Author Archives: Thebookreviewindia

The Journey of a Burning Boat is a work of fiction which sweeps its reader deep into the unrelentingly brutal, inhuman, world of the flesh trade.

Curious Lives is a collection of five ‘moralistic adventures’, previously and separately published, set in the world of virtuous ferrets. The cover of the book has a pair of bright yellow eyes gleaming from behind dense foliage.

oke means puffing a pipe or pot filled with marijuana. And true to its title, you get high with the novel’s surreal plot. The story is set in motion as you are introduced to Nikhil the protagonist who is fighting to come out of ganja-induced hallucinatory dreams.

Awork of non fiction, the book highlights one man’s courageous and sometimes frus-trating but always enduring struggle against politicians.

Nirvan Shrivatsava steps into Shore Mount, a posh residential school, with the weight of his lineage on his young shoulders. Three generations of Shrivatsavas, including his parents and older brother, have been stars at the same school and Nirvan is uneasy with his legacy. Third Best is a coming of age novel that traces Nirvan’s life from Class VII to Class XII—from being a bullied junior to a respected senior.

The moment I read ‘Arun, Barun, Kironmala’, ‘Sukhu and Dukhu’ and ‘Saat Bhai Champa’ I had regressed to being a wide eyed seven year old listening breathlessly to my maternal grandmother, my Didima, weaving her magic around a Bengali rupkatha.

The indefatigable Subhadra Sen Gupta! All children from eight to eighty (this phrase was made famous by Satyajit Ray) must be her fans. No one has done more to make history accessible and as much fun as her numerous books on the nationalist movement and leaders testify.

Sachin: Born to Bat by veteran journalist Khalid A.H. Ansari and edited by Clayton Murzello is a unique poem to cricket’s popular batsman, Sachin Tendulkar born in Mumbai to Ramesh Tendulkar and Rajni Tendulkar. The book is a chronicle of the achievements of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

An outcome of a three-way collaboration between British Council, Abhinav Bindra Foundation and Tulika Publishers, India’s Olympic Story is a slim book targeted at teenagers but can also be useful to anybody interested in a quick read about the Olympic Games and India’s achieve-ments at this greatest sporting extravaganza.