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Let me start with a short disclaimer. I love short stories. I’m a sucker for stories that are a few pages long, especially when there’s a lot of work and I can’t seem to concentrate on longer works of fiction. Short stories also help me get out of the inevitable reading slump. Here, I must admit that I’m not very happy with how much I’ve read this year. Apart from a few rereads and some odd slim novels here and there, I haven’t enjoyed many of the books I’ve picked up.

A short story collection is always a safe bet. I don’t have to invest much time and mental energy into getting to know a character. And since a story takes an hour or two at the most to finish, I feel like I’ve at least accomplished my reading goal for the day. I’ve mostly gravitated toward horror stories like Bora Chung’s ‘Cursed Bunny’ and Carmen Marie Machado’s ‘Her Body and Other Parties’ which is why Cho Nam Joo’s ‘Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories’ was such a refreshing read.

Cho is the author of the best-selling novel ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982’ which sparked a debate on feminism in South Korea while catapulting the writer to global fame when the book was longlisted for the United States National Book Award. Cho is known for highlighting gender inequality and misogyny in South Korea. Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories is a collection of eight stories about women from all walks of life. They are stories of life in South Korea from a female perspective. But the themes—loneliness, domestic violence, dysfunctional families, aging etc.—are universal.

What I liked about the book is that the stories aren’t dramatic but they leave you with some important messages—they might be things you already know and experience but you might have seldom paid attention to them. Women often make room for misogyny by not speaking up and letting things slide, and Cho draws our attention to that. She writes about the invisible labor women put in at home, work, and society at large, celebrating all the ‘little things’ they do to keep the ball rolling. In one of the stories, a neglected worker quits and the entire office starts to malfunction. In most of the stories, women are often repressed and maybe even unaware of what they want.

Some stories were a let-down. They felt a bit too cliché, like ‘Dear Hyunnam Oppa’ where a woman writes a letter to her boyfriend of 10 years, who has just proposed to her, listing out all the reasons why she doesn’t want to marry him. It felt too generic and forced. In ‘Puppy Love’, which explores love during Covid-19, the narrative ends abruptly, leaving you feeling unsettled. But that could have easily just been me and not a problem with the stories. Perhaps, I couldn’t relate to them. Maybe you will. With Cho, you never know, as her writing has the potential to tap into long-dormant emotions.

Short stories

Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories

Cho Nam-Joo

Translated by Jamie Chang

Published: 2023

Publisher: Scribner

Pages: 218, Paperback

Elizabeth Strout has a knack for bringing characters to life. She explores them in great detail, adding layer upon layer of nuances to their personalities, and thus makes us resonate with them. I read ‘Olive Kitteridge’ in high school and remember falling in love with the character and the setting. The character comes back in ‘Olive, Again’. Both the books are set in a fictional town in Maine.

Lucy Barton, the protagonist of ‘Oh William’, which was longlisted for The Booker Prize in 2022, is another character Strout seems unwilling to let go of. Lucy has appeared in Strout’s short story collection ‘Anything Is Possible’ and the novel ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’. It’s a delight getting to know Lucy. She’s every bit as endearing and complex as Olive and I’m hoping Oh William won’t be the last we will see of her, though I fear it is probably where her story ends.

In ‘My Name is Lucy Barton’, Lucy Barton was a young mother. She wakes up after an operation to find her mother, whom she hasn’t seen in years, sitting beside her. The story moves back and forth between the five days her mother stays with her at the hospital and Lucy’s traumatic childhood in Maine. The novel explores childhood trauma and poverty. It’s a portrayal of how childhood trauma almost always defines your life.

In Oh William, Lucy is divorced from her first husband (William). She had remarried but David is no more. In My Name is Lucy Barton, her children, Chrissy and Becka, were young but now they are married. There is some gap in the stories between the two books but we get to know what has transpired in flashbacks. Oh William is focused on William but the story is told through Lucy’s perspective.

After the death of his mother, William discovers that she had another child before him. This shocking piece of information is what sets him off to Maine to look for his half-sibling. He asks Lucy to accompany him and this trip forms the main plot of the book. We get to know William but we also get to know Lucy and all her thoughts and emotions as well as the things and incidents that have shaped her.

William is Lucy’s ex-husband but she ‘has only ever felt at home with him’. Despite his repeated affairs and Lucy’s decision to leave William, the two are still a team for their children. Lucy confesses that David, her second husband, made her happy and that they were made for each other. But she calls William after finding out about his illness and later after his death as well.

