The Blog of Small Things

  Name : Why the poor don't kill us Author : Manu Joseph     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Non - Fiction     Rating : **** ( Four stars out of 5) Manu Joseph , the original and provocative novelist, saves these adjectives for reviewers to describe him in his first work of non-fiction as well. He takes up the burning topic of the poor and inequality , asks some disturbing questions and answers them in his typical irreverent and witty manner. No one's hypocrisy (sample : "And the disdain that Arundhati Roy has for Mukesh Ambani's giant home - wouldn't a malnourished tribal feel the same about Roy's affluent home in Delhi's prime Jor Bagh? ") is spared in his inimitable manner. The author's style may infuriate many but that is exactly his aim. He concludes : "As long as there are the rich, there will be the poor". As long as there is hypocrisy in this society, Manu will keep waging such verbal battles.

Name : Test Cricket - A History Author : Tim Wigmore     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Non - Fiction, Cricket     Rating : ***** ( Five stars out of 5) The author combines romance with hard-nosed analysis to pen a free-flowing and arresting biography of Test Cricket. To decide on a structure for a book covering 150 years itself is a hairsplitting exercise but Wigmore aces the three S's beautifully : structure, statistics and style. The short biographical sketches thrown in inside every chapter are a delight. While obituaries have always been written for test cricket, Wigmore writes a passionate love letter of nearly 600 pages which makes us remember why we fell in love with the format in the first place and underlines why those obituaries are perennially immature.

  Name : The Rise of the Hitman Author : R.Kaushik     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Non - Fiction, Cricket, Biography     Rating : **  ( Two stars out of 5) R.Kaushik is a competent writer who has previously co-written memoirs of V.V.S.Laxman and Gundappa Viswanath.  Rohit Sharma's successes are covered well but the more important bits of how he coped with failure and depression when he was dropped from the 2011 World Cup squad are not given adequate printspace. The book would have been better had it been a contemporary history of Indian cricket post-Dhoni giving equal space to Kohli, Sharma and others. Rohit's successes alone  do not have enough variety to warrant a longform biography.

Name : Captain Vijayakanth Author : Pa.Dheenadayalan     Year of Publication : 2024     Genre : Non - Fiction, Cinema, Biography     Rating : ** 1/2 ( Two and a half stars out of 5) The author's deep knowlege about Kollywood shines through in this dramatised biography of Vijayakanth. The author's USP is that he is a storehouse of random trivia which will enthrall the diehard cinema buff. Vijayakanth's life is a curious mix of touching philanthropy, boxoffice success and political failure. The book captures all these phases in a balanced and readable manner.  

Name : The Saffron Storm Author : Saba Naqvi     Year of Publication : 2024     Genre : Non - Fiction, Politics     Rating : *** ( Three stars out of 5) The author is a journalist and a fellow-traveller who has chronicled the rise and fall (and rise) of BJP over the past 3 decades. That the author is a Muslim adds spice. The author steers clear of ideological judgements and opinionated writing. Her forte is reportage and she clearly sticks to that. The best portions cover the day-to-day functioning of the first ever non-Congress coalition government to have completed a full term. The most interesting anecdote relates to Vajpayee's strategy on handling USA's request to mobilise Indian troops for it's operations in Iraq.  A good read to compare and contrast the times of Vajpayee and Modi.

  Name : 2024 : The election that surprised India Author : Rajdeep Sardesai     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Non - Fiction, Politics     Rating : ** 1/2 ( Two and a half stars out of 5) Rajdeep Sardesai, the newsman, is in fine form here as he chronicles the travails and moods of every major political player over the 2019-2024 election cycle. A particular highlight is the chapter wherein he profiles 10 MPs who defied odds and money power to emerge as inspirational victors. But the problem with Rajdeep the commentator is his desperation to keep showing that he is neutral with his "On the other hand" narratives. He will do well to remember Desmond Tutu : "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor".