Book discussions and debates are common at Republica with every other person totally immersed in the book/author that has their attention at any given moment.
Here, The Week gives you a peek into what some people on the floor are currently reading. These are the books that are on our desks and minds.
Poonam Maharjan
Bureau head, GenNext
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
This is a murder mystery. The detective, and narrator, is fifteen years old Christopher Boone who has Asperger’s Syndrome. This guy knows a lot about mathematics but very little about human beings. He also has never gone further down than the end of the road on his own.. But when he sees that a neighbor’s dog has been murdered, he sets out to investigate, and the story takes a different turn from there on. When a friend recommended this book, I was very excited to read it. She was raving about it and that had me all curious about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. I usually read before bed and while commuting to and from work and I finished this book in just three days. It was a good, fun read albeit a bit too serious at times. However, this work of fiction by Haddon is an educational journey of sorts. We get to understand a lot about the kinds of challenges people like Christopher face on a daily basis.
Helping children enjoy reading
Biswas Baral
Op-ed editor
In Xanadu by William Dalrymple
I enjoy reading travel literature and especially love Dalrymple’s writings. I have read many of Dalrymple’s works, and since this was his first book, I wanted to read it, too. In Xanadu is an interesting, often intimate account, of the author’s travel experience from Jerusalem to Xanadu where he tries to retrace the steps of Marco Polo. Dalrymple was very young when he made this nearly four-month journey. The book is his account of the diverse experiences he has along the way: he meets different kinds of people; he often engages in illegal activities, and at one point he almost gets killed. What makes the book so entertaining and engaging is the fact that nothing is planned; the only plan is to travel a route that is filled with many hurdles. The author’s ability to write about places and describe monuments, and bring conversations to life is remarkable. Reading In Xanadu feels like reading about a lost world of sorts because the places he talks about no longer exist or have gone through much change.
Shreejana Shrestha
Correspondent, Social Bureau
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
I had been meaning to read this book for a while and I recently bought a copy. I am Malala tells the story of a girl’s fight for freedom in a society that puts sons before daughters in every aspect of life, especially education. When she was just fifteen years old, Malala was shot in the head at pointblank range while returning from school. She wasn’t expected to survive but she did and lived to tell her tale. Malala doesn’t hesitate to speak out even after almost having had to pay for it dearly, and that takes courage. I’m inspired by Malala’s life, and reading her story instills the confidence in me that I too can do anything I believe in. The narrative isn’t all that great but it’s the story that keeps you hooked. It’s very uplifting and motivating, and I believe Malala’s story needs to be read by everyone, especially girls and women, around the world. This is a good book to pick up if you’re looking for a light yet inspirational read.
Priyanka Gurung
Junior correspondent, The Week
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
The book revolves around bizarre events that happen after Toru Okada loses his job. Immediately thereafter his cat disappears and just when he thinks things could not get any worse, his wife doesn’t return from work. The book has many interesting characters: two psychic sisters, an old soldier who witnessed the massacres on the Chinese Mainland at the beginning of the Second World War, a shady politician, among others. Murakami’s prose is disturbing yet filled with unexpected twists and turns that make you unable to put it down. You are drawn into the mystery that seems to have no solution, and this book is no different. For me, sometimes the book gets a little tedious but there are great passages to make it up for. Reading Murakami is like mind exercise and refuge combined in one, and I love that experience. I haven’t had much time to read it though but I’m pretty sure it will be a worthy read when I eventually get around to finishing it.
Peter J Karthak
Copy chief, The Week
Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong
I discovered this book in a dark and neglected corner at Ekta Books in Thapathali. They had all these fantasy fiction and other bestsellers on display and this gem of a book looked forlorn. I bought it because I found out that four million copies of this novel were sold in China itself, and that caught my attention. Wolf Totem is a semi-autobiographical novel about the experiences of a young student from Beijing who is sent to the countryside of Inner Mongolia during the peak of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. I have always been mesmerized by Mongolia, and though I don’t have much time to read, I make it a point to read a bit every day. I’ve been some seventy pages into the book and so far I like it. It’s also my mission to read all the Man Asian Literary Prize winners, and Wolf Totem was the first work awarded, in 2007. So you could say I’m kicking off my mission with this book. I’m reading the translated version of Howard Goldblatt.
