Category: Books

  • Kochiites

    Bony Thomas

    I have always loved history, especially in the context of a particular city. But despite Kochi being my hometown, I must admit to complete ignorance on the place’s history. That’s why I was very excited about this book.

    In about 4.5 sq km in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry, there are around 30 communities! This small area is also host to the social and religious institutions of these various communities. The variety of people and the origin stories are simply astounding. From Portugal and Yemen to Kutch and the Indus Valley, and many places in between, there have been migrations that happened decades and in some cases, even centuries ago, creating a mosaic of different cultures. A lot of credit goes to the traditional kings of Kochi who were generous with their grants to migrants. It has to be said that this has been repaid manifold by the benefits to trade and the economy in general. (more…)

  • The Power of Habit

    Charles Duhigg

    There is something meta about me reading this book. I have my own book-reading habits – genres, number of books on the to-be-read shelf, and such. It is an example of the fundamental premise of this book – cue, routine, reward. Under normal circumstances, I reckon that this book might have landed up on my list 3-5 years down the line. But thanks to my wife D, it not only got into my shelf, but gave me a favourite book as well! Same cue, changed routine, same reward – the exact process to lose a bad habit and pick up/better a good one!

    Towards the end of the book, the author quotes William James – “All our life, so far as it has definite form, is but a mass of habits – practical, emotional, and intellectual – systematically organized for our weal or woe, and bearing us irresistibly toward our destiny, whatever the latter may be.” As a creature of habits, I wholeheartedly agree. Habits form character, and character forms destiny.

    The book can be helpful to anyone seeking to improve the self, whether it is in life or at work. From losing weight to raising children to building great teams, the importance of habits (individuals) and routines (groups), and the fundamentals of changing/bettering them do not change. The author demonstrates that in separate sections dedicated to individuals, companies and societies. Michael Phelps’ habits and routines, Howard Schultz’s (CEO, Starbucks) processes that have transformed not just how the organisation works, but employees’ lives, and Martin Luther King’s successful civil rights movement, all showcase a pattern that can be used to radically alter trajectories.
    I think the success of the book is also due to the excellent storytelling that converts what could have been a dry subject to one that is not just enlightening but entertaining too! I suspect there is some understanding of a reader’s cue-routine-reward mechanism here, because I was hooked soon as I started! 🙂

    There are a couple of wonderful analogies for habits at the end of the book – both using water. It captures the essence of the book beautifully, and encourages us to believe that we can choose our path, and swim wherever we want to.
    Pick it up. Now!

  • The Grace of Kings

    Ken Liu

    The Grace of Kings is the first part of a trilogy named The Dandelion Dynasty. I really liked The Paper Menagerie & Other Stories (by the same author), so I bought this book soon as I came to know of its existence.
    Inspired by the Han dynasty, this is “silkpunk”‘s answer to the Game of Thrones! There is an emperor, there are palace intrigues, there are rebellions, and contenders vying for the throne. But that’s probably too broad a stroke, and is unfair to the differences.

    The main contenders are polar opposites – one is a sly wastrel who becomes a bandit and has an innate charisma and goodness that wins the hearts of the people, the other is a noble brought up in exile who believes in winning battles through sheer valour in the battlefield and has very clear ideas of right and wrong. They cross paths, become brothers in arms and rebel against the emperor. The metaphor of dandelion vs chrysanthemum is the philosophical underpinning of the book, and causes the clash of ideals. Also pertinent is how the gods of the realm have their own champions and do not shy away from meddling in the affairs of mortals.

    The book has a bunch of many interesting characters and though the pages devoted to them might not be many, the roles and their significance in the story arcs are very well defined. Between a narrative pace that is unflagging, and the twists that never end, the book creates a momentum that is hard to resist! That ensures that the few grammatical errors and the seeming ease with which main characters overcome obstacles, can be ignored.

  • The Book of M

    Peng Shepherd

    When a man loses his shadow in India, it is seen as a curiosity. Until it turns out that when the shadow goes, sooner or later, memories too follow. The world, understandably, switches to panic mode, even as the contagion spreads across continents. Two years later, Ory and Max have managed to survive and create their own tiny, though dangerous world. Then Max loses her shadow, and knowing the danger posed to Ory, runs away. Ory follows, and thus begin two journeys. They’re both physical and metaphysical.

    There are two other significant narratives – that of Naz, Iranian and archer, and The One Who Gathers. The respective “road trips” quickly ups the pitch of the dystopian survival narrative, complete with street gangs, faithful fanatics, and a single destination towards which everyone is gravitating – New Orleans, the rumoured abode of The One Who Gathers.

