Moni's Nook: Review: Come, Before Evening Falls

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Review: Come, Before Evening Falls

Come, Before Evening Falls by Manjul Bajaj
Hachette India , 238 pages
Price: Rs.295

Manjul Bajaj’s debut novel is a strong, passionate story well told. The author offers insights into the culture, history and psyche of the Jat people of northern India’s heartland. Set in a Jat hamlet near Delhi in 1909, this is a tale of proud, upright men and women who will die to uphold the honor of family, community and country. The subtle feminist approach works well with full blooded women juxtaposed against well fleshed out and likeable male characters. The novel begins as a smoldering love story, with the threat of deadly social taboos simmering in the backdrop. The author interweaves social practices which sadly continue even today in pockets of rural India, such as the terrible practice of honor killings.
Read my complete review in Kitaab

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Going Home in the Rain and Other Stories by Monideepa Sahu

In this collection of short stories, strangers waiting at a bus stop take off on a magical journey. Going home in the rain can mean taking unlikely detours. A mother and son’s tour through a royal city becomes a journey of rediscovering each other. A traditional painter pours his life’s blood into his art. A lovely young mother proves herself to be beyond sweetness and light. Food becomes an instrument of torture in ‘Breakfast.’ A princess without a nose or a kingdom finds unexpected allies in the aftermath of a nuclear winter. Everyday situations and people reveal extraordinary facets. These radiant images range from warm and humane to poignant and chilling. They reveal the whimsy and playfulness, the raw edges, the heartbreak, and all things in-between that comprise the human condition.

‘A classic story teller’ SHASHI DESHPANDE

“Monideepa Sahu constructs her stories on strong, clear lines, building character, detail and mood, giving in the end, a glimpse of life.” USHA KR

Riddle of the Seventh Stone

Rishabh the rat and Shashee the spider are quite happy with the way they are: rummaging around in Venkat Thatha's wonderful, musty, dusty, rare herbs shop. Until, that is, they stumble upon a magical powder and find themselves transformed into human children.It’s not easy being a kid! There’s school and homework and wearing clothes and – yuk! – having to use soap… but even worse, their home is under threat from an evil moneylender known as the Shark. Can Rishabh solve the cryptic clues that lead to King Kempe Gowda’s fabulous treasure before the Shark can get to it? Will the vermin survive Ajji’s herbal pesticide attack? Will Shashee be able to spin her way out of this tangled web of intrigue? With the help off other children, friendly cockroaches, cheeky mosquitoes and a very Big Bandicoot, they set out of prove that no problem is too big even for the smallest of creatures. A 166 page novel best for readers in Std. 5th and above. Click on the picture to buy in India. The books is also on amazon.com and the publisher, Zubaan books, will ship to any country. Links below.

Music of the Stars and other love stories

A cool new anthology from Scholastic NovaMusic of the Stars and other Love Stories is an anthology of diverse, beautifully-written love stories that cover a range of themes and styles. From inter-galactic romances to magic realism to coming-of-age love stories this diverse collection contains contributions from various popular writers of young adult literature : *Aditya Bidikar *Anil Menon *Bikram Ghosh *Diksha Basu *Kenny Deroi Basumatary *Monideepa Sahu *Payal Dhar *Rasik Chopra *Salil Chaturvedi *Tharun James Jimani *Trisha Ray .

THE NEW ANTHEM:the subcontinent in its own words

My short story in a cross border collection by writers from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. South Asia first found its English voice in literature and in song in the nineteenth century. It changed and morphed over two hundred years so that it now boasts of as many registers as there are languages and dialects within its geographical frontiers.From Mohsin Hamid, Kamila Shamsie and Raj Kamal Jha to Amit Chaudhuri, Altaf Tyrewala, Padma Vishwanathan and Tabish Khair, this book anthologises 23 major writers of fiction who, with their original narrative styles, have reinterpreted the region s turbulent history at both personal and national levels.The New Anthem confirms that many of the most brilliant storytellers of world literature were born in the Indian subcontinent. Ahmede Hussain weaves the anthology together to make it a testimony to the brilliance of south Asian fiction.Click on the photo to buy at attractive discounts.

The Killer App and other paranormal stories

Gripping, haunting, uncanny, bizarre-12 paranormal stories to chill the heart.A wildly popular app that feeds on hatred; a trek that literally brings out the beast in man; a luxury resort you don t want to visit on a new-moon night; a swimming pool with a deadly secret.Murdering ghosts, enchanted amulets, a haunted medical school, an uncle with a resemblance to a vengeful lion... all these bring the paranormal uncomfortably close.These fiendishly unnerving tales by best-selling authors David Hair, Ranjit Lal, Deepa Agarwal,and others. My story is about a haunted medical school.

Africa-Asia anthology

An anthology of contemporary African and Asian short stories selected and edited from hundreds of submission by award winning authors Rohini Chowdhury and Zukiswa Wanner. The title, Behind the Shadows, is from one of the short stories in the collection by writer Tasneem Basha. The collection also includes Penguin-shortlisted author Isabella Morris; Caine Prize-shortlisted writer Lauri Kubuitsile; renowned Singaporean Young Artist Award recipient, author and poet, Felix Cheong; and emerging Indian writers Rumjhum Biswas, Monideepa Sahu, and Sucharita Dutta-Asane.Click on the photo to get the book at Amazon.com

Urban Voice 3: Bombay

Writings on and from one of the most vivacious cities of the world. The contributors include: Ranjona Banerji, Jane Bhandari, Derek Bose, Pratik Chowdhury, Atin Dasgupta, Rosalyn D mello, Fiona Fernandez, Naresh Fernandes, Reshma Ghosh, Aijaz Gul, Dan Husain, Abha Iyengar, Radhika Iyengar, Lajwanti S Khemlani, Ramendra Kumar, Freny Manecksha, Abhinav Maurya, Rajendar Menen, Vimla Patil, Sunil K Poolani, Anjali Purohit, Joy C Raphael, Dilip Raote, Monideepa Sahu, Murzban F Shroff, Riah Terri, Salil Tripathi.