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Gitanjali | Bookstagrammer

@read.with.g

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Freelance MarCom Consultant & Non-fiction Ghostwriter + aspiring novelist

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I read just two books in September, taking my time with both.

I am still mulling over The Scarlet Letter, and will share my thoughts soon, but my review for Everything The Light Touches is up on my feed, ICYMI. It was a unique book that I enjoyed very much. Maybe it could have been just a tad shorter though.

I have also been listening to The Iliad audiobook. I am about 33% into it, and I get the feeling I wouldn’t be enjoying it as much had I chosen to read instead of listen.

What was your favourite read of September? And do you have any spooky reads lined up for October?
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#bookrecommendations #classicbookstagram #indianbookstagrammer #19thcenturybooks #backlistbooks by @read.with.g

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2 days ago

Everything The Light Touches by Janice Pariat @janicepariat is a novel that forces you to slow down; to consider your place in this world and within nature. To race through it is to do it injustice.

The book is divided into the stories of four people (two based on fictional characters and two based on real-life figures) and is split into seven sections. Though the people are not connected to each other in the traditional sense, and are from different eras, the common thread of finding and pursuing one’s path in life runs through the book, as well as the connection between human beings and plants.
Sections 1-4 are: Shai (a present-day young Khasi woman who returns to her hometown Shillong, after losing her job in Delhi), Evie (a young Edwardian woman whose passion in life is Botany, and who travels to India in the early 1900s), Johann (Johann Van Goethe, the famous German polymath) and Carl (Carl Linnaeus, the biologist responsible for the way we classify and name living organisms today)
Sections 5-7 continue the stories of the first three characters respectively, but in opposite chronological order:Johann-Evie-Shai.

To me the structure of the book felt like an acknowledgement of the idea that there can be many ways to find one’s path in life. In the middle, Carl Linnaeus represents someone who knows exactly what he wants and goes about achieving it the traditional way, assigning order to everything, breaking things down, separating them. Goethe’s story flanks Linnaeus’s, with his very different way of looking at the same subject that the former did; his method more holistic, more unusual and pathbreaking, full of wonder and possibility. On either side of Goethe we have Evie’s story, that of a lady who knows what path she wants to go down, but finds it difficult to pursue because of the era she is born in. The last circle is Shai’s story, a woman who is yet to find her path and is struggling to do so.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS ⬇️
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#backlistbooks #indianauthors #fictionbooks #indianliterature #indianbookstagrammer by @read.with.g

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5 days ago

New acquisitions
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#classicbookstagram #indianbookstagrammer #janeausten #tayarijones #stephenking by @read.with.g

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14 days ago

A moving, enraging, powerful book.
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#indianclassicbooks #penguinmodernclassics #indianbookstagrammer #classicbookstagram #bookquotes |classic Indian literature by @read.with.g

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a month ago

Ritualising the writing process; inspired by @aspace2write

Featuring a Ritual of Sakura candle from @ritualscosmetics
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#writing #writerlife #indianbookstagrammer #writingprocess by @read.with.g

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a month ago

After hardly reading in June and July, because I was busy either holidaying or spending time with family and friends from out of town (including a much awaited school reunion that was so good for my soul ✨), August seems to have brought things back to normal programming as far as reading goes.
I finished two books that I had been slow-reading over several months, and three that were quick reads.

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich was a good follow up to Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which I read earlier this year, as it is set on a Native American reservation in the mid 1950s.

I took my time (around seven months) with @drmirandakaufmann ‘s Heiresses, a well-researched and detailed non-fiction account of the lives of nine women whose begotten wealth had origins in human exploitation and fortune-hunting, highlighting also Britain’s role in the slave trade.
Hot gossip: Jane Austen’s aunt is one of the featured women!

I also read books set in India after a long time, and both reads, Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand did not disappoint. Both reviews are on my feed, ICYMI.

I even managed to find a little time to fan the flames of my love for Russian literature, with the short but powerful The Death Of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy.

So, for me, August, which also happens to be my birthday month, did NOT slip away into a moment in time! It was treasured, well-spent and filled with making happy reading and non-reading memories, while it also reinforced my reading and non-reading relationships that have stood the test of time.

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#readingwrapup #classicbookstagram #indianbookstagrammer #classicbooks #backlistbooks by @read.with.g

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a month ago

Some excerpts from The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

This was a 5-star read for me.

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#russianliterature #classicbookstagram #19thcenturyliterature #leotolstoy #indianbookstagrammer by @read.with.g

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a month ago

In Untouchable, Mulk Raj Anand invites the reader to empathise with the life of a Dalit (Harijan) living in pre-independent India.
Published in 1935, and written in English, the book follows a day in the life of a young sweeper named Bakha who thinks highly of himself, is intelligent and is completely taken up with the lifestyle and fashion of the white man.
As he goes about completing his tasks, he is treated in an inhumane manner by most, and at the very least with disdain. He tries to be upbeat at times, using his imagination to think of a better life, but in the end he is beaten down by what he encounters—his father’s haranguing, his sister being abused by a high caste person, in addition to the humiliation he faces because of the mere fact that he is the offspring of an untouchable.

