Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued.
I received the following books from Penguin Random House last weekend.
The first one is Lajja by Taslima Nasrin, this book is a controversial pick. Lajja meaning Shame in Bengali was first published in 1993 and was banned in Bangladesh for being anti-Islamic. After this novel was published, she faced numerous death threats and has lived in hiding in different countries. Twenty years later, this book is republished with a fresh English translation and I can’t wait to find out what the fuss over this book was all about.
The other book I received from Penguin Random House is Seahorse by Janice Pariat. Her last book received high praise from Malvika and I can’t wait to read this one. The blurb at the back of the book doesn’t give much away in terms of plot, and I am looking forward to a lovely surprising read. I am already half in love with the cover, I think.
So, these are the books that I am excited to read and discuss on the blog. Have you read these books? Did you get any interesting ones? What are you looking forward to reading this week?
Loved the new design…and where is your house? Is it somewhere near Indiranagar? I want to raid your house some day 😛
@elizabeth_joseph:disqus Ooh, you know you are the only person to have noticed the change. I changed up the header and nav menu buttons 2-3 days back, and it seems no one noticed 🙁 . So happy you like the new look :)))
I wish I lived in Indra Nagar, it’s one of my favorite hangouts, but so expensive to live 🙁 . We live out in the boondocks but visit Indra Nagar quite often.
Let me know which books interest you, and I can pass some on to you if I still have them. I am currently downsizing my collection.
Yay!!!. I will probably make a list of books which interest me and then you can decide which you can spare/lent me..I am perfectly fine if you don’t want to share too 🙂 But then I am excited at the prospect of meeting you after reading your blog for so long.
@elizabeth_joseph:disqus oh yes, let’s do a meetup 🙂 , let me know when and where is convenient. And also the books 🙂
I’m not familiar with either of these. Enjoy!
2 Kids and Tired Books MM
I bought Lajja a few years back and read a few pages of it. It is a little difficult getting into but it was also beautiful writing. I now want to get hold of this new translation as well!
@athirac:disqus I quickly skimmed through the first chapter and it was pretty easy to read. Why was the book hard to get into? Was it the language or the theme of the book that was difficult?
Not really language. It’s just one of those books you have to invest a lot of time and attention with. It’s pretty deep and doesn’t read quickly. I found that I may read it better if I had huge blocks of time to spend on it.
I’m really intrigued by the back story of Laija! Definitely sounds like one I may need to look into as well. Happy reading!
@shoshanahg:disqus Yes, it’s not an easily available book in India I think, so I am thrilled to get this review copy 🙂
Both look interesting!
Enjoy your books. Banned books always make them more enticing, I think.
@savvyversewit:disqus LOL, yes, nothing like a banned book to prick my interest 🙂