Tag: Bookstrapping

As per the review put down by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta, the book is structured into seven chapters, which are more like seven lessons from the author’s life. They stand out extremely relevant for parents raising kids with disabilities; as the author explains- people talk ‘about’ your kids but not ‘to’ your kids.

As per the review by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta ‘Mr. Einstein’s Secretary’ is ‘historical fiction’ set around the 1920s to 1940s. So a few fictional characters meet a set of real characters at an important period in history and a story plays out from there. Our heroine is Hanna Fisher; a fictional character who escapes Berlin in 1919 after the death of her mother and the murder of her father!”

As per the review of Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta, the compilation, ‘Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage’, which was released in 2001 cannot be missed. A story from this compilation, ‘The Bear Came over the Mountain’, which spoke of Alzheimer’s disease, was made into a film titled ‘Away From Her’ in 2006.

The author talks about himself as a character in the book. Gary reveals that while in school, he got expelled for drugs, realised that good grades alone don’t lead to great jobs, won a poker-like trading competition, made it to Citibank and then made out of it too, reviews Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

The book puts an entirely new spin on the very idea of worship and dignity. With chapters numbered in reverse, from thirteen to zero and unnamed, the reader can make their imagination go wild, reviews Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

The chapter titled ‘Companies Cry but Owners Party,’ speaks about the nexus between the establishment and a category of defaulters. Subramanian also highlights the misuse of the ‘corporate debt restructuring (CDR)’ scheme by big organisations. Later, the book refers to how the the CDR cell shutdown overnight, after faithfully serving Indian lenders and letters for 17 years, writes Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

In the letters, H. T. Parekh offers information about life in London, where he was studying at the London School of Economics. The language of the letters is purposeful and detailed; its almost as if HT Parekh wanted to share every moment of his life, again with Hira, reviews Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

Ashoka’s conquests were as bloody a those of his father and grandfather. The difference is that Ashoka acknowledged it and apologised for it. Ashoka speaks of an ‘offence’ committed by the state of Kalinga, because of which he ‘had to’ attack! And yet, he regretted it. He was a King with a conscience and that is why, we cannot get over him fully, reviews Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

In this week’s Bookstrapping, our reviewer Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta reviews Arundhathi Subramaniam’s ‘Wild Women’, Harish Bhat’s ‘Restless Lives’ and ‘The Days of a Small Book and Other Poems’, by film director Seenu Ramasamy.

The question the book leaves the reader with is this- ‘how much did the Japanese threat change political attitudes and influence the national movement in 1942?’ How did it change British attitudes towards India? And how does war time threat alter the social fabric?, highlights Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.