Bookworm's Nook

  AGGGTM HOLLY JACKSON "A  Good Girl's Guide To Murder" by Holly Jackson has so far been one of the best crime-investigation novels that I laid my hands on, especially since it's about a female student detective who just loves to go over with a fine tooth comb. And oh boy! I do really admire Pip and I became an ardent devotee of hers, to be frank.      The series is a trilogy , the first one being "A Good Girl's Guide To Murder" itself. It follows around how Pip(Pippa Fitz-Amobi) overturns every stone to get to the roots of the Andie Bell murder case, who was "allegedly" murdered by her boyfriend ,Sal Sing. Pip is accompanied by Sal's brother , Ravi, throughout the investigation, who has his own share of nicknames for her including the most famous 'sarge' .Pip believes with all her heart that Sal is innocent. And the truth? No spoilers! Find it out yourself folks! And don't get me started on the chemistry between Pip and Ravi....

  Metamorphosis Franz Kafka     The whole family is in the rush of Onam and here I am writing another review.  The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a modernist novella that leaves a deep mark on the reader. In this story, we step into the life of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect, my guess and imagination-a cockroach. What follows is not just the tale of a shocking transformation, but an exploration of alienation, family duty, and the fragility of human relationships.      The narrative takes us through Gregor’s gradual realization of his condition and the heartbreaking reactions of his family. Once the provider of the household, Gregor now becomes a burden, hidden away in his room, avoided, and eventually rejected. Kafka’s writing captures both the physical horror of Gregor’s situation and the quiet tragedy of his emotional isolation. At the beginning we see a caring sister ...

 

  Wonder R J Palacio      Wonder by R.J. Palacio is a realistic fiction novel that truly touches the heart. In this book we step into the life of August Pullman, a boy born with a facial difference that makes him stand out wherever he goes. For years, he has been homeschooled, but now he faces the challenge of entering a regular school for the first time.      The story follows Auggie as he navigates the ups and downs of fifth grade—dealing with stares, whispers, and sometimes even cruel remarks. Yet, what makes this book powerful is not just the struggles but the way Auggie slowly wins over people with his kindness, humor, and quiet courage. Palacio also shifts the perspective to his sister, his friends, and even other classmates, which gives us a deeper understanding of how one person’s presence can change many lives. The book is in first person narrative narrated by different characters and sometimes feels like a diary by many people.  ...

Aalahayude Penmakkal  Sarah Joseph     Just for a change , today I will be reviewing a Malayalam novel. "Aalahayude Penmakkal" is a Malayalam novel written by Sarah Joseph. It's the first in the trilogy which includes "Mattathi" and   "Othappu" , all revolving around fierce women protagonists in out of the ordinary backgrounds.     The book is narrated from the perspective of Annie, an eight-year-old filled with curiosity , living in 'Kokkanchira' , an imaginary undesirable locality on the outskirts of Thrissur. 'Kokkanchira" is described as a previous dumping ground for carcasses and dead bodies and an abode for the marginalised societies, dalits and scavengers, displaced from the city. However we see how the services of these 'undesirables' are 'desirable' for the city dwellers , a situation where the development of some of few constricts the development of some others. We see conflicts between various social sects, p...

The Midnight Library   Matt Haig      "It is easy to mourn the lives we aren't living. Easy to wish we'd developed other other talents, said yes to different offers. Easy to wish we'd worked harder, loved better, handled our finances more astutely, been more popular, stayed in the band, gone to Australia, said yes to the coffee or done more bloody yoga. It takes no effort to miss the friends we didn't make and the work we didn't do the people we didn't do and the people we didn't marry and the children we didn't have. It is not difficult to see yourself through the lens of other people, and to wish you were all the different kaleidoscopic versions of you they wanted you to be. It is easy to regret, and keep regretting, ad infinitum, until our time runs out. But it is not lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself. It's the regret that makes us shrivel and wither and feel like our own and other people's wors...