While the story serves to showcase Bakha’s frustration on one hand, it also provides an outlet for the author’s rage towards a cruel system, and offers the reader the opportunity to pause and reflect on that which is unjust.

Anand’s story highlights both, the construct of the caste system within Hinduism as well as the context of being an outcast in colonial India, while in the process making a case for the abolishment of untouchability.

I enjoyed Anand’s use of the Sun as a symbol of hope and enlightenment, interspersed as it was in so many places in the book, which otherwise is set against the backdrop of squalor and hardship. I also thought he showcased the theme of contrasts very well, for example through Bakha’s experience and opportunities vs that of those who were not outcasts, Bakha’s reality vs his dreamy aspirations, and Bakha’s constant inner turmoil vs his having to toe the line.

By ending the book with a visit by Gandhi to Bakha’s town, where he gives a speech, the author in many ways captures India on the brink of change, not only in terms of the fight for Independence, but also during the time that Gandhi campaigned against untouchability.

I enjoyed this book and I think it is one that must feature on any list of best Indian Historical Fiction.

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#indianliterature #indianbookstagrammer #classicbookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookrec by @read.with.g

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a month ago

If you know my reading preferences, you’ll know that a little book that packs a big punch is amongst my favourite kinds of reads.

And if you’ve read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, it should come as no surprise that this little book by Leo Tolstoy fits that bill perfectly.

In less than 120 pages, TDOII manages to say so much about life choices/priorities, as well as death. It is is an excellent observation on how one can get caught up and completely lost in the pursuit of building a picture-perfect life; a life that is solely to prove something to the world to show that one has arrived; a life that chases money, status and material acquisitions; a life that often can’t see reality for what it is, that ignores the restlessness that lies within and ignores the knowing that this kind of a lifestyle is all for naught.

It is a cautionary tale that, sadly, though it was published in 1882, feels like it was written specifically for today’s world. Walk out onto the street right now and throw a stone, and the chances of it landing on a person like Ivan Ilych or his wife are pretty high. I kept asking myself — why does this feel like a modern day story!

There are many other aspects to the book that I won’t go into here for lack of space, but another one that really stood out is Tolstoy’s observations on death and his empathy for a dying person. I was quite moved by some of the things he seemed to recognise: “There were some moments, after long periods of suffering, when what Ivan Ilyich wanted more than anything else — however embarrassed he would have been to admit it — what he wanted was for someone to take pity on him as if he were a sick child. He wanted to be kissed and cuddled and have a few tears shed over him in the way that children are cuddled and comforted.”

This is a book I would recommend to any kind of reader, no matter your genre preference. Read it. Ask your adult children to read it. Do it today.
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#classicbookstagram #russianliterature #bookreview #19thcenturyliterature #leotolstoy by @read.with.g

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2 months ago

Excerpts from Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
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#indianliterature #partitionliterature #indianbookstagrammer #backlistbooks #womensliterature |book quotes| by @read.with.g

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2 months ago

If you’ve never read a book on the Partition of India, I think this is a good place to start.

Independence is an engaging and moving story set during the major political events that occurred in India between 1946 and 1948.

The story doesn’t go too deep into all the political and religious angles, but definitely gives enough of an overview to understand why things panned out the way they did, the tragedy of human displacement, the horrors of communal violence and the suffering that ensued.

Set against the backdrop of the birth of a new nation, a country in transition and turmoil, @divakarunichitra ‘s story is about three sisters that live in rural India and whose lives are suddenly and dramatically turned upside down, brought on by the events of Direct Action Day.

It’s a fictional story of one family that represents the reality of many who lived during this time.

As with many of her other novels, Divakaruni focuses on the woman’s POV in this one too. The transition of India is mirrored in many ways by the transition of the three sisters—each within their own realm, taking on new roles, seeking independence, pursuing aspirations… while at the same time feeling the yoke of roles and responsibilities traditionally expected of women. I absolutely loved that none of the sisters was ‘perfect’ and that the author portrayed them in all their glorious, not always palatable, feminine splendour.

The novel also made me think about how far women in India have come since Independence, about those that lit the way for others (Sarojini Naidu for example), but also how, sadly, in way too many other ways, things haven’t changed, or have perhaps even become worse.

As for the pacing, the amount of suspense, and the length of the novel—just perfect! 👌

I enjoyed this easy-to-read book very much, and I am so glad I own a signed copy 🤩

What’s a book on Partition you’d recommend? I thought Train To Pakistan was very good, and I’ve heard that Tamas is a must-read, but would love more recommendations.

#womensliterature #indianliterature #partition1947 #indianbookstagrammer #bookreview by @read.with.g

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2 months ago

Set on a Native American reservation, and based in part on true events, The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich is a novel that blends historical fact and fiction with magical realism, and highlights the cultural discrimination faced by America’s indigenous people.

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#bookquotes #louiseerdrich #backlistbooks #indianbookstagrammer #pulitzerprizewinner by @read.with.g

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2 months ago