Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Herman Melville GENRE: Classic Short Story RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: A classic novella combining comedy and tragedy in a memorable way. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea as the themes are quite subtle. I am still not sure if I got them all. But I liked it enough, and that’s what counts. J Story Synopsis: The unnamed first-person narrator is an elderly gentleman who owns a law firm on Wall Street. He has two scriveners (scribe/clerk) working for him, along with an office boy. However, when the work gets hectic, he decides to hire another scrivener. Enter Bartleby – a pallid young man who does his copy work most meticulously. But he has a “flaw’. Whenever he is asked to do anything outside of his core duty, he replies, ‘I prefer not to.” The narrator is in turn flummoxed and frustrated and furious, but as Bartleby does his copy work well, he is still retained in employment. As time passes by, Bartleby’s “preferences” become even more restrictive. How will the owner tackl...

AUTHOR: Min Jin Lee SERIES: Disorder, #1 GENRE: Short Story. RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: An impactful short story highlighting the patriarchal culture of South Korea through the eyes of a little girl. Gripping all the way till the stunning ending. If you want a happy story, stay away. For everyone else, this is a must-read. Story Synopsis: Our unnamed first-person narrator, who is nine years old, is the eldest of five children – with only the youngest being a boy. The narrator knows that only boys can provide for their families and bring acclaim to the family name. She also knows that her sisters and she must do all they can to ensure that her brother gets the best of everything, even if she herself is excellent at school. After all, she is a good girl. And this is what good girls do. This story is a part of ‘Disorder’, described on Amazon as “a collection of six short stories of living nightmares, chilling visions, and uncanny imagination that explore a world losing its bal...

AUTHOR: C.S. Robertson GENRE: Murder Mystery RATING: 2 stars. In a Nutshell: A mystery-drama with mild paranormal shades and a quirky aged lead character. The plot idea had great potential. Should have worked better for me, but the execution didn’t leave me happy. This is an outlier review. Story Synopsis: Sixty-something Marjorie Crowe has lived alone in a little Scottish village for twenty-five years. Yet, all the villagers know about her is that she is a creature of habit and a recluse. Her past life is a mystery. And her present habits cause many to feel that she’s a witch. So they gladly leave her alone, though they do talk about her behind her back, and she knows it. Living in her cottage on the edge of the village, Marjorie has a fixed routine for every day, planned down to the second. This changes the day teenaged Charlie McKee is found hanging on the outskirts of the village. This is the first day that Marjorie is seven minutes late returning from her morning walk. Loca...

AUTHOR: Effua Gleed ILLUSTRATOR: Juanita Londoño Gaviria GENRE: Children's Picture Book RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A lovely story about a little princess who has a bed-wetting problem. Loved the story as well as the illustrations. Great for kids who share the same problem and are looking for moral support and a helpful suggestion. Story Synopsis: Princess Amma has a lovely time all day at her palace, playing with her parents the King and the Queen, and her Grandma Grace. However, at night, her imagination works against her, bring a host of worries. The result? A wet bed in the morning. No matter how many suggestions the palace staff and the royal parents try out, nothing helps. Until it is time for Grandma Grace and her wisdom. What’s not to love about this story! Every single bit is charming, right from the punny title to the theme to the plot to the illustrations. Amma with her giant afro makes for the most adorable princess. Her imagination is as wild as her hair, and he...

AUTHOR: Brittany Long Olsen GENRE: Middle-grade Graphic Novel RATING: 3.5 stars In a Nutshell: A middle-grade graphic novel focussing on emotions and their positive manipulation through a “happy shop” selling feelings. A wholesome story but might be a bit too intense or deep for little minds. Story Synopsis: Eleven-year-old Darcy isn’t happy about moving to a new town where the people and the weather both seem unfriendly. While running an errand for her mother, she discovers a quaint store named “The Happy Shop”, which sells happy feelings. When Darcy accidentally breaks one of the magical jars, she is allowed to make it up to the shop owners, sisters Frida and Flora, by working there after school to help with the cleaning and simple chores. Darcy soon discovers that the shop isn’t doing so well. Can she help Flora and Frida save the shop? Along the way, she also learns how happiness works. In terms of concept, the book is fabulous. Understanding that happiness isn’t the only important...

