#BookReview : The Legacy of Nothing by Manoj Pandey

The Legacy of Nothing is a collection of stories culled from the ennui of modern living. These disjointed tales of dark, disparate, desperate lives entertain, provoke and challenge our empathy. Manoj Pandey’s poetic prose is an insider’s job — a unique exploration of the emptiness inside the eggshell of contemporary existence.

The Legacy of Nothing  is a collection of contemporary short stories written by Manoj Pandey & illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, published by Pan Macmillan India. The author is also an illustrator & is from New Delhi. His work has appeared in Huffington Post, Indian Express, etc. He has also edited a book of short fiction Tales on Tweet which was published in 2016. Yuko Shimizu is a Japanese illustrator based in New York & instructor at the School of Visual Arts.

The book is a collection of 10 short stories written in a poetry format. The stories cover a wide array of topics like that of the spirit of migrants trying to make a living in foreign soil away from their homeland or a struggling musician who is ready to do anything to be famous even if he has to use a rape incident to do so. Other stories indulge in stories like the journey of a man who changes his sex & what led to his decision, or of people who become friends via Facebook & what happens when they meet. Apart from these, there are six more stories all exploring different ideas. Get this book here,

At first look no one can guess that this book is a collection of short stories as it is extremely small & many of its pages have beautiful illustrations. This book has all the ingredients to be a super hit but unfortunately it didn’t worked for me. I understand that the stories being super short is it’s unique selling point but I believe at the same time the stories should engulf the readers into it’s world which didn’t happened for me. The stories lacked depth & sensitivity. The illustrations are to die for. A unique experiment which could’ve been executed a little better.   

#BookReview : But You Don't Look Like A Muslim by Rakhshanda Jalil

What does it mean to be Muslim in India? What does it mean to look like one's religion? Does one's faith determine how one is perceived? Is there a secular ideal one is supposed to live up to? Can people of different faiths have a shared culture, a shared identity? India has, since time immemorial, been plural, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual, where various streams have fed into and strengthened each other, and where dissimilarities have always been a cause for rejoicing rather than strife. These writings, on and about being Muslim in India, by Rakhshanda Jalil one of the country s foremost literary historians and cultural commentators excavate memories, interrogate dilemmas, and rediscover and celebrate a nation and its syncretic culture.

But You Don’t Look Like A Muslim is a non-fiction written by Rakhshanda Jalil & published by Harper Collins India. Apart from being a writer she is also a critic & a literary historian. She is also a well-known translator, with eight published translations of Premchand, Asghar Wajahat, Saadat Hasan Manto, Shahryar, Intezar Hussain and Phanishwarnath Renu.

The book is a collection of 40 essays divided into 4 groups of 10 essays each. Each group has been titled as per the four pillars which affect any community; politics, culture, literature & religion itself. The first essay’s title My Father Did Not Take the Train to Pakistan in itself is a punch to one’s throat, while one can interpret it in many ways but it was enough for me to make sure this book is going to be a hell of a emotional roller coaster. Each essay while includes personal stories of not just the author but of other people, it also contains some detailed historical facts which gives depth to the essays. Get this book here,

I would surely start from the title itself, something which we heard quite a lot more than the number of times we should come across it. How not being recognized as a Muslim from one’s appearance normalizes their existence in the society but definite question that arises is that what happens if one DOES look like a Muslim? The author tries to wrestle with several such topics regarding the identity of a Muslim and gives several relevant references to describe it. The chapters have been interwoven with beautiful poems to sum up the essays and each group gives you a wholesome idea about each of the subject matter. In the current scenario of our country, I believe books with such personal stories need to be told widely because these can prove to be a tool to break the divide between us vs them. A must read. 

#Spotlight : The Missing Fairy Princess by Walter Salvadore Pereira

The Missing Fairy Princess by Walter Salvadore Pereira

~ Book Tour~

11th to 17th August

About the Book:

“The Missing Fairy Princess” is the story of a 16-year-old fairy princess pitted against a powerful witch. The witch has stolen a potent new mantra developed by a colleague, ruthlessly snuffing out a brilliantly innovative mind.  She then hatches an elaborate plot to frame an adversary for her misdeed.  Her intention is to exact sweet revenge from her foe and at the same time, get away with the theft.  The victim, caught in her vicious web, is doomed to disgrace and a life sentence on a harsh penal colony. Meanwhile, the witch learns from her crystal ball, about an imminent threat from a fairy princess wearing a pink tiara.  To ward off that threat she kidnaps the fairy princess, wipes her memory clean and then turns her into a two-year-old girl.  

Unfortunately for the culprit, she has goofed up by kidnapping the wrong fairy princess, Merlyn, instead of Ashlyn, her twin.  The mistake turns out to be the undoing of the witch because Ashlyn proves to be her nemesis.  The brilliant fairy princess exposes the cobweb of misleading evidence fabricated by the witch, ultimately unmasking her.

If you love mystery, whodunit, with a dash of magical realism and sci-fi, this book is for you.

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon India * Amazon USA

Hi, I am Walter Salvadore Pereira.

I read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe in early teens and discovered for the first time that the written words stirred up emotions within you as much as the actual events one witnessed occurring around.  That book was followed by “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas.  Those two books of entirely different genres had a profound impact on me and set on my journey as an avid book lover.  At the same time, they did ignite an urge within me to emulate their authors.  But then family responsibilities were thrust upon me and the author faded into the background.

More than six decades later, leading a quiet retired life, the passion for writing came to the fore.  My first attempt at writing was a historical fiction, inspired by the Indian classics Ramayan and Mahabharat.  It was an epic comprising of over 100,000 words.  During the writing process, I went through every conceivable phase the author undergoes; writer’s block, frustration, despair, uncertainty.  I even reached the stage where I thought about abandoning the project altogether.  But the thought of the slog over those countless hours wouldn’t let me accept defeat and I persisted through tenacity and sheer will power.  I read it over and over, and again; chopped out entire sections and re-wrote until the outcome was to my satisfaction.  It took me over six years to complete that book, titled “Bheem – The Saga of Madhavpur” and finally, it was published during February this year on KDP Select.

In between, I published a fast-paced adventure sci-fi story titled “This Nightmare is for Real”.

I had been toying with the idea of a fairy tale for the last few years on account of it being the favourite topic of my granddaughter during her younger days.  The result is the current book, “The Missing Fairy Princess”.

I have made a foray in a totally different genre altogether for my next one – the cross-border terrorism faced by India – titled “The Carnivore has a Heart”.  It will be published through KDP Select within the next few days. 

About the Author:

After spending over 25 years in the Middle East, the author, aged 75, now leads a retired life.  He lives with his wife and son in Thane, near Mumbai. He has been passionate about writing from his early days.  His first book was a fast-paced sci-fi novel titled “This Nightmare is for Real”, was self-published. That was followed by a historical fiction titled “Bheem – The Sage of Madhavpur”, again a self-publication.  A third book, a fairy tale titled “The Missing Fairy Princess” which was published on Kindle Select during the first week of June 2019, while a fourth on the oft-discussed topic of cross-border terrorism titled “The Carnivore has a Heart” is slated for publication shortly thereafter again on Kindle Select.

Contact the Author:

Facebook * Twitter * Website

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