Exploring the Bookish World

Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal's Circus Folk & Village Freaks is an extraordinary book in which stories are told as narrative poems in rhyming couplets. This book stands out from the rest not only because of its innovative narrative style but also for the beautiful illustrations. A collection of eighteen twisted tales, this book is an absolute gem. Each of the tales talks about important social issues and paints before the readers a true image of typical Indian society. The quirky tales of the circus folk and the people who live in the adjacent village will leave the readers intrigued and astonished. A man bitten by a crocodile becomes a God. A clown finds his place in Hollywood. A Devadasi woos the entire village with her culinary skills. These are a few of the people whose tales are narrated in this book. Read the book to know more about the lives of the Circus folk and the village freaks! With lucid language and beautiful rhyming couplets, the author has done a brilliant...

The Children of Destruction by Kuber Kaushik is a young-adult fantasy fiction, full of magic and adventure. It tells the story of a teenager named Alice. Alice, the protagonist, suddenly discovers that she possesses magical powers. The main theme in this book is magic and the use of magical powers. The character of Alice was very well developed and I really liked her character. Especially her sense of sarcasm was on point. The story started quite well, at a moderate pace. It seemed quite interesting. But as it progressed, things grew really complicated. I had very high expectations from this book, but it failed to impress me. The plot is not very well constructed. It could have been much better. Too many characters complicated the storyline all the more. The book started with a lot of amazing ideas but was not properly executed. Although the language was lucid and the dialogues were quite well written, the book as a whole is not very interesting. Multiple subplots further compli...

Astra: The Quest for Starsong by Aditya Mukherjee and Arnav Mukherjee is mythological/fantasy fiction set in ancient India. Ravana, the King of Lanka sets on a march to find all the divine weapons (astras), in order to become most powerful and invincible. Seers whisper that he has awakened the Starsong, a mythical Astra which belonged to the Gods. Ravana thirsts for this particular weapon, which will make him invincible. High up in the glistening tower in the city of Ulka, a young boy named Varkan, who is the prince of Ashmaka, was held captive by his uncle. He finally manages to escape from the prison with his mother. However, danger awaits him on his way. The Rakshasas, the army of Ravana, attack him to take away the divine weapon or Astra, Starsong, which originally belongs to the family of Varkan. Will he be able to protect himself and the Astra Starsong from Ravana? What will happen in the perilous journey? Read the book to know more. I had expected this book to be rathe...

Kautuk Srivastava's debut novel 'Red Card' is a wonderful coming-of-age story. Set in the suburban Thane of 2006, this book tells us the story of a young boy named Rishabh Bala, a student of the tenth standard. But his life takes a turn and all of a sudden things become complicated. The story begins with four boys watching French Football player, Zinedine Zidane's career's final match. All of them are equally shocked when he gets a Red Card. Rishabh Bala, the protagonist of this story, is one of the boys watching the match. He is completely unaware of the fact that a similar 'Red Card' change his life. Rishabh finds himself in a lot of pressure as his upcoming board exams are knocking at the door. Also, he falls hopelessly in love with one of his classmates. Although his father refuses, he still plays football for his beloved school football team. Amidst all these distractions, how will Rishabh manage to succeed in the journey of life? You'll ha...

Joginder Paul's Land Lust is a collection of twelve short stories in English, translation of Dharti Ka Kaal , originally written in Urdu. Beautifully narrated, each tale is about the hardship, poverty, racism faced by the people of Kenya. The author has brilliantly portrayed the harsh reality prevalent in society. The book begins with the story 'Miracle' (translation of 'Mojaza'), in which we come across young Kenyan boys forced to jump into a dangerous lake to pick up coins thrown by foreign tourists, just for their amusement. The boys put their lives in danger to retrieve the coins which are not of any value to the tourists, but for them, it is a lot of money.  All the stories are equally beautiful and do not fail to strike a chord with the readers.  Another brilliant piece is 'When Life Dies'. In this tale, the protagonist Jagore is an enthusiastic and well-meaning African employee - becomes a victim of institutional racism when he is abruptly fir...