Submit your Article

Fiction

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW

A.J. Finn

Published: 2018Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 427, paperback

We believe first novels hold a lot of promise but unfor­tunately a lot of first novels published each year disappear into a pool of works that never make it further than the first edition. Then there are some firsts that receive a warm welcome. A.J. Finn’s The Woman in the Window is one such work. Finn (nom de plume for Dan­iel Mallory) is a former book editor and, having worked mostly with the mystery genre, he knows the tips and tricks of the trade. That is prob­ably the reason why The Woman in the Window feels like a rehash of a few bestselling books you have read in the last few years.In the recent times, books like S J Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep and Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train have given birth to a whole new sub genre of psycho­logical thrillers where a woman whose credibility is undermined for some reason witnesses a crime. The Woman in the Window takes a similar route. Here you meet Dr. Anna Fox, a child psychologist who has become severely agora­phobic post a traumatic experience. She is terrified by “the vast skies, the endless horizon, the sheer exposure, the crushing pressure of the outdoors” and so she chooses to stay at home talking to her estranged husband and daughter on the phone, and making her tenant bring her groceries.

Taking photos of her neighbors and hence spying on their lives is her only ‘outdoor’ exposure. Then, from her window, Anna witnesses a murder at her neighbors’ home and she manages to call the police. But the thing is Anna is a drunk who is on many prescription drugs, none of which should be mixed with alcohol, and so the police don’t believe her account of what happened espe­cially since her neighbors deny the whole thing and call her a crazy per­son who has been harassing them since day one.

Even if you think the plotline feels familiar, be willing to give the book a chance because it will surprise you. Finn excels at planting misconceptions and confusing you. You can’t trust anything you read as, time and again, Anna is made to doubt her own memories. We don’t want to spoil it for you by revealing too much but we can tell you that the characters in the book are rarely who or what they appear to be. And it is this seed of doubt that takes root in your psyche early on that makes reading The Woman in the Window an entirely new experience even though the author has stuck to a tried and tested narrative.

There are no flashy twists and turns in the storyline but the carefully crafted psychological suspense driven by Anna’s secrets and fears will make you want to stay up late into the night to finish the book. Yes, you will forget all about it the minute you are done but it will feel good while it lasts. Let this be your escapist entertainment this weekend. We guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Non Fiction

THE CASE AGAINST SUGAR

Gary Taubes

Published: 2017Publisher: Portobello Books

Language: English

Pages: 365, paperback

Used to heaping two teaspoons of sugar in your coffee every morning? Guilty of having an entire bar of chocolate for lunch? Or are you one of those people who like a scoop of ice cream after din­ner? Then don’t read Gary Taubes’ ‘The Case Against Sugar’. You will be left questioning your life choices and fretting how much harm you have done to your body. But if you constantly wonder why you don’t lose weight despite eating clean and exercising or have a family history of diabetes and hypertension and want to lead a healthy life to prevent these conditions then Taubes’ book, a result of six years of research, could very well be an eye-opener. The Case Against Sugar starts by questioning whether sugar should be called a food or a drug. Then Taubes argues why it should be the latter. With a detailed and infor­mative history of sugar and the sugar industry, Taubes points out that our addiction to the sweet stuff leads to a lot of health problems we have come to ‘wrongly’ attri­bute to saturated fat. He talks about how sugar has “a unique physiolog­ical, metabolic and hormonal effect on our bodies” and how that has far-reaching health implications.

He also provides a history of sugar usage in the tobacco industry and how that might have contributed to the rise of smoking. He goes on to narrate how sugar triggers a genetic predisposition to obesity by lead­ing to insulin resistance, a condi­tion that contributes to diabetes, gout, and irritable bowel syndrome, among others health problems, and paints a picture of how sugar ulti­mately kills far more people than cigarettes. But while Taubes excels at making his point with detailed his­torical narrative as his backup, many of his claims also seem one-sided.

