Bulz gone bonkers.... Again

Capital by Rana Dasgupta A wonderful book about Delhi and very unlike the usual ones. It doesn't tell you how awesome the city but tries to figure out why it is so messed up. Many things in the book are applicable to this country as a whole but there are some things very inherent in Delhi. It is a dark book and hard to read at the end of a long work day. Whether you like the city or hate it, read this book. And the people who are neutral towards the city don't exist so everyone falls in either of these categories. When I hit you: Or, a portrait of the writer as a young wife by Meena Kandasamy  I couldn't find the kindle version and read it on the juggernaut app. The book is about the author's short lived marriage filled with domestic violence and rape. The author is a woman like you and me. She married a guy she chose and was the victim of his abuse for months. She managed to walk out only once she was on the verge of getting killed. This book should be read b...

The Vegetarian by Han King The cover of the book mentioned that this is an erotica and so I picked it up. The beginning was very intriguing with a woman, Yeong-hye who stops eating meat one day. In Korea, this is considered weird. Her husband, who didn't love her anyway, walked out of the marriage. Her brother-in-law becomes obsessed with her and they have sex. The sister catches them in the act and the woman tries to commit suicide. She is put in an institution.  I am still trying to figure out what the book was all about. It wasn't erotica for sure. Was it about mental illness? But it doesn't talk about that either.  The end felt like the writer was bored or lost his thought mid way.  An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor It took me a few weeks, a break of 2 months, and another few weeks to finish reading the book. Shashi Tharoor had given a speech about how the British rule is responsible for many of India's problems and they should pay a token penalty a...

I have been following Mayank on twitter for a few weeks. He writes about Delhi on his blog The Delhiwala . I picked up this book while browsing at The Full Circle bookstore at Khan Market (one of the best bookstores in Delhi). Soofi spent 3 years at G B road talking to the prostitutes and kothe malik there and this book chronicles their life. It is written practically without a emotional touch. We are not asked to sympathise with them and neither is there disgust. Their lives have a touch of humanity along with cruelty. Like any of us. I like how Soofi juxtaposes his life against theirs. Like, how he escapes from the dirt and filth of G B road to a high class party in South Delhi. He has to overcome his disgust to earn their trust. Because if he can't share their food, how can he expect them to share their lives. The writing is very honest. It is rare to come across writers who are aware about their privilege and pretension. I recommend this book highly. It has an underl...

Nehru is one the few politicians and leaders I truly admire. He is the reason the country is secular, in constitution if not in reality. He had a very modern outlook. I am proud of the fact that someone like him who embodied the right values was our first PM. If it was upto Gandhi or Patel, we would be shackled with religion. This book by Shashi Tharoor is brilliant, witty and so well written. He is extremely balanced in his view about Nehru and there is no hint of bias towards him or Congress. It is unfortunate how Nehru's mistakes (and he did make many of them) are highlighted today and the ideals he stood for are conveniently forgotten.

  Like most females, my first introduction to erotica was through Mills and Boon. It got boring too fast but strangely continues to sell like hot cakes despite the same formula in every book. Girl and boy meet. Girl and boy fight. Girl is dainty and feminine. Boy is strong and macho. Have amazing chemistry. Girl gives in, despite herself (without venturing into the rape territory). They almost have sex but don't. Misunderstanding. Parting. Getting back together. Sex in the end, described in the most cheesy way. Tell me am wrong. I know there is good erotica out there but it is hard to find. What is the difference between erotica and porn? Erotica is what would be termed as soft porn. Which means the focus is on chemistry rather than penetration. Porn is sex, mainly penetration. In erotica the subjects need not be pretty, have big breasts or dicks or muscular bodies. Porn is all about that. Erotica is real. Porn is make believe. Erotica makes you have sex in your head. Porn...

Lolita, written by Vladimir Nabokov, is an epic. It was published in 1955 and is ahead of it's times, even today. But the way it has been written is brilliant. Very few books can match up. This will probably the best book I read this year. The book is about a 12 year old Dolores who is called Lolita by Humbert. Humbert is a pedophile. Sure, he has a backstory to justify it. He falls in love with Lolita at first sight and marries her mother. When the mother dies (it wasn't murder), Humbert kidnaps Lolita and rapes her. His version is that she seduces him. But according to my definition of sex, it was rape and not consensual. They travel from one place to another for 2 years till Lolita manages to free herself from him.  The entire book is an insight into the mind of a rapist. How does a rapist get his victim to give in to his demands and never tell anyone. How does he control another human being?  Nabokov hardly talks about Lolita. We only hear about her from ...