    The premise is indeed interesting. Think about it – what does the loss of memories mean to one’s identity and sense of self? And is the sum of the person and his/her memories somehow lesser than the whole? Would a different physical body with the same memories be treated as the same person, or the other way?
    The author also manages to do a good job of fleshing out the characters, who are not just multi ethnic but differ in their sexuality too. Some of the twists and turns are inventive and Max’s recordings are poignant enough to pull at heartstrings, without any melodrama.

    However, it fails on a couple of points. The pace slackens a bit towards the middle, and it doesn’t help that the book is almost 500 pages. Additionally, though there is a bunch of folklore that do make sense in the context – from Peter Pan to Kerala’s most famous elephant – the rough edges are difficult to ignore. Add to that, seemingly random bizarreness like the Statue of Liberty attacking New York City are a little difficult to fit in.

    But that’s not too much of a put off, and once you get into the groove of the book, it makes for an interesting read.
    P.S. The hat tip to Ursula K. Le Guin’s (for A Wizard of Earthsea) is to be noted. 🙂

  • The Big Book of Science Fiction

    Ann and Jeff VanderMeer

    If science fiction is even remotely of interest to you, this is a veritable treasure trove! 105 stories spanning 1160 pages. Only a couple of authors get to have more than one story, and that means there is a diversity of work that’s arguably unparalleled in any collection of this nature. The stated objective of the book is indeed that – diversity. And it happens on multiple counts – non-English writings (and therefore, the variety of geographical settings – other than Antarctica, all continents are represented), gender (of authors and characters), and most importantly, the type of science fiction – dystopian, alien encounters, space operas, post-apocalypse, and even satire.
    The stories are broadly in a chronological order of when they were written. The introduction to each author before the beginning of a story is very helpful in terms of context setting.
    While I do love science fiction, I really haven’t read enough to comment on the choices of representation made by the authors. I can count on one hand the number of stories I have previously read. But at least a couple of them are my all-time favourites in fiction – Asimov’s “The Last Question” and Ted Chiang’s “Story of your life”. I also found a story – Sandkings -by an author familiar to many of us from an alternate “universe” – George R.R. Martin. An absolute thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed.
    My other favourites are these : The Triumph of Mechanics by Karl Hans Strobl, a macabre, dystopian tale with a sense of humour! Desertion by Clifford D. Simak, a story based on pantropy – modifying humans for space exploration, as opposed to changing the alien environment. Another favourite that uses this theme is Surface Tension by James Blish. Philip K. Dick’s Beyond Lies the Wub seems quite prescient about “we are what we eat”! Katherine Maclean’s The Snowball Effect is about an experiment by academia in a sociological setting that leads to a more-than-anticipated impact. William Tenn’s Liberation of Earth is a brilliant commentary on US intervention in Korea/Vietnam, even while doing a great job of reducing the collective ego of the apex species of earth! His other work The Ghost Standard, later in the book, is an absolutely delightful satire.
    Grandpa, by James H. Schmitz has alien ecology as a theme and builds the tension excruciatingly well! Stranger Station by Damon Knight is an intense first-alien-contact story that dwells on the complexities very well. Vadim Shefner’s A Modest Genius is a lovely tale of romance and invention while Sever Gansovsky’s Day of Wrath is a thriller based on biotech experimentation gone wrong. The Hands by John Baxter is a creepy tale that reminded me of Aliens.
    F.L. Wallace’s Student Body would make it to my top 5 in the book, exploring both alien contact and environmental impact really well. The feminist utopian world created by Joanna Russ in When it Changed is subtle yet impactful. Yasutaka Tsustsui’s Standing Woman is as poignant as it is surreal. Sporting with the Chid by Barrington J. Bayley is dark and builds up to a terrifying climax.
    Josephine Saxton’s The Snake Who Read Chomsky is another incisive tale on biotech experimentation with some excellent twists and turns. Reiko’s Universe Box by Kajio Shinji is somehow sad and upbeat at the same time. Greg Bear’s Blood Music combines microscopic phenomena and macroscopic impact really well. Robert Reed’s The Remoras uses a space opera setting for an excellent human drama. The last story in the book – Baby Doll by Johanna Sinisalo – is a disturbing take on sexualisation of children that falls well within the realms of possibility, sadly.
    Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells – the book has work by all the greats of the genre, and you are also likely to discover authors whose stories you will enjoy!