Nov 11
"Why did a nice soul like you decide to write a thriller?" Yeah, that’s what a truly nice soul ― I’m not one ― a soft-spoken lady I meet at the Madras Book Club, asked me one evening. We had gathered to listen to Shobhaa De talk about her book Sethji but the author was late by over an hour. “I was caught up in traffic, my God, it was horrendous… totally unexpected,” she said, apologizing profusely.
So, the audience had time to kill and we were making desultory conversation. This lady, let’s call her Tara, told m... Read more
Nov 07
She’s nine. She lives in Switzerland. And she’s cute as a button. She’s also probably the only kid in Switzerland who reads Enid Blyton, devouring series after series of The Famous Five, The Five Find-Outers and stories about the wishing chair, the naughtiest girl and the many elves and goblins who populate the world of Britain’s best-loved author. She’s also a fan of the Wimpy Kid Series
Here she is, wanting to take a peek into my book, The Madras Mangler, which she isn’t allowed to read yet. ... Read more
Oct 28
It riles me when we put down our youngsters and tell them to conform, to stay silent and to get along. Be nice, we say. As if that was the reason for which they were born. This is especially true when we speak to our daughters.
How does that old rhyme go? What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and all things nice. And boys? Well, they’re made of Slugs and snails and puppy-dogs' tails ― isn’t that so convenient?
In India, this is so well-entrenched that the role models held up to our girls ... Read more
Oct 21
Why do we pay good money to sit on the edge of our seats and watch a thriller like Silence of the Lambs? Or reread a book by Forsyth or Dan Brown? Thrillers are one of the most popular genres of books sold around the world. And that’s without including the horror genre ― movies like Poltergeist or books written by Stephen King and his tribe.
Here’s a look at some of the reasons for this eternal appeal of thrillers:
1. The good guys win in the end, reinforcing our moral sense that virtue should be r... Read more
