The Whimsy Bookworm: A Book Blog from India

  Book: Rohzin  Author: Rahman Abbas   Translator: Sabika Abbas Naqvi  Publisher: Penguin India  Pages: 256 How Long it Took Me To Read: 5 days  Plot Summary:   Mumbai was almost submerged on the fatal noon of 26 July 2005, when the merciless downpour and cloudburst had spread utter darkness and horror in the heart of the city. River Mithi was inundated, and the sea was furious. At this hour of torturous gloom, Rohzin begins declaring in the first line that it was the last day in the life of two lovers, Asrar and Hina. The novel's protagonist, Asrar, comes to Mumbai, and through his eyes the author describes the hitherto-unknown aspects of Mumbai, unseen colours and unseen secrets of the city's underbelly. The love story of Asar and Hina begins abruptly and ends tragically. It is love at first sight which takes place in the premises of Haji Ali Dargah. The arc of the novel studies various aspects of human emotions, especially love, longing and se...

  Book: In Plain Sight  Author: Mohamed Thaver  ∫ Pages: 264 Read: The paperback review copy kindly sent by HarperCollins India; the views are entirely my own  Read in: 3 hours  Plot Summary:  When the rapes and murders of three minor girls remain unsolved for months, a frustrated DCP Sawant calls in Police Inspector Waghmare. Renowned as Mumbai police's 'investigation machine', Waghmare is rumoured to solve crimes in his dreams.  As the investigation progresses and every promising lead runs into a dead-end, Waghmare gets an uncanny feeling that the killer is watching them closely and anticipating their every move to toy with them. Then, when the body of a fourth girl is found, Waghmare and DCP Sawant are both saddled with doubts about Waghmare's fabled investigation skills.   Told from the perspective of rookie crime reporter, Rohan,  In Plain Sight  is a police procedural set in the terrifyingly surreal world of crime and retribution ...

Book: Lipstick Author: Vish Dhamija Pages: 312 Read: Review copy kindly sent by HarperCollins; all opinions are honest and unbiased Read in: 3 hours Plot:  DCP Rita Ferreira is called into the investigation after a third corpse is discovered in Mumbai, which confirms it is the work of the same killer who paints his victims' lips with dark red lipstick.  The Lipstick Killer, like all serial killers, is fast decompensating - the time interval between the murders shortening, the victims shifting from street-side hookers to high-heeled wives.  And he watches everything and everyone - the news of his exploits, Rita, the investigation - and talks. However, he only talks to you: 'When I'm gone, some people may tell you that I was evil, perhaps even call me a psychopath. Don't believe them. I am not. I am anything but irrational and impractical; perhaps only slightly more detached than your average guy on the street.' Things I Liked: 1. This is my thir...

Book: Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt. Ltd. Author: Richa S. Mukherjee Pages: 296 Read: Paperback edition (pictured above) that was kindly sent for review by HarperCollins Read in: 3 hours Plot Summary:  Meet Mr Prachand Tripathi, private investigator and owner of Kanpur Khoofiya Pvt Ltd. Accustomed to tracking down missing pets and cheating lovers, he is about to have his world change completely when a new case requires him to tail actress Shailaja Kapoor.  What seems like a simple request turns into a dramatic dive into her murky past, wading through which is not going to be easy. Or safe.  Soon Prachand and his wife, and partner against crime, Vidya, fall under the glare of the police as Shailaja Kapoor is abducted right before their eyes. Now he must put his skills to the test before they become victims at the end of a dark and dangerous game. Things I Liked:  1. First of all, I am a big fan of India-based original detective stories! I truly believe t...

Book: The Adventures of Biplob the Bumblebee Authors: Abhishek Talwar, illustrated by Sonal Goyal Pages: 32 Publisher: Penguin India Read: The ARC copy kindly sent by Penguin (pictured above and below) Read in: 10 minutes Plot Summary:  Biplop is a very busy bumblebee. When he isn't collecting nectar, he is off on rollicking adventures to save his garden with the help of his friends, farmer Balram and the flowers. From harvesting water to saving baby plants from a dangerous infection, join Biplob as he comes up with innovative ideas that are always eco-friendly.  Things I Liked:  1. First of all, let's just admire the beautiful illustrations in this book!!!! See!!! See!!! See!! 2. Now, let's get on to the story and other things. Biplob the Bumblebee is a beautifully and simply written story to teach children of the importance of bees and other creatures big and small in our natural environment and food chain. Covering critical topics lik...

