Have you heard of ‘lavender marriages’? It’s a marriage of convenience to hide the true sexual orientation of the two people involved for society’s sake. In S.J. Sindhu’s Marriage of a Thousand Lies it’s Lucky (short for Lakshmi) and Krishna who enter a lavender marriage. The story begins with Lucky temporarily moving to her mother’s...
Castles, princesses, magical creatures. These are what fairy tales are made of. And then there’s Castle Waiting by Linda Medley, which has bearded nuns, a BoJack Horseman-like character, a talking crow, pregnant lady on the lam, and so many other equally quirky characters. The book begins with a take on Sleeping Beauty. An entire town...
Being a fan of John Boyne’s books, I was thrilled to receive a copy of his latest “A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom” from Penguin Random House for a review. Without giving any spoilers, here is a bare outline of the plot: An unknown man leads the reader through 2000 years. His story unfolds,...
In her much-celebrated novel, Breasts and Eggs, the principal character, Natsuko, asks some rudimentary questions. “Does blood coming out of your body make you a woman? A potential mother? What makes that so great anyway?” “What’s the secret to long life?” “What’s it mean to hurt, anyway?” Natsuko is single and in her late 30’s...
I relish books that take me to different geographies, show me how a land breathes and lives. Latitudes of Longing, in that sense, is rich in its sprawl. Beginning with the story of Girija Prasad and Chanda Devi in the Andamans the story took me across continents through an intricately woven tapestry of people and...
A couple of years ago, when I turned the last page of Tonke Dragt’s The Letter for the King, I felt like I had travelled back in time. I felt I had mingled with knights on horses, visited medieval forts, and met quirky characters that made my head spin, along the way. I felt rejuvenated...
If there’s anything I love better than chocolate it’s a deliciously atmospheric crime/mystery novel. So, it is with great anticipation that I began reading The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo. To add to my excitement the locked room mystery came with a heritage. Originally published in 1946, it is the first book in the renowned...
Many books have been written about gender inequality and misogyny. But perhaps none in the style of Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982. Cho Nam-Joo’s novel’s titular character’s name literally means Jane Doe in Korean, and it’s a powerful story about the place of women in South Korean society. Kim Jiyoung is an everywoman but one who...
You know those books that just seem to wrap their arms around you in a warm, soul-enriching embrace? That is what Katie O’Neill’s “The Tea Dragon Festival” did for me. Set in a gentle, loving world where dragons are protective of humans and everyone looks out for everyone else in more ways than one, The...
Ever since I can remember I have enjoyed reading translated books. I loved these words that showed me life on foreign shores. They were like whispers from another world telling me to open my eyes wider and see the world. I cannot pinpoint when and how exactly I started reading these translations. Perhaps it was...
