Tag: Reviews

Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto

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Em – as she is called by her children , is Imelda Mendes suffering from bipolar disorder and is often in the throes of the ‘ highs ‘ ( manic episodes ) and ‘ lows ‘ ( depressive episodes ) which characterize the illness . In her highs , she can be a witty conversationalist or recounting the story of how she met her children ‘ s  father whom she has nicknamed ‘ Angel Ears ‘ . There are other stranger – sounding names which she has given to the children ‘ s father whom them call Hoom  . The narrator takes us through their family ‘ s struggles with Em ‘ s illness until her death . When the book closes , the Mendes family is left at the threshold of starting a new life –   a life without Em . Em has been a presence in the family ( to put it mildly ) and this book gives us only a glimpse into the family ‘ s everyday experiences with the matriarch suffering from bipolar disorder .

A spot of bother by Mark Haddon

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George , at fifty -seven is settling down to a comfortable retirement : undertaking projects around the house like building a studio in his garden , reading historical novels , listening to light jazz & such stuff . Just then , his daughter Katie , had to drop the bombshell : she is planning to get remarried to Ray . The family is not happy with Katie’s choice but they could do nothing more except send subtle hints and signals about how they feel about Katie’s idea . Still , they are getting ready for Katie’s wedding .
In the run-up to the wedding , the following things happen :

Katie is trying to work it out if she actually  loves Ray or loves the way Ray takes care of her son Jacob . She has not been unaware of her family ‘ s disappointment with Ray – a man with strangler’s hands ( as Jamie observes ) who was not like them : a ‘working ‘ man . 

Jamie , her brother , has a fallout with his partner , Tony , when he decides not to invite him for the wedding .

Topping it all off , Jean , her mother , is having an affair with one of George’s ex-colleagues .

In this melee , George discovers a lesion on his hip . With all the chaos around him , he spirals towards madness without anybody suspecting anything .

The Confession : Book Review

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The book opens with four days only to go for the scheduled execution , Donte ‘ s  existence suddenly is recognized by the townspeople who had almost forgotten him during the last nine years – the blacks are angry about Donte’s conviction by an all-white jury while the whites are hell-bent on seeing the execution through . The city becomes further polarized with radical ” leaders ” making short appearances and making hatred fueling speeches . In short , the city is looking at a possible race riot – even if it is on a smaller scale . And with all this drama centered around one man’s question of life or death , Grisham has done a fabulous job of exploring the entire timeline post the wrongful conviction – from the forced confession extracted from 18 year old Donte to a city that is racially divided in it’s opinions about his guilt and punishment , nine years later & staring at a grim possibility of race-riots breaking out .