Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Books

  • ‘The Discomfort of Evening’ bags 2020 Int’l Booker Prize

    —

    in ,

    ‘The Discomfort of Evening’, the debut novel written by 29-year-old Dutch author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison, has been announced as the winner of The 2020 International Booker Prize. Rijneveld has become is the youngest author to win the prestigious award. The Dutch edition was a bestseller in the Netherlands,…

  • Triumphant Return To The World Of Twilight

    —

    in

    The long-anticipated retelling of ‘Twilight’ from Edward Cullen’s point of view, bestselling author Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Midnight Sun’ has been launched, amid the author having caught the Coronavirus. The author has revealed on her blog last week that she “was exposed eight days ago to Covid-19”. She said: “I’m feeling fine, but obviously, I’m not leaving…

  • Avni Doshi’s Journey To ‘Burnt Sugar’

    —

    in , ,

    Its been a “long and difficult” journey spread over seven years and eight drafts, says author Avni Doshi, whose novel “Burnt Sugar”, about a torturous mother-daughter relationship, has been longlisted for the 50,000 pounds Booker Prize 2020 along with 12 others, admitting she was moved to “tears” when receiving the news and has thanked the…

  • Traversing Through Indic Wisdom

    —

    in ,

    It began six years ago when Kaninika Mishra, with a bachelors degrees in homoeopathic medicine and arts, as well as a masters degree in management from an Australian university, started to formally learn yogic workouts and met many young people who had turned to yoga, Ayurveda or Indian dietary regimens to cope with stress and…

  • Without God, Is Everything Permitted?

    —

    in , , , , , , ,

    Vikas Datta reviews British author Julian Baggini’s Without God, is Everything Permitted?  The dilemmas of our lives and times – A way out? Does the study of ethics and morality have any relevance in our contemporary action-oriented, technology-driven materialistic world where philosophy is dismissed as only an academic activity? Yes, it does if we are to make informed,…

  • Nehru didn’t want Rajendra Prasad as president: book

    —

    in ,

    Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, lied to stop Rajendra Prasad from becoming the president after the country’s independence, a new book claims. The book, written by former intelligence officer R.N.P. Singh, says: “Nehru had resorted to desperate measures to prevent Prasad from occupying the position of president and these measures included blatant lying.” The…

  • Sangeeta’s Vikraal launched in London

    —

    in , , , ,

    SOAS, London University, played host to a unique cultural event. Sangeeta Bahadur’s Vikraal, the second book of the Kaal Trilogy, was launched with an array of events – A review by Shaheena Khan, Author’s conversation with Seema Anand, Dramatised readings by the author with Tejinder Sharma and Abhinaya performance by Arunima Kumar….reports Asian Lite News Reminiscent of India in…

  • My name is Bond…James Bond

    —

    in , , , ,

    Asian Lite News’ Vikas Datta looks in to the predecessors of  James Bond Even before a flamboyant secret agent with a penchant for vodka martinis “shaken, not stirred” appeared, Britain was not left undefended against communist or other subversives, the nefarious designs of megalomaniac criminal masterminds or terrorists. Neither did it lack ability to settle…

  • INTERVIEW: Amitav Ghosh

    —

    in , , , , , , ,

    Hailed as one of the most accomplished Indian writers, Amitav Ghosh was recently nominated for the Man Booker International Prize. In ‘Flood of Fire’ I feel like I have conquered a mountain, Mr Ghosh told Preetha Nair. Flood of Fire, the last in the Ibis trilogy, where history and fiction interweave and span the years leading…

  • Meera unveils ‘The House of Hidden Mothers’

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    Meera Syal unveils her new novel The House of Hidden Mothers at a star studded event at Soho’s Union Club. Amongst the guests were Syal’s husband and longtime collaborator Sanjeev Bhaskar, actorsRichard E Grant, Maureen Lipman, Adrian Lester, Kabir Bedi and Nitin Ganatra, author Anthony Horowitz, the High Commissioner of India His Excellency Ranjan Mathai, comedians Jo…

  • Yes Mr Patel…The Diaspora in Fiction

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    Politicians, business magnates, sports stars – the Indian diaspora has done well for itself in its new homes around the world and, on a literary basis, crossed another test of acceptance with their depiction in fiction as regular, non-stereotypical characters. From police inspectors to businessmen to cooks in nearly half a dozen countries across four…

  • ‘Modi, a man mesmerised by own persona’

    —

    in ,

    By M.R. Narayan Swamy  Man is wise in hindsight. This is certainly true for journalists. Harish Khare, editor and commentator who was also media adviser to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, comes up with his own analysis of what went wrong with the Congress and how Narendra Modi simply crushed the Grand Old Party to…