Book: The Rabbit and the Squirrel Author: Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi Pages: 65 Read: Hardcover (ARC send by Penguin Random House) Read in: Half an hour (or less) Plot Summary:  The Squirrel's greatest joy is dancing in the forest with the Rabbit-her beloved friend and equal of heart. While the duo is inseparable, fate has other ideas: the feisty Squirrel is forcibly married to a wealthy boar and the solitary Rabbit enlists in a monastery. Years later, a brief, tragic reunion finds them both transformed by personal defeats. And yet, to each other, they are unchanged, and their private world-where sorrow registered as rapture and wit concealed loss-is just how they had left it. A story of thwarted love, and an ode to the enduring pleasures of friendship,  The Rabbit and the Squirrel  is a charmed fable for grown-ups, in which one life, against all odds, is fated for the other. General  Thoughts: I've read both of Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghv...

Book: Prankenstein  The gorgeous illusions in the book were delightful!  Book: Prankenstein Edited By: Ruskin Bond and Jerry Pinto Illustrations: Lavanya Naidu Pages: 121 Publisher: Talking Cub Read On: Hardback Edition How Long it Took Me To Read: 3 hours Plot Summary: I s your school a hotspot for jokes? Do your family members regularly fall victim to pranks? Do ghosts and spooks get you into trouble? Find every kind of funny, crazy, impossible mischief in this book. Here you will find the girl who turned into a sloth just for her mother, the horse who went to the library and ate up some classics, the substitute teacher who saw dead people, the play where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and many more amazing tales of pranks and troublemaking! Selected by Ruskin Bond and Jerry Pinto, these stories have been written by some of the best children’s writers of the country, including Sukumar Ray, R.K. Narayan, Ranjit Lal, Sub...

Book: Terribly Tiny Tales Author: Various (An Anthology) Pages: 317 Publisher: Penguin Random House India  Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me to Read: 4 hours, with several breaks. Plot Summary: A collection of Terribly Tiny Tales from 100 writers. A compilation of some of the best stories from the very popular Facebook Page. General Thoughts: If you've been a fan of TTT then you've heard about this book- that compiles some of the most popular and best loved stories from these flash fiction gems. Review: Things I Liked 1. I will be honest, I am not what you'd call the biggest TTT fan. I don't follow the page on FB, nor do I have the app. I have never really loved the concept of super short fiction. It's just how I am. I prefer pages and pages instead of 140 words. It's not quite my thing. So when this book arrived in the mail from Penguin for a review , I was a little unsure if I would read and enjoy the book. I thought of passi...

Book: A Murderous Family Author: Manish Dubey  Pages: 61  Read on: ARC kindly sent by Juggernaut Read in: An hour  Plot Summary:  Things aren’t going well in Ranjana Agarwal’s household. Husband Kamal has sunk further into the cult of Isvari Mata, and refuses to warm up to Gurgaon, the new dog and the Cool Parents' Group from son Prateek’s new school. Things I Liked: I love reading about dysfunctional families and stories set in our current urban milieu. These are so relatable and I am sure each of us knows of a family like the Agarwals- where each person is unhappy but keeps trying their best to adjust with the demands of urban, showing-off-on-social-media type of life. So, I was quite excited when Juggernaut approached me to review this book.  The Agarwals are your typical urban family. An upper-middle class couple with one son, who live with their in-laws. They are trying to provide the best opportunities for their only so...

Book: The Liar's Weave Author: Tashan Mehta Pages: 330 pages Read: The hardcopy pictured above; kindly sent by Juggernaut Read in: 5-6 hours Publisher: Juggernaut Plot Summary:  Born into an alternative history of our world where birth charts are real and one's life is mapped out in the stars, Zahan Merchant has a unique problem: he is born without a future. This cosmic mistake gives him an unusual power: the ability to change reality with his lies. But there is a catch, of course. How like the Gods to build a catch. Zahan's older brother Sorab becomes the only one to share his secret, and help him keep it, while from afar, the Greatest Astrologer That Ever Lived (the Second), Narayan Tarachand, continues to quietly ponder the mystery of the child whose birth chart he couldn't decipher. But when Zahan's adventures with his best friend Porthos – who has his own secret – brings them to the attention of the hatadaiva, the ill-fated who must bear the br...

Hello!  For today's post I want to share a very special little book haul.  The kind folks at Penguin sent me this gorgeous book for review and I am so smitten.  This book is such a work of art and such a wonderful little book.  A perfect companion for girls looking for role models and a little bit of inspiration.  :)  It really is a stunning little book and I am so happy to add it to my bookshelves.  I love that it has so many different kinds of women from different walks of life-- models, inventors, painters, aviators, artists, social workers, writers, musicians and so much more.  This book is racially diverse and you will find women from all corners of the world find representation within it's pages.  And from all age groups and time periods.  There is really something for everyone within these pages. I have already started reading this book, I am treating this as a bedtime read, reading 5-6 stories at...

