The Seaside Library

Author: Fredrik Backman Acquired in: July 2022 I'm a fan of Fredrik Backman's books. Subtle humour, a tear or two, Ikea meatball fanatics, police silently hating their jobs, grandparent-child dream teams, hostages rallying for their incarcerator - love it. To this hodgepodge pile I've happily added A Man Called Ove, a book about a sad old man who cares little for anybody's sympathy. Ove is a stickler for principles. He drives only a Saab, does his own house and car repairs, distrusts technology, hates bureaucrats and goes to work without fail, even on the day after his wife's funeral. Emotions confused him and he found work to help him understand or often, repress the intangible. Losing his job was the final straw that sent him into a depressed spiral leading him to decide to kill himself. To his eternal chagrin, a riotous Swedish-Iranian family who introduces themselves to the neighbourhood by mowing down Ove's mailbox have other plans. Being taciturn meant...

Author: Isabel Allende Acquired in: October 2021 Some of the best literature ever to grace our libraries was spawned by wars and the ensuing trauma. Memorials and remembrance days are the only things those born in peacetime have to remind themselves of life-altering moments of the past. Is it, then, possible for us to fathom how deep are the wounds inflicted by bereavement and suffering? This is where books like  A Long Petal of the Sea  become important - they take us back in time to relive life as it once was, in this case, amid national turmoil and partisan conflict.  Isabel Allende is no stranger to displacement. The coup orchestrated by Auguste Pinochet in 1973 toppled the Chilean government and lead to the death of the former president Salvador Allende, spelling disaster for leftist sympathisers and relatives of the late president, including Isabel's family. Narrowly escaping the gallows, Allende made Venezuela her refuge for more than a decade before settling in Ca...

Author: Louisa May Alcott Acquired in: September 2010 Little Women  made Louisa May Alcott a legendary figure in English literature, but her writing talent cannot be defined by this book alone. Apart from the popular series featuring the March sisters, she has numerous other pieces, including poetry, novels and short stories to her credit. Though relatively unknown, the short stories in this anthology— The Quiet Little Woman ,  Tilly’s Christmas  and  Rosa’s Tale —number among the beautiful short stories that Alcott fans would love.  This short book contains three heartwarming Christmas stories about the little virtues that give this beautiful day a deeper meaning.  The Quiet Little Woman  is a story about Patty, a lonely orphan who wishes with all her heart that a good family would take her in, even if only as a helper. When the jovial Murrays adopt her, she works hard to show her gratitude but realises that their appreciation is just not the same as ...

Author: RF Kuang Acquired in: September 2021 In a volatile world, if a girl, sick to the heart of the wrongs done to her, can channel her hurt into flames, will she give in to a dangerous deity who offers to make her pain disappear or rein in her anguish but burn herself?  As an orphan in the impoverished town of Tikany, Fang Runin or Rin doesn’t have many choices other than to work like a slave for her foster parents, the Fangs, and handle the running of the Fangs’ opium business. When the family decides to marry her off to a much older customs official in return for protection for their drug trade, Rin decides to take matters into her own hands. Her only hope, she decides, is Sinegard – the capital city of the Nikara Empire and the home of the pearl of military institutions. But the way leading to it isn’t easy, nor is what comes after. Sinegard may seem like salvation to Rin, but within those gilded walls are secrets which could be her doom or the key to saving a crumbling Nikan...

Author: Heather Morris Acquired in: October 2021 Staccato—an Italian word signifying a kind of music where you would hear the notes in a sharply detached manner—can complement a musical piece if artfully utilised. However, a choppy narrative in a book only makes for difficult reading. Sadly, Heather Morris does just that. This book about the true story of a Slovak Jew incarcerated in Auschwitz-Birkenau disappointingly lacks an essential sense of cohesion. Lale's account of the horrors he witnessed at Auschwitz had the potential to become one of the most gripping Holocaust stories but instead took the form of a mediocre rendition by a screenwriter-turned-novelist. Nevertheless, the story deserves some attention despite the writing which leaves a lot to be desired.   Lale Sokolov was one among the many who went voluntarily to the concentration camps in Poland under an order by the Slovak government. These young men bade farewell to their loved ones believing that they would only ...

