The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish – A book review

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish – A book review

As soon as I had the chance, I jumped at the chance of reading The Justice when I heard it was a book based on a true survivor of rape and sexual abuse. Did it work for me? You have to read my book review of The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish to know more.

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About The Justice

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish book review

Book Name: The Justice

Author: Nikhil Khasnabish

Genre: Fiction – Romance

Characters: Ime Borah, Zumur, Pranati and Pinto, Uddipan

Setting: Assam, India

Disclaimer: The review was commissioned by the author and it has not changed my opinion on the book any manner.

Plot Summary of The Justice

Ime Borah has had a sheltered and happy life. A parents who loved her, supportive friends and a fiancé who can’t wait to marry her.

But her whole life changes when she is raped by two men. Her parents do not let her out of their sight or their house and her best friend broke up with her. Most importantly, Ime decides to call off her wedding because she knows “she is stained”.

Her area’s local vigilante group, Save Women Society, take it upon themselves to find her rapists. Does justice prevail? Do the culprits get captured? Does she get her life back forms the rest of The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish.

Book review of The Justice

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish is a fast paced, short book that can be read in an hour or so. It is written in an Indianized English and is filled with phrases like “cut the call”.

To be honest, I spent a lot of time thinking if it was just me or it was normal to feel grated by that but I have been called a snob. So take my warning with a pinch of salt.

But one thing that actually annoyed me was Ime’s constant beratement of herself and considering herself stained because she is raped. While I understand that the rape victims may do that, I could feel that it was overdone.

I know I maybe overreacting (or underreacting, I have not decided which yet), but this has theme has been on the Indian mass media and literature for far too long. It is high time we put an end to it.

I liked some of the background stories of the side characters like Sirco-ji. But after a point, these became a white noise as there were too many to recount.

I wished I saw more of Uddipan, instead of just hearing from Ime to understand about their relationship better. Like most parts of the book, I had go by the author’s narrative telling, instead of him showing it.

What worked for me

  • I loved hearing about the stories of other side characters from Assam, a state that I have a soft corner for.
  • Many people I know, may love reading the localized/Indianized version of English.

What may have been better

  • There were many instances of telling instead of showing. And that bothered with the narrative.
  • I hated the victim shaming and treating being raped as a stain and considering the victim worthless after that.

Content warning

Brutal rape, mentions of stalking and raping the victims, Victim shaming and considering being raped an indelible stain, cases of “men writing women”.

Bottom line

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish is a short book that you can finish in a sitting. Read it if you are looking for an “Indian writing in English” book.

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Have you read The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish? What other books can you suggest that are written by survivors of rape and sexual assault? Let us talk.

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish – A book review

Lies We Bury by Elle Marr – A book review

Do you trust blurbs that compare book titles? Do they work for you? Lies We Bury by Elle Marr was recommended for the readers of “Room”. Read my book review of Lies We Bury to Elle Marr to know if it worked for me.

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About Lies We Bury

Lies We Bury by Elle Marr Book review

Book Name: Lies We Bury

Author: Elle Marr

Genre: Fiction – Thriller

Characters: Marissa Mo (Clariss Lou), Jenessa, Lily, Rosemary, Nora, Chet, Shia Tua

Setting: PortlandOregon, The USA

Thanks to Netgalley and Megan Beatie Communications for the free e-copy.

Plot Summary of Lies We Bury

It has been twenty years since Marissa escaped the only place she had known – a basement prison. She reinvented herself a couple of times and now with a new name, a new city and a job as a freelance photographer she moves back to Portland. She decides she has moved on from the trauma, finally.

But it is all happening again.

When she has to cover a series murders in the underground tunnels of Portland, it is too close to home. And to make matters worse, she keeps finding small trinkets from her distant past all over the crime scene.

Is someone trying to frame her as the murderer? Or is it a weird copycat who is commemorating the release of her imprisoner? Read Lies We Bury by Elle Marr to know more.

Book review of Lies We Bury

I started reading Lies We Bury by Elle Marr without much expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

With two alternating timelines (present day and from twenty years ago), Lies We Bury follows Claire trying to navigate her adult life while completely ignoring her past trauma.

