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HT Picks; New Reads
Published on Sep 06, 2024 08:01 PM IST
On the reading list this week is a book that traverses places that played an important role in the Independence movement and those of contemporary significance, a selection of Kiran Nagarkar’s writing, and a novel about migration and belonging
HT Team
Appadurai Muttulingam – “You can call me a world citizen”
On translation, discovering that the short story is his form of expression, becoming a part of whichever country he lives in, and his book, Where God Began, which is a deep dive into Sri Lankan Tamil refugee life and experience
Report: Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival, Bhutan
With 70 speakers from 14 countries, the 13th edition of the festival in Thimphu showcased the Himalayan nation’s vibrant culture
Published on Sep 06, 2024 07:53 PM IST
Review: For Now it is Night by Hari Krishna Kaul
A collection of 17 stories on family and friendship published between 1972 and 2001 that captures, with subtlety, the erosion of Kashmiriyat
Published on Sep 06, 2024 07:52 PM IST
Saudamini Jain
Freaky, friendly and flamboyant; my friend the grey heron
While herons symbolise strength, purity and long life in Chinese culture, the ancient Greeks believed they were messengers of gods and Japanese folklore sees them as divine. A meditation on the bird
Published on Sep 05, 2024 08:38 PM IST
Forced to remove 500,000 books from public access: Internet Archive vs. Hachette
Internet Archive has lost a major legal battle in the 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals, take a look at what that entails for readers
Published on Sep 05, 2024 01:45 PM IST
Aadrika Sominder
Review: Carnival by Sayam Bandyopadhyay
Translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha, the novel, which is set in Bengal in 1857, is an adaptation of the legend of Faust
Published on Sep 04, 2024 05:29 PM IST
Akankshya Abismruta
Review: Vazhga Vazhga and Other Stories by Imayam
These stories, translated from the original Tamil by Prabha Sridevan, present the author’s unsparing view of society, his empathy, and his ability to find humour in the most gruesome scenarios
Updated on Sep 03, 2024 06:28 PM IST
Lamat R Hasan
Interview: Josephine Quinn author, How the World Made the West
On thinking about history as a linear narrative, teaching the Classics, the Greeks and the Romans, and anarchic politics in the ancient Mediterranean
Updated on Sep 02, 2024 09:25 PM IST
Simar Bhasin
A moving memoir probes the contradictions of modern China
Edward Wong narrates his father’s journey from servant of the party to escapee
Published on Sep 02, 2024 08:00 AM IST
The Economist
Book Box | How to be alone
Read this Belgian-American poet and writer to inspire you when you are alone.
Published on Aug 31, 2024 06:26 PM IST
On Hindi pop fiction
Though the term “Hindi pop fiction” is often used pejoratively, the genre itself is suffused with pathos and features stories that youthful readers enjoy.
Published on Aug 30, 2024 09:39 PM IST
Mayank Jain Parichha
HT Picks; New Reads
On the reading list this week is a celebration of Delhi’s natural beauty through the changing seasons, a volume on how the princely states became a part of the Indian union in the last days of the British Raj, and a volume that documents Dalit food history through the culinary practices of two Maharashtrian communities
Published on Aug 30, 2024 09:21 PM IST
HT Team
Daisy Rockwell – “Do whatever you need to do, but do not remain silent”
On Our City That Year, her translation of Geetanjali Shree’s novel, Hamara Shahar Us Baras, based on the rioting that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid, on why writers must speak up, on her current project, and on mentoring young translators
Published on Aug 30, 2024 09:20 PM IST
Review: Against Storytelling edited by Amit Chaudhuri
A collection of essays by a range international writers belongs neither to academia nor to the commercial publishing industry but is rich in both theory and insight
Updated on Aug 30, 2024 09:18 PM IST
Tsering Namgyal Khortsa
Priyanka Mattoo – ‘It was like going from being a rock to a rubber ball’
On her memoir, Bird Milk and Mosquito Bones, that follows the trajectory of her life over the last three decades from her native Kashmir to Saudi Arabia, England, Italy and USA
Published on Aug 30, 2024 09:16 PM IST
Rush Mukherjee
Review: A Man of Two Faces by Viet Tanh Nguyen
More than a recounting of personal experiences, the book, described aptly as “a memoir, a history, and a memorial,” oscillates between past and present as the author juggles with the act of remembering itself
Published on Aug 29, 2024 10:36 PM IST
Why are so many beloved literary characters orphans?
