


Writer, researcher, scientist and mom, with an occasional flair for being a rascal. I live and work in beautiful Canberra.


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Mehreen Arshi


My latest book pick was 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' by Anthony Doerr. After previously reading his novel 'All The Light We Cannot See', I was excited to begin my journey into Cuckoo Land.

The story takes place across three different time spans. It begins with Konstance, a fourteen-year-old girl, attempting to decipher an ancient script. Earth is no longer habitable, and she finds herself on an interstellar ship with a select group of individuals from different generations. They are hurtling through space, headed towards Beta Oph2, a newly discovered planet.

In the mid-1400s, Omeir is born with a cleft lip, and is considered an ill-fated soul, causing his family to relocate and live in seclusion. Anna, an orphan, struggles with everyday tasks but possesses an insatiable thirst for knowledge and the preservation of an ancient script. Her destiny intertwines with Omeir's as Constantinople comes under siege.

In the present-day city of Idaho, Zeno Ninis, a Korean War veteran, directs a play based on an ancient story with a small group of fifth graders in the public library. Simultaneously, seventeen-year-old autistic boy, Seymour, plans an attack on the neighbouring real estate, which could endanger the lives of everyone in the library. These three timelines are interconnected through an ancient book detailing the journey of Aethon. Aethon is a man who first transforms into a donkey, then to a fish, a crow, and ultimately regains his human form. His quest for Cloud Cuckoo Land is interwoven into the fabric of these three timelines.

Doerr adeptly manages the passage of time by providing simple reminders to the reader, such as "12-year-old Omeir is sitting..." This technique seamlessly propels the story forward in the reader's mind, preventing confusion while emphasizing character growth and narrative arcs. It also helps readers follow the three distinct timelines and track the characters' movements within each time frame. The only critique I can offer is that the book's pacing occasionally slows down due to Doerr's generous storytelling, resulting in a lengthy read.

Having said that, Doerr's description of emotions experienced by a child on the autism spectrum is realistic and compelling. 'Cloud Cuckoo Land' progresses across three different timelines as various characters encounter the ancient script, maintaining continuity throughout. As each characters journeys through the time, the message becomes clear. This story symbolically encourages taking chances in life and preserving what we already possess—a message that ultimately ties all the timelines together and resonates with each character. This book delivers a powerful message: instead of escaping the harsh realities of life, we should embrace what we have. While we may seek paradise in the clouds above, the world we live in is the paradise we need to cherish.


Cloud Cuckoo Land is a novel that connects characters across centuries through their love of a story and a yearning for a hopeful future.

Cloud Cuckoo Land - A review


A controversial author of his time, very well known for shaking the muslim population in anger down to their very solidly embedded religious roots, by writing ‘The Satanic Verses’; Salman Rushdie also penned “Midnight’s Children”, weaving a tale that is well knitted, leaving not a tiny hole or a single stitch missed in the fabric of the narrative. One can still disagree with a person’s ideology and opinions, without losing respect for their craft. This is the very thought that prompted me to read ‘Midnight’s Children’.

It is an epic tale which encapsulates the events before and after the partition of the Indian subcontinent into Pakistan and India; a division slicing the land based on the ideologies and religious beliefs of its occupants. The protagonist, Saleem Sinai who is born at midnight on August 15, 1947, at the very same moment as the birth of his nation. Saleem believes that his and all the other children’s fate, all born in the midnight hour, is sealed along with their nation’s; they are destined for great things. It is a tale of how Saleem and Mother India grow together and how their lives progress despite repeatedly being shaken, and their fight against their fate.

Salman Rushdie paints an emotionally and thematically vivid picture, showcasing his full command over all five senses expertly incorporated in the writing. The flying of spittle juice, the humming of Mian Abdullah, the leitmotif ‘whatsitsname’ of Reverend Mother, the blood and mercurochrome stains drop the reader in the middle of the setting and familiarise them with the characters. We immediately know that the crawling mountains, blue skies and frozen lakes means we are in Kashmir. Rushdie has proven himself to be an expert in designating physical attributes to almost all of his characters. The descriptions of peculiar physical features not only cement the characters in the reader’s minds, but also sketch their personality. We only need to read the words 'centre parting of hair’ to know that the author is taking about Methwold, the ‘powerful knees’ always refer to Shiva, and ‘rhymeless and wordless poet means’ Nadir the impotent lover. There are as many characters in the book as possibly the number of pages. The constant reference to physical characteristics keeps the narrative moving without the reader having to turn the pages back and forth. The imagery created with descriptive words marks each character vividly and the reader is able to keep pace without confusion.

This book is a fine sample of magic realism. The tone is set with this theme in the very beginning by saying that the boatman Tai is hundreds of years old and how a blind man is an avid admirer of art. These are things beyond belief and questionable, but because the theme is set form the beginning, we never doubt Saleem Sinai’s telepathic link with all the other children born on the same night as the birth of their nation, or Saleem’s nose being able to sniff out not only smells but also fears and emotions, or the fact that Saleem as a baby never closes his eyes or blinks.

The reference to the silver spittoon with lapus lazuli is symbolic. It is a relic of the past that ties the protagonist Saleem Sinai to his mother, her past and his own present. The constant reference of an old spittoon carefully cherished and passed on with time also acts as a symbolic reminder that time changes, life changes, life also ends, but the pieces of the past can continue to survive, pass on to different owners and witness all the changes come to life. People are connected through chains of events, history remains long after we have vanquished. The silver spittoon survives three generations while Saleem’s family is wiped clean from the earth.

As I mentioned, this book is a recap of historic events that spanned the mid of the twentieth century, Rushdie’s style of writing ensures that one does not find the trip down history’s lane overwhelming or cumbersome. He has aligned these historical events with the incidents that occur in Saleem’s life in a manner that does not interrupt the flow of the story. Instead, the events of history and the ones in Saleem’s life are intertwined and they affect each other, and are seemingly the driving force of each others lives (or so Saleem believes).

I also started this book without a bias towards the author and his prejudices. The writing however confirmed the general view that the author possesses certain biases against certain populations of the world. This is very evident in his choice of words that are laced with cynicism when speaking of the muslim characters in his book, or when mentioning a certain nation. (I say this with no intention of starting a religious or political debate). The continuous derogatory remarks made by the Pakistani soldiers against the Indian soldiers is one such example. The hate speech by members of one army does no injustice to the image of the other army, however, it portrays the Muslims as intolerant and vengeful, and sheds a poor light on the average muslim population as a whole.

You do not have to be a fan of the author or history to read this book. Read this book if you are an admirer of literary fiction, have a love for metaphors, vividly aesthetic writing, a story with odd little details that poetically tie various ends of the narrative together with their repetitive and fulfilling appearances.

The powerful use of vivid metaphors immediately appeals to the senses; I could almost hear the voice of the old man ‘crackling like an old radio because decades were rubbing up against each other around his vocal cords’. I could feel the mountains creeping up like a ferocious wildling as I read ‘the mountains closed in and snarled like angry jaws around the city on the lake’. The blue kashmiri sky poured into the eyes, frozen diamonds, and the transformed rubies will always remind me of how a blue and teary eyed person in the freezing cold hit his nose on the ground while praying, and how in that moment he had been transformed into a non believer as the ‘valley, gloved in a prayer mat punched him on the nose.’ This book is a remarkable example of the fact that one does not read simply to get through a story; we read for the passion of words, of expression, for experiencing the author’s creative liberty. It is an art to use the same old words and arrange them in such a fresh string of array that they sing to us, long after we have finished the tale.


An intricately woven tale of India's partition, rich in magical realism and metaphors, that examines historical events through the life of its protagonist, Saleem Sinai, while also reflecting the author's evident biases.

Midnight's children - A review


What if you were unhappy with your life and given a second chance? Or a third chance? And one more after that? What if you had the opportunity to undo all of your life’s regrets; big and small? Where does one draw the line and say ‘yes I am finally content’?

What does it take to live a happy life? For some it is fame, for others it is health, wealth, knowledge, children or adventure. None of these objectives would come into play unless we have perspective - “Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see.” In a nut shell this is the message that is conveyed in “The Midnight Library” by the English author Matt Haig.

The female protagonist Nora Seed has seemingly grown in the shadow of her brother, striving and failing to live up to her father’s expectations, hopeless in love and with a non-existent career, despite several aspirations to be a musician, glaciologist, swimming champion or a professor. Drowning in the depths of despair she overdoses in an attempt to end the existential crisis that is her life and lands in the land of limbo aka as ‘The Midnight Library’. Aided by her old school librarian she navigates through different paths of her life that the library offers while undoing her regrets.

