Smorgasbord Fantasia

  Manjaveyil Maranangal  is the first Malayalam novel that I have read fully; this also happens to be my first taste of  Benyamin , the celebrated Malayalam author of  Aadujeevitham . While I always knew that Malayalam language (my mothertongue) has had a fascinating list of literary greats, I frankly never knew the depth or breadth of this immensely talented bunch of writers. And after having thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating immersive and yet divisive novel, consider my mind blown. I am yearning for more now! It's like I have just got the keys to a whole new chocolate shop, all to myself, without any one to stop me from going insane as I go wild, stuffing my face with the choicest of flavours, shapes, colours, ready to gorge. It's a veritable treasure trove and I have just opened that lock on that hidden trunk. Malayalam Literature, here I come!  Manjaveyil Maranangal   ( Loosely translated to the Yellow Sunlight Murders!) is a crime thriller, but in re...

A clever mix of historical fiction and fierce feminist literature, Weyward is a timeless story that touches upon the topics of liberty, patriarchy, nature and what it means to be a woman, across the ages. By cleverly bringing together the lives of three women across different ages, connected by their steely resolve to maintain their individuality, dignity and pride, using their wits and perhaps aided in parts by something supernatural.  Weyward doesn't read like a debut, more like an assured work of fiction from a new voice, Emilia Hart, successfully stringing together an engaging narrative that doesn't flag, despite it being stretched across three POVs, three different timelines. Juggling the lives of three very different women, who are nevertheless, very similar - in that they are all "weyward" linked by their bloodline but also in their earnest need to protect what they believe so earnestly in. Their own freedom of expression, supported by an ability to be deeply ...

The Devil and the Dark Water is the second book by award-winning author Stuart Turton, a delicious mix of historical fiction, fantasy and supernatural. As is usual with Stuart, the book defies genres giving us an impossible mystery on the high-seas in the times of Dutch East India Company of the 17th century, a devil onboard and a colorful array of characters who would leap out of the pages to park inside your heart, including the world's best detective Sammy Pips and his brawny bodyguard, Arent Hayes, whose mystery-solving exploits are famous across the world.  This is my first Stuart Turton book and I am truly blown away by it. I am in awe of his writing prowess, his narrative is truly a guilty pleasure, with the wild but very befitting comparisons, his clever turn of phrases and of course, the fiendishly clever construction of the whole puzzle, this mystery turns out to be. Needless to say, Stuart goes right to the top of my "must-read-authors" for any of his books n...