Author: Robin Cook Acquired in: October 2017 My previous review of Robin Cook's  Blindsight  would have told you that the downsides of the book negated any good things about it. Overcoming my initial hesitancy, I decided to try another — Host , a story about two medical students uncovering a major pharma scam.  Lynn Pierce and Michael Pender are fourth-year medical students at a university in North Carolina. Despite the well-known daily grind med students go through, they do well and have ordinary lives until things go south quickly. When Lynn's boyfriend goes into a coma after rather a routine surgery, both search for a solution relentlessly and accidentally stumble upon a secret that could endanger the hospital's reputation and even cost them their lives.  As you might have gathered from the short synopsis, the story was so spine-chilling that this book belonged to the horror genre than medical fiction. In the storyline that ran parallel to Lynn's and Michael's li...

Author: Clare Pooley Acquired in: July 2021 courtesy Amazon.in Once a famous artist, Julian Jessop feels lonely and forgotten in his old age despite living in a paradoxically bustling London suburb. The drudgery of living in a house with only his memories and art for company compels him to write a brief chronicle of his life in a little green book. Hoping that his story would inspire someone else to live a better life, he leaves the book in a café, unaware of the owner's watchful eye. This story could have ended when the shop owner, Monica, knocks on Julian's door with good intentions, but fate ensures that the book is already affecting many other people. What could happen when these virtual strangers turn up in one place, guided only by the stories they wrote? Julian, Monica and the others are not purely fictional characters; they represent you and me! How often do you feel disconnected from your friends and loved ones, even in this era of enhanced connectivity? I experienced ...

Author: Mario Puzo Acquired in: October 2017 courtesy Amazon.in In 1945, New York was ruled not by the government alone. Behind the law loomed the Italian mafioso, its influence over the city far beyond anybody's imagination. From the police to senators to judges, the five crime families of New York had them on their payroll to help their empires flourish. But one family stood apart from the rest and demanded respect from the reluctant families- the Family Corleone.  Don Corleone is getting old, and he has a dream of legitimising his illegal business to settle down with the immense wealth he gained from his years of careful manipulation. But who would lead the family into the future of his dreams- his hotheaded elder son Sonny, the diminutive Fredo or the all-American Michael? It doesn't help that the Family Corleone refuses to indulge in drug-dealing; it riles the other families in dire need of Don Corleone's political connections. While the Don plans to retire, the others...

Author: Robin Cook Acquired in: October 2017 courtesy Goodreads There's a world of difference between medical fiction and other genres. The mounting horror creeps up your spine and finally reaches its zenith at a masterfully written showdown. When you finally set the book down, you either look at hospitals with a wary eye or stare in awe at the intricate beauty of medicine. I warn you that reading medical fiction is not for the faint-hearted. With the warnings over, welcome to the world of clinically planned gore! Blindsight  is a familiar mix of the New York Italian mobster scene and their insidious yet barely detectable reach over people's lives. Yet would they go so far as to use their power to manipulate organ donors? This book is the first to feature a firebrand forensic pathologist, Dr Laurie Montgomery. As she goes about her job at the New York City Medical Examiner's office, sexist behaviour often comes her way, from 'isn't forensics too gruesome for a woman...

Author: PG Wodehouse Acquired in: May 2019 If there is ever a strain of monotony in a Wodehouse book, check what you're reading again; you may have picked up something else. Trust Wodehouse to wring humour out of crusty old manors with equally crusty old men. Bertie and Jeeves, the aristocrat-butler duo are at odds at the beginning of the book. While Jeeves presses a disinterested Bertie to book a world cruise, trouble arrives in the form of a newt enthusiast, a cow-creamer and the usual menagerie of angsty lovers. What is a cow creamer? Well, that's a cow-shaped pitcher for holding cream or milk. As simple as such a utensil may seem, things get heated up between silver crockery collectors and arch-nemeses Sir Watkyn Bassett and Bertie's old Uncle Tom, both of whom are vying for the same antique pitcher. With Aunt Dahlia imploring him to secure the curios to preserve the Woosters' dignity, the family-proud Bertie sets off to Totleigh Towers, albeit not finding his mis...

Author: Abbi Waxman Acquired in: April 2021 I feel I have finally met my book persona in Nina Hill, the namesake of Abbi Waxman’s utterly satisfying book. Apart from the flaming red hair, I would say that I just met a probable adult version of me. If I'm going to end up like Nina, I beg your pardon while I wipe away a happy tear or two.  Rather than giving an impersonal review of this book, I would like to give you an insight into how the story resonated with me. From her partiality to beautiful book covers to “She enjoyed people—she really did—she just needed to take them in homoeopathic doses; a little of the poison was the cure”- this is the closest likeness you will ever find of me. There might be hundreds of people out there who felt the same after reading this book and I feel at peace thinking that there are others like me. Her love story with books is maybe how it is with readers everywhere. Not obsessive, but a happy friendship; something steady to draw strength from. Nina’...