  • Portrait of an engineer as a novelist

    —

    in , , , , , ,

     Vikas Datta profiles Nevil Shute Norway, an aeronautical engineer would be the last person expected to be a successful and long-lasting novelist Immersed in aerodynamics, material science, structural analysis and the like, an aeronautical engineer would be the last person expected to be a successful and long-lasting novelist. But there was one who started writing…

  • The House of Hidden Mothers

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    Author, actress, comedian and an impressive three decades into her career, Meera Syal CBE, is gearing up for the exciting release of her new book, The House of Hidden Mothers on 4th June Welcome to Little India, situated in East London: Shyama, aged forty-four, has fallen for a younger man. They want a child together.…

  • Hungarian wins Man Booker Prize

    —

    in , , , ,

    Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the biennial Man Booker International Prize 2015. The award ceremony was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and Krasznahorkai was chosen from a list of 10 contenders from around the world. Krasznahorkai, born in 1954, gained considerable recognition with his numerous works, such as “Satantango” and…

  • Inspector Chen and his cases

    —

    in , , , ,

    Vikas Datta follow up the Chinese Puzzles -Qiu Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen and his cases “When I am satisfied questions of state security are not involved, then you begin,” a secret police operative tells homicide investigator Arkady Renko in Martin Cruz Smith’s “Gorky Park”, stressing order, not justice – the basic objective of policing not only in authoritarian…

  • Tips on leadership

    —

    in , ,

     Is it possible to build cities that are energy efficient and environment friendly in populous cities like Delhi and Mumbai? What do successful organisations and smart leaders have in common? Insights like this make up for our books bonanza this week. Take a look. 1. Book: Smart and Human: Building Cities of Wisdom; Author: G.R.K.Reddy…

  • Ram’s birthplace Ayodhya in Pakistan?

    —

    in , ,

    By Mohammed Shafeeq  Ayodhya, the birthplace of Hindu warrior-god Ram, is in Pakistan, claims a book by a top Muslim leader. Ayodhya in Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh is not the original city by the same name as it was inhabited by human beings only in 7th century BC while Rama is believed to have…

  • The P.G. Wodehouse of medicine!

    —

    in , , , , ,

    Vikas Dattain his weekly column Book-Shelf Involving a long and gruelling stint of study to qualify and everyday exposure to human pain and suffering, the practice of medicine is perhaps one of the last you could expect to serve as a base for comedy. But it is the saving grace of humanity that it too…

  • Magna Carta Celebrates Anniversary

    —

    in , , , ,

    Magna Carta Celebrates 800 Years of Freedom on June 15 New children’s book, Rupert’s Parchment: Story of MagnaCarta by award winning author and historical preservationist Eileen Cameron, provides an authentic experience for children. Through the eyes of a child who lived during the Middle Ages and played an integral part in the signing of MagnaCarta,…

  • Women who will make you shiver!

    —

    in , , ,

    Vikas Datta looks in to the world of  women writers “… the female of the species is more deadly than the male,” said Rudyard Kipling and he might have meant writers excelling in frightening us with tales of supernatural horror and terror. In fact, the horror genre was one where women authors held their own against their…

  • Tributes to a Romantic Hero

    —

    in , , , , ,

    Vikas Datta on  Percy Bysshe Shelley – Maverick freedom fighter and poet of romance Disproving Percy Bysshe Shelley’s description of poets as “unacknowledged legislators of the world”, he combined his illustrious poetic career with membership of the Constituent Assembly that drafted free India’s constitution. This responsibility followed a four-decade stint as an outspoken, unbending freedom fighter across the…

  • The ‘Days’ of the Jackal

    —

    in , , , ,

    Frederick Forsyth’s ‘novel’ career in international intrigue…writes Vikas Datta for top Brtish-Asian newspaper Asian Lite If you want to know how to attempt the assassination of a statesman, track a Nazi war criminal, organise a coup in Africa (or avert one in Russia), get a false passport, blow up a safe or assemble a bomb (conventional or…

  • ‘Broken Horses’ to release globally

    —

    in

      Indian filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s maiden Hollywood venture “Broken Horses” will release as a novel in India, Britain and the US, a spokesperson has said. The news was confirmed by a spokesperson of Vinod Chopra Films in a statement. The original story of the film is co-written by Chopra and Abhijat Joshi, and it…

  • INTERVIEW: Jeffrey Archer

    —

    in , , , ,

    By Sahana Ghosh  No alien to controversies, British author Jeffrey Archer says he’s not a provocative writer and “feels very safe” in India when it comes to censorship issues. “I don’t try to provoke. I am a simple storyteller. I feel safe in India, very safe,” he said. In contrast, he said, he had to…

