At 1100 pages, Bleak House was my second 1000+ work that I tackled this year (the previous one being War and Peace). Bleak House is not Dickens’ most popular work but it’s a novel that’s been cited as his best by numerous critics. Its also his longest. I haven’t read Marx’s appreciation of Dickens but … Continue reading Dickens’ ‘Bleak House’
Nineteen years after winning the Booker, Kiran Desai is back with a novel, - one that has once again made it to the Booker shortlist. ‘The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny’ at close to seven hundred pages kept me engaged primarily for the vast geographic and cultural landscape it covered. While we read of the … Continue reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Errol Morris’ documentary on the life of John le Carre – The Pigeon Tunnel was a peek into the life of the probably the greatest spy novelist of all time. After watching it, I revisited my notes from his 2016 memoir of the same name, which I read three years back. The title refers to … Continue reading The Pigeon Tunnel
During my travels earlier this year, Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ was the book for the long train journeys. Austen was just nineteen when she wrote the first draft and published it when she was around 35. The book, like most of Austen’s works is a critique of English society during the early nineteenth century. … Continue reading Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’
When Joel Mokyr won the Economics Nobel this year, the chorus of appreciation for his work on Economic History was too loud to be ignored. So I picked up his ‘The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress’ which was published three and half decades ago. Mokyr’s core argument is that economic growth is … Continue reading Mokyr’s ‘The Lever of Riches’
In my line of work, one often witnesses the might of the Indian state. Yet its most comical manifestation is often found in the servile obsequiousness of the personal staff attending to government babus. When summoned, they stutter, stammer and words often fail them. The kinder we, to give them thanks for nothing.Our sport shall … Continue reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream
One of the most mind-boggling statistics that I’ve ever come across in all my reading was the one by Vaclav Smil on China’s cement consumption: In 2018 and 19, China produced nearly as much cement (about 4.4 billion tons) as did the United States during the entire 20th century (4.5 billion tons) Let that sink … Continue reading Impressions on China from Wang’s ‘Breakneck’
I return to Delhi as I return to my mistress Bhagmati when I have had my fill of whoring in foreign lands. Delhi and Bhagmati have a lot in common. Having been long misused by rough people they have learnt to conceal their seductive charms under a mask of repulsive ugliness. It is only to … Continue reading The Khushwant Singh of Our Times
Last week, I attended a heritage walk in Old Delhi exploring the Thugs of India, organized by Gaurav Sharma from India Heritage Trails. After the walk, I picked up Mike Dash’s ‘Thug: The True Story Of India's Murderous Cult’ and learnt quite a bit about this lesser known period of our history. Bandits and highway … Continue reading The Thugs of Hindustan
Coriolanus - a historical figure of Ancient Rome who lived four centuries before Julius Caesar, has a play on his life written by the Bard. Despite it being one of his lesser-known works, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading it. In a nutshell, Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is a killing machine, who after winning many a … Continue reading Coriolanus
