Yukichi Yamamatsu - Stupid Guy Goes To India

Stupid Guy Goes To India by Yukichi Yamamatsu

My VARS rating: 3 of 5 stars


Interesting account, narrated graphically, of the time spent in Delhi by Japanese Manga artist Yukichi Yamamatsu. That said, it is most likely going to appeal only to readers of Indian origin.



View all my reviews

Guy Delisle - Burma Chronicles

Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle
My VARS rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although the book is best described as a graphic novel, this description is not entirely accurate. Unlike a novel where there is a plot and a streamlined narrative (Persepolis, Kabul Disco, etc), this book is more aptly described as a collection of experiences gathered by the author when he spent a little over a year in Myanmar (Burma) when his doctor wife was posted there as part of MSF.

The book is insightful and revealing and offers a comprehensive though superficial canvas of what life in Burma can be like when seen through the eyes of an expat.

Delisle's sketches are simple but graceful and his style grew on me as I advanced into the novel. That said, the book only began to get interesting for me somewhere around the halfway mark - probably because I had managed to reconcile my expectations for the narrative style by then.

It makes me want to read his two other novels - Pyongyang and Shenzhen.

View all my reviews

Naresh Fernandes - City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay

City Adrift : A Short Biography of Bombay by Naresh Fernandes
My VARS rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting book that displays the meticulous research done by the author in trying to pen "a short biography of Bombay". He chooses to call the city by its older name - Bombay - and that is indicative of his thoughts and inclinations on the city and how it is evolving. There's snippets of trivia and interesting factoids, but overall, the big theme that the author takes forward is that Mumbai has never been subjected to "planned development" and probably never will be. And that is a constant lament through the book.

I felt he could have written some more about the Parsee community in Bombay and their contributions to its development, or when discussing socio-economic shifts, the unique Baugs that the Parsees created for themselves to house their kin.

But then, its a short biography. So, what we read is what we get.

View all my reviews