All Those Who Wander by Kiran Manral - Book Review

NAME OF THE BOOK: All Those Who Wander 

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK: Kiran Manral 

GENRE: Science fiction / Time travel

BLURB

What if the past, present and future exist at once? What if you could rewrite your past? What if you could go back and change it around? What if you could protect the child you were from the trauma you know she will have to live through? What if you were living infinite versions of the same life simultaneously? This is the story of Ana, who is at a different age each time we meet her. But who is Ana—is she really who she says she is? A tangled tale of looped time and non-sequential lives, of guilt and repercussions, ‘All Those Who Wander’ turns the classic time-travel genre into a spine-tingling gorgeousness of who, what, when, where. Wouldn’t you take that one chance to heal your inner child?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kiran Manral has published multiple books across genres in fiction and nonfiction. She has been awarded the International Women’s Day Award 2018 by the Indian Council for UN Relations supported by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, Government of India, for excellence in the field of writing. She was listed as one of the Womennovator 1000 Women of Asia 2021. In 2022, she was named amongst the 75 Iconic Indian women in STEAM by Red Dot Foundation and Beyond Black, in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India, and British High Commission, New Delhi. She lives in Mumbai with her family and can be reached on twitter @KiranManral.

ABOUT THE BOOK

One of the wonderful things about reading is finding that next great author that you love. You read one of their books and instantly spend next few days hunting down their back catalogue. Experience has taught me not to read too many of these in a row as you start to see parallels in the books. But some times you come across an author who refuses to pigeonholed and Kiran Manral is one such author who has variety of books in her kitty.

Personally I am not one look back on my life, preferring to live and enjoy what I have in the present, but when I do it, it is about my time in school and university, that person I could have treated better or would have made extra effort to be a better at things. But what if you would have traumatic childhood and that had affected and changed your life drastically then, I am sure you would like to turn around the time for good.

All those who wander is the story about Ana who is also Nayna had a traumatic and painful childhood, she is time travelling by looking at her reflection in a mirror. Ana could travel through time and multiverses, pulling her one version from one universe and placing in another, hoping for a better world not realizing that this could entangle her life. The narrative goes back and forth between the past and the future leaving reader perplexed however this will make the reader more and more curious too.

There is a paragraph in a book which make things clear as to what's happening with Nayna or should I say Ana. The paragraph goes like this:

"Few of us have the ability to shift ourselves. Your time calls them time travelers. Some books and movies have already caught on to these, but your time can't explain how it is done. Neither can we. All we know is that a few humans can shift between dimensions. You are born with it, no one can teach you how to do it, no one can control it for you. You can move between times."

Though the story demands to be boxed in science fiction genre but has scores of emotions in it, be it love, thriller, fear or faith. 

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK

This book gave me goosebumps. Never tried this genre but now I can happily say that, I would love to read more of this.  Science fiction with time travel as a theme is not an easy read or write for that matter, as it takes time to connect, but ones you get the hang of it then there is no looking back.  Every character is so well defined that despite shifting from one time to another didn't seems difficult to understand, as there was a smooth transition.  

I would say, everyone should try reading this genre and if you are doing it for the first time than start with this book for sure. 

BOOK DETAILS

Book format: Paperback/ Kindle edition

Price: INR 282/INR 235.20 

Pages: 280

Publisher: Amaryllis 

Availability: Amazon

This Book is part of Blogchatter's #Book Review Program #TBR Challenge #BookChatter

The Naani Diaries by Riva Razdan- Book Review

Name Of The Book: The Naani Diaries

Author Of The Book: Riva Razdan

Genre: Romantic Fiction

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Riva Razdan is an author based in Mumbai. Her work has been featured in The Hindu Business Line, Grazia India and The Telegraph. Her debut novel, Arzu, was published by Hachette India in February 2021.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Naani Diaries is a painfully heart breaking, emotionally charged and beautifully crafted story of love, loss and healing. There is a romance that you feel with all your heart and soul. This book celebrates women who are independent, ambitious and brave. A well-conceived story about relationships be it mother-daughter, man-woman, friends and so on. It convinces us to believe in ourselves. A mere showcase of woman power. The protagonists in this book are mother (Mangala) -daughter (Radhika) and grandmother (Gayatri)who fought against all the odds particularly patriarchal society and conservative mindset. Radhika is an ambitious and a go getter and despite doing great in her professional life she was a disappointment when it comes to her love life. Heartbroken she decides to move to India and stay with her grandmother who was empathic and loving. As the name of the book suggests, "The Naani diaries" , Radhika get hold of her Naani's diary and was completely captivated with the love story , little she knew about the tragic ending which has not just changed her perspective but the life of her Naani too. Despite of all twist and turns, ups and downs and deep confusion, we can say "All's well that ends well".

There was this delicious push-pull tension between them that keeps you hooked and makes it an interesting read. The story is told in a mixture of flashbacks and present-day story lines which makes it very engrossing.

There is a subtle message which is hard hitting but something which needs to be told. You will witness different shades of women's personality and I am sure you can relate to at least one for sure. 

MY TAKE ON THE BOOK

The writing was flawless and just so raw and honest, with perfect pacing and a beautiful flow to it that fully conveyed every emotion that each character in the story went through.  I loved the writing as it captured the emotional intensity of the  love while balancing it out with touch of humor and other scenes that had me sitting there fanning myself from the hotness. It was the perfect balance!!

 There are no wasted words, no extra fluff. And despite the fact that it jumped back and forth in time, the segments were arranged in such a way that I was never once unsure of what was going on and the pacing and flow of the story was such that I there were no interruptions in my connection to the characters. You could just feel it in every scene that a great amount of thought, time and research had gone into the creation of this book.

This book leaves you in a good place, but also makes you desperate for more.

BOOK DEATILS

Book Format: Paper back/ Kindle edition

Price: INR 339/ INR 335.30

Pages: 564

Publisher: HarperCollins India

Availability: Amazon

This Post is part of the Blogchatter's  Book Review Program #TBRChallenge  #BookAChatter

OF Marriages and Madness by Sacheth - Book Review

 

Name of the book: OF Marriages and Madness

Author of the book: Sacheth

Genre: Fiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

Let's be very frank , if there is one steadfast truth that most married people can agree is that marriage isn't always easy. The book "OF Marriages and Madness" by Sacheth is a compilation of 8 stories that revolves around marriage and the different perspective surrounds the same. 

Each story has been woven beautifully by the author. They are thought provoking and relatable too. While reading you might connect to some and might reject some but you cannot ignore them. Author has left some stories with open end,  that might be frustrating for some but it helps you to be more imaginative and can bring up your creativity. Most of the stories are unpredictable and that's what makes it an interesting read. Do not expect happy endings as even in real life there is nothing called  black and white,  there is more of greys and probably that makes life challenging and fascinating at the same time. 

The Tiger Throne: Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan Retold by Preetha Rajah Kannan- Book Review

 Name of the Book: The Tiger Throne-Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan Retold

Author of the book: Preetha Rajah Kannan

Genre: Historical fiction

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Preetha Rajah Kannan has written five books on Indian mythology, edited a translation of the Telugu Navagraha Purana and contributed to several newspapers and magazines. A homemaker and mother to two sons, she lives in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. 

She is like neighbour and homemaker next door, excited about setting up the golu next week. But the difference is that at 53, Preetha Rajah Kannan has not one but 54 stories sold in a book and that seems to have opened the gates for her in the literary world.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Tiger Throne-Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan Retold is a historical novel set around 970 C.E. This book is a compact version of the Kalki's  2000 odd pages novel which was brilliantly written. It is about the Chola king and queens and princes and princesses and their friends and enemies. It has everything that one would expect in a historical novel from dashing warriors, beautiful princesses, secret passages, dark dungeons, sorcerers, spies, vengeance, romance and too many surprising revelations.

un PARENTING - Sharing Awkward Truths with Curious Kids By Reema Ahmad - Book Review

Name of the Book: un PARENTING- Sharing Awkward Truths with Curious Kids

Author of the Book:  Reema Ahmad

Genre: Non-Fiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

UnParenting is a great answer to every time you’ve ever wondered, “Is it just me, or is being a parent is actually challenging in today's time? Reema winningly leads us through the world of modern parenthood with both depth and breadth, in a voice that is insightful, relatable, and genuinely searching. Structuring her book, author weaves in her own experiences, her learnings and the story of people known to her, who have experienced difficult parenting and highlights what's changed and what hasn't to great effect. Reema split through many misconceptions of parenting with a great honesty. In her book, she has challenged the present notion of parenting competencies and hold on to a notion that parenting is not just about taking care of the child but being aware that we are bringing life on this earth and not just any commodity. 

By sharing her own examples, she has touched upon many issues which every parent by default faces in their lives while dealing with their children but are tend to keep under the hat for reasons only known to them, be it sex, consent, sexual abuse, trauma, divorce, bullying or body acceptance. Her tips on how to treat a child as an equal, being honest and speak your mind, empathizing with differences are very insightful and can help many parents. 

The book is very high at it's emotional quotient , that will navigate you through the murky world of emotions, self awareness, empathy and being grateful.