AUTHOR: V.P. Kale GENRE: Short Story Collection RATING: 3.55 stars. In a Nutshell: A short story collection that serves as a good introduction to this respected Marathi author’s works. A bit dated in content, but has enough of wit and satire to keep you invested. Reading Marathi books has not been on my agenda since long. This is mainly because Marathi has been my weakest subject since my school days. I have had the misfortune of having such obnoxious Marathi teachers throughout my school years than instead of developing a passion for the language, all they created in my heart was dread and dislike. The monotonous textbooks, with the focus being more on esoteric content than on contemporary stories more attractive to kids, didn’t help matters. (Hindi, in contrast, was far better handled and taught.) Moreover, I don’t stay in an area with many Marathi speakers. Simply put, my skills in Marathi were and are very rusty. In the last couple of years though, I have expanded my reading acr...

AUTHOR: Kari Lavelle GENRE: Children's Nonfiction, Animals RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: Quite similar to the first book BUTT with new animals and new butts and faces to sort out from. Great as a classroom resource. When I had read 'Butt or Face?' , I wish I had known that there was a second book in the offing. I used all my *booty*licious puns in that review, and have *bottom*ed out of *face*tious vocabulary. Kindly *ass*cuse the lack of *cheek*iness in the rest of this write-up. The format is the same as in the first book. We have some tricky photos of some part of an animal’s anatomy, and the reader has to answer a simple question – is it a butt or a face? As kids enjoy potty humour, I am sure they will have fun with their guesses. To add to the fun, ask kids if they can guess which animal, or even which species the depicted butt or face belongs to. That is much, much trickier! The answer is provided on the next page, along with the complete photo of the creature. (...

AUTHORS: Various GENRE: Fantasy Anthology. RATING: 3.45 stars. In a Nutshell: An anthology of genre mash-up stories coming from fantasy, horror, sci-fi, dystopian, and retellings. Was a bit too mashed-up for my liking, but it might work better for the right reader. This collection of twenty-one tales comes with a very clear intent. Each story within intends to cross boundaries of genre. That also explains the title of ‘Tumbled Tales’ – every tale subverts traditional genres and tumbles into an array of some innovative combinations. We have already seen how mainstream novels these days aren’t restricted to a single genre, when why should short stories stay behind? As such, every single one of these twenty-one tales straddles at least two genres, sometimes totally unexpected ones. The editor’s note at the start is quite detailed and precise, penning her thoughts and intent for this collection. She also mentioned her reason for selecting each of the twenty-tales, giving a brief insight ab...

AUTHOR: Megan Bannen SERIES: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, #1 GENRE: Fantasy-Romance RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: A romantasy with shades of light and dark. Loved the lead characters, liked the story, found the world-building decent. Didn’t expect zombies! Good for those who enjoy this genre and don’t mind spicy and/or paranormal content. Story Synopsis: Hart is a marshal patrolling the wild lands of Tanria. Mercy is handling her family’s undertaking business almost alone after her father suffers a health scare. Hart hates Mercy. Mercy hates Hart. But their paths keep intersecting as his work makes him visit the undertakers often. Both don’t realise how lonely they are in their situations. One day, feeling quite low, Hart finds himself penning a heartfelt missive to “A Friend”, not expecting that the magical postal system will ensure that he gets an anonymous letter back. Guess whom it is from? ( No marks if you got that right! ) Thus begins the open-hate-secret-love relatio...

