I sit on the sofa looking at the wall in front of me. Hundreds of images cover the wall.A young brown girl. The book does not say anywhere that she is brown. In fact, she is English. But her great-great-aunt - or was it another relation? - used to wash the socks of tramps. An old king has a friend who speaks five languages. He is a fantastic man who takes children out all the time. The progressive school. Imagine being in whatever lessons you like, if you like. A cedar tree. I don't even know what a cedar tree is.Scenes from the book play on my mind-reel. Conversations. Abstract ideas.I am not sitting in a sofa dressed in my night clothes. I am out in a world about which I know nothing. I am soaring over the mountains thinking about how very glad I am that the Prince of Bergania is so different from the Prince of Transjordania.And then someone walks into the room and frowns at … [Read more...]
The Story of Cirrus Flux
"Where are you, Varsha?" "I'm not here!" I call back. "It looks like you are." "No, I'm inside here." (pointing to my book)That's the way it was with The Story of Cirrus Flux. I enjoyed the ride through 18th century England, with Matthew Skelton's small liberties with historical facts.I wondered again at how far science has come, but how cruel the human race is.We're such a bunch of contraries. We are capable of great kindness and great cruelty. We are capable of infinite selflessness and inhuman selfishness. We want revenge, but want to forgive. We go to any lengths for people we love.The Story of Cirrus Flux, while making you gasp and shiver, also has all these contraries melting together. … [Read more...]
The Midnight Fox
It is not that I have not been reading. As a matter of fact, I have been reading quite a bit. I read A Beautiful Lie by Irfan Master and enjoyed it. I read three of Dick King-Smith's Sophie books. But nothing prompted me to write until this one - The Midnight Fox by Betsy Byars.The Midnight Fox builds suspense so brilliantly that I had to keep taking time out to breathe a bit. I needed to know what happened next, but did not want to know.With old books, I am usually pretty sure that somehow or the other, there will be a happily-ever-after ending. With this one, each page made me chew my lip and wonder and hope. I almost did not finish reading it simply because I was so afraid.But I finished it and it filled me with a deep sense of grandeur.The Midnight Fox showed me the wonder of things that are wild. Fierce love that lives in the face of danger, hope that survives even during … [Read more...]
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus, Atticus ... How I love you! Who says that you are not a good parent?To Kill a Mockingbird is moving, painful and joyful. It fills my heart with the goodness and stupidity of humanity.When I read a story like To Kill a Mockingbird, I feel the power of literature. Literature can echo in your head with phrases and pictures that make you want to close your eyes and relive each moment.A man, be he any colour of the rainbow, is equal in the eyes of law. I love that. I remember that one line from the first time I read it, when I was too young to treasure more bits and pieces. I love the idea of people being different colours of the rainbow. And even this imagined violet/green/red man is equal to the white man in court.I can see in my head the court scene, Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson. I can see Aunt Alexandra, who can behave like a lady even in the worst of … [Read more...]
The Macmillan Book Review Contest on Rivokids
Why are there no reviews of Indian books for the Macmillan Book Review Contest yet? This is true for all the age-groups!Do invite children in the age-group 10-15 to review The Story-Catcher; the carrot dangling at the end of the stick is a Macmillan book hamper! Last date for entries is the 30th of June. … [Read more...]
Olivia’s First Term
When I picked up Olivia's First Term, I was more than a little sceptical. The book was light purple, with splashes of silver on it. It did not promise to be the kind of book I would like. I don't like books that run on crushes and fantasies and lipstick and shoes and make-up. And lavender, purple and mauve books are often filled with just that. Happily, Olivia's First Term was nothing like that.In fact, I would go as far as to say that I experienced after a very long time the joy bordering on addiction that I felt when I read Malory Towers the first time. When I read Malory Towers now, I cringe with embarrassment at the fact that eighteen-year-old Darrel behaves as if she is eleven. But I cannot deny that when I read the series the first time, I devoured each book and wished Enid Blyton had written more.Olivia's First Term gave me that same simple, childlike happiness. I … [Read more...]
Day Two: Let’s Read at JustBooks, Wanawadi
One hour is not enough for everything I like to do with the children at the workshop!It was still lovely, though, with understanding copyright (and asking whether Google will know who owns the copyright for the Bible) and telling stories. Myths, book covers, publishing, copyright and a quiz - all on Day Two of the reading workshop at JustBooks, Wanawadi. Let's Read! … [Read more...]
The Court Painter’s Apprentice
I love novels that read like short stories. I don't like it when the plot is so complex that my excitement reaches its peak too early. When I read a book like that, I'm just waiting to find out what happens in the end, not enjoying the journey. The book I read before this, The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43, was like that. In the last two chapters, you're just waiting for resolution, no longer anticipating what could happen.The Court Painter's Apprentice was nothing like that. In many ways, I found its telling old-fashioned, and I liked that. I liked how different incidents come together to create a story. There was a build-up with no unnecessary crests and troughs. One story after another, with very few sub-plots. Didn't Aristotle say that that was the making of good literature?A young painter's talent is discovered when he is still very young. Apprenticed to Hugo, the leading painter of … [Read more...]
Author Interview!
The Story-Catcher was the second runner-up for the "Parents and Kids Choice Awards 2014" for Books (Indian authors) in the age-group 10-15.TeamRivo interviewed me - read the interview on rivoblog! … [Read more...]
Skellig
Skellig by David Almond is a human story, and like so many human stories, contains a little miracle. A scientific miracle, perhaps. Or maybe a spiritual miracle. Sometimes the two go together, along with angelic intervention, scientific study and William Blake.Skellig is not a story that wants to be believed. Yet it is not fantasy. It is not a story about magic. Yet, it contains the inexplicable. It is not a spiritual story of divine intervention. Yet, it is the story of a little miracle that brings Joy.Sparse, sometimes disgusting, often moving, Skellig is, above all, the story of a quiet boy who is not so quiet in his head. And his friends who understand. And those who don't. … [Read more...]