This is a simple read, as is its message. One that we as humans overlook most days. The book compels us to review our stance on what is important in life. We are so engrossed in achieving the best, being at the top that we often overlook what is in front of us, the simple things that lead to joy in our lives. We forget to live. We realise the significance of small things when they are at the brink of being snatched away, or when the angel of death is staring us in the face. Once the end is nigh it becomes glaringly obvious that it is not what we want, it is what to make of what we already have that is crucial to a happy and content life. Nora Seed is given choices, which make her realise that taking one step leads to a chain reaction of endless possibilities but there is no such thing as a perfect life. In her continuous efforts to find acceptance and love from those around her, it is time and again impressed upon her that it is hope and love that are the driving force of life, but love that doesn’t necessarily bud from companionship but starts within, with self love. If you do not love yourself, do not expect others to admire in you what you cannot appreciate in yourself.

This book is written in a very non-complex, easy to read manner. There are no heavy metaphors or complicated writing techniques to spruce up the narrative. Just like the author advocates for the simple things in life that matter the most, he promotes this deep message for the way of life in the simplest of words. It is thought provoking. “You do not have to understand life, you just have to live life.”


A reflective journey of a woman exploring alternate lives, emphasizing self-love, appreciation of simple joys, and understanding that perfection is a myth.

The Midnight Library - A review


I thought it would be poetic to tie the end of the year 2021 to the beginning of 2022 by writing the first review of 2022 about the last book I read in the departing year. It’s a short review; it being a short piece of art. Why a piece of art? Let’s circle back to it in a moment.

The Trial written by the Austrian author Franz Kafka in 1914-15 and published posthumously is a story of a man named Joseph K. who has been accused of a crime unknown to him and also to the authorities who have come to arrest him. It’s a story of the journey of a man who is destined to be doomed from the moment of his accusation, even though the nature of his crime remains unknown and is never revealed to the reader as well.

At first K. does not take his so-called verbal arrest seriously at all. He is free to live, work, roam around at his own will. He goes along everyday life, openly mocking the law, challenging the justice system in an attempt to refute its baseless claims against his case and himself. However, when the seriousness of his predicament is pressed upon him by those who become aware of his case, it sets alarm bells in his head. Joseph K then seeks help in an effort to dismiss the case and claims of any wrong doing and realises just how inaccessible, unapproachable and un-influenceable the justice system is.

The fact that he remains ignorant of the charges and the irony that his case would be worse off if he tries to challenge the court is drawn out in several conversations in the book. Joseph K. immerses himself completely in his quest to seek his way to the acquittal while neglecting his every day life. He is portrayed to be a proud man bordering on arrogance, he considers the other defendants inferior. Yet the construct of fear built around him is so strong that it constrains him to the terror. He spirals into uncertainty and becomes infatuated with seeking help to prove his innocence and becomes engulfed by the view that his impending doom is inevitable. Any hope of his acquittal is trampled through carefully fabricated narratives of those who come across him discussing his case and those he is seeking help form. All of this is happening while the fear is gripping his mind, imprisoning it while his body is free to roam around. This probably draws out on the nature of human beings that we often deem ourselves innocent but cannot prove it or challenge the world, eventually accepting the blame and live with undue guilt.

I dubbed this novel a piece of art because the book is a great spectacle of descriptive writing. It’s a narrative that is masterful at placing the reader in the setting, the surroundings become almost tangible with the way Kafka portrays the world he creates and places the reader in the setting right alongside the protagonist. Would this expansive way of writing appeal to the average reader of the modern age we live in? Probably not. His evocative words would have spun magic in the times that the book was written in, but is unlikely to have an impact on the reader today if they do not have an appreciation of literary writing.

An average reader impressed by the reputation that Kafka has built over the last century will pick up the book, look for a plot line, find it absent and might cast the book aside. It will tire them; reading page after page of description and lengthy dialogue that moves through expansive narrative between characters that pop up along the book at random. Should you pick up this book to read? Yes, for the author sends a profound message about human nature. Kafka has drawn our attention to the reality that we are seemingly free but are bound by our inner fears. They hinder us from taking a leap in faith to achieve our goals, imprisoning us to our own insecurities when we are free to explore endless possibilities. The prison is inside our own heads. In times when we should stand on the solid ground of faith within ourselves, the continuous need to seek validation from those around us often overtakes. When we should be wrestling with our reality to bring about a change, we lose this belief in ourselves and often accept our circumstances or fate because of others’ view of us, which can paralyse us, obstructing our move forward to inner emancipation.


