The Blog of Small Things

  Name : The Secret of Secrets Author : Dan Brown     Year of Publication : 2025     Genre : Fiction     Rating : **( 2 stars out of 5) Dan Brown's ever-reliable mix of guided tour in historical places, pseudo-science, decrypting codes and action thrills is back again in his latest novel, this time set in Prague. Every chapter ends with a cliff-hanger as usual, but the payoffs are meagre this time. The novel is long over but it meanders for atleast 100 more pages - first for a Dan Brown novel who usually unties all knots and ends immediately.  Balderdash but page-turning balderdash.

  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.