Hues and Dews Poetry

"The truth is fluid. There is always another way to spin the story, another wrench to throw into the narrative. I have learned this now, if nothing else." - Yellowface by R.F Kuang As part of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, my public library had a section dedicated to books by Asian authors, encompassing both classic and contemporary fiction, memoirs and other non fiction books. This novel with its bright yellow cover instantly grabbed my attention and made me curious. I have heard about this recent book in many online avenues and wanted to know what the hype was about. And frankly, there were a lot of insights and wisdom I gained from this work of fiction. This book is a contemporary tell-all about the world of book publishing, describing in details the trials and tribulations one has to face, and the hurdles to be jumped in order to get a book published, but even more importantly, about staying relevant in the literary scene. The significance of soci...

After the rain comes the rainbow. Although technically a memoir, I found this book to be a hybrid of sorts, much like the overall 'best of both worlds' theme it portrays. The deeply moving personal story of Michelle and her mother had it's non fictional elements, all while the nuanced way of story telling and the gradual rise in emotions made it a compelling read much like a gripping piece of fiction. As real life can be stranger than fiction, the untimely demise of the author's mother and its aftermath really crafts a coming of age story for the author to live through and later write about. As the very first sentence of the book opens with her mother's death, the entire memoir had a brutally honest and straight forward way of expressing the raw and real emotions. What makes the death of her mother even more painful is the fact that it wasn't only her mother the author lost, but also the connection, the thread that connected the author to her Korean roots. ...

Truth is stranger than fiction. This is an unbelievable yet true story of a man who quite literally wore many hats, including that of a first officer/ Co- Pilot, Pediatric resident supervisor, lawyer, bank security guard etc, all before the age of 21. Certainly the security systems in the banking industry weren't advanced or sophisticated back in the '60s and '70s but it is unlikely that any crook could have the shrewdness and quite honestly, the brilliance to forge checks worth millions of dollars or fly over a