally hooked. In the same ballpark as Jereny Paxman's The English: A Portrait of a People I suppose. Really fascinating and recommended.

__________________
Indiamike mod squad's odd bod.
I've lost my equilibrium and my car keys and my pride ~ Tom Waits

[Indian Mona Lisa by Dinesh; can't find original uploader to credit in full.]

wonderwomanusa

Karuna, you might enjoy A PERFECT MAN by Naeem Murr. It's about an Anglo-Indian boy who is brought to a small town in Missouri (Southern US) and grows up there, without family. Very well written.

jyotirmoy

palace of illusions by chitra banerjee-divakurani