A profound exploration of an individual's entanglement with an opaque justice system and the internal prisons of fear and validation, set in a vividly descriptive world that may challenge modern readers.

The Trial - A review


#### Cease, cows, life is short.

Full disclaimer 1: This book will not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Full disclaimer 2: Keeping in mind the enormity of this narrative, I will only attempt to do partial justice to this review.

This book had been on my list for the last two years, sitting on my pile labeled ‘to read’. Somehow it always found its way to the bottom of the pile, bearing the load of other literature on its back that always seemed to climb up the ladder of my reading priority. It was perhaps due to the general view out there that it’s a complex read.

It is.

Now that that’s out of the way, we can talk about a book that is nothing less than a masterpiece. Written by the Columbian writer Gabriel García Márquez in 1967, it is a novel that spans over multiple generations. It is set in the town of Macondo, a fictional place so far removed from reality that people believe in flying carpets, in the magic of magnets and where ice is a wonder.

Why is this book a masterpiece? The author has set the book alive with magic realism, making the possibilities endless for imagination, for pushing the boundaries with language. He sets up the schema in such a way that it becomes possible to create events in shapes and forms that prove instrumental for portraying characters, exploring attributes that contribute to the complexity of human nature.

The beauty of this book is that it heavily relies on descriptive writing to create a powerful narrative without relying on dialogue. The dialogue is really scarce throughout the text. If you are a person who is looking for a story to read, then I would ask you to leave this book alone. However if you are someone who craves to lose themselves in the enchantment of the power of words, please go ahead and enjoy phrases such as “tying a colourful string of chatter together” or “rumble of the termites as they carved the wood” and “the snipping of the moths in the clothes closets”, language so vivid that you can almost hear the termites and moths hard at work, bringing about destruction. One of my absolute favourite lines is “The world must be all fucked up, when men travel first class and literature goes as freight.” The author’s ability to give life to inanimate objects is undeniably the most powerful tool used to impress upon the vividness of the world that he has created.

There are as many stories running in this book as there aren’t. This work is majorly a portrayal of journeys undertaken by several generations of a family who exist in each others’ presence in absolute solitude. They go around carrying the burden of life, each in their own way with their unique codes of life. However they do not remain unaffected from the actions and decisions of each other. It has a profound impact on shaping and driving the course of future generations. This is depicted in the strong metaphor Marquez uses of time going around in a circle. The characteristic traits of the family are unconsciously transcribed, adopted through heredity and translated sometimes across multiple generations, thus rendering it impossible to break the circle and making repetition of history unavoidable.

There are too many characters in the book to comment on them all. So I have picked a few to review. There is Jose Arcadio Buendia who is driven into madness with his un quenchable thirst for innovation, who sets the wheels in motion by giving rise to Macondo. There is his wife Ursula who has the undying need to set things right even in the face of calamities. The author makes a very powerful point using Ursula that as humans the understanding and comprehension of others around us doesn’t simply come about by seeing them. Our mental constructs of those around us rise from us being watchful and through the silence of observation, and not through the simple magic of sight.

Amaranta is a mighty character who spends her life nurturing with hatred the tender love she develops as a young girl. She dedicates her life and soul to the one person whom she deems responsible for snatching her love, as a result of which she tends and nurtures further passions in life, only to murder them mercilessly herself, when they become mature enough to leave the crib. It seems that her rival in love Rebecca holds onto dear life, despite her slow decay for decades, simply to spite her worthy opponent. Then there is Fernanda, she has been so miserable for so long that it has become a part of her person, she doesn’t ever notice it "Rain didn’t bother her, it had been raining all her life". She who goes through the motions of life unaffected, going through the charade meticulously just so she doesn’t have to face her misery and drown in it, perpetually avoiding the inevitable. There is such an array of complex characters that it is an enormous task attempting to do justice to all. All in all the manner in which the conclusion of the narrative has been executed is powerful in itself. It is a manifestation of the repetitive nature of life, drawing on the metaphor of time going around in circle, unless of course “it stumbles and has an accident, in which case it can splinter and leave an eternalized fragment in a room”.


