Category: Book Reads

At Night All Blood Is Black is a dichotomy between the act of morality and malice shaped by the humankind

Featured ~ Amrita Duorah ~ 1 Comment

David Diop’s novel was much more than a gut-wrenching war tale, recounting the harrowing ordeal and experiences of the protagonist. To me, the book gave a glimpse of the human condition and what one is capable of doing under distressed situations, when rationality and morality seem to appear just as shallow as war and death … Continue reading At Night All Blood Is Black is a dichotomy between the act of morality and malice shaped by the humankind

Sometimes all that is left of a place are beautiful memories. Taran N. Khan’s Shadow City is a revisit to her beloved land—Kabul.

~ Amrita Duorah ~ 3 Comments

To think of Kabul and of the culture, the people, the snow-capped mountains surrounding the brown, barren landscapes—the 3000-year old city has always felt familiar. This is a land that I have never visited, but in my mind’s eye, Kabul is vivid and intriguing. Faces of young men and women with flushed cheeks and bony … Continue reading Sometimes all that is left of a place are beautiful memories. Taran N. Khan’s Shadow City is a revisit to her beloved land—Kabul.

Ruskin Bond’s My Favourite Nature Stories teaches about little pleasures of life

Featured ~ Amrita Duorah ~ 1 Comment

Tiny flowers blossoming through the cracks of neighborhood walls; dandelions thriving in the wilderness; water streams, making their way to a distant lake, shaping the terrain and sculpting the rocks on its path; trail of fallen leaves on that morning mountain hike; and the warmth of the afternoon sun on a cold wintry day—don’t they … Continue reading Ruskin Bond’s My Favourite Nature Stories teaches about little pleasures of life

An Individual’s Search for Solace: Becoming a Mountain was a special narrative

~ Amrita Duorah ~ 1 Comment

In a scene from Seven Years in Tibet, Heinrich Harrer (played by Brad Pitt) and the Dalai Lama (played by Bhutanese actor Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk) get into an intimate conversation. The latter asks Heinrich what does he like most about climbing. Henrich pensively answers that it is the simplicity that attracts him to the mountains; … Continue reading An Individual’s Search for Solace: Becoming a Mountain was a special narrative

Unaccustomed Earth: A Book That will Rekindle a Part of Your Life

~ Amrita Duorah ~ 1 Comment

Sometime back, I came across this piece in The New Yorker magazine. It was an interview with the Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri, on writing The Boundary and few other works in Italian. I read the narrative, which she had translated into English. I am glad she did. Perhaps, I would have never known her … Continue reading Unaccustomed Earth: A Book That will Rekindle a Part of Your Life

The Fountainhead: Worshiping Man’s Greatest achievements and the Spirit of not giving up

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Recreating a seminal work like this is a tough business. It stands as an extraordinary entity of its own – like a standalone giant monolith. Like Stonehenge, if I have to give you a visual idea. Published in 1943, rejected by twelve publishers, The Fountainhead was ahead of its time – whether in regard to … Continue reading The Fountainhead: Worshiping Man’s Greatest achievements and the Spirit of not giving up