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There are some books that I think everyone would benefit from reading. ‘Memorial’ by Bryan Washington is one of those rare ones that nudges our conscience and forces us to question our beliefs. The impact might not be immediately felt but stories like this, I believe, are essential to slowly chip away our biases and stubbornness. 

Memorial is the story of two gay men, Micheal and Benson. They have been together for four years and a kind of complacency has set in. Then Mike leaves for Japan, to visit his dying father. Ben is stuck at home in Texas, America, with Mike’s mother, Mitsuko, whose visit coincides with Mike’s trip. Soon, Mike is helping his father at his bar, thinking of taking over the family business. He has also met someone. Ben has settled into a comfortable, homey routine with Mitsuko. The distance gives the two time to reevaluate their relationship and figure out what they want for themselves.

But Memorial is so much more than a gay love story. The focus isn’t just on the couple’s relationship. It’s about what made them the people they are—their convoluted, dysfunctional relationships with their parents, coming to terms with their sexuality, and the lessons they learn as they navigate life’s ups and downs. Then there are all these side characters whose stories teach you a thing or two about love, loss, and being true to yourself.

I especially liked the brilliant exploration of the parent-child relationship. For anyone struggling with issues with their parents, reading Memorial is extremely cathartic. It makes you feel less alone—that maybe you aren’t the only unlucky one as you sometimes tend to think, that perhaps our relations with our parents can never be fully understood or that they can never be as good as we wish.

Washington’s prose is stunning. I suppose that is often the case when an author is clear about his subject and characters. He also writes with a lot of empathy. You feel for even the most problematic of characters—and there are a few of them. Reading Memorial is a stark yet comforting reminder that all human beings are inherently flawed, and that makes this unjust world feel a little more bearable. 

About the author

Bryan Washington is an American writer whose debut short story collection ‘Lot’ was published in 2019. Memorial, his first novel, came out a year later but rights to adapt it to television were sold before its publication. His work has been published in The New York Times, New Yorker, and BBC, among others. He is the recipient of the O. Henry award and the 2020 International Dylan Thomas Prize. 

Four stars

Fiction

Memorial

Bryan Washington 

Published: 2020

Publisher: Atlantic Books

Pages: 303, Paperback

Bookstores in Kathmandu suddenly started stocking up on Lisa Jewell’s thriller novels as ‘every other person kept asking for them’. I’d heard of her, and even downloaded one of her books (‘The Family Upstairs’) on Kindle. But I had never gotten around to reading it. I picked up ‘The Night She Disappeared’ as authors like Lee Child, Marian Keys, Lucy Foley, and Harlan Coben, to name a few, were raving about it. Coben calls it Jewell’s best thriller yet and Child says the suspense is insane. But I thought The Night She Disappeared was okay. It’s not the best thriller I’ve read, definitely not even one of the good ones. But I had fun while it lasted. 

The story follows the disappearance of 19-year-old teen-mother Tallulah and her boyfriend Zach. It’s 2017 and Tallulah goes on a date with her boyfriend, leaving her baby son Noah with her mother, Kim. The next morning, Kim wakes up to find her daughter hasn’t returned. She calls Tallulah’s friends and finds that she and Zach were last seen at a pool party in a private property near the woods in Surrey. She goes there to inquire and is told that they had called a taxi and left in the wee hours of the morning. 

It’s hinted that maybe the couple ran away. But Kim knows something is off. Tallulah wouldn’t just not come home. She wouldn’t leave Noah like that. A year later, the case has gone cold with no more leads to pursue. Sophie Beck, a mystery writer, moves into a house near the property where Tallulah was last seen. She comes across a sign that says ‘Dig Here’. There she finds a ring that Zach had bought for Tallulah. She then tries to piece together what might have happened that fateful night.   

The story is narrated from three different perspectives—Kim’s, Sophie’s and Tallulah’s. That keeps things fresh and interesting. However, you will easily be able to guess what’s going on, especially if you read thrillers. The writing isn’t that great either. The language feels a little lame at times. But I’d still recommend it if you want a light, breezy read to get your mind off something that is bothering you. 

About the author

Lisa Jewell is a New York Times and Sunday Times #1 bestselling author. Since her debut novel was published in 1999, she has written 18 more books and they have been published worldwide in 25 languages. She is best known for a number of dark psychological thrillers like ‘The Girls’, ‘Then She Was Gone’, and ‘The Family Upstairs’. She was born and lives in London.

