This book by Shashi Tharoor encompasses two of my passions - reading and the personal essay. The book is Tharoor’s collection of essays on literary topics which have appeared in various publications over the past decade. Divided into sections to make things easier for the reader, the book travels through the course of Tharoor’s life - growing up with books (’Inspirations’), literary influences (’Reconsiderations’), ruminations on books, reading and literature (’The Literary Life’) and the last two chapters called ‘Appropriations’ and ‘Interrogations’.
The first chapter ‘Growing up with books in India’ makes you want to write your own essay on the subject. Each reader will find in it memories long forgotten. If you ever read under the covers or waited, like me, for the school year to start only to want to read the new text books, then you’ll enjoy this essay.
Other chapters include a reminiscence of India’s love affair with Wodehouse and stories on Rushdie, V S Naipaul, Malcolm Muggeridge, Winston Churchill and Alexander Pushkin.
A vibrant career in international affairs has not dimmed Tharoor’s inclination for reading or writing. His travels and stints across the world comes across in his writing. The title ‘Bookless in Baghdad’ comes from his visit to a book souk in Baghdad - a street full of books that found a lot of takers even with the threat of bombs in the air. For Indians, images of the pavement stalls at Flora Fountain in Mumbai or Calcutta’s College Street will come to mind.
Reading a book about books and reading is a pleasure any book-lover or writer will welcome. If you’re looking for an insight into the reading habits of a global Indian and a prolific writer, look no further.
The authors website : www.shashitharoor.com
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