  • Disproving Shakespeare

    —

    in , , , ,

    Disproving Shakespeare: The greatest Roman in literary fiction …writes Vikas Datta  Only a few historical figures retain their renown in the relentless march of time, with one yardstick being widespread, continuing depictions across various cultures. Two of these are prominent figures from the ancient Graeco-Roman world, but their legacy is enduring – one’s name is still…

  • Modi’s religious beliefs helped shape his views

    —

    in

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s religious beliefs helped shape his political views and he has no desire to jettison Hindu nationalist ideology, says a new book and notes that Modi risks alienating a section of his supporters if he allows the more extreme elements of Hindutva to influence governance. The book, “The Modi effect: Inside Narendra…

  • Did the CIA mastermind Purulia arms drop?

    —

    in

    By M.R. Narayan Swamy  Title: The Night it Rained Guns: Unravelling the Purulia Arms Drop Conspiracy; Author: Chandan Nandy; Publisher: Rupa On December 17, 1995, an ageing Russian AN 26 transport plane took off from Karachi ostensibly for Dhaka. After refuelling at Varanasi, it made a course diversion over Gaya, Bihar. When it was over…

  • Archer Rocks Bengaluru

    —

    in , , , ,

    Author Lord Jeffery Archer interacts with audience during the launch of his new book `Mightier than the Sword` in Bengaluru, the Garden City of India. Mightier than the Sword opens with an IRA bomb exploding during the MVBuckingham‘s maiden voyage across the Atlantic – but how many passengers lose their lives? When Harry Clifton visits his…

  • Foreign exhibitors seek business, cultural ties

    —

    in ,

    By Shilpa Raina   The international publishers participating in the ongoing Delhi World Book Fair 2015 here not only want to do good business, but also bridge cultural ties and introduce their literary landscape to the Indian audience. Gauhar Iqbal who represents Manshurat Publisher and Distribution firm from Lahore, has been participating in the fair since…

  • The Gift – Seven Laws to Success

    —

    in

    Amit Kainth, UK’s highly successful young entrepreneur comes with a bang with his new book ‘The Gift – Seven Laws to Success’. In this book, he talks about the ‘Gift’ which shows us a long term strategy to achieve lasting happiness, success and most importantly – peace….writes Anjana Parikh AL: You’ve seen both success and failure…

  • ‘Unbearable hard times make us human’

    —

    in

    Capturing the life and colour of the British-Asian community, Huma Qureshi, former Guradian staff writer, in her debut collection of short stories, In spite of Oceans: Migrant Voices, explores the individual journeys of generations in transition from the South Asian subcontinent to the UK. Huma, in an interview to Anjana Parikh, tells that the book is…

  • ‘…London is where I create’

    —

    in

    Laxmi Hariharan is a self-confessed, world’s ‘sweetest’ tea drinker. In free-wheeling conversation with Asian Lite, this award winning journalist-turned author and blogger tells Rahul Laud about her journey from Mumbai to London and how she is passionate about writing and, her new book –The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer. She also wrote The Destiny of Shaitan,…

  • Oxford Dictionaries to add 1,000 new words

    —

    in , ,

    ‘Mamil’ (middle-aged man in Lycra), ‘silvertail’ (a person who is socially prominent or who displays social aspirations) and ‘crony capitalism’ are among the 1,000 new words to be added to OxfordDictionaries.com, the free online dictionary, in its largest quarterly update so far. The entries by editors at Oxford Dictionaries reflect the influence of popular culture,…

  • The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer

    —

    in

    London-based Laxmi Hariharan’s The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer debuts at No. 1, hot new release on Amazon in Asian Lit The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer is a character driven, Young Adult dystopian thriller, with a kick-ass female protagonist taking you on a white-knuckle ride, through a disintegrating Bombay city. Laxmi Hariharan It debuted at…

  • INTERVIEW: Lucy Hawking

    —

    in , , ,

    By Shilpa Raina  Compared to their counterparts in other countries, Indian children are more curious about science and aerospace, observed novelist Lucy Hawking, daughter of British physicist Stephen Hawking, and felt it is the opportune moment to introduce Indian characters in her books. The 44-year-old science writer was in the capital for a children’s literary…

  • Indian authors make NYT 100 Books of 2014

    —

    in , , ,

    By Arun Kumar  Works of five Indian-American and one Indian author figure among 100 Notable Books of 2014 selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. Delhi-born Indian-American author Akhil Sharma’s novel “Family Life” figures in the Fiction & Poetry section. “Sharma’s novel, deeply unnerving and tender at the core, charts a…