Three stars 

Fiction

The Night She Disappeared

Lisa Jewell

Published: 2021

Publisher: Penguin Books

Pages: 482, Paperback 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55922299-the-night-she-disappeared

Prayaag Akbar’s debut novel ‘Leila’ was adapted into a Netflix series by Deepa Mehta. Starring Huma Qureshi, Rahul Khanna, and Sanjay Suri, among others, the series has six episodes and ends on a cliffhanger. I believe you should always read the book first and then watch its film or TV adaptation but, invariably, there are times I do the opposite. And I always regret it. Leila, the book is better than Leila, the series. The series is a little dramatized while the story in the book feels raw and real. Akbar writes well. It’s easy to conjure up scenes in your head. 

Essentially a story about a mother looking for her missing daughter, Leila is set in a dystopian world—a world that seems likely in the near future. It’s unsettling because of its plausibility. The world is divided into ‘sectors’, according to religion in order to maintain ‘purity’. Protected by walls and guarded by Repeaters (young men given the authority to enforce random rules to keep separate people according to race, class, and religion), people need permission to enter these sectors. Anyone who doesn’t follow strict rules is harshly punished. 

At the start of the novel, we see Shalini, the novel’s narrator, and her husband Rizwan, gearing up to celebrate their daughter’s birthday. Next thing we know, Shalini is in a ‘purity camp’—a place meant for women who don’t follow the rules. She’s lost her husband (he’s beaten brutally and probably killed) and her daughter (she vanishes along with her nanny, Sapna). From the camp, she’s sent to live in the Towers outside the city. As broken as her spirit might be, she’s determined to search for her daughter and 16 years on, she’s relentless in her pursuit. 

Leila is a great commentary on how class and religion divide us. It’s a reminder of our  bleak future if we continue to let traditional social constructs determine our actions. The book is also a heartfelt portrayal of maternal love, of the lengths a mother will go to care for and protect her child. Shalini, Akbar’s heroine, could be anyone of us. She’s not courageous or noble. She’s as good or bad as her circumstances. One minute you find yourself hating her for being so stubborn and then loving her the next as you see she’s trying and failing and yet not giving up. 

Those who read and love dystopian stories will perhaps get a sense of déjà vu. It’s oddly reminiscent of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. But Leila is dark and disturbing (and thus you are hooked) because it’s easy to imagine a future where things are happening exactly as described in the book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34932175-leila 

Three stars

Fiction

Leila

Prayaag Akbar

Published: 2017

Publisher: Simon & Schuster 

Pages: 263, Paperback 

If I could only read one book for the rest of my life, it would have, until recently, been ‘A Man Called Ove’ by Fredrik Backman. Now I will replace that with Backman’s latest book ‘Anxious People’. It’s that good. Backman is a fantastic writer who understands human complexities and insecurities like no other author I’ve read. Anxious People made me happy. It made me sad. I laughed. I cried. It was such an immersive read. There are many characters but I can’t pick a favorite. They all have little pieces of my heart. 

A hilarious, outrageous novel about a robber who fails to rob a bank but sparks a hostage drama, the book touches issues of love, marriage and parenthood among many others. It’s very thought-provoking and uplifting. The story begins with a hostage drama. The hostage-taker has many problems in life—he is short on rent, and without a permanent place to stay he risks losing the custody of his daughter. But then he ends up trying to rob a cashless bank. When the cashier calls the police, he runs into a nearby apartment and takes hostage those who have come for the viewing. 

Among the hostages are a lesbian couple, Julia and Ro, who is expecting a baby, an 87-year-old woman Estelle, Zara, a uber-rich bank manager who is in therapy for depression, Anna-Lena and Roger, a long-married couple who buy and renovate properties and sell them for a profit, Lennart, a rabbit (won’t say more because spoiler alert!) and a real estate agent. Then there are the cops: Jim and Jack. They are also father and son. The hostage situation is their first ever ‘big’ case and they have to google to find out how to deal with it. 

Every character has his/her own backstory and so there’s a lot going on. But Backman juggles them with ease. You don’t lose track of the main plotline when the characters take you through their individual lives. You can see yourself or your loved ones in them. You can relate to their flaws. You struggle with the same problems. It’s all very humbling and calls for some introspection. 

Backman has battled anxiety and depression all his life and he explores these complex topics in all his books. In Anxious People, the book that apparently took the longest to write according to the author, these mental health issues are once again taken up with love and compassion. Despite dealing with heavy topics, the novel is refreshing and fun as Backman is witty and that keeps the narrative non-preachy. I’ve already recommended the book to my family and friends and I can’t wait to discuss it with them when they are done.

