Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantlepiece, and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocca-case. The Sign of the Four was my latest lucky spin for the Classics Club and my second Sherlock Holmes story. There's not a lot to be said about another Sherlock Holmes story that hasn't already been … Continue reading The Sign of the Four | Arthur Conan Doyle #CCspin
'When the lotus comes it is time to go.' That is what we say in Kashmir. My copy of Coromandel Sea Change (Pan Macmillan 2013) includes a short non-fiction piece at the back called Summer Diary: The Herbogowan. It is undated. The only information provided is to be found on the title page, stating that … Continue reading Summer Diary: The Herbogowan | Rumer Godden #ReadingWeek2021
Saturday was change-over day at Patna Hall. For my inaugural Rumer Godden Reading Week, I chose Coromandel Sea Change, first published in 1991, as I was keen to read one of her novels set in India. This was her third last book before dying at age 90 in 1998. My edition comes with an Introduction … Continue reading Coromandel Sea Change | #RumerGoddenReadingWeek
"Well done." Perveen Mistry spoke aloud as she slid the signed contracts into envelopes. The Bombay Prince is the third book in Sujata Massey's Perveen Mistry Murder Mystery series. Although the Australian cover declares the series as a murder mystery, Allen & Unwin classify it on their website under historical fiction (you can also read … Continue reading The Bombay Prince | Sujata Massey #INDcosycrime
Perveeen Mistry sighed, adjusting her hat on her sweating brow. The Satapur Moonstone is book two in the Perveen Mistry series set in India in the 1920's. Whilst book one felt rather undercooked (my own little in-joke as I included a recipe in my response to The Widows of Malabar Hill), book two is far … Continue reading The Satapur Moonstone | Sujata Massey #INDcosycrime
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line attracted my attention initially thanks to the cover. That big eye seemed to follow me around everywhere I went and after a season of blue/green covers, the bright yellow stood out a mile on the bookshop bookshelf. However I made an early assumption that it was nasty crime fiction, … Continue reading Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line | Deepa Anappara #WomensPrize
The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay was a tremendous read. Fascinating, absorbing and eye-opening. I say eye-opening, because even though I've read a lot of Indian literature over the years, I don't believe I've read many that cover the conflict in Kashmir. Vijay doesn't answer all the questions or provide all the answers, she doesn't … Continue reading The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey is exactly the type of cosy crime I enjoy reading on a cold, rainy wintery weekend.Much like the UK series about Maisie Dobbs and the Australian series by Kerry Greenwood about Phryne Fisher, Massey has created the Indian version of these smart, pioneering 1920's women who have … Continue reading The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Sometimes the perfect book lands on your doorstep at exactly the right time. This past month or so has been pretty ordinary. The loss of a much loved family member to cancer has left us all exhausted and numb. I'm sure many of you know the drill we've been through lately. The shock, followed by … Continue reading The Murderer’s Ape | Jakob Wegelius
Last week Mr Books and I went to the movies for the first time this year!I know! How did that happen? How can our life be so busy that we don't make time to go the movies anymore? Surely having adult children living at home means less work and running round? And more to time … Continue reading The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
The Home and the World is a classic of Indian literature published in 1916 by Rabindranath Tagore. It was translated into English in 1919 by his nephew Surendranath Tagore. For a summary of the book, details about Tagore's life and fascinating personal insights about life in India now, please see Cirtnecce's fabulous wrap up post … Continue reading The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore
I wasn't sure I was going to make it in time to join in this wonderful The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore readalong being hosted by Cirtnecce @ Mockingbirds, Looking Glasses and Prejudices during August.I've been reading a couple of books this past week or so and I was determined to finish them before starting any … Continue reading The Home and the World Read Along
"In late 2012, Australia and India were rocked by violent crimes against young women. In Dehli, thousands protested against rape. In Melbourne, thousands stood vigil in memory of a young woamn raped and murdered walking home. The fate of all young women, what they should fear and what they could hope for were hot topics … Continue reading Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean edited by K Murray, P Dahr & A Roy
Sometimes it's hard for a book to live up to your own high expectations.The Lives of Others screamed 'love me' from the start.I love Indian literature & history.The purple cover with dragonflies was designed to appeal to me.The first few pages are taken up with a family tree and map - & I love a … Continue reading The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
Vanilla Ice Cream is Bob Graham doing what he does best.Ordinary lives in microcosm - the similarities between very different communities - the simple pleasures of life, family, pets and the inter-connectedness of, well, everything!This simple story begins in India with a sparrow looking for food.Like all Graham's work, though, the bulk of the story … Continue reading Vanilla Ice Cream by Bob Graham
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