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The Vague Woman's Handbook by Devapriya Roy
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The House with a Thousand Stories
Aruni Kashyap - 2013
This is his second time in Mayong, in rural Assam, since 1998, when he had come for a few days to attend his father's best friend's funeral. As the wedding preparations gather pace, Pablo is amused as well as disturbed by squabbling aunts, dying grandmothers, cousins planning to elope for love and hysterical gossips. And on this heady theatre of tradition and modernity hovers the sinister shadow of insurgency and the army's brutal measures to quell militancy. In the days leading up to the wedding, which ends in an unspeakable tragedy, Pablo finds first love, discovers family intrigues and goes through an extraordinary rite of passage. Written with clinical precision, this gripping first novel announces the arrival of one of the most original voices from India's North-East.
Exceeding Expectations
Lisa April Smith - 2011
Next, meet his daughter Charlotte (Charlie), an over-indulged 23 year-old struggling to cope with the traumatizing loss of her beloved father, her sister’s resulting mental breakdown and the discovery that she’s suddenly penniless. Fortunately Raul, an admiring young attorney, appears to offer assistance. As terrified as she is about daily survival, Charlie soon realizes that she has to learn what drove her father to kill himself. With Raul’s much needed ego-bolstering, the drive of necessity and unforeseen determination, Charlie finds a practical use for her annoyingly lean 5’ 11” frame. In time, this career finances her hard-wrought independence, her sister’s costly treatment and an emotional eye-opening journey to Paris.Jumping back in time to romantic pre-WWII Paris readers meet young Alan Fitzpatrick – aka Jack Morgan – lack-luster artist, expert lover, irresistible rascal, and the bewitching girl who will become the mother of his children. Not even Charlie’s relentless detective work will uncover all Jack’s secrets, but in a fireworks of surprise endings, she discovers all that she needs to know and more: disturbing truths about her father, hew own unique talent, crimes great and small and a diabolical villain.
Salt and Sawdust
R.K. Narayan - 1993
The wife meanwhile is writing a novel, which takes up all her time and when it is finished she is, ironically, advised by her publishers to turn her novel into a cookery book!In addition to short stories this book also has a section called Table Talk, which, according to R.K. Narayan, is a new form of writing, without the compulsion of an argument or conclusion, on any theme and without too definite a form. Writing in this vein then he gives us humorous pieces on, among others, language, personalities, travel, government—even parrots and a hangover.Narayan's stories and sketches are, as always, infused with wit, warmth and a wonderful timelessness making this book an essential read for all Narayan enthusiasts.
Shoes of the Dead
Kota Neelima - 2013
The powerful district committee of Mityala routinely dismisses the suicide and refuses compensation to his widow. Gangiri, his brother, makes it his life’s mission to bring justice to the dead by influencing the committee to validate similar farmer suicides.Keyur Kashinath of the Democratic Party - first-time member of Parliament from Mityala, and son of Vaishnav Kashinath, the party’s general secretary - is the heir to his father’s power in Delhi politics. He faces his first crisis every suicide in his constituency certified by the committee as debt-related is a blot on the party’s image, and his competence.The brilliant farmer battles his inheritance of despair, the arrogant politician fights for the power he has received as legacy. Their two worlds collide in a conflict that pushes both to the limits of morality from where there is no turning back. At stake is the truth about ‘inherited’ democratic power. And at the end, there can only be one winner. Passionate and startlingly insightful, Shoes of the Dead is a chilling parable of modern-day India.A book that will make you stroll through India’s corridors of power and politics with a perfect portrayal of how its consequences creep into the lives of the farmers forcing them to commit suicide. Get ready to read a gripping tale by Kota Neelima.
A Scandalous Proposition
M.M. George - 2013
The sparks flying between them sizzle with sexual tension, but when Ranbir puts a scandalous proposition before her, she turns him down spiritedly.However, they have to work together to engineer a happy ending for their siblings, who have fallen madly in love but are too afraid to tell their respective families. The plan they cook up throws them more and more into each other’s company.Can Mira overlook Ranbir’s indecent proposal and give love a chance?
Zumbar
Prakash Narayan Sant - 2003
The book is a last in its series started from Vanvas.
Kesavan's Lamentations
M. Mukundan - 1999
Kesavante Vilapangal is the life of Kesavan, a clark cum novelist who has written a novel on EMS.Kesavante Vilaapangal received Vayalar Award in 2003.
Beyond Lies
Alka Dimri Saklani - 2021
Nobody knows where I am. Hell, even I don’t know where I am. I don’t even know who my captor is, my blindfold doesn’t allow me to see anything. I don’t even know how this will end. Can anyone be more clueless about their lives?Tied up in this jilted place I have little to do, but reminiscence my old life. I had it all; a loving family, a dependable friend, a compassionate fiancé, a dream job. I never had time to analyze my relationships then, but now in this god-forsaken place, amid fear and doubts, all I have is time and I can see the cracks I ignored for so long.And I am forced to question; was my life really perfect?Or was it a perfect lie?Twisted and dark, Beyond Lies, explores the complexities of the human mind, a mind that can lead to dangerous paths and sometimes, harm the one it seeks to protect.