A vivid, dialogue-scarce narrative, illustrating the cyclical nature of time and generational impacts within a family, brought to life through rich descriptions and complex characters.

One Hundred Years of Solitude - A review


Five Dunbar boys living in Sydney, with a dead mother Penelope, and a runaway father Michael Dunbar, referred to as the murderer - this is the opening premise of the book "Bridge of Clay" by the Australian author Markus Zusak. I have read “The Book Thief” by Zusak and it’s a great story, usually the first book you read from an author, if it’s a good book would play such chords that the next one from the same author sets the bar rather high. This time it was the other way around. When I read Bridge of Clay, for me it rated higher than The Book Thief. Maybe because it explores the topic of love and family in such a unique way. I have to say Zusak is not one of my favourite authors, I find his array of sentiments written repeatedly in small sentences a bit distracting. He also has a habit of foretelling the events of the book, not in their entirety - the details of the events still stay tucked away but the build up to the event itself can be quite drawn out.

Having said that, let’s talk about what I do love about this book. It is definitely the build up of characters of all five brothers. Interesting to see how living in the same circumstances have brought out completely different personality traits in all of them, with Matthew being responsible, Henry as rowdy, Rory a fighter, Clay as sensitive and Tommy as the youngest of the family who gets away with most things such as keeping a plethora of pets with quirky names and habits. Their chemistry is so pure, raw and you can see it in the way the bothers beat each other up but are also willing to die for one another. The resilience with which they have raised themselves up in the absence of their parents is chaotic and clumsy on their best days. Yet you can feel the strength of the brother’s bonds so deeply. When Clay leaves to be with his father, brothers are cut by his betrayal. Upon return, Matthew feels “so damn good to see him” but pretends otherwise, he “couldn’t show how much he didn’t want to hit him, he had to look willing and sure” to beat him up after which Rory carries him in the house. There is no pretence, they wear their emotions on their sleeves.

Lets take a moment to speak of the expertise with which Zusak riddles his work with metaphors. Some of the metaphors and similes he uses blow me away. When Matthew is speaking of her mother’s illness he describes it as “Death was leaning close, an arm draped over the fridge” or talking about her treatments as “she was opened up and shut back tight, like a car on the side of the highway”. The mere fact that the name of the book is “ Bridge of Clay” is very symbolic as the story is of Clay building a bridge both physically and symbolically to bridge the gap between his father and his brothers. Why it was so crucial to build this bridge and that too by Clay and his father when it was considered as a stark betrayal on part of the remaining four brothers is the essence of the story. How it forces one to rethink the use of the word murderer when Matthew says “he killed us, what we were is dead”.

The recurring reference to their father as the murderer is curious in itself as the father comes off as a devoted figure before the mother’s death. This plays to Zusak’s afore-mentioned tendency to foretell the events without giving the plot away. It leaves you curious as to what could have gone so wrong in this beautifully chaotic family that pitched the sons against their father. The protracted detailing of the events of the past is almost inevitable to understand the significance of the part Clay and Michael play in Penelope’s story line. When you reach the climax of the story and the truth lies bare, you can almost forgive Zusak for the overstretched storytelling. Varying degrees of emotions grip your heart and you feel the burden of truth within yourself. It makes you think to what extent a human would stretch to protect his/her loved ones from the cruelty of everyday reality that we call life…


Delve into the lives of five brothers navigating loss and betrayal, interweaving raw emotion, metaphors, and family bonds in a narrative that challenges perceptions of love and sacrifice.

Bridge of Clay - A review


I came across this title when browsing for some contemporary reading, taking a break from some heavy literature. This is one of those rare times when I didn’t read the spiel at the back of the book to get an idea of what world I was stepping into. It usually takes a good 1/6th of the book for me to get completely absorbed. For this book, few pages into it and I was lost in the marshland in North Carolina.

The reason was simple - simplicity. The author has chosen her simple matter of fact style of writing to draw the landscape for us to step in. At the age of six, the protagonist Catherine aka Kya strongly holds onto the belief that “A Ma don’t leave her kids. It ain’t in ‘em”. Little did she know that soon she will be abandoned by her mother, siblings and father, and be left to fend for herself. Kya at the tender age of seven is left to navigate the world riddled with prejudices, pre conceived notions and judgement. Kay’s story is that of resilience and survival, making the best of the worst of circumstances. Kya is one of my favourite contemporary heroins who makes peace with what life has handed to her and perseveres even in the face of having no hope for the future, just for basic survival.

