BOOKS WE RECOMMEND THIS WEEK

From an authoritative history of Modern South India, to a poetry collection featuring poems on love and heartbreak, our book picks this week, curated by Chirdeep Malhotra

FICTION

“Halsey Street” by Naima Coster

This book follows Penelope Grand who has moved back to Brooklyn after her failed career as an artist in Pittsburgh. Gentrification has completely reshaped her neighbourhood, old properties have been razed, and wealthy white strangers have replaced every familiar face in Bed-Stuy. Her mother, Mirella, has abandoned the family to reclaim her roots in the Dominican Republic. For Penelope, that’s unforgivable. But her world is upended again when she receives a postcard from Mirella asking for reconciliation. The narrative then shifts between the perspectives of these two captivating and troubled women, and as old wounds are reopened and secrets revealed, a journey of self-discovery begins.
This debut novel is engrossing, and was the Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. The blurb reads, “A modern-day story of family, loss, and renewal, Halsey Street captures the deeply human need to belong—not only to a place but to one another.”



NON-FICTION

“Modern South India: A History from the 17th Century to Our Times” by Rajmohan Gandhi

Described as “A masterpiece in every sense of the word”, and “a rich, authoritative and magnificent work of history about the South that will be read, debated and reflected upon for years to come”, this book by historian and biographer Rajmohan Gandhi describes the history of Modern South India from the 17th century onwards.
The narrative begins at the end of the sixteenth century; when the Deccan sultanates of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bidar combined to defeat the kingdom of Vijayanagara. It then describes the various kingdoms of the South and the presence of the East India Company in the region, and afterwards the transfer of power to the British monarchy and the history of the princely states. After Independence, new states were carved out from the former presidencies and princely states along linguistic lines. The book ends in the present, with a look at the new generation of political leaders of the South.



TRAVELOGUE

“Notes from a Spanish Diary” by Ranjita Biswas

This travel book draws on the riveting anecdotes of a solo Indian woman traveller, and is a personal account of her discovering the aura and flavour of Spain. It is an excellent read for a tourist as well as an armchair traveller, as the author Ranjita Biswas takes the readers jaunting through the lanes of Spanish history and culture. Written in a journalistic style, the book describes Flamenco music and Mudejar art in Andalusia, and the delicious cuisines of the cities of Barcelona and Madrid. In their vicarious travel, the readers will also discover the stark resemblances of the Moorish architecture at Granada with that of Egyptian, Persian, Roman, Greek and even Japanese art forms.



POETRY

“Petals and Thorns: Love and a little Heartbreak” by Sukanya Basu Mallik and M Lakshmi Supriya (Spear)

This poetry book is divided into two sections – Poems on Love and Poems on Heartbreak, and encompasses the classic theme of love and heartbreak from the perspective of two writers with entirely different styles of writing and thoughts. This collection of romance poems is dedicated to all those drunk in love, withering in heartbreak and falling in love again, all the same. The blurb reads – “Love without heartbreak is like a rose without thorns. Doesn't make sense, does it?” Pick up this book to find about this yourself and also to relish mellifluous verses.