Bookworm's Nook

  PARADISE Abdulrazak Gurnah “They offered me freedom as a gift. She did. Who told her she had it to offer? I know the freedom you are talking about. I had that freedom the moment I was born. When these people say you belong to me, I own you, it is like the passing of the rain, or the setting of the sun at the end of the day.”     These touching words are an excerpt from 2021 Nobel Prize Winning  'Paradise' by Tanzanian Writer Abdulrazak Gurnah. It follows around Yusuf , a Muslim teenage boy , in East Africa. He is unknowingly sent with his 'Uncle Aziz' , just to know later that he has been sold to him by his parents for money and a temporary escape from poverty. Life isn't easy. He has to travel long to reach his destination. Even after reaching their life isn't easy. It is the story of coming of age of Yusuf against the backdrop of an Africa of myth, dreams and Biblical and Koranic tradition. The book also ends with a creeping in of corruption and colonialism...

  THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS  A Stirring Masterpiece of Memory, Love, and Loss Arundhati Roy "D’you know what happens when you hurt people?" Ammu said. "When you hurt people, they begin to love you less. That’s what careless words do. They make people love you a little less." These hauntingly beautiful lines from Arundhati Roy’s 1997 Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things echo the emotional undercurrents that define the story — raw, unflinching, and heartbreakingly human. Set in Ayemenem, a village in Kottayam, Kerala, the novel intricately weaves the fragmented lives of fraternal twins Estha and Rahel. Branded the "two-egg twins," their seemingly innocent world begins to unravel with the arrival of their beloved Anglo-Indian cousin, Sophie Mol — "the Sophie Mol who smells of cologne, whom everyone adores, even Ammu, their mother." But beneath the surface of familial affection and cultural pride lies the unyielding grip of societal norms...

  All Of Me Venita Coelho      'Burning through day, burning through night, It takes eyes to see light.'           The book "All Of Me"  by Indian Writer Venita Coelho is a thrilling tale set it 1854, London. It is the first book of the series. It follows around the protogonist, Castor, imprisoned in a cellar for five years, one month and three and a half days.It follows around his rambling around for finding the famous "Koh-i-Noor" ( The Mountain Of Light) diamond which is just a finger tip away from him. The most interesting part of the story is The Family which lives inside his head. Mr Pickwick is the father figure with a habit of quoting from the Bible. Miss Trent is the nervous governess who dreads germs. Skinner is the street urchin with a smart answer for everything.The Infant Prodigy... well from the name you know he's a genius.The rambling unwinds many truths in the process. It turns out Castor's mother was an Indian Princ...

  FRIGHT OR FLIGHT 'A corpse smiling at you in the middle of the night is not the most pleseant of experiences. It is calculated to give you goosebumps. And when the smile becomes an evil grimace, it is time to say your prayers. But there was no time for prayer. The smile widened even further, and...'           I hope the genre of this book needs no further introduction.  " Fright or Flight" is a spine tingling and blood curling collection of  horror stories put together by Ruskin Bond and published by the Rupa. But these are not the ghost tales you are expecting. These are the real tales of horror in life. Sometimes we may not be sure what time and nature has for us and even menial things can sometimes be a source to horror sometimes. You never know. Some of my personal favourites are 'The Last Match' by Edward Fitz- Gerald  Flipp , 'The Beast with Five Fingers' by W.F. Harvey and 'A Fright at Night' by Ruskin Bond. So whom would you w...

Here's a small documentary film on Kashmir capturing it's rural beauty that only a few experience. Watch and enjoy! 🍁🍂🍁 Click Here to Watch  

The Blue Umbrella RUSKIN BOND     I found this among some old books. I read this book about 6 years ago, but the vivid and colourful details Ruskin Bond puts in each story makes us remember it lifelong.This one is set in Garhwal, a hill village in Uttarakahand.Binya the protagonist of this novella is like any other brave village girl. She herds cows and has a very caring elder brother . But then comes the blue umbrella with the picnickers from the outside world which she hasn't ever seen. She falls for that blue silk umbrella and is even ready to give her lucky leopard claw away for that bauble.And the rest ... well for that you have to read the book. This simple novella turns each ordinary character from the village into a hero and gives them an oppurtunity to redeem themselves. 

  Hi all !! Check my newly published stories on   Baobabooks Click for essay 👇🏼 https://app.baobabooks.com/stories/YVnbQ1vD0lFKUq02MzMT Click for poem 👇🏼 https://app.baobabooks.com/stories/F7cG8FtcuJKSCLot6jUj Thank you Baobabooks Team for making it possible !!