Towards intolerance
M. Rajivlochan
The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva and Beyond
by Achyut Yagnik and Suchitra Sheth. Penguin.
Pages 328. Rs 350.
This readable and informative book about the history of Gujarat by a couple of non-historians tells us how a society can easily forget history’s lessons once it puts all its energies into creating more and more wealth. It makes extensive use of the published histories and sociologies of Gujarat.

So many truths
Rachna Singh
Bougainvillea House
by Kalpana Swaminathan.
Penguin Books India.
Pages 346. Rs 395.
"Truth is a cliff at sunset…it’s different every time, and each time as true." Swaminathan leads the reader through a maze of truths and half-truths in this psychological thriller. Slowly but steadily, she peels away layers of half-truths and untruths to reveal a layer of truth, but the reader is left wondering if that is indeed the final truth. "So many truths, to so many people—which one shall I choose for you?" challenges Swaminathan in this game of hide-and-seek played out by the reader and the writer.

On the stinky wicket
Anil Bhat
Indian Cricket and Corruption
by Kishin R Wadhwaney.
Siddharth Publications. Rs 600.
Le affair de Sourav Ganguly has brought to the fore yet again the ailments affecting Indian cricket. Apart from being a national mania, cricket is also probably the most politicised of games in the country. Amongst team games in India, it has suffered the most, owing to politics, power play, high level of competition and even higher levels of corruption.

Incredible innings
Jonathan Brown
John Fowles, the author of French Lieutenant’s Woman, enthralled a generation before slipping spectacularly out of literary fashion, has died aged 79. The reclusive author died last week at his home overlooking the sea in Lyme Regis in Dorset, which he shared with his second wife. He had been ill for several years following a stroke in 1988 and later developed heart problems.

A journey through words
Deepika Gurdev recounts her experiences at the readers’ and writers' festival in Ubud, Indonesia
As far as festivals go, you can’t get any better than this. I had an accidental meeting with Janet de Neefe at a media conference for the Singapore Writers Festival around July 2005. I was one of those noisy journos, asking tons of questions: why can’t we have an equivalent of a FLIP—the celebrated Brazilian Literary Festival on Southeast Asian shores? How many big book launches? How many Indian authors? And you get the drift. Ignorant me didn’t know that sitting in our midst was someone who had created just that in Ubud in 2004.

Security matters and how
Himmat Singh Gill
Alternative Approaches To Security
By R.Radhakrishnan, Prafulla Ketkar, Aisha Sultanat Edited by P.R. Chari Samskriti
Pages 446. Rs 875
The publication of a large number of books in India on the subject of security is a trend that needs to be welcomed, not only by those who delve in this art directly or indirectly but also by the average reader who has so far been ignorant of the far- reaching consequences of such a potent reality.

Spicy treat
Aradhika Sekhon
Lipstick Jungle
by Candace Bushnell.
Abacus. Pages 432. £ 2.50
Well, if you are looking for a masala potboiler with doses of power play and convoluted relationships, here is the book for you. Written by the author of the popular bestseller, Sex and the City, this book is all that the titillating title suggests. Lipstick Jungle is the story of three women —Victory, Wendy and Nico, who are surfing the high tide of success.

The Lolita phenomenon
Gagandeep Ghuman
Lolita , light of my life , fire of my loins….
Vladmir Nabokov rejoiced in oxymorons. The pious and the perverse, the comic and the tragic, the physical and the spirtual; in his magical use of language the seemingly inconsistent come together with delightful ease. When it comes to weaving a tapestry of conflicting emotions, Nabokov is an exceptionally gifted wordsmith. And his magnum opus, Lolita, an unsettling but riveting tale of a middle-aged professor’s obsession with a teenage girl, is the very apotheosis of his teasing prose and comic brio.

SHORT TAKES
Answer your way to untold riches
The Ultimate Quiz Challenge
by Derek O’Brien Penguin. Pages. 345. Rs. 250
There was a time when quiz contests were confined to extra-curricular activities at school, and one participated for the pleasure of impressing parents, teachers and peers. The winner got a pat on the back or applause, with a medal or certificate thrown in as bonus.

• Burning Soil
  by Baldev Singh Dhaliwal (translator: Inder Singh Khamosh)
  M.P. Prakashan, Delhi. Pages: 223. Rs. 250.

• Komagata Maru
  by Gurdev Singh Sidhu Unistar, Chandigarh. Pages: 343.Rs 695

Maximum City shortlisted
Suketu Mehta’s book praising and lamenting Mumbai has been short-listed for this year’s Guardian First Book Award. The list is dominated by non-fiction and includes Reza Islan’s No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam. Mehta’s book, Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, has already won the Kiriyama prize for new Pacific rim literature.

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