MIЯЯЯO : at THƎ WƎIЯⱭ WAYWAЯⱭ
Manoj Kumar Sharma - 2019
But at the same time many perennial social problems also grew manifolds, remained inattentive and giving birth to exponential intensification to grievances. The volcanoes of grievances led to Genesis of MIЯЯЯO … MIЯЯЯO’s unpredictable fearless Modus-Operandi breaks all the Laws and leads to the out-of-the-box solutions as Weird Way Ward, to rejuvenate the Eco-Systems of today’s hypocritical SYSTEMS…it’s up to the discretion of the PEOPLE, to allow or not! The Story indicates India’s perennial problems through the eyes of the Protagonist, who always dreamt for the solutions as his own personal aspirations, but, couldn’t succeed meeting even single one, out of his own personal flaws. Time compels him taking help of someone, whom he never believed cordially. Out of gist of many, only 3 problems are selfishly picked-up by the Protagonist, which hurt him most personally. MIЯЯЯO weirdly solves those 3 problems with the essence of absolute cleansing as permanent solutions… Will INDIA wish to have such weird, but, permanent solutions to all other problems? Let TIME tell…
Laugh With Laxman
R.K. Laxman - 2000
It is here that Laxman's sense of parodyand satire find some of their finest expressions. A selection of these rare and masterly cartoons which comment caustically on our social and political character were togethter in the first volume of "laugh with Laxman", and proved to be immensly popular. This is the second volume in the series replete with timeless gems that continue to amuse.
Rightfully Wrong Wrongfully Right
Varsha Dixit - 2016
Viraj is a genius and a con who shuns society and its hypocrisies.Gayatri sees Viraj only as a means to an end. For Viraj, Gayatri is the epitome of all that he despises. So when their paths cross, it is a battle of feisty wills and desire.Will Gayatri and Viraj prove to be each other’s salvation or annihilation?From the best-selling author of Right Fit Wrong Shoe and Wrong Means Right End comes Rightfully Wrong Wrongfully Right. All the unforgettable characters of the earlier two bestsellers make a comeback in this unforgettable story of hurt, hearts and hope.This is a tumultuous journey of two Wrongs who might just make everything Right!
No Deadline for Love
Manasi Vaidya - 2011
She is a perplexed botch, who never thinks before she talks. Megha realises that she fancies the creative course of action involved in making ad films, rather than her current job of creating marketing strategies for products. Her ornery boss is not electrified with the idea of brand managers turning into ad conceptualizing officers, though.Megha then meets the creative head of the company, Yudhistir Joshi. Yudi seems to bring out Megha’s atrocious side. Although he’s an exceptionally good looking man, Megha and Yudi publicly fight and argue. He hates her guts and she vice-versa. Yudi apprises her to quit from the creative team every single time, however, Megha, who’s finally in a blissful atmosphere, refuses to abandon her ecstatic ship. Little does she know that their friction will give way to sparks!Concurrently, ‘Vile’ Varun, Megha’s boss, puts her down in front of his bosses at every opportunity. He claims that she is inadequate for her profile.On the other hand, there is a crowd of eligible NRI bachelors on her list of problems, as Megha’s mother decides to put her up on the marriage market.No Deadline For Love is a first person narrative by the protagonist, Megha. The book reads almost like a journal entry, and is full of icy observations. The occasional hilarious quotes lighten up the reader’s mood, and the elementary pinch in the storyline, apart from her spontaneous description of the events, are the comical nicknames given to characters.
Daughter By Court Order
Ratna Vira - 2014
Aranya discovers that her family has been fighting a decade-long legal battle over her grandfather’s expansive estate, all the while not only keeping her in the dark, but also keeping her very existence out of the court’s knowledge!A cesspool of emotions, half-truths, betrayals, and the unspooling of long buried dirty family secrets threaten to overpower Aranya and disrupt what modicum of peace and balance she has in her life as a single mother of two children. At the centre of this storm is the one woman who, ever since the day Aranya was born, has had nothing but curses and abuses for her; who has deliberately kept her name out of the court; who has wished her dead for every day of her life; who refuses to now remember her birth. The woman who is her mother. Her own mother.This is the story of a woman fighting against power, money, deceit, and treachery for her right to be recognised as a daughter. A daughter by court order . . .
A Bollywood Affair
Sonali Dev - 2014
Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her. Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie. Heartfelt, witty, and thoroughly engaging, Sonali Dev’s debut is both a vivid exploration of modern India and a deeply honest story of love, in all its diversity.
The Small-Town Sea
Anees Salim - 2017
He reluctantly makes friends with Bilal, a boy who lives in the orphanage run by the local mosque. Together, they embark on clandestine adventures while his ailing father-whose last wish is to die listening to the sea he has grown up by and written books about-rediscovers people from his childhood by accident. But his father's death unsettles the boy's life again, and he finds himself grappling with altogether unexpected challenges.Lyrical and haunting, sharply funny and achingly sad, The Small-town Sea is a masterful tale of love, friendship and family from one of our most compelling storytellers.