I am a romantic at heart, so of course when Tate, Kya’s lover is introduced, he has me swooning over him. This is not because he is her knight in shining armour, it’s because he is there when no one else is with Kya - reading her first words, being a friend, seeing her become a woman. He gives her hope of living a life beyond her imagination, making her think anything is possible without overwhelming her. However he is not without flaws. Tate is a complex character who is standing on the edge of the divide between Kya’s world and his own, unable to see how he can amalgamate the two. His unconditional love for Kya speaks volumes when he becomes her teacher, her guide and helps her navigate through the changes happening in and around her. On one hand he sees her innocence and on the other the world where the likes of Kya are unaccepted, and it seems to him to have one, he must give up the other. He is “the coward inside who would not tell her goodbye” and turns his back on her.

Chase is another of Kya’s lovers, who is more of a typical example of someone living by the world’s rules, unable to break the chain of bias, someone who is curious enough to experience the mysterious but not bold enough to own it..

The character building in this book is subtle with simple words that convey the most touching sentiments. You feel Kya’s “lonely life hanging in her kitchen” in the “tiny supply of onions in vegetable basket” or “in the single plate drying in the rack”. When you get to know Kya and the life she has, it makes your heart ache with the injustice she has been served when you read “why should the injured, the still bleeding, bear the onus of forgiveness?”

Her confliction is obvious when Chase playing music was the only time Kya thought “was when he most had a soul”. Not only this gives us the insight into what she is thinking, it’s shows us the weakness of human nature to still want to be loved even if it’s settling for less than we deserve! Humans are as weak as they are strong, as flawed as are magnificent. The real test comes along when the balance tips in favour of one or the other. This story is a perfect portrayal of each individual not being good or bad, everyone has a capacity to be either, it is the choices that we make shows who we are…

This story is a tale of internal struggle to break the norms of society and live with what life throws at us. A story of love, mystery, murder, breaking bounds and acceptance, a tale of justice. It keeps you turning pages right up till the end, just when you stop expecting the unexpected, it pulls you up short!


Set in the marshlands of North Carolina, follow Kya's journey of resilience, survival, and navigating societal prejudices, intertwined with complexities of love, mystery, and a pursuit of justice.

Where The Crawdads Sing - A review


This is the primary premise of the book “Animal farm” by George Orwell. The book starts off at a farm house where animals are holding a meeting, and the Old Major (the boar) is urging all the animals to revolt against farmer Jones. Humans are unproductive, parasitic, yet dominant over the hard working animals. Animals work hard and yet humans reap all the reward, leaving animals with nothing more than a temporary shelter for as long as they remain productive. Taking the old Major’s words to their heart, the animals overthrow Jones, run him off the farm and take it over for themselves, proclaiming all animals as equals on the farm.

Hence begins the saga of Orwell’s utopian novel, outlining the idiocy of human behaviour, with emphasis on the political structures of the communist society. When this book was first written it gained very little importance, on account of it being a satire and cynical piece, tearing apart the myths of the Soviet Communism. Here we are not going to discuss the political influences or implications of the book, instead let’s look at some patterns of human behaviour.

In the book, there are two main characters “Napoleon and Snowball” with opposing views and personalities, both eager to lead the animals (despite all animals being equal). The constant battle for power between the two leaders brings to light the greed of ambitious human beings to grab power with whatever means they can. If this means discrediting the opposing party by means of deceit, so be it. Just the way Napoleon not only overthrows Snowball with the help of his personal army, but also steals his ideas and presents them as his very own. There are references in the book throughout about the powerful leader placing blame of all calamities on the exiled leader. This is very reflective of human beings’ nature of rising and retaining power not by building ourselves up but by dragging others down.

In real life, we see the average person being used as a pawn to keep the powerful in power. This is depicted in the book as animals are constantly made to occupy their minds with one conspiracy or other, they are weaved into a web of never ending responsibilities and tasks that are posed to achieve their own betterment. This constant whirl wind of commotion created by leaders leaves very little room for thought or imagination. Peer pressure and fear of mockery also never allows one to question the forever changing rules to suit the needs of those in power. Such is the case of the rules written by animals themselves and how “all animals are equal” changes overtime into, “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”.

