A little bit of reading...
1. If you want to read pure English literature, then this is the book you should be reading. It will leave you pining for more. I have read many books by Amitav Ghosh, especially the Ibis trilogy comprising Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and now "Flood of Fire"; all of them are brilliant pieces steeped in the Indian way of storytelling and history.
1. If you want to read pure English literature, then this is the book you should be reading. It will leave you pining for more. I have read many books by Amitav Ghosh, especially the Ibis trilogy comprising Sea of Poppies, River of Smoke, and now "Flood of Fire"; all of them are brilliant pieces steeped in the Indian way of storytelling and history.
You don't know what you are missing until you have read these books. Excellent story and great writing that sings! Reading the Ibis trilogy made me feel honored and privileged.
The best book I have read this year is Flood of Fire and will be on the top of my bookshelf.
I am ultra-fond of reading books by Amitav Ghosh.
- December '15
2. Second message: I have just finished reading Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh. I was reading Jibananda Das’ poems and abandoned them halfway in my excitement to finish the last book in the Ibis trilogy. It took me more than 3 weeks to finish reading!
I loved reading all three books in the Ibis Trilogy. Reading Flood of Fire has been a true revelation in the sense there is much to admire in this one that I feel honored and privileged to have read all these books. In the background of Opium Wars, the characters such as Zachary Reid, Neel, Kesri, Shireen, and never forget Mrs. Burnham, have made thrilling stories of their lives tied together by the Ibis ship. Altogether, Flood of Fire is a fitting finale to a glorious expedition of the author Amitav Ghosh’s writing about the Opium Wars. I strongly recommend this book.
- January '16
3. I have just finished reading “The Compassionate Mother” by Brahmachari Akshayachaitanya, the first biographer of Sri Sarada Devi.
It is a very special book on the life and times of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.
Swami Vivekananda knew her Divinity and he called her “The Living Goddess Durga.”
The Holy Mother was an unusual awakener of souls. Read this book and enrich your life.
- February '16
4. Just finished reading the book “Make Me” by Lee Child.
The book is about a town called Mother’s Rest, a tiny place hidden in a thousand square miles of wheat fields with a railroad crossing. And the worst nightmare is about to begin…
This is a new masterly thriller from the best-selling author Lee Child.
I absolutely loved the suspense. Excellent pacing. While you read the book, have some hot coffee like Jack Reacher does, always and many times over.
- February '16
5. This past Sunday I’ve been busy reading the book “Aarushi” by Avirook Sen. One read this book back to back, as one always does no matter how hard-pressed one is for time. “Aarushi” is a gripping read with all the judicial tangles, court cases, and all kinds of outlandish trolls thrown by the people who simply want to spread salacious rumours about the dead teenager's parents.
The murder case is one of the most botched-up judicial operations we have ever known! God save this country! Save our so-called “judicial system” from these useless punks who keep their offices and call themselves able bodies of the judiciary.
Avirook Sen's book Aarushi is filled with facts, and hard facts, and also gives a very good analysis of the entire story. The author has done a great job. We’ll possibly never know who murdered poor little Aarushi Talwar, but I am sure one can have one’s conclusions fairly deduced from reading this good book.
- February '16
6. Patrick French's book "India: A Portrait" gave me a wonderful time reading, and have I been finishing up reading a few books in quick succession recently? Yes, indeed!
This book is a great refresher on politics, multiculturalism, and great heaps of modern India's history from its independence up till now.
There are plenty of anecdotal essays on India's staggering political and economic perspectives.
I particularly liked reading about Srinivasa Ramanujan, the mathematical genius who died young. Nice portrait. Good book.
- March '16
7. "Daniel Deronda" is George Eliot's final novel. Written in 1876, the story is set at the heart of the cosmopolitan aristocracy of contemporary London and is her most ambitious work. Daniel Deronda was her last work before her death four years later in 1880. Personally speaking, it was an extremely hard task reading the heavy tome.
The idyllic villages of England she portrayed in her novels such as "Adam Bede" and "Middlemarch" were not the usual elements she dealt with in this seminal work. What struck me as particularly astounding is the fact that the kind of psychological insight the author has into the characters of Daniel Deronda, of Jewish origin, and Gwendolen Harleth, a nervous English lady of contemporary London is so profoundly sketched.
Somehow I get a feeling that the title of this beautiful work could have been Gwendolen Harleth instead of Daniel Deronda since a whole chunk of the novel is about her. Reading Daniel Deronda has been an exhilarating and delicious experience. I am very glad I did.
- March 2016
By Arindam Moulick
6. Patrick French's book "India: A Portrait" gave me a wonderful time reading, and have I been finishing up reading a few books in quick succession recently? Yes, indeed!
This book is a great refresher on politics, multiculturalism, and great heaps of modern India's history from its independence up till now.
There are plenty of anecdotal essays on India's staggering political and economic perspectives.
I particularly liked reading about Srinivasa Ramanujan, the mathematical genius who died young. Nice portrait. Good book.
- March '16
7. "Daniel Deronda" is George Eliot's final novel. Written in 1876, the story is set at the heart of the cosmopolitan aristocracy of contemporary London and is her most ambitious work. Daniel Deronda was her last work before her death four years later in 1880. Personally speaking, it was an extremely hard task reading the heavy tome.
The idyllic villages of England she portrayed in her novels such as "Adam Bede" and "Middlemarch" were not the usual elements she dealt with in this seminal work. What struck me as particularly astounding is the fact that the kind of psychological insight the author has into the characters of Daniel Deronda, of Jewish origin, and Gwendolen Harleth, a nervous English lady of contemporary London is so profoundly sketched.
Somehow I get a feeling that the title of this beautiful work could have been Gwendolen Harleth instead of Daniel Deronda since a whole chunk of the novel is about her. Reading Daniel Deronda has been an exhilarating and delicious experience. I am very glad I did.
- March 2016
By Arindam Moulick