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Vampire tale taps into
Da Vinci Code buzz
Claudia Parsons
The Historian
by Elizabeth Kostova. Little, Brown and Co.
Pages 642. $ 25.95
EVER since Dan Brown’s book sold more than 10 million
copies, the Holy Grail of publishing has been the next "Da Vinci
Code". A new book about Dracula is the latest contender, but will
readers bite? The Historian was 10 years in the writing, weighs
in at 642 pages and takes the reader on a spooky tour of crypts,
libraries and castles from Istanbul to southern France.
Alexandria
on the Yamuna bank
A. J. Philip
Interesting times in
India: A short decade at St. Stephen’s College
by Daniel O’Connor. Penguin. Pages 234. Rs
295
FEW
colleges have made as deep and abiding an impact on Indian society as St
Stephen’s College in Delhi. The long queue of admission seekers every
year is a reflection of its continuing popularity. It has spewed alumni
associations all over the world and has a very effective, informal,
networking system. Its alumni are in high positions in the government,
journalism, academics and the private sector.
The
Aftershock
Jaswant Singh
Tsunami: 7 hours that Shook the
World
by Satinder Bindra. Harper Collins. Pages 291. Rs 395.
Tsunami
is a Japanese word, which translated into English means "harbour
wave". It is caused by a vertical disturbance in a deep sea, which
can be an earthquake, a volcanic eruption or a landslide. A gigantic
undersea earthquake near the coast of Indonesia triggered the tsunami
that wreaked havoc on many Asian coasts on December 26, 2004.
Peace
model for Kashmir
Meena Dutta
Crafting Peace in Kashmir:
Through a Realist Lens
by Verghese Koithara. Sage Publications, New Delhi. Pages 314. Rs 350.
UNTIL
the beginning of this year, nobody could have predicted the fast changes
in the relationship between India and Pakistan. Though there is no
Berlin-like wall, there is a talk of making the borders irrelevant and
the process seems irreversible. However, it is important to develop a
forward-looking approach by the leaders of both countries.
Self-realisation
for all
Krishan Malhotra
Verses of the Divine Spiritual
Life
by Paramhansa Veetraga Swami Dayanand Giri. Earnest Study
THE
157 stanzas of the book, which have the rhyme scheme of aa, bb or ab, ab,
the diction and versification remind a reader of the didactic nature of
classical and neo-classical poetry in English literature. The stanzas do
not reflect poetic excellence or command of the syllabic structure, but
these surely have a spiritual and illuminating message.
Demystifying Mao
Deepika Gurdev
MAO: The Unknown Story.
by Jung Chang & Jon Halliday Jonathan Cape Pages 814. £ 25
THOSE who have read Jung Chang’s Wild Swans,
will have an idea what to expect. First the sheer number of pages will
have you wondering whether this book is worth the reading foray. Add to
the 800 pages, a hardback and you as a reader sure will have a lot to
grapple with.
Predictable
plot
Gagandeep Singh Ghuman
Coronation Talkies
by Susan Kurosawa. Penguin. Pages 488. Rs 475
"THE
work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples." What
Virginia Woolf said about James Joyce’s first novel, this reviewer is
tempted to say about Susan Kurosawa’s novel Coronation Talkies.
As a form the long novel is inevitably flawed and only a fecund
imagination and a fine control over language can save it from falling
into irretrievable verbosity.
urdu
POETRY
Classical
idiom, topical comment
Ashok Malik
Zindagi Ke Sheeshe Mein (Poetry collection)
by R P Shokh. Harbhajan Shokh, Haryana. Pages: 239. Rs 250
THIS
collection of poems by Rajeshwar Prasad Shokh, translated into Hindi
from Urdu and published posthumously, gives the rich flavour of
classical Urdu though his context is often contemporary. To wit, his
comment on the present-day politicians: "Ye panch saal tak ab
maangne na niklenge; bahut amir hain is daur ke fakir naye".
American
Potter fans urged to buy recycled books
Harry
Potter fans in the US are being urged to buy the sixth book, Harry
Potter and the half-blooded Prince from Canada, where it is being
printed on recycled paper. According
to The BBC, the book will be published worldwide on 16 July, with a
recycled version issued by Canadian publisher Raincoast Books.
Short Takes
An affair with verse
Randeep Wadehra
-
The Contours of Punjabi Poetry
by NS Tasneem Jaswant Printers,
Ludhiana. Pages: 160. Rs. 200.
-
The Mysterious Goldpin
by Maharaj Bahadar Singh Tiwana
Unistar, Chandigarh. Pages: 111. Rs 150.
-
Bright Lights Big
Buddha
by Anil CS Rao Frog Books,
Mumbai. Pages: 60. Rs 95.
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