Five stars 

Fiction

Anxious People

Fredrik Backman

Translated by Neil Smith

Published: 2020

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Pages: 339, Hardcover

People gather on an island, off the coast of Ireland, for a wedding. The groom, Will, is a rising television star. He is handsome and charming. The bride, Julia, runs a successful magazine. She is driven and smart. Everything has been planned meticulously, by Aoife and Freddy, under Julia’s strict instructions. 

But as the couple’s friends pour in, secrets and grudges are slowly revealed. People don’t like one another even when they seem really amicable and close. They are cut off from the rest of the world. The cell phone service is spotty. Then someone ends up dead. ‘The Guest List’ by Lucy Foley creates an atmospheric wedding vibe where tensions run high. There’s no mystery from the beginning of the story but you get the idea that something is off despite the perfect, ultra-glamorous setting. 

None of the characters is particularly likable. They all seem to have an ulterior motive. Johnno tricks Will into making him the best man and then forgets his suit at home. The bridesmaid, Olivia, who is Julia’s half-sister, ruins hers on purpose. Hannah, who is married to the bride’s best friend, Charlie, isn’t comfortable with the bond her husband shares with Julia. It doesn’t help that Charlie has started drinking since getting on the island, and alcohol always makes the otherwise calm geography teacher a bit aggressive. Aoife, the wedding planner, offers a 50 percent discount to host the wedding on the island. She wants to promote it in Julia’s magazine, The Download. But is that all she wants? 

There’s a lot going on—it’s sometimes a bit much to grapple with but in a good way. Also, the story is narrated from six POVs which keeps things interesting. I’m a sucker for thrillers and murder mysteries. It’s my guilty pleasure. It’s a great distraction from whatever is bothering me in life. For a few hours, I can stress about someone else’s problems and that, as weird as it sounds, is a wonderful way to create some distance from my own issues.

The Guest List is outlandish. It is ominous. And I loved it for the sense of fearful anticipation I felt in the days I was reading it. It also has a very Agatha Christie vibe to it—a cleverly concocted plot with plenty of juicy secrets for readers to discover as they read. This is the kind of book you’ll find yourself binge-reading, eager to find out how it ends. I now want to read the author’s most recent release ‘The Paris Apartment’—about a journalist who mysteriously disappears while living in an apartment in Paris. I need Foley to tell me another story.  

Four stars

Fiction

The Guest List

Lucy Foley

Published: 2020

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Pages: 378, Paperback

Cho Nam-Joo’s novel ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982’ centers on a woman who goes about her daily life in South Korea. It sounds simple enough. Yet the story—about everyday sexism that women face in their personal and professional lives—is moving and makes you think. It narrows in on how women, in South Korea and the world over, face unnecessary pressures, scorn, sexism and even assault and how they can lead to a loss of self and lack of confidence. The book was published in 19 countries, becoming an instant bestseller in Japan, China, and Taiwan, and has sold more than two million copies. 

Middle-class, 30-something Kim Jiyoung, whose mind starts unraveling suddenly, could easily be any woman we know. She has dealt with the effects of Korea’s misogynistic society from a young age. Her paternal grandmother is disappointed by her birth. She had hoped for a grandson. As a child, Jiyoung had to share a room with her elder sister while her brother got his own. At work, she is overlooked for a promotion. Men make random remarks about her appearance and her father blames her when she is stalked. When she becomes a mother, she has to give up work to look after her child. 

Jiyoung also endures many cases of sexual assault and discrimination in her life. Her school had many male teachers who sexually assaulted young girls. One of her male high school teachers touched female students in class using a pointer stick: “He carried around a pointer that had a hand pointing just the index finger on the tip, which he used to poke girls in the breast under the guise of drawing attention to missing nametags, or to lift girls’ skirts to “check their school uniform.” 

At work, there’s a hidden spy camera in the ladies’ room and men pass around naked photos of their female colleagues. When found out, the company’s director tries to brush the incident under the carpet saying, “The accused male employees have families and parents to protect. Do you really want to destroy people’s lives like this? Do you want people to find out that your pictures are out there?” 

Sexism dictates the lives of most women and through Jiyoung we are made to realize just how it can potentially ruin us, sometimes even without us noticing until it’s too late. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is a slim book but it will take you time to finish it because the content is quite heavy. Cho Nam-Joo’s fiction is backed by hard facts in the form of statistics and reports that are cited as footnotes. You might find yourself googling these articles to learn more. I certainly did—actually, going through the references online took more time than reading the book. All in all, the book is an important read that calls for some much-needed introspection.