Claire is not particularly likeable. Her actions were not well thought through, especially when it is apparent that she is wrong. Well, that could be off putting and annoying after a while.

I am a sucker for books with psycho/serial killers, Lies We Bury seems to have it all. It made me guess and then second guess every person. Trust me, there were many out there. Though the ending may have been duller than what I had in my mind, it made sense. No complaints there.

What worked for me

  • Reading the past based on a seven year old’s version made it all the more real.
  • I liked the broken and dysfunctional relationship that Claire has with each of her sisters and the love for all the mothers.

What may have been better

  • The main lead may get on the nerves with her bad decisions and may be off putting for a few.

Content warning

Physical and sexual abuse, imprisonment,

Bottom line

Lies We Bury by Elle Marr is fast paced thriller that will keep you hooked till the end. Yes, it is similar to “Room” but with a darker future. I will definitely be on the look out for the author’s other books.

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The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish – A book review

Vices/Virtues – A book review

I know it has been quite a while since I wrote a review. Don’t worry I will be giving a detailed update on what kept me away from blogging and my readers in my Sunday Post, but for now you have an Indie review of Vices/Virtues to catch up on.

If you are looking for a light, not-so-clean read about a sex dungeon and the lives of dominatrices, Vices/Virtues could be your choice. #IndieReview #Indiebook @desoprontu Click To Tweet

About the book

Vices/Virtues

Book Name: Vices/Virtues

Author: Beatrice DeSoprontu

Genre: Fiction – Drama

Characters: Cristela/Clara, Daisy, Virginia, Justine, Griselda, Noelle 

Setting: The United States of America

The plot

Vices/Virtues revolves around the dominatrices working in a sex dungeon in New York and their lives. Our main character Cristela works as a domintrix but in secret. She even creates an alter ego to keep her dual life apart. 

Her coworkers also have secret aliases and they do not see each other outside the dungeon. We also read about their backgrounds and their vices and virtues. 

The book has a bunch of mini stories each named after a vice or virtue about the related inner conflicts the characters go through, while the sex and BDSM just offer a backdrop. How far would Cristela to protect her secret forms the rest of the story in Vices/Virtues.

My initial thoughts

I quite recently watched the Sex education on Netflix. So I picked this book up because I was intrigued by the premise and I was not disappointed. 
While there is no linearity among the flow of the story, the format, as a collection of short stories, worked better for me than it would have as a novella. 

There are some references made to Hindu deities which were not correct and definitely will seem distasteful to religious people. Thankfully, there were just few of them. I wish the author would have discussed about this representation with a sensitivity / beta reader before she added to the book. 

Things that worked for me

  • The premise was unique and I like how the kinky sex dungeon was just a background.
  • Read it like a bunch of short stories, instead of one long book and you might enjoy it better.
  • The writing was interesting and I liked how the writing style changed when there was a switch between POVs. 

Things that didn’t work for me

  • I wish it were funnier, given the bizarre nature of the premise. 
  • You may love or hate the philosophical discussions about the vice/virtue nature of each chapter – there is no in between.   

Bottom-line

If you are looking for a light, not-so-clean read about a sex dungeon and the lives of dominatrices, Vices/Virtues could be your choice. You can read the author’s guest post on Tips To Writing Characters In Poverty here on my blog.

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Have you read this one? Do you have a recommendation with a similar premise? I promise I won’t keep you waiting long for my next post. Let us talk. 

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish – A book review

Book review: Clockmaker, The

How far would you go for some peace and stability in your life if you have a family heirloom that has a life changing magical power to it? Would you choose to take the risk for the betterment or will gamble with the known problems of your life? The protagonist of The Clockmaker faces the same questions. Find out how it turned out for him!

clockmaker

About the book

Book Name: The Clockmaker

Author: Paromita Goswami

Genre: Fiction – Paranormal

Characters: Ashish, Latha and Vikram Gupta, Bauji.

Setting: Delhi, India

Disclaimer: I received the copy for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. And it has not changed my opinion on the book any manner. 

