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ARUNDHATI ROY
| The God
of Small Things
In her first novel, award-winning Indian
screenwriter Arundhati Roy conjures a whoosh of wordplay that rises from
the pages like a brilliant jazz improvisation. The God of Small Things is
nominally the story of young twins Rahel and Estha and the rest of their
family, but the book feels like a million stories spinning out
indefinitely; it is the product of a genius child-mind that takes
everything in and transforms it in an alchemy of poetry. The God of Small
Things is at once exotic and familiar to the Western reader, written in an
English that's completely new and invigorated by the Asian Indian
influences of culture and language.
I've read quite a varied bunch
of books in my time, but Roy's "God of Small Things' is definitely the
first book that comes to mind when you say 'favourite'. I find it
incredibly textured. The little word games that the characters play remind
me so much of my own youth. I grew up in India, though not in the locale
that Roy's book features, and I remeber my childhood games mirroring those
that Rahel and Estha play... nictitating, ictitating, titating, etc" I
felt every character in the book, whether I loved them or hated them. The
sense of little pleasures and ultimate hopelessness that the tale embodies
is incredible and feels disturbingly like truth. To me, it is one of
the great stories.... one that does not trick you with a surprise ending.
If you like texture and description in writing, starve for two days if you
have to, but have a pretty copy of this book. I've actually got two
copies: one hardbound and one paperback which I keep for my own use, and i
actually have one copy that I keep around to lend out to friends that I
think will appreciate it.
The Greater common Good
It is rare to find such
a beautiful combination of prose and protest. The subject is the
construction of dams on rivers in India and the effect they have on the
people and enviroment. Sounds dry, i know, but Roy magically turns this
into a touching living story. This is a very short book, but a very
important one. It speaks about things far beyond it's obvious subject,
showing the opression of the single by the goverment and role we have in
stopping this maddness. The book is a moving narrative of the
consortium of World Bank , crooked governments displacing millions of
envirofriendly citizens living by the banks of rivers by sanctioning
humongous projects to build large dams. The project cost ensures benefits
leakages for the people in power , for the powerless displaced it is often
a tearing away from roots of a freedom on the banks of a river to a city
hovel ,prositution and even bondage. Powerful read. | DAS MANOJ
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Selected Fiction
In this collection of twenty-seven short stories,
a novelette and a novel, there are many delightful tales, characters and
situations to encounter and relish. The stories range from the
light-hearted to the sombre. Many are laced with Manoj Das’ characteristic
irony. Told with humour and compassion, wit and sensitivity, this
collection bring together the best of the works of one of India’s most
mature and rewarding writers. ¨ ‘Manoj Das…[will] take place on my
bookshelves beside the stories of Narayan….’—Graham Greene ¨ includes
new short stories Das's ghosts are people one might like to meet.
Das Transports us into a space at once simpler and more
entertaining than the world in which we live. The worlds he conjures
up are more than welcome in an age of excessive striving after complexity,
the direct and chatty writing style refreshing in an era of increased
experimentation with language. Hindustan Times, New Delhi
The
author is an extremely skilled exponent of the short story, weaving the
medium with magic and whimsy Deccan Chronicle
| O J VIJAYAN
| Legends of
Khasak
First time when I read this book nearly 15
years back, after the SSLC examiantion, I couldn´t get more insight in to
he life. The myths and other imaginatory things were above the ability of
a 15 year old boy. After that during the past 15 years I read the book may
be 1000 times. Each time when I read I had to think some thing more and
more, still each and every time after reading I will be going in to the
geometrical lights of the different sights of the diamond. I read the
malayalam version of this book "Khasakkinte Ithihasam".This book gave me a
nostalgic experience.I belong to the Palakkad district in Kerala,India
where the story is based.During one of my vacations I have travelled to
that place and I could find all the images described in vijayan's novel
there.It was so real.From the moment I arrived at the Thasrak[Khasak] I
felt as if Vijayan's Ravi is walking with me and showing me all the places
especially the village school.Ravi can be considered as a saint on a
pilgrimage to understand the inner meanings of life.In vijayan's other
novels also we can find such pilgrimages as Kunjunni in
Gurusagaram{infinty of grace} and Chandran in
"Thalamurakal"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/014015647X/qid%3D1013741089/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F0%5F1/104-8636610-3947956
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