Strout is an empathetic writer and the result is that we never judge Lucy for her decisions. Nothing comes across as shallow or callous. Instead, we are left to wonder if first love never really leaves us, and how, as human beings, we are all inherently flawed, as much as we’d like to believe otherwise.

Fiction

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56294820  

Oh William!

Elizabeth Strout

Published: 2021

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK

Pages: 240, Paperback

‘Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun’ is the third book in the Finlay Donavon series by Elle Cosimano. Whether it’s the final book perhaps depends on the popularity of the series but I think it’s time to end it. I enjoyed ‘Finlay Donovan Is Killing It’ and ‘Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead’ but the story feels a little stretched out by the third book.

Here, Finlay and Vero are trying to reveal the identity of EasyClean who is the hitman hired on an Internet forum to kill Steven, Finlay’s husband. Russian mob boss Feliks, to whom Finlay owes a favor, is behind bars but he wants Finlay to do something for him. She is to find and identify the contract killer before the cops do. But the killer might be a police officer.

Luckily, Nick, a cop who has feelings for Finlay, has just been tasked with starting a citizen’s police academy. Finlay and Vero see this as a perfect chance to do some digging without raising suspicions and join the group. To make matters worse, Finlay has a deadline to meet and she can’t seem to rewrite the parts her editor wants her to change. Vero’s past is coming back to haunt her. The two find themselves in a precarious situation and they, as always, make it worse just by trying to dodge it.

I love Finlay and Vero. They make a nice team. Vero is a great wing woman for Finlay, dealing with her ex-husband, handling her children, and generally egging her on. She is a character you enjoy reading out and getting to know more than the protagonist in Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun. But the same antics get boring after a while. I searched high and low for the book but now after having read it, I realize I wouldn’t have missed out on much even if I hadn’t found it. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. Just not as much as I enjoyed the first two parts of the series.

In the third book, something is amiss right from the start. A lot of time goes into reintroducing characters. The buildup is slow. The sense of urgency that made the earlier books work is largely missing in the latest installment. It lacks fun. It lacks adventure. Incidents feel pointlessly drawn out. But I can also understand why it would appeal to some readers. It has fewer of the outlandish moments of the earlier two parts. The things that happen feel more real. Even though nothing much happens, it’s a light read for when you want something to take your mind off things.

Thriller | Mystery

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun

Elle Cosimano

Published: 2023

Publisher: Headline Review

Pages: 297, Paperback

I believe there’s a right time and place for every book. Not all books resonate with you all the time. ‘The Reading List’ by Sara Nisha Adams reiterated that sentiment. It was a lovely book. The plot was simple and comforting. But I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more if I had read it, say, before the pandemic. By the time I came across the book (just a few weeks ago), I had already read similar stories. There was nothing new in it.

But I’d recommend The Reading List to anyone who wants to read a heartwarming tale of how books can change your life. The story is partly inspired by the author’s grandfather, who found a connection with his granddaughter through books. Set in Wembley in London, The Reading List is the story of two individuals—80-year-old Mukesh Patel, a widower, and 17-year-old Aleisha, who works part-time at the local library.

Mukesh is mourning his wife, Naina. His three daughters take care of him but there’s a hole in his heart that just won’t go away. He’s lonely and, at times, miserable. Naina was a voracious reader, often asking Mukesh to keep quiet because she was reading. When he stumbles upon a copy of Audrey Niffenegger’s ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ that his wife didn’t get to return to the library, he sits down to read it. He doesn’t expect to get so engrossed in the story. Reading it makes him feel like Naina is around.

When he finishes it, he goes to the library to return it where he meets Aleisha. He’s also hoping to read other books so that he has something to talk about with his granddaughter who, like his wife, loves to read. But Aleisha is unhelpful and Mukesh runs away. Aleisha, on the other hand, is stuck at the library. She never really wanted to work there but her brother, Aiden, recommended it and she couldn’t say no. She’s trying to escape a problematic mother and would do anything to get a few hours away from home.

Then, she discovers a crumpled reading list tucked away in one of the library books and she starts reading the books on them as well as recommending them to Mukesh when he eventually returns. From Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to Vikram Seth’s ‘A Suitable Boy’, the octogenarian and the teenager go on a journey of self-discovery while forming an unlikely book club of two.

I found the plot to be slightly stretched because I could see where it was going. Apart from that, I enjoyed the book as it reinforced the power of reading and reminded me of some of the reasons why I love books. The book is peppered with references to other books—some of which I have already read and some that I haven’t but they are now all on my reading list. As characters, Mukesh and Aleisha feel a bit cliché but they remind us that the need for connection is a constant across generations.

