A book for every season
WONDERING WHAT TO READ THESE DAYS? HERE ARE SOME NEW RELEASES THAT HAVE GRABBED THE EYEBALLS OF BIBLIOPHILES THIS MONTH, WRITES NEIL PATE
This stunning debut novel by Henkel is a plot-driven thriller from page one. You fall for the characters but can’t trust anyone. Set against the backdrops of late aughts and pop culture in Berlin, each chapter gives a propulsive thrust of obsession and paranoia of the characters. Zoe and Hailey rent an apartment from an eccentric crime writer. They spend their night pub crawling in Berlin and their days hungover. Then some mysterious and inexplicable things start to happen in the apartment. Are they being spied on or are these simply some dark and funny encounters? They suspect their landlady of spying on them for inspiration for her next novel. They host wild parties and become notorious. Readers who enjoy stories about the dark side of women’s friendship will love to read this intoxicating joy ride, or should we rather call it a joyful read!
PRICE OF THE MODI YEARS
Author: Aakar Patel Publisher: Westland Books
This book is bound to ruffle many feathers in the ruling government. But Patel’s honest and well-researched book makes one question the promise of ‘Achhe Din’. In Price of the Modi Years, Patel explains with data and facts about India’s performance under the Modi government. With simple prose and detailed reports, Patel evaluates the government’s performance – indices like the UNDP Human Development Index, Lowy Institute Asia Power Index, Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index, Freedom House’s Freedom in the World, Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index to name a few. He states that India has performed ‘poorly’ in all of them. He talks about Modi’s fixation with acronyms. Did you know that the Modi government came up with over 115 acronyms in the past seven years? Not to forget the action against dissenters and critics. Patel claims that in the first six months of 2020, “the Modi government sent Twitter 2,772 legal demands for removal of content or blocking accounts”. A must-read in these tough times.