The protagonist of The Clockmaker finds a heirloom that has magical capabilities. Should he use to change his life? Read my book review on how it fared for me Click To Tweet

The plot

Ashish is a passionate clockmaker who runs his family legacy business. His not so happy family consists his financially demanding wife and a son who has no interest in his business. He finds a family heirloom that has magical capabilities and a history of its own. 

With his wife trying to impress her arch rival Rashmi and his son falling in love with a girl who is not interested in him, he is now having trouble sleeping due to recurrent nightmares and hallucinations. He is not sure if he should use the clock’s powers for his selfishness or continue suffering.

How his decision affects his family and its legacy forms the rest of the story in The Clockmaker. 

My initial thoughts

Though it has some supernatural themes, for me The Clockmaker was essentially a family drama. I was thoroughly intrigued by the premise and the prologue was bang on. I enjoyed reading the familial issues and the differences in the attitude of each character towards those issues. 

My problem was with the execution of the plot and the lack of uniformity in the pacing. For a horror novel, it felt kinda dragging and not suspenseful. 

Things that worked for me

  • I liked the family drama part more than the horror element.
  • The intriguing premise and the prologue deserves a mention.
  • The simple narrative style might work for most of the readers.

Things that didn’t work for me

  • The pace was not uniform and it disturbed the flow of the plot.
  • If you picked the book for want of supernatural stuff, you might be left wanting. 

Bottom-line

If you wanna read a Bollywood style family drama, with a bit of supernatural elements, The Clockmaker might be a good fit for you. 

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Do you read books that focuses on slow moving family drama? What would you do if you have a chance to turn your life with a snap of your finger? What will you ask for? Let us talk.

The Justice by Nikhil Khasnabish – A book review

Review Shots: Middle Eastern Tales for children

Remember my post about how I never got to read many Middle grade books when I was younger? It is time to change that, thanks for all the children’s books that I get to review on my blog. I am happy to say that I am enjoying the chance. Thanks to Medina Publishing, Middle East for sending me a bunch of children’s books for review

I enjoyed reading them as they had stories from the Arabic world, which is a lot different from the Indian folktales that I grew up listening to and the Western tales that I read as a kid. Let us get on with it shall we?

Saluki – Hound of the Bedouin

elgeewrites Review Shots: Middle Eastern Tales for children Saluki middle east

Author: Julia Johnson

Illustrator: Susan Keeble

In Saluki-Hound of the Bedouin, we read about the story of Sougha, a hunting dog of the native breed called Saluki through eyes of its master Hamad. We also learn about the life style of the Bedouin, the nomadic group from the Middle East as well.

Perfect for 6 – 12 years, especially if they love dogs and pups they will love this book. 

The Secret of the Cave 

middle east folktales

Author: Julia Johnson

Illustrator: Emily Styles 

Ameera, a young girl sets out alone in search of berries in the wild but accidentally falls down into a deep dark cave. The wells in Ameera’s village have dried up and the villagers are in the brink of a drought. Her family and their friends have set out to find her but they have no idea where to search for her.

Ameera meets an owl and a mysterious young boy who keep her company in the dark caves. But how can she attract the attention men who are searching for her on the surface, not underground where she is? 

With illustrations that keep us hooked to the narration, The Secret of the Cave  will work perfectly for children between 6 to 10 years. 

Sharifa The Story Of An Arabian Horse 

middle east folktales

Author: Joan Hannam 

Illustrator:Patricia Al-Fakhri

We all have heard good things about the majestic Arabian horses right? Sharifa was one of the horses and she belonged to the Sheikh who loved her very much. She was the apple of his eye.

With beautiful illustrations to steal our hearts, Sharifa The Story Of An Arabian Horse  has a pretty straight forward narration and talks about the love for pets. Perfect for young and middle grade kids.

The old man and his donkey

middle east folktales

Author: Julia Johnson

Illustrator: Charlene Kasdorf

Abu and his donkey have been together all their life and they help transporting the villagers’ goods together. But things change when a new truck arrives to the town. 

If you are looking for a children’s book with colorful illustration that will appeal your younger ones, The old man and his donkey should be your choice. This book is funny and ends with a moral value. 

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Do you like these awesome illustrated children’s book? What are your favorite folktales from your culture and language? Let us talk.