Fiction

The Reading List

Sara Nisha Adams

Published: 2021

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 425, Paperback

Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason has raving reviews on its covers. Ann Patchett, one of my favorite writers ever, says. “I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realized that I wanted to send it to everyone I know.” Jojo Moyes, the author of ‘The Giver of Stars’, says it’s funny and tragic. A review says it’s probably the best book you’ll read this year. Yet another calls it unforgettable.

The story revolves around Martha Friel. She’s a writer who hasn’t had much luck. She has a wonderful husband, Patrick, who has loved her since the day he first met her. But Martha isn’t happy and she can’t put a finger on what makes her tick. She believes something is wrong with her. Growing up with an alcoholic mother has somewhat scarred her. When she alienates her husband who has never been anything but kind to her, she is forced to return to her parent’s home. Will she be able to start over and write herself a better ending? 

I had high expectations from the book. I wasn’t disappointed. The story had its moments. But it took me longer than I had anticipated to get through it. The plot is heavy—with themes such as generational trauma, mental health, pregnancy, and family dynamics. Some subplots, though interesting, aren’t explored much and don’t align with the main story. I’m still undecided about how I feel. I could relate to many instances in the book but I also thought the protagonist was dull and annoying. The side characters were much more fascinating. I wish there was more about them in the story.

I was bored sometimes but I couldn’t stop reading the book either. I expected something to happen. But nothing much ever did. But then that’s life, I guess. Little things add up and make you who you are. You react the way you do because of what you have seen around you growing up. Most of the time, you are guided by your thoughts and beliefs, which shape you but can also be the reason for your downfall. The book made me mull over these.

Mason’s handling of mental health is a nuanced one. She never really names the illness Martha has. Even when a diagnosis is made, it’s referred to as ‘—  —’. It leaves a lot of room for imagination and makes empathizing with the character easier. Sorrow and Bliss is a poignant reminder of the fact that life is complicated and people respond differently to things. There is more sorrow than bliss in the storyline but it makes you think hard about some stuff you would rather not confront, depending on where you are in life. In that way, it’s quite an eye-opening read.

Fiction

Sorrow and Bliss

Meg Mason

Published: 2020

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicholson

Pages: 347, Paperback

At the start of 2024, most readers I know (including me, of course) had set a goal of reading 52 books this year. Two months have flown by and we are all starting to realize that might have again been a little too ambitious, given we have a home to run, deadlines to meet, children and parents to take care of, and a dozen other things to attend to that siphon time away from us. I believe it’s still not impossible to get quite a bit of reading done. But at two books a month, 24 might just be a more realistic number.

 On Women’s Day, I’ve curated a list of special books that I think are spectacular. These are stories on women, written by women. However, they aren’t books for just women. Men, I believe, would gain a world of insight by reading these fascinating tales about how the minds of women work and the driving forces behind their actions and emotions. These books are inspiring, joyous, sometimes a bit melancholy, and a whole lot of fun—as all good books should be. There are both fiction and non-fiction in this list, which is by no means exhaustive.

 Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

This was the first ‘adult’ book my parents allowed me to read (as I graduated from Enid Blyton) and I remember falling in love with the story. It’s a children’s book written for all ages. It’s the adventures of an 11-year-old orphan girl Anne Shirley who is sent by mistake to two middle-aged siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who had originally intended to adopt a boy to help them on their farm.

 Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

I have to admit I never understood Mrs Dalloway despite so many avid readers raving about it. The writing style didn’t appeal to me. When I finally did, it blew my mind. It’s such a fascinating take on a woman’s mind. It details a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class woman in post-First World War England. It’s one of Woolf’s best-known novels.

 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I read this book in school and it’s been one of my favorites ever since then. It’s a lovely coming-of-age story about four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and how their lives change when their father goes off to war.

 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I have given Lessons in Chemistry to most of my friends. Set in the early 1960s when women scientists were unheard of, the story is about an exceptional woman struggling to make her place in a man’s world. It’s an exploration of gender discrimination and how passion—towards work and life—can save you from the depths of despair.

 City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

This is such a breezy, entertaining read where an 89-year-old woman recounts her life story. The descriptions are so vividly described that it feels like you are waltzing down the streets of New York even though you have never been there. The story is a glorious celebration of womanhood.

 Circe by Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller has a way with words. Her retelling of stories will hook you even if their original versions never did. Circe has all the gravitas of Greek mythology yet none of the jargon. About a woman who never fit in, Circe is a story of hope and finding your way when everything around you is falling apart.

