The Blog of Small Things

Name :  Battleground Bengal Author :  Sayantan Ghosh     Year of Publication : 2026     Genre : Non-fiction, Politics     Rating : ***  ( Three stars out of 5) Sayantan Ghosh's book is a well-researched primer on West Bengal's tumultuous electoral politics. It traces the journey of the major political players in West Bengal from the early days up to the present giving an overview of every factor that matters - caste,  religion, class struggles etc. What reduces it's sheen is that the author gets into Rajdeep Sardesai mode of "On one hand, On the other hand" balancing tricks so that he is seen to be neutral. A good introduction to the subject, nonetheless.  

  Name :  Heart Lamp Author :  Banu Mushtaq, Deepa Bhasthi (Translator)     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Fiction, Short stories     Rating : *** 1/2 ( Three and a half stars out of 5) An evocative collection of short stories which throws light on the gender dynamics and patriarchy in the lives of Muslim women in South India. While some of the stories like "Be a Woman once, oh Lord" and "Heart Lamp" leave a lump in one's throat with it's dreary endings, it is the rebellion in the women of "Black Cobras" and "High-heeled Shoe" which gives hope that not all is lost. Some stories like "A Taste of Heaven" and "A Decision of the heart" are elevated by the element of surprise in their denouement. Overall, an important work of translation which rises above the despair to hope for a better tomorrow for our women.

  Name :  Mother Mary Comes to Me Author :  Arundhati Roy     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Non-fiction, Memoir     Rating : *** 1/2 ( Three and a half stars out of 5) Arundhati Roy effortlessly blends the personal and political in her trademark polemic style. In the introduction, she gently guides us : "Read this book as you would read a novel". Had this been a novel, she would have faced criticism as the entire mother-daughter relationship and most of her life decisions cannot be explained by cold logic. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction. What dampens the impact is that we are privy to most of her early life memories through her first novel and all her political anxieties through her non-fiction since 1998. Hence, most of the material is already familiar to any Roy follower. It is a pity that Mrs.Roy is not alive to review her daughter's book. Would she have told a "Well done, baby girl"? Arundhati Roy may not feel optimistic a...

Name :  The God of Small Things Author :  Arundhati Roy     Year of Publication : 1997     Genre : Fiction, Novel     Rating : *****  ( Five stars out of 5) I had read this novel originally when I was in college - Kerala was merely a tourist spot to me then. After all these years of working in Kerala, revisiting the book made me see the geography, the politics, the caste dynamics afresh. The novel's non linear narration hurtles towards a heart-breaking denouement but what makes the work a new voice is the language it creates for the kids - Rahel and Estha. When you read a good novel, you enjoy reading it but it is over when it is over. When you read a great novel, the real impact of it begins much after you finish reading it. In a way, the novel turns all of us into Esthas - The novel is "lodged there, deep inside some fold or furrow, like a mango hair between molars. That couldn't be worried loose."

Name :  Kolayuthir Kaalam Author :  Sujatha     Year of Publication : 1981     Genre : Fiction, Novel     Rating : ***  ( Three stars out of 5) Sujatha is in fine form in this horror/crime thriller which oscillates between the occult and the rational. It is typical of  Sujatha that he has incorporated technical stuff like holography and laser barcodes into a novel way back in 1981. The character development of the protagonist Leena is a bit undercooked while Vasanth goes over the top in his "adult jokes". Overall, a heady mix of myth and science which stops short of clearly taking a side , thus adding more masala to a well made meal.

  Name :  Kolai Arangam Author :  Sujatha     Year of Publication : 1984     Genre : Fiction, Novel     Rating : * 1/2 ( One and a half stars out of 5) A Sujatha novel in the famed "Ganesh- Vasanth" series. The novel's plot is a hackneyed Agatha Christie template and the whodunit part is underwhelming. What keeps the novel going are the Vasanth witticisms. The Srilankan Eelam issue is just a topical one to add spice to the story as the novel was serialized in 1984. Overall, a below-par novel which still sells because of the author's reputation.