Happy New Year (and Decade)! In 2019, I managed to jot down a brief review and score for each of my reads real-time. The year wasn’t as prolific as I hoped for it to be. In an unfortunate reversal of preferences, slumber consistently took precedence over reading during air-travel. As an upside though I finally succeeded in upping my novel count. I got introduced to V S Naipaul. Somerset Maugham and Dostoevsky. My fascination for Hemingway continued to grow to a point of influencing my travel destinations more than once. Truth be told I could have chosen my non-fiction reads better. Here goes…. Happy Reading!
Fiction:
-A Bend In The River (V S Naipaul):My first exposure to this highly accomplished writer. The novel set in post-colonial Africa uses simple, muscular prose to deliver a vivid, hard-hitting picture via an un-named country. 7/10
-A Movable Feast (Ernest Hemingway):Hemingway's notes of his days in Paris detailing experiences with writers , painters , critics and even mean drunks . One could read it as a novel and enjoy it just as much. The story behind the book is as fascinating as the book itself. 7/10
- Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky): This Russian classic was a bit too dark and abstract for my liking. The compelling narrative ensured this long novel stayed gripping throughout. 7/10
-The Quiet American (Graham Greene): Considered one of Greene's all-time great works, this novel lives up to its reputation. Set in Vietnam (pre US intervention) he weaves a complex tale of war, love and deceit narrated with trademark wit. 7/10
-The Sun Also Rises (Ernest Hemingway): Evocative and romantic descriptions of Spanish countryside woven around complex relationships. Hemingway's passion for bullfighting comes through with some vivid wordplay. 7/10
-Gun Island (Amitav Ghosh) : Gripping novel set in Sundarbans and Venice . Deals with a series of topical issues including migration and environment conservation. Ghosh is brilliant as always . 8/10
-A Golden Age (Tahmima Anam) : Debut novel by a highly gifted Bangladeshi author. Historical fiction. Tells the 1971 story from a Bangladeshi lens . Very engaging writing style albeit with a tendency to use one metaphor too many. 7/10
- Dubliners (James Joyce) : A classic compilation of short stories by a celebrated writer who has inspired a whole generation of great writers. Each of the accounts are set in Dublin and they bring numerous dimensions alive- societal rules, class divide, religion et al. Rich use of (often) archaic vocabulary. 8/10
- A House For Mr Biswas (V S Naipaul): The novel that helped Naipaul earn his stripes. A maudlin portrait of an unhappy joint family. Clever use of dark humour. Despite the unfamiliar Trinidad setting, one can relate to many relationship complexities and regressive stereotypes. 6/10
- Men Without Women (Ernest Hemingway): An assortment of diverse short stories set across the world. Bull-fighters in Spain, sharpshooters and boxers in America with the odd trip to other parts of Europe thrown in. One of Hemingway's earliest works. He certainly got better with time. 5/10
- Razor's Edge (Somerset Maugham) : A curious tale of Larry whose life takes numerous twists and turns after his return from WW1. The storyline shifts effortlessly between Chicago, Paris and London. The writer brings out the best of each city’s spirit while cocking a sociesnook at societal superficiality. Pity I took so long to discover this writer. 8/10
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain) : Read this classic a bit late in life . Few can match Twain’s fluid writing style or clever use ofhumour. Would have appreciated this work a lot better had I read in my late school years 6/10
- From Whom The Bell Tolls (Ernest Hemingway): Easily the finest by Hemingway. The main protagonist is an American who fights with the guerillas in the Spanish civil war. Nobody can perhaps write about wars as well as the author. Depicts the heart-wrenching build-ups that typically lead to civil movements in graphic (and moving) detail. 8/10
Non-Fiction:
-What Is Populism (Jan-werner Muller): Part political science and part philosophy. This short work defines populists as those who believe (and make believe) that only they represent the will of the people. Alternate ideas, independent institutions and even constitutions are positioned as irrelevant. Draws on examples from world leaders across. 6/10
-Flavour (Bob Holmes): Why do salted peanuts and beer go well together? Can food and music be paired ? What makes white chocolate and caviar such a perfect combination? Does decanting red wine help? If you are a foodie and any of these questions have piqued your curiosity, this is a recommended read. Gets a bit too technical and hence off-putting at times. 5/10
-The Future Is Asian (Parag Khanna) : This informative and data-rich work details the expanding Asian influence on various aspects of geo-politics, economy and culture. A bit exaggerated especially while describing Chinese machismo 7/10
-Napoleon: A Concise Biography (David Bell): Sketchy but informative work on the powerful emperor. Ideal introductory piece. 6/10
- The Unquiet Ones (Osman Samiuddin): A history of Pakistan cricket with telling glimpses into Pakistani society, class dividecolourful cricketers, interplay with politicians and the unmatched passion for the sport despite severe financial odds at times. 8/10
-Autonomy (Lawrence Burns) : A peek into the quest for a driverless car. From initiatives by the US military to Google, Uber, Tesla and who-have-you. 50-60 pages too long. 7/10
-This Time Is Different (Kenneth Rogoff & Reinhart): Well-researched analysis of the common circumstances andbehaviours leading to financial crises across centuries. Data rich and bit too technical for comfort at times. 6/10
-Army And Nation (Steven Wilkinson): My quest for a well-chronicled history of the Indian Army ended with this finely compiled account. Apart frombelabouring the class-recruitment practice, the author barely gets a step wrong. 7/10
-The Hard Thing About Hard Things (Ben Horowitz) Quasi-memoir of a successful tech entrepreneur now turned venture capitalist. After a promising start, degenerates into overly simplified self-help stuff. 5/10
- Animal Spirits (Akerloff & Shiller): A sober account reiterating the everlasting applicability of basic macroeconomic theory. Striking and coherent arguments. Deals less with the psychological elements than the title promised. Since it was published just after the 2008 crisis, the muted tones are occasionally overstated. 7/10
- Range (David Epstein) : Exhaustive body of work advocating the merits ofgeneralisation. Criss crosses the worlds of sport, science, disaster management and space research to reinforce the point . The author perhaps goes overboard and in the bargain ends up with a message that is diffused . 5/10
- Nehru: (Walter Crocker) : This balanced life account of Nehru is one of the more balanced biographies one will read. Written by an Australia diplomat who served in India twice. Deals largely with Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister. A topical read too given how Nehru is back to being in the cynosure (for the wrongeasons!) 8/10