Book: Ambushed Author: Nayanika Mahtani Pages: 155 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days Plot Summary:  10-year-old gadget geek Tara braces herself for the dullest summer ever when her father whisks her off to a sleepy tiger reserve in the Himalayan foothills, where Nothing Ever Happens. She couldn't have been more wrong. A walk through the woods sends Tara on an adventure of a lifetime, as she stumbles upon a gang of poachers. A tigress and her cubs must be saved and Tara's only accomplice is her mysterious new friend, Satya. But can she trust him? And will this unlikely pair save the day?   General Thoughts:  The author very kindly sent me this book for review.  While I did  receive this book for free, this has no bearings on my thoughts on this book and my overall review.  Things I Liked:  1. The writing was good, engaging and the author did a great job at both getting inside the head and heart...

Book: The Book of Life (The Secret of the Tirthas #2) Author: Steve Griffin Pages: 276 pages Read on: Kindle Read in: 2-3 hours Plot Summary: Exploring another of the overgrown ‘rooms’ in her inherited garden, Lizzie finds herself transported once again through a magical portal, this time to the Louisianan swampland. There she is pursued by terrifying plat eyes, half-crazy men and boys who drive her to an isolated villa, Cypress House, where a sickly girl is trapped with her housekeeper. But Cypress House has its own mysteries Lizzie must solve if she is to find her way home. Who is Caroline Day, the ‘ghost girl’, and what is her connection to Lizzie’s past? Why does the threatened hurricane never arrive? Who is the mysterious odd-job man, Mr Paterson, who keeps turning up unannounced? And most importantly, how will she find the portal when it’s lost in the treacherous swamp? As Cypress House reveals its secrets Lizzie realises she’s in more danger than she e...

Book: The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories Author: Rochelle Potkar Pages: 168 Read On: Kindle How Long it Took Me To Read: 4 hours Plot Summary: This cluster of 7½ literary short stories presents to you the romantic-sexual facets of: Narain who lusts for Munika, hypnotized by her bosom in The Arithmetic of Breasts, and old Jaganlal who wants a favour from young Dia in The Room with a Sea-view. Jackie who is in love with Nic in Sky Park, and the surgeon in Dr. Love who is changing much more than Sneha’s hairline, nose, lip and chin. Shonali and Neel who are realizing that infidelity might not be such an easy thing in The Scent of a Conscience, and a woman who walks the tight rope between tradition and sexual exploitation in A place they call Scary. And Sunil who meets the woman of his desires in What Men Want through an adult dating site. Through these stories, Rochelle Potkar explores the intensely personal ‘unrelationship’ that exists alongside its...

Book: Hama-Guri Goes To School Author: Aditi Bose Pages: 62 Read On: My Kindle How Long it Took Me To Read: A little over 2 hours. Plot Summary: Hama-Guri is a six year old boy who lives with his parents in a lovely cottage on a farm. His life is simple, well almost. The curious mind of Hama is never at rest and he makes the humdrum routine of daily life come alive with important questions, the whys and the wherefores. Hama’s adventures are as much about self-discovery as they are about the realization of what really matters. Join Hama on his adventures and grow up (or don’t) with him the fun way. After all childhood (and the rest of our lives) is all about learning new things, exploring the unknown and revelling in the hidden novelty of the mundane. These stories are imaginative yet simple and the lessons are easy to understand but often forgotten. Jump in and rediscover childhood. General Thoughts: I was sent this book for review by the author h...

Book: Apocalypse Bow Wow Author: James Proimos III Illustrator: James Proimos Jr. Pages: 224 Read On: Paperback How Long it Took me To Read: 1 hour, with a few breaks. Plot Summary: The end is nigh. Apocalypse has dawned. Everyone has gone ... everyone, that is, except for two dogs. Unbeknownst to Brownie and Apollo the world has turned to utter chaos. It is only when dinner time comes and goes, that the pair slowly begin to realise that their owners might be Gone For Good. There's only one option - leave the comfort of their sofa and head into what's left of the world. With only their wits about them, Brownie and Apollo must find a way to survive. It's a dog-eat-dog world now! General Thoughts: This book was sent to me by the folks over at Bloomsbury India for free, in exchange of an honest review. This however has no bearing on my review. The thoughts and opinions are all my own. Things I Liked:  1. The premise of this book is pretty in...

Hello!  Week 22 was a mixed one.  Friends came over to stay and lots of laughs were laughed. Funny Youtube vidoes and their even funnier comments read. Then I fell sick! Went on meds. Rested. Relaxed. Got better.  Ordered books online to cheer myself up..well...do what you must to make yourself feel better!  A nice week...even my flu wasn't so bad! I mean it could have been so much worse!  So let's see my week in pictures.. Day 148: A cup of tea in a cup with all sorts of tea paraphernalia on it.  I love the illustrations on this Chumbak mug. It's so simple but so utterly darling! Day 149: Red nails for the week. I keep going back to this red a couple times a year. It is hand's down my absolute favourite red nail paint. It's matte and such a vivid in your face red. Shade 724 from Inglot. Day 150: Got two new books in the mail. These were sent to me very kindly by the folks over at Bloomsbury India for reading a...