An embodiment of self improvement, orphan protagonists are instantly sympathetic. A look at why numerous popular stories and novels are steered by those who are bereft of parents
Published on Aug 29, 2024 04:46 PM IST
Teja Lele
Two centuries after his death, why is Lord Byron still seductive?
The poet is celebrated where he spent his period of exile
Published on Aug 29, 2024 09:00 AM IST
The Economist
Review: Fallout by Salman Masood
On Pakistan’s recent political history from Nawaz Sharif’s ouster to Imran Khan’s rise, the souring of his relationship with the army, and his subsequent fall from power
Published on Aug 27, 2024 08:13 PM IST
Saleem Rashid Shah
Louise Fowler-Smith – “Environmentalism is above all other isms”
The author of Sacred Trees of India on hugging trees, on the veneration of trees in India, climate change and why artists should also be activists
Published on Aug 26, 2024 06:25 PM IST
Book Box | Why leaders should read science fiction
These three sci-fi titles are an easy way to get you started on the road to being a better leader
Published on Aug 24, 2024 06:29 PM IST
HT Picks; New Reads
This week’s pick of interesting reads includes a collection of three plays by Swadesh Deepak that look at inequality and the need to make difficult choices, a volume that celebrates India’s most remarkable trees, and a book that looks at the powerful role of photography in shaping our understanding of our history
Published on Aug 23, 2024 09:45 PM IST
HT Team
Sanam Sutirath Wazir – “I aim to shed light on the enduring effects of violence”
The author of The Kaurs of 1984 talks about highlighting personal stories of women survivors of the anti-Sikh riots so readers can grasp the full impact of events on lives
Published on Aug 23, 2024 09:44 PM IST
Simar Bhasin
Review: In Praise of Laziness and Other Essays by Indrajit Hazra
Touching on everything from Kumbhakarna and Huck Finn to football, this paean to the art of laziness is an erudite rant against misplaced notions of productivity
Updated on Aug 23, 2024 09:44 PM IST
Uttaran Das Gupta
Review: Broken Promises by Mrityunjay Sharma
Largely focusing on Lalu Prasad Yadav’s ascendancy against the major political events of the 1990s including Mandal and Masjid and on how his and Rabri Devi’s rule affected the state, Broken Promises explores why Bihar has lagged behind the rest of India
Published on Aug 23, 2024 09:42 PM IST
Syed Saad Ahmed
Talking Enid Blyton and more with the new Famous Five author
Sufiya Ahmed reveals how she reimagined Blyton’s most popular series and what’s next for the Famous Five.
Published on Aug 23, 2024 07:02 PM IST
Teja Lele
Discovering a calligraphic beauty
A manuscript that was recently found in the British Museum could change how scholars look at works by earlier historians of Delhi
Published on Aug 22, 2024 09:06 PM IST
Shafey Kidwai
Book to Screen: Eileen – Of desperation, deviance and deception
Eileen, the film for which author Ottessa Moshfegh co-wrote the screenplay based on her novel, is as uncomfortable in its skin as the title character is in her own
Published on Aug 21, 2024 09:07 PM IST
A gendered telling of Partition
The Radcliff Line demarcating the border between the newly independent nations of Pakistan and India was announced on 17 August, 77 years ago. Large scale violence and displacement on both sides of the border in Punjab and Bengal followed. Seven recent novels by women that look at the cataclysmic event
Published on Aug 20, 2024 06:26 PM IST