A Gentleman in Moscow Book Review

a gentleman in moscow

A Gentleman in Moscow written by Amor Towles is a story that may be highly relatable in today’s scenario of COVID-19 lockdown. Just like so many of us all over the world, Count Alexander Rostov was confined to a single location. The difference is that the location was The Metropol Hotel in Moscow. However, there was another catch. He was confined i.e. put on house arrest for the remainder of his life (he was ~33 at the time). Not just that, there was also the threat of death if he stepped out of the hotel ever again. Set in 1922, the story of Count Rostov moves along as he lives the rest of his days in the Hotel. While in the background, the story of a nation also moves along. It never takes centre stage but rather intersects with the Count's life in a very natural manner. ...  More

Preacher Comic Series Review

preacher head
Caution

If you have a low bar for violence, you should not read Preacher. If you are easily disgusted by graphic details, please do not read Preacher. If profanity makes you uncomfortable, stay away from Preacher.  Last, and not the least, If you are religious, do not dare to read Preacher. If, by chance, the answer to all these is 'No', consider yourself extremely lucky because you will have the time of your life reading this brilliant comic series published by Vertigo. To me the audacity of Preacher is phenomenal. Amazingly, Vertigo was able to get this published, because today, it looks even less likely, with the ever-shrinking tolerance levels of people all around. ...  More

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Book Review

Charlie Mackesy

Confession: I was browsing through Facebook and came across a beautiful handmade illustration of a boy sitting on a tree with a Mole accompanying him. It immediately caught my attention and I started reading the text around it. The text read "What do you want to be when you grow up?", "Kind", said the boy. The instant I read it, I was blown away. It was completely unexpected. And there was something inexplicable about the art. It may not make sense, but it had a certain warmth that pulled me to it. So that evening, I went to my trusted neighbourhood bookstore, KoolSkool and bought the hardback version of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (TBTMTFTH) by Charlie Mackesy. Now that I have read it, I can say it with some authority that this is a once in a lifetime book and reading it once is not going to be enough.  ...  More

The Testaments Book Review

the testaments

It has been 35 years since The Handmaid’s Tale was published, and fans have been waiting that long to know what happened to Gilead. In 2019, Margaret Atwood published The Testaments as a follow up to The Handmaid’s Tale. Much to the demands of the readers, The Testaments does offer closure of sorts, even if it is wrapped in Atwood’s quintessential style with a climax that is nail-biting, yet somehow leaving you asking for more.    ...  More

Recursion Book Review

Recursion

Recursion is my second Blake Crouch book (Dark Matter was the first), and I am thankful to KoolSkool bookstore for introducing me to Crouch in the first place. Recursion is science fiction at heart but is written as an out and out thriller. Unlike a lot of Sci-Fi books and films, this is not based in the future but rather set in the 2010s’, which makes it highly relatable. We are introduced to the two lead characters (Barry and Helena) and the structure of writing gives the feel of a journal, with dates marking the start of each entry. Every entry corresponds to ‘a day in the life’ of Barry or Helena, and the accounts are from the first-person point of view. This way of storytelling is engaging and as a reader, I started thinking from the point of view of the protagonists immediately. ...  More