  • Five authors shortlisted for DSC award

    —

    in

    The world’s literati gathered at the historic London School of Economics and Political Science in London, as the prestigious shortlist for the fifth annual DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2015 was announced. DavidGodwin, SurinaNarula and Meena Kandasamy This year’s shortlist of five features two authors of Indian origin – Jhumpa Lahiri (The Lowland –…

  • End of my memoir: Naseeruddin

    —

    in , , , , ,

      Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah, who has chronicled his journey in “And Then One Day – A Memoir”, says the book is a mirror reflection of his life and that he has no plans to come out with a second part of the publication. “My book talks about my entire journey from getting into theatre…

  • Mirza Waheed’s novel seeks love

    —

    in ,

      Not every individual in Kashmir in the early 1990s turned against the army driven by political vendetta. There were many who rebelled because it was hard for them to accept the killings and disappearance of people they knew. This is one of the points author Mirza Waheed wants to make through his second novel…

  • PJ: Greek gods, demigods and the quests

    —

    in , , , ,

    Vikas Datta in his weekly column  Bookends profiles The Percy Jackson series – Greek gods, demigods and quests in modern America Be it the exploits of Hercules, Perseus or Odysseus or their ilk, the warrior kings of the Indian mytho-religious ethos, the knights of King Arthur, Persian princes, Arabian chieftains (Hatim Tai) and merchants (Sindbad), Russian bogatyrs Dobrynya…

  • Sachin’s autobiography breaks record

    —

    in , ,

    Sachin Tendulkar’s autobiography “Playing It My Way”, released , has broken all records of an adult hardback on pre-order subscriptions across both fiction and non-fiction categories, a statement from the publishers said Friday. Tendulkar’s book has broken the mark set by Steve Jobs’ biography by Walter Isaacson, which had sold 130,000 copies. According to reports,…

  • ‘Playing It My Way’ released

    —

    in , , , ,

    In a glittering event at a posh hotel here , cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar released his much awaited autobiography “Playing It My Way” among other star cricketers. Emcee Harsha Bhogle took the packed hall through Tendulkar’s life and the evolution of Indian cricket with on-stage conversations with Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Vasu Paranjpe, and the…

  • J.K. Rowling reveals story characters

    —

    in , , ,

    British author Joanne Kathleen Rowling, the author of the “Harry Potter” series, has revealed previously undisclosed background details of the saga’s characters on her website, Pottermore, media reported. The author is immersed in writing short stories relating to places and characters that appear in the Harry Potter series on her site. Some pieces provide additional…

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Frankfurt Book Fair

    —

    in , , ,

    Winds of change at Frankfurt Book Fair…writes Shobit Arya  “Will you believe me if I said that nothing has changed in the last ten years? It is still about storytelling; we still need to trust each other and look into each other’s eyes. We, in publishing though, like to be scared of the future.” The setting…

  • BOOK: Unsuitable Celibate

    —

    in , ,

    Indian American author’s ‘Unsuitable Celibate’ released on Amazon’s Kindle  A novella that deals with the complex issue of celibacy and teenaged monks among certain sections of the Indian American community has just been released for the global market on Amazon’s Kindle. “Unsuitable Celibate: Mistaken Glory of Celibacy” written by Dr. Bharat Thakkar, a well-known reliability…

  • INTERVIEW: Ira Singh

    —

    in , , ,

    Ira Singh’s creations are riddled with nostalgia, metaphors In her debut novel, Ira Singh has deliberately picked up metaphors as motifs to narrate a coming-of-age story, set against the backdrop of partition and independence, and refrained from getting into details that led to these developments to narrate a story of a family. “It would have…

  • SPECIAL REPORT: Owl Festival of Varanasi

    —

    in , , ,

    Owl Festival: A time to crack jokes in Varanasi…writes Mohit Dubey Hundreds of thousands of people in this Hindu holy city – and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency – in Uttar Pradesh are eagerly looking forward to Sunday, to a time for cracking jokes on anything under the sun and merry making, when the…

  • How WW-1 changed Indian the soldier

    —

    in , ,

    By Vishnu Makhijani  India, which contributed over four million soldiers during the two World Wars and has fought five sub-continental wars since Independence, must come to terms with its military history. Otherwise the war memorial of the kind envisaged in the national capital would be jingoistic, says the author of a new book on this…

  • Richard Flanagan wins Man Booker

    —

    in , , ,

    The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan won the 2014 Man Booker prize. Taking its title from a book by the haiku poet Basho, Flanagan’s novel is a love story set against the construction of the Thailand-Burma Death Railway in World War Two. In a Japanese POW camp, surgeon Dorrigo Evans is…