AUTHOR: Sue Lancaster ILLUSTRATORS: Rocio Caputo & Diego Vaisberg GENRE: Children's Picture Book RATING: 4 stars. In a Nutshell: “The perfect one” to read with children who either are or are siblings of perfectionists. Has lessons for kids as well as parents. Cute illustrations as well. Story Synopsis: Cami and Isa are sisters, looking alike, even sounding alike. But do you think they are alike? Not at all! Cami is a perfectionist, always preparing for and completing any activity well in advance. Isa, on the other hand, is more of a "good enough-ist", tackling every task only at the last minute and bothering only about completion than about perfection. Which of them is doing the right thing? Through this simple story, the book highlights the positives and negatives of each of their approaches and shows how there can be a realistic middle ground without any major compromise. A balance between 100% stress and 100% relaxation is essential for children to learn, and ...

AUTHOR: Claire Prentice GENRE: Investigative Nonfiction. RATING: 3.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A medical true-crime narration focussing on a lobotomist who affected hundreds of lives in the USA from the mid-1950s onwards. Somewhat dry in narration. Might work better for those who know nothing of the case. Dr. Walter Freeman was a man with great credentials: a neurology professor, a private practice owner, former president of American board of psychiatry and neurology. He was also a man with great plans: he wanted to use his “cheap and easy” 10-minute lobotomy technique to *help* asylum inmates get rid of their mental afflictions, by which they could be discharged and the overburdened and underfunded public psychiatric institutions could focus only on the worst of cases. While Freeman started off with a declared intention of using lobotomy only on those patients who could benefit from it, he was so determined to make his technique the most effective solution to the asylum crisis that afte...

AUTHOR: Claire Oshetsky GENRE: Literary Fiction, Magical Realism RATING: 4.25 stars. In a Nutshell: A dark and quirky literary fiction about a poor dear who is haunted by a “Poor Deer”. Grief and hope intermingled with magical realism and atmospheric writing. If all this intrigues you, this book is for you. Story Synopsis: Margaret’s first memory is of the day the local school ground flooded. This was also the day when four-year-old Margaret’s life changed forever. With a burden too great for her little shoulders to bear, she turned to fairy tales, both on paper and in her mind, to escape her loneliness. Now at sixteen, Margaret is penning her confession, goaded by Poor Deer, a strange creature who seems to have great power over Margaret, as she knows her too well. How much of the confession is true? Is Margaret able to differentiate between fact and fiction in her mind? Who is Poor Deer and why does she have such a hold over Margaret? Most of the plot comes to us through the frame ...

AUTHOR: Laurie Frankel NARRATOR: Gabra Zackman GENRE: Contemporary Fiction RATING: 4.5 stars. In a Nutshell: A beautiful contemporary fiction about a little boy who isn’t a boy. Emotional, realistic, thought-provoking. Well-written almost all the way. Highly recommended. Story Synopsis: Ever since her younger sister Poppy died of cancer during her childhood, Rosie has wanted a daughter named Poppy. But when she has five boys with her writer husband Penn, she accepts that “Poppy” will just be a dream. When her youngest, Claude, is five, he says that he wants to be a girl when he grows up. And maybe even before that. Thus begins a long game of what to reveal and what to keep secret., where to encourage Claude and where to dissuade him, how to keep the family united when little things are driving them apart. Giving them all a thread of hope is a fairy tale. The story comes to us in the limited third person perspectives of Claude, Rosie, and Penn. Bookish Yays: 😍 The handling of the p...

AUTHOR: Lucy E.M. Black GENRE: Historical Fiction RATING: 3.5 stars In a Nutshell: An interesting look at a historical brickworks set up in rural Ontario by two Scotsmen. Wasn’t a fan of the overly descriptive writing style, but the story kept me going. Great research, realistic characters. Good for historical fiction fans. Story Synopsis: 1879, Scotland. When the Tay Bridge collapses, almost everyone blames the driver of the train for the disaster. Reduced to poverty, the life of his widow and his young son Brodie changes forever. Luckily for Brodie, a kind uncle takes charge of his future, and of his wish to study engineering. 1909, New York. Alastair Lamont, an immigrant Scotsman, works at a steel mill, and is very good at his job. But he dreams of having his own brickworks company, just as his father did back when he was alive. When Alastair and Brodie bump into each other, the two men realise that their ambitions can be achieved faster if they work together. They purchase land in...