April, 2022 – Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 – Cho Nam-Joo
Kim Ji-young is the main character of this novel, and we follow her throughout her life and how she got to be the way she is in the modern era. She was born in an uneventful household, but there was blatant favouritism in the house towards the youngest son. We follow Kim’s life, from childhood, […]
March, 2022 – Travels in a Dervish Cloak – Isambard Wilkinson
BG 1, March Book Review Travels in a Dervish Cloak by Isambard Wilkinson Travels in a Dervish Cloak is not strictly a travel book per se. The “dervish cloak” of the title is Pakistan itself—a fraying patchwork garment, in a phrase borrowed from Lahore’s patron saint, Data Ganj Bakhsh. The “travels”, meanwhile, are less a […]
March, 2022 – The Runaways – Fatima Bhutto
BG 2 March 2022 Review The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto Fatima Bhutto – it’s a famous name, and also a name marked with sagas in South Asian history. She says, “In a way, violence is always described in stark black and white terms and I wanted to think about it in a different way. How […]
Feb – 2022 – Burnt Sugar – Avni Doshi
BG 2 review – February 2022 Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi ‘Burnt Sugar’ is a story of love and hate, betrayal, forgiveness, and revenge. A story not between lovers – between a mother and daughter. Tara, the mother, was neglected and careless. In her youth, Tara was wild. Antara, the daughter, becomes her unwilling but […]
Feb -2022 – The Architect’s Apprentice – Elif Shafak
Bookgroup 1 – February 2022 Review The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak Set in the mid 16th century in Istanbul, Turkish author Elif Shafak spins an epic tale that stretches over half a century, beginning with the arrival of twelve year old Jahan and a white elephant by the name of Chota. Chota has been […]
Jan 2022 – The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree -Shokoofeh Azar
Title – The Enlightenment Of The Greengage Tree Author – Shokoofeh Azar Book Group 1 – Meeting – January 28th 2022 The Enlightenment Of The Greengage Tree, is a book written with ‘magic realism’ as the main writing genre. The book had been originally written in Persian and has been translated by an undisclosed translator. […]
Jan, 2022 – The Black Wave – Kim Ghattas
Title – The Black Wave Author – Kim Ghattas Book Group 2 – Meeting – January 22, 2022 Black Wave is a history of Middle Eastern conflict and why the Middle East is in a state of turmoil today. Award-winning journalist and author Kim Ghattas argues that the turning point in the modern history of […]
Nov – 2021 – Toss of a Lemon – Padma Vishwanathan
In south India in 1896, ten-year old Sivakami was about to embark on a new life. Hanumarathnam, a village healer with some renown as an astrologer, has approached her parents with a marriage proposal. In keeping with custom, he provides his prospective in-laws with his horoscope. The problem is that this includes a prediction, albeit […]
Nov – 2021 – Dragon – Rose Gan
Book Group 1, November 2021 Review Dragon – Rose Gan Our Friday book group continued on Zoom and was thrilled to have our first session with an author. Rose Gan, author of November’s book DRAGON, joined us for a lively discussion from speaking about powerful women, colonialism, and what it’s like to get published. It […]
Oct – 2021 – Eat the Buddha – Barbara Demick
Book Group 2 – October 2021 review Eat the Buddha by Barbara Demick Wow! From self-immolation to caterpillar fungus, we were introduced to Tibet in the book “Eat the Buddha” by Barbara Demick. Demick has written another book on N Korea called “Nothing to Envy” which we had previously enjoyed. She did not disappoint in […]