The four shortlisted Summer Reads this year all had plain writing styles making them easy to read despite some heavy themes. After some interesting discussion, the votes for Best Summer Read were spread equally over all 4 books, with one reader’s last vote tipping the balance in favour of “Afterlife.” “Afterlife” by Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic) was chosen as Best Summer Read 2021. Set in … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2021 – Afterlife
The four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group were all first novels by authors under the age of 40. There was a lot of originality in the styles of writing and they had some common themes: from political cleavages to mental health issues. When it came time to vote for Best Summer Read, we had to base the choice on only 3 of … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2019 – Sadness is a White Bird
“Sleeping on Jupiter” by Anuradha Roy (India) Review From a classic plot-driven novel to an unusual collective ‘novel-essay,’ the four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in structure, style of writing, and point of view. Our summer readers also noticed a recurrent theme in all four of dreams and their many meanings. At the end of the discussion, when it came … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2016 – Sleeping on Jupiter
“A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry (India) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Synopsis Set in mid-1970s India, “A Fine Balance” tells the story of four unlikely people whose lives come together during a time of political turmoil soon after the government declares a ‘State of Internal Emergency.’ Through days of bleakness and hope, their circumstances – and their … Continue reading A Fine Balance
“Narcopolis” by Jeet Thayil (India) Favourite Extract Instead of solving one problem he found another, he became an addict and he got lost in Bombay. But even in the lost years, or decades, he was reading. What did he read? Whatever came his way, he was unsystematic. He had no discipline and he could afford not to, after all he was not aiming to be … Continue reading Narcopolis
The four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in length, style of writing, and author’s experience from the seasoned writer to the relative newcomer. Our summer readers also noticed the recurrent presence in all four books of evil in its many forms! When it came time for voting, the choice for Best Summer Read 2013 was unanimous: “The Devil I Know” … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2013 – The Devil I Know
“The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy (India) Review For those who were reading this book for the first time, they said it took them a while to get into the story as they found the timeline unnecessarily confusing at the beginning. Readers, for whom it was the second or third read, said they enjoyed it more each time describing it as an amazingly … Continue reading The God of Small Things
“The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga (India) Book Club Favourite of Season 10 Review From the opening pages of the book, readers were drawn into the tale Balram is telling to the Chinese Premier by the humour and irony he uses. It had them laughing from the start. Although not all the readers warmed to Balram, most found him a compelling character. They felt the … Continue reading The White Tiger
Nicola's Book Club 