Vigil Aunties by Richa S. Mukherjee: Crime, Humor, and the Power of Ordinary Women
Sneha Pathak reviews Vigil Aunties by Richa S. Mukherjee (published by Black Ink, 2024). Vigil Aunties is Richa S Mukherjee’s latest foray into the world of crime writing after her two detective Prachand novels. This time, her sleuths are a group of women or ‘aunties’ as the teenager Philadelphia ‘Philly’ Waghmare calls them. The group […]
The Complexity of Immigrant Life and Marital Woes in Still Lives by Reshma Ruia
Sneha Pathak reviews Still Lives by Reshma Ruia (published by Speaking Tiger, 2024). The Online Cambridge Dictionary defines still life as “a type of painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects that do not move.” This definition is a pretty accurate description of the main characters in Reshma Ruia’s novel Still Lives. Still Lives […]
A Will to Kill by RV Raman Review: A Gripping Whodunnit in the Tradition of Agatha Christie
Sneha Pathak reviews A Will to Kill by RV Raman (published by HarperCollins India, 2019). RV Raman’s A Will to Kill is a mystery written in the tradition of whodunnit novels, sure to remind mystery aficionados of Agatha Christie’s stories. The first book in his Harith Athreya series, consisting of four books (so far) featuring […]
Parallel Lives, Rebirth and Magical Realism: Devangi Bhatt’s The Many Lives of Pauloma Chattopadhyay Review
Sneha Pathak reviews The Many Lives of Pauloma Chattopadhyay by Devangi Bhatt, translated from the Gujarati original Vasansi Jirnani by Mudra Joshi (published by Niyogi Books Private Limited, 2024). The Many Lives of Pauloma Chattopadhyay is a slim novel of less than two hundred pages, translated from Gujarati. Replete with magical realism, the book narrates […]
Exploring Choices, Consequences, and Interwoven Fates in Dharini Bhaskar’s Like Being Alive Twice
Sneha Pathak reviews Like Being Alive Twice by Dharini Bhaskar (published by Penguin Viking, 2024). Dharini Bhaskar’s second novel, Like Being Alive Twice, is intertextual in its very structure. It is a love story, a speculative novel, and dystopian fiction all rolled into one. And then it also asks its readers a philosophical question—do choices […]
The Triumphs and Intrigues of Edward Lear’s Indian Journey: The Viceroy’s Artist by Anindyo Roy Review
Sneha Pathak reviews The Viceroy’s Artist by Anindyo Roy (published by Hachette India, 2023). Edward Lear, poet and artist, visited India in 1873 at the invitation of Lord Northbrook, who was then the Viceroy of India. His purpose was to paint the Kanchenjunga in its glory. The Viceroy’s Artist is based on the journal he […]
7 Japanese Mystery Novels to Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat
Japanese literature has gained immense popularity in the past few years. Thanks to translators working tirelessly, we have a cache of Japanese novels to choose from, both literary and popular. In the popular fiction category, there has been a boom in the field of mysteries and thrillers. The honkaku and shin honkaku schools of Japanese […]
New Translation: Vampire by Mirza Azeem Baig Chughtai, A Tale of Shame and Trauma in a Patriarchal World
Sneha Pathak reviews Vampire by Mirza Azeem Baig, translated by Zoovia Hamiduddin (published by Speaking Tiger, 2024). I want the world to know what happens to such a girl when she is plucked like a flower and then crushed and trampled upon without a moment’s hesitation or thought…. I welcome the readers to my nightmare. […]
Must-read from Punjab: The Watchmaker by Nanak Singh (Translated by Navdeep Suri)
Sneha Pathak reviews Nanak Singh’s The Watchmaker originally written in Punjabi and translated into English by Navdeep Suri (Penguin India, 2009) Nanak Singh’s The Watchmaker was originally written in Punjabi with the title Pavitra Paapi and has been translated into English by his grandson Navdeep Suri. The watchmaker is the story of Kedar, or Kamaal […]
11 Historical Novels Depicting Women’s Condition in the 20th Century
Sneha Pathak shares a recommended list of historical novels depicting women’s condition in the 20th century for your TBR. The 20th century was a time of great upheaval and power shifts in the world. World wars were fought, colonisation lost its grip, newly independent countries emerged, and scientific development reached new heights. Amongst these changes, […]