 Girl, Women, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Bernardine Evaristo’s eighth novel follows the lives of 12 women, from different backgrounds. Each character gets a chapter but the characters overlap in many of the stories. These interconnected stories of British Black women raise important questions on feminism and race.

 Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

In an interview, Priyanka Chopra said Homegoing was one of her favorite books. As shallow as that sounds, I read it because of that reason. I hadn’t heard about the book before that. I soon realized Yaa Gyasi was a phenomenal storyteller. Homegoing tells the story of two sisters and how the social and political landscape of the places where they grew up shaped their experiences.

 The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

A male friend recommended this book to me and I couldn’t have been more surprised. The Giver of Stars is a stunning book about women driven by a shared purpose despite the circumstances not being in their favor. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. And it will leave you with a warm, tingling feeling.

 Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

This beautiful book is about a girl named Kya, locally known as the marsh girl. It’s a contemplation of despair, poverty, loneliness, and kindness. It’s also about the wonders of nature. There’s an element of mystery running through the plot which will keep you hooked.

 Roar by Cecelia Ahern

Most readers I know are quick to disqualify Ahern as frivolous. I have to confess I was skeptical about Roar in the beginning when my husband gifted the book to me on my birthday. But Roar, a collection of 30 stories about women, is heartwarming, empowering, and packs a punch.

 Educated by Tara Westover

Educated tells the story of Tara Westover, her religious, radical, and isolated family, and how she went on to get a PhD from Cambridge University. It explores the complex dynamics within a family and celebrates the strength of the human spirit.

 The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Why are women, especially mothers, expected to be at the top of their game all the time? The School for Good Mothers makes you ponder over this. The plot has a chilling dystopian feel to it but it makes you question the unnecessary societal burden of expectations that’s primarily put on mothers.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell writes historical fiction about women whose stories have been overshadowed by men. The Marriage Portrait is about Lucrezia, the third daughter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence. She was married off at the age of 13 to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, as a substitute for her older sister, Maria, who died just before the wedding. Then Lucrezia died of tuberculosis, though it was believed she could have been poisoned by Alfonso.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

About a woman who sleeps a year away, My Year of Rest and Relaxation is dark and comic. The protagonist believes she can heal herself and be recharged if she sleeps enough. It’s a slim volume but you can’t breeze through it as it’s mostly about grief and mental health. Nothing much happens but there’s a lot of food for thought here. 

These Precious Days by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors. She could write a brochure (not that she would) and make it interesting. This is a collection of essays, recounting her life from early childhood. Every essay is such an eye-opener and packed with wisdom that comes with experience.

Mirror, Shoulder, Signal by Dorthe Nors

Sonja is over 40 and she wants to get a grip on her life. She is trying to connect with her sister. She is learning to drive. She’s even taken up meditation. But life’s not agreeing with her plans. Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a poignant tale of one woman’s journey to find herself when there is no one to help her.

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States, and the first African American woman to serve in that role, is an icon. There’s a lot you can learn from her and in her memoir, she chronicles the values and experiences that have shaped her. It’s now available in paperback too.

All My Mothers by Joanna Glen

“We are supposed to begin as the apple of our mother’s eye. But I was more the maggot in the apple.” So begins All My Mothers which is a delight and a revelation from beginning to end. It’s a big book but it’s worth it.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Read this book for the story and a rich portrayal of culture and tradition. Set in the early years of independence, it tells the story of Lakshmi Shastri, a smart, independent woman living in the clutches of the Indian caste system. The protagonist is bold and frequently goes against the system to change the trajectory of the lives of women around her.

The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

A retelling of Mahabharata from Draupadi’s perspective, The Palace of Illusions is about a woman’s strength and the ability to hold things together. Mahabharata is mostly narrated by men and we finally get to hear from the women in Divakaruni’s beautiful rendition of the epic.

 Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Balli Kaur Jaswal explores complex and often controversial topics in her novels. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows delves into the taboo around sexuality in South Asian Culture. The protagonist Nikki, a 22-year-old, is a headstrong, independent woman living in London caught between two distinct worlds.

There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura

Translated from the Japanese by Polly Barton, the novel, originally published in 2016, captures the nature of our work during Covid-19, when we had jobs that could very well have been a job or not. The unnamed heroine embarks on a series of temporary jobs and how she fares is what the book is all about.

The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue

Three women change one another’s lives in unexpected ways while battling a pandemic in this beautiful novel by Emma Donoghue, whose book ‘Room’ was a bestseller and made into a movie too. The Pull of the Stars is a moving story of love and loss.

One of my earliest childhood memories is traveling to Lucknow, India, with my parents. We went to the city in Northern India, where both my parents went to college, almost every year during December or January when school closed for the winter. I remember the permeating smell of food on the streets of Aminabad, which at that time I found nauseating. This one time, we were at a restaurant and the lights went out. I could tell our food was ready before it reached the table by the sudden waft of butter chicken.

My father likes to say this is a contrived memory. But I didn’t enjoy spices-laden Indian food as much as he did (and still does) so I clearly remember how I felt at that moment. There is no way I’m making that up. My parents like traveling to India, more than any other part of the world. It’s because the food is so good, they say. It’s agreeable with the Nepali palate. As a child, I was more of a fan of western food like donuts, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas et.al. Butter chicken, tandoori, biryani, naans, and rotis weren’t my thing.

But as I grew up, I started liking Indian food, not the heavy-on-oil curries but the dum biryanis, garlic naan, kebabs, and such. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, I even took to trying to recreate some of my favorites. I made Hyderabadi biryani and the once abhorred butter chicken too. Though YouTube provides a plethora of recipes to whip up some delicious food, I find I enjoy having a hard copy of recipes. Seeing the ingredients list and cooking steps in pointers makes me believe I can make the perfect dish. I’m a whimsical cook and a dish never tastes the same twice. And this is where cookbooks come in.

‘Indian Flavor Every Day’ by Maya Kaimal is a handy guidebook to have if you want to cook some hearty meals with the least amount of effort. The book has everything you need to make cooking joyful and possible with a handful of essential ingredients. She also runs you through some basics, like the kind of spices to have in your pantry and what alternatives you can use in case you run out of something. There is some great advice on food prep and storage as well.

There are many vegetarian, gluten-free, and wholesome meal recipes. Indian Flavor Every Day has both simplified classic dishes and new twists. The author, who is the founder of the Maya Kaimal brand of prepared foods and sauces, guides you through the foundations of bringing out brilliant Indian flavors in your food. Peppered with colorful photos, the book, which is Kaimal’s third cookbook, has everything you could ever wish to make and savor—from crunchy snacks to spicy noodles and curries.

This is a book I sit down with, even when I’m not in the process of making anything. It’s just fun to read her suggestions and look at all the wonderful photos. More often than not, I’m inspired to try something new. Indian Flavor Every Day making restaurant food accessible and healthy.

Indian Flavors Every Day

Maya Kaimal

Cover design by Ian Dingman

Cover photographs by Eva Kolenko

Publisher: Clarkson Potter Publishers

Pages: 239, Hardcover

I read ‘The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic’ by Sophie Kinsella during high school. It’s the first book in the Shopaholic series. I still have a copy of the book, and it’s the one I read back in school. The pages are a little yellowed and the smell is heavenly. I read it again recently when I was bored and, 20 years later, the book holds the same appeal. I couldn’t stop reading it. Becky is such a frivolous but endearing character. I now want to rewatch its movie adaptation, starring Isla Fisher as Rebecca Bloomwood, that came out nine years after the book’s release. It’s every bit as hilarious as the novel. 

Alternatively titled ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ the story follows Rebecca (Becky) who loves to shop. Whether she can afford it is another matter altogether. Becky is a financial journalist. She tells other people how to manage their money. In reality, she doesn’t have a grip on her finances. The answer to all her problems is retail therapy. She knows it’s not a good habit but she can’t stop. This gets her in messy situations which get even messier when she tries to find a way out of them. As her unpaid overdrafts become unmanageable, will Becky be able to find a solution? And what about her desire to find true love? 

In addition to her shopping addiction, Becky’s tendency to spew out absurd lies without thinking to explain her silly purchases lands her in difficult situations. In funny moments, she manages to position herself in embarrassing ways. She comes across as rather dramatic. It endears her to the reader. You know she’s not bad at heart but perhaps just down on her luck. You can also see that she’s not losing hope, that she’s trying to pull herself together. You realize there’s a Becky in all of us and that relatability, I believe, is what makes the book series work. 

The other books in the series are as funny. Reading them in order helps you keep track of what’s happening in Becky’s life but you can pick up a book at random and it will still make sense. I loaned ‘Shopaholic and Sister’ to a friend who had never read the series before and she loved it. Now, she has borrowed a couple of more books in the series. Read the book (and the rest of the series) if you want a lighthearted read that doesn’t require you to exercise your brain muscles.

Fiction

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic

Sophie Kinsella

Published: 2000

Publisher: Black Swan

Pages: 317, Paperback