For instance, Taubes recounts an old struggle between American researcher Ancel Keys (who believed saturated fat was the primary cause of coronary heart diseases) and Brit­ish researcher John Yudkin (who thought sugar was the culprit). He says Keys was funded by the sugar industry and portrays Yud­kin as a moral person who was telling the ‘truth’. A little research will tell you that Yudkin was funded by the dairy, egg, and edible oil industries, all of which wanted to pin the blame on sugar. Taubes neglects to mention this. He relies on incomplete historical narrative rather than facts and evidence to present his case and that kind of writing is something that you will find throughout the book.

But Taubes also doesn’t conclude that sugar is bad for our health based on a superficial understand­ing of the subject, though in some places it feels like he is looking at the issue through glasses heavily tinted by his own beliefs. However, he has done a lot of research and left few stones unturned. We recom­mend you read the book to allow the information to improve your eating habits, whether by removing sugar completely, reducing its consump­tion, or by making dietary modifica­tions. Because that’s definitely what you will be tempted to do.

Located on the hilltop of Kirtipur, the Newa Lah­ana (‘Newa Civilization’) is one place where you can find authentic Newari cuisine at prices that will leave you pleasantly surprised. The Newari restaurant and museum run by the inhabitants of the Tambahal tole is a popular desti­nation for locals and tourists alike for its traditional floor seating and a mouthwatering list of Newari dishes and drinks, all served with pleasant smiles from the ladies attired in traditional haku patashi, a Newari dress.

Newa Lahana is among the very few restaurants in Kathmandu valley that offer exclusively Newari cuisines with a Newari menu. There is Nepali and English translations of the dish names for a varied group of customers.

Fiction

A MAN CALLED OVE

Fredrik Backman

Published: 2012 (first edition) 2015 (paperback)

Publisher: Sceptre

Pages: 295, Paperback

Every once in a while you come across a book that just simply bowls you over. ‘A Man Called Ove’ does that and you want to reread it as soon as you turn the final page because Ove, despite being a cranky 59-year-old Swedish widower who tries and fails to kills himself, leaves you charmed. You have to admit you are a little bit in love with this oddball and actually find his grumpiness endearing. The book by Swedish author Fredrick Backman became an instant bestseller in Sweden, selling more than 840,000 copies. The translation rights have been sold in 38 languages, including Arabic, Turkish, Thai, and Japanese. It was also adapted into a successful stage production and the movie went on to get the Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards. Moreover, an English adaption of the film starring Tom Hanks is scheduled for release in 2019.

The book is one of Sweden’s most popular literary exports since Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’. However, A Man Called Ove flew under the radar when the English translation first came out in 2013. It was only after the paperback was released in May 2015 that the novel became wildly popular, and it was mostly because of word-of-mouth recommendations.

In the book, you will meet Ove six months after his wife’s death, and he is planning to commit suicide. He’s all set for it too. He has switched off the radiators, canceled the newspaper subscription, and drilled a sturdy hook into the ceiling from where he plans to hang him­self. But his plans are foiled by prying neighbors every single time he thinks he will finally be able to join his wife wherever she is. In between attempts to end his life, he visits his wife’s grave and takes her favorite flowers and tells her he misses her. He manages to take his pregnant neighbor, with whom he has unwittingly struck up a friend­ship of sorts, to the hospital, babysit her kids, and give shelter to a home­less cat too. You get the sense that beneath the cranky façade is a kind and generous heart.

In A Man Called Ove, you also get a taste of urban Swedish life. You see how knowing your neighbor and cultivating a strong community are valued a lot but you also get the sense that immigration is slowly changing the landscape. This part of the story, if you let it, will also leave you contemplating about life and its many complexities. But that takes the backseat as Ove tugs at your heartstrings. There is no surprise element in the book. You can always guess what is going to happen but you will still enjoy slowly peeling off the layers of Ove’s life.

Backman, with his wit and lyri­cal language, tells a touching story that’s both sardonic and hopeful. It’s laugh out loud funny and it’s tragic. The best part about it is that each chapter reads like a per­fectly crafted short story and all the chapters come together beauti­fully to bring to you an uplifting and life-affirming tale of how there’s a lot more to life than you think, and that love and kindness lie at the crux of it. It’s an important book because Ove teaches you to love your life and the people in it despite their many imperfections.