Orwell has successfully sketched the delicate play of (im)balance of power in the world. What is the take away? In our fight to seek justice, we inadvertently become what we try to avoid- “fours legs good, two legs better”!


In our fight to seek justice, we inadvertently become what we try to avoid.

Animal Farm - A review


I humbly boasted about having written a blog about “story telling” during an afternoon tea, when one of my friends suggested I write out a recommendation for children’s reading list. This was fantastic - not only had she given me an idea of my next blog post while my book review for “Animal Farm” was still brewing, it brought back childhood memories of some wonderful summer afternoons spent with my nose in a book. Popular with kids these days are “Captain Underpants” “Dog Man” “ the Bad Guys” “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and the likes. We already know all about these books as we choke back the tears along with our literary sense and pat our kids on the back to celebrate their efforts to “read”.

There is nothing wrong with these books, on the contrary, they prove very effective at getting our kids involved in reading in today’s highly technological times of relatively smaller attention spans. However if you would like to turn your child’s attention to some children’s classics with a bit more depth, I would suggest you make a trip down to the river bank and join the shy Mole and the clever but friendly Water Rat, hop in a boat and be off to save a very pompous Mr. Toad from his own world of never ending troubles in “The Wind in the Willows”. Follow Alice down a rabbit hole and be enchanted with a magical world of “Alice in Wonderland“. My absolute all time favourite is “Anne of Green Gables”, a story about coming of age of an orphan girl in uncharted territories of her newly adopted world. Her adventurous personality, new challenges of everyday life and unparalleled power of imagination make her stand out as one of the most captivating children’s heroine. One of my accidental finds at a local library was a children’s book by J.R.R.Tolkien called “ Mr Bliss” that proved to be highly entertaining. It’s a quirky story of a series of mishaps that happen to Mr Bliss as he ventures out to buy a motor car.

Some of the other children’s classics include “Treasure Island”, “ Where the Wild Things Are”, “Little Prince”, “Heidi”, “Secret Garden”, “A Wrinkle in Time”, “ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” to name a few. You can also dip your toes in the pool of series of very successful books such as “The Treehouse” series, “A series of unfortunate events” and the “Harry Potter” collection ( another one of my favourites!!!). Enid Blyton is an excellent children’s author who penned “The Magic Faraway Tree”, The Enchanted Wood”, “The Famous Five” series and “Naughty Amelia Jane” among many others.

Enjoy a magical journey with your kids, you are never too old to read a children’s book yourself too!!!


Rediscover the joy of children's literature alongside your kids.

On Children's Books


We all read for different reasons. Entertainment is a significant one. Knowledge and expansion are others. But what makes a book click? When I read a book, I look for a story that will engross me in the days to come. I get lost in the language of the book, immersed in the setting created by the power of the words. Words can make or break a story. The same story told in two different styles can have a completely different impact on a reader. Half the magic is in the story itself; the other half is in the storytelling. How did the author come up with this particular line? How impressive is that metaphor? How did they convey what's written on paper so that I can feel it in my heart? If a narrative's language doesn't profoundly captivate the reader, the writing is weak.

However, words are not the only pillars upon which a story stands. Attention to detail and character development are equally vital. We need to understand the characters, not necessarily their appearance, but their essence. If there's no backstory, it becomes challenging to emotionally connect with the protagonist. One of the most potent ways to establish this connection is by exploring how the protagonist acts/reacts in everyday situations. The character's thoughts and opinions on daily matters can also reveal their inner self. Additionally, understanding a character's depth is enriched by learning what others think and feel about them. Without grasping who they are and why, it's hard to empathize or feel antagonistic towards them.

Another crucial factor is the emotional maturity of both the characters and the narrative. I'm not referring to age or time, but to the depth of feelings and experiences conveyed. When we read a book, we embark on a journey. This journey isn't just about the passage of time; it can trace the ebb and flow of characters' relationships, a coming-of-age transformation, or a pivotal event. Regardless of the narrative's direction, whether positive or destructive, consistent development is imperative.

These are just some of the aspects I'll be delving into for each book I read: what made it resonate and what failed to captivate me. These are my personal opinions, so feel free to disagree 😊.


Intricate character development and attention to detail are crucial for readers to connect emotionally with the story.