Three and half stars

Fiction

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Cho Nam-Joo

Published: 2020

Publisher: Liveright

Pages: 176, Paperback 

If you are in the mood for a creepy story that makes the hairs at the back of your neck stand, I suggest you read ‘The Sun Down Motel’ by Simone St. James. It’s a bit slow and there aren’t many jump scares but it feels like watching a good suspense thriller movie. The vibe is kind of like that of ‘The Shining’ by Stephen King, perhaps the ultimate horror book/movie set in a hotel. The Sun Down Motel is a family drama, ghost story, and murder mystery all rolled in one. The initial few chapters feel a bit bleak and that might make you want to stop reading. But once the story picks up pace—after a 100 or so pages—you can’t put it down. 

Told in two different timelines, The Sun Down Motel takes you to a small town in upstate New York. The setting is very eerie. In 2017, a young woman, Carly Kirk, arrives in Fell. She wants to find out what happened to her aunt, Viv Delaney, who disappeared from The Sun Down Motel in the 1980s. Carly’s mother never talked about her sister but Carly could sense that she was haunted by Viv’s disappearance till the day she died. 

For that reason, Carly has never been able to let go of the past and is determined to figure out just what happened to her aunt. She takes up the same job—as a night clerk—that Viv had when she disappeared and starts poking around. She finds out that nothing much has changed in Fell and at the motel since 1982 and is quickly ensnared in the same mysteries that apparently claimed her aunt. 

I don’t usually read books with ghosts and otherworldly stuff but I quite enjoyed this one. Maybe that’s because the supernatural element is just one aspect of the story. The plot moves forward even without it; the story’s mystery isn’t explained by the supernatural events. The ghosts give you goosebumps but the story is grounded in reality. Trigger warning: There are mentions of rape and some of it is horrifyingly graphic. The reason it’s a three-star read and not a four-star one is because the story wraps up a little too tidily for my liking. Otherwise, it’s a great book with just the right amount of twists and turns to keep you hooked.

Three stars

Fiction

The Sun Down Motel

Simone St. James 

Published: 2020

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 342, Paperback

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45885644-the-sun-down-motel

I’d heard and read a lot about Brit Bennett’s debut novel ‘The Mothers’, a story about the consequences of an unplanned teenage pregnancy. Unfortunately, our local bookstores could never get the book. So I settled for her second novel published four years after The Mothers, ‘The Vanishing Half’, when I found it at Pilgrims Book House in Jhamsikhel. 

Now, The Mothers was a smashing success. Often when there’s that pressure to come out with another equally good work, writers don’t deliver. But if The Mothers is even as half as good as The Vanishing Half, it’s going to be a phenomenal read: Bennett’s second novel is filled with intrigue, drama, and a rich, detailed setting that puts you, the reader, smack in the middle of all that is happening. 

It’s a story about twin sisters Desiree and Stella Vignes who are born and live in Mallard, a fictional town in Louisiana, where the residents are mostly light-skinned blacks. Nobody marries dark in this town and over time the population becomes lighter and lighter, like ‘a cup of coffee steadily diluted with cream’. But being lighter than the average blacks doesn’t protect them in an era when prejudices and racism run deep. 

The twin’s father is killed by a gang of white men and their mother works as a cleaner at a rich white lady’s house. Desiree and Stella know that if they continue to stay in Mallard, they won’t ever be safe or free despite their light skin tone and wavy locks. So they run away to New Orleans but after a year Stella leaves Desiree and the two end up leading entirely different lives: Stella passes off for white and Desiree marries the darkest man she can find. 

A decade later, the twin’s teenage children, dark-skinned Jude and blonde Kennedy, meet at a cocktail party. Initially they don’t know they are cousins but they soon find out that their mothers are sisters and how their lives have been shaped by the lies they had nothing to do with, their fates sealed by their mother’s decisions. Largely a story about racism and identity, The Vanishing Half also explores the fragility of relationships and the constant effort you need to put in to build the life you always dreamt of. 

Bennett seems to have a natural flair for writing and the story doesn’t drag on despite feeling a tad melodramatic at times. The Vanishing Half is a book of tremendous wisdom, forcing you to confront your hidden biases and misgivings about race, class, gender, and other societal constructs.

Three and half stars

Fiction

The Vanishing Half

Brit Bennett 

Published: 2020

Publisher: Dialogue Books

Pages: 366, Paperback