Never have I approached a subject so warily as this. I can review the book and not talk about Kashmir but that is cowardly. Cowering behind literature when opining about Kashmir is the shortest route out of controversy. Before proceeding further I can safely say that Malik Sajad's work, as a personalized account of life in Kashmir, is impactful. This is... Continue Reading →
Macbeth – Guilt
Life ... is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. To some, guilt is like buyer's remorse. It paralyzes and drains the person. The higher the transgression, the more severe the after effects. In Macbeth, Shakespeare makes Macbeth commit that most evil crime of regicide, along with his wife.... Continue Reading →
Elfquest – A Dated Epic
Wendy and Richard Pini's magnum opus Elfquest is a saga. And just like every saga, it fuses creation myths with fantasy and tribe building. There are alpha males, harems, journeys and deux ex machinas. It is a nice hefty book, if you are reading the paperback version, and a good continuous read tones your biceps... Continue Reading →
The Odyssey – The Ultimate Traveller
The Odyssey is my comfort book, a book that I have fashioned my life after to a large extent, so much so that, when I feel there is an unnameable crisis looming, of a personal or spiritual nature, I tend to read excerpts from Homer's epic. There is something that reassures me about the adventures of Odysseus... Continue Reading →
Burma Chronicles – Whining and Superficial
There are travelogues, there are graphics novels and then there are travelogues in the form of graphic novels. Guy DeLisle sucks as all three. Entitlement of a Slob If this review seems a little harsh too bad. The author's discontent in Burma is based on superficialities and a fat sense of entitlement. Yes, it is not... Continue Reading →
The League of Extra Ordinary Gentlemen
An extra ordinary book from one of my favorite story tellers of all times, Alan Moore. This book is a trivia treasure house of Victorian Literature. The first volume of the book is all about how the intrepid collection of characters (Miss Wilhelmina Murray, Griffin, Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Alan Quatermain) are... Continue Reading →
The Divine Loophole – A Co(s)mic Retelling of Ramayana
If you are a fan of mythology, the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata are treasure troves of trivia and philosophy. Which is probably why even after so many years I still pick up retellings of them. Sanjay Patel's version is fresh and vibrant. He approaches it like a comic book. It is a simple bare bones retelling... Continue Reading →
Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel and Immigrant Displacement
Anya Ulinich's graphic novel, Lena Finkle's Magic Barrel is part immigrant displacement angst, floating around for that elusive mooring, and part social commentary on the pursuit of a relationship. It is true, darkly funny and catches you with a side shot just when you thought it was a white immigrant's (yes, colour matters in immigration)... Continue Reading →
Internet of Things, Japan and Hypersexualized FemBots
Decoding The Ghost in the Shell II, Man-Machine Interface (GitS-MMI) is like sifting through actualized ether. Meaning, there is so much science, pseudo-science, mythology and philosophy encapsulated in dense technicality that proliferates in Masamune Shirow's physical brain and permeates the book. As a huge fan of the original series I found myself paying for this even when I was... Continue Reading →