Every so often, you come across a book that brings life around you to a standstill. It makes you stop and feel more than you think you are capable of feeling. It makes you hug yourself and breathe, so that you don't get lost in the raw beauty of human emotion.And as I live in the pages of a book like One, I find myself wondering, How can anyone write so beautifully?One is among the most moving books I've ever read. Twice, I was able to sniff and move on. Once, I had to put the book away and let myself cry before I got back to reading.Tippi and Grace are conjoined twins. They are privy to every detail of each other's life, joined in blood and bone. They are both two and one, and this creates a bond that no one else can dream of sharing. They hold each other up, hooking their arms around each other's waists, waking up to each other's nightmares, and … [Read more...]
Hell and High Water
Recently, I wrote about rereading The Goldsmith's Daughter by Tanya Landman and looking out for more books by her. I almost didn't pick up Hell and High Water because the cover did not catch my eye. Only when I noticed the name of the writer did I pick up the book--and I'm so glad I did.Hell and High Water was just as good as Apache and The Goldsmith's Daughter. It is told from the point of view of a "darkie" Caleb, a boy of mixed race.When Caleb's Pa is transported as a convict for a crime he did not commit, Caleb learns of the existence of his aunt Anne, who Pa is sure will help him.The fifteen-year-old boy finds his aunt but is soon drawn into a wicked world where the wealthiest of criminals perform heinous deeds without being punished, while the poorest suffer for the slightest of crimes. Along with his aunt's … [Read more...]
The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare
I took a while to sink my teeth into The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare. I went slowly through the first few chapters: I found the narrative voice a little puzzling, and I could not figure out whether I liked the protagonist, Auden Dare.Once I got sucked into the book, though, it was a different story.The cover asks whether a friendship can save a world under threat - and the way Zillah Bethell deals with this idea is tender and moving, for the friendship is a most irregular one.A dystopian novel, The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare is set at a time when a war is being waged over the most precious commodity in the world - water. A country like the UK is slightly better off because it is surrounded by the sea, and though the water needs to be desalinated before being fit for consumption, there is access to it. … [Read more...]
The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day
As I read The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day, I realised yet again that Christopher Edge is a writer I want to look out for. The first book I read of his was probably Twelve Minutes to Midnight. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up buying two copies of it - one to keep and one to gift.Somehow, the sequel, Shadows of the Silver Screen, did not make such a powerful impression on me. I liked it, but I can barely remember it now - in my defence, I read it five years ago.Then, I read The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, which I loved. It was unlike anything I'd ever read before and I was drawn into Albie's world - a world of science that has at its core not just human curiosity but something even more deep-rooted than that - love.If I had read The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day … [Read more...]
The Bubble Boy
I had just started reading The Bubble Boy, when I came across an article on 'sick-lit', which made me think. There really are a lot of books about children who are ill, but I'd never thought about it in that way. And yes, the idea of the dying girl redeeming a broken man would irritate me.As a result, I was unfairly wary when I got through the first few chapters of The Bubble Boy. I didn't want the emotional manipulation that plays out like a formula in literature where someone may die, and I was more than a little sceptical.But I said 'unfairly' because The Bubble Boy is nothing like that. For one, it is not YA - the protagonist, Joe, is an eleven-year-old, who is called bubble boy because he is stuck in a bubble - a sterilised, temperature-controlled, heavily monitored hospital room. He has severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), and cannot ever leave his sanitised room. His … [Read more...]
On Rereading
As a child, I thought rereading books was a H*U*G*E waste of time. I devoured books, especially Enid Blytons, and later, Roald Dahls. I read the odd Richmal Crompton, went on to the classics - loved Five Children and It, pushed myself through others, left still others incomplete.But one thing I rarely did was reread. I did not have the time. Too many books, too little time, I kept telling myself.Then, at some stage, I realised that reading was not really a race. It was okay if I did not read every single good book in the world. At times, the comfort of a well-loved book was preferable to a foray into unknown territory, so I reread my Malory Towers and my Roald Dahls. I was growing older, so I read and reread Georgette Heyer and Mary Stewart and Dick Francis and Madeleine Brent. And eventually, I made my peace with "wasting" time rereading books I loved.Now, rereading a … [Read more...]
Wildwitch Wildfire
Wildwitch Wildfire. The name seems to hark back to an earlier time, a time when magic was different, ancient, unknown. Yet, the cover, with its bright red, and a cat staring a girl down gave me the idea of something almost modern. I picked it up, curious about what it would offer--and put it down when I had finished reading it.Wildwitch Wildfire won me over with the wonder of its storytelling. A beautiful story, simply told - is there anything more fulfilling than that?Clara Ash is mauled by a huge cat on her way to school, but that's hardly an excuse she can offer her scary math teacher for being late. With an incident that simple, the story begins.Clara's mum never cries, but when she hears about the cat, she begins to cry. It is time for Clara, little Clara Mouse, to visit her Aunt Isa, a wildwitch. For Clara is a wildwitch herself and needs to learn how to … [Read more...]
Septopus: Trouble on the High Cs
Question 1: How many books have you read about octopuses?Question 2: How many books have you read about an octopus with seven and a half tentacles?Question 3: How many books have you read about an octopus band - an oct-estra - playing Mozart?The answers to those questions will show you how unusual, unexpected and quirky Septopus: Trouble on the High Cs is.As octopuses have eight tentacles, all of them have names that end with '8', so this book features Rot8, Irrit8, Imit8, Emul8, and my favourite - Po8 (say it aloud a few times if you don't get this one immediately).For convenience sake, though, the '8' is dropped. Rot, the seven-and-a-half tentacled octopus is on a mission to save Sea World from sabotage. His clues include red and yellow sneakers, smelly socks and the symbol of an octopus. Where can he go with these?Lots of places, including the top of a coconut tree, … [Read more...]
No. 9 on the Shade Card
When I started reading No. 9 on the Shade Card, I was not sure if I would enjoy it. I liked the idea, and I was fascinated by the fact that we never seemed to learn the narrator's name. We know her so well, but we don't know her name - unless I just missed it because I got too involved in the story.Yet, as I went on, I realised that I was enjoying the book thoroughly. I kept telling myself that I would read 'just one more chapter' and if that isn't a sign of how engrossing the book is, I don't know what is.In fairness ads, models have a shade card, and their pale skin classifies them as number 1 on the shade card, and who does not want to be number 1, right?But the narrator is number 9, and her Ajji is convinced that this is a problem. From yucky besan mixtures from the freezer to green pastes, the narrator is blackmailed time and again to try … [Read more...]
The Night Diary
Recently, I revisited a review of a book I loved - My Name is Rose. The book made a particularly powerful impression on me because the lead character cannot speak, not because she is mute, but because of the weight of the world on her shoulders.Nisha from The Night Diary is a character just like that. Already overcome by crippling shyness and enormous social inhibitions, life does not do Nisha any favours. There are only two people in the world Nisha feels comfortable talking to - her twin Amil, and their domestic help who is practically family, Kazi.To top it all, it is the year 1947 and everything is beginning to change. Nisha, all of 12, is puzzled by how swiftly things seem to fall apart. India, still under British rule, is growing more and more polarised, and she finds that the way she looks at people is beginning to alter. As the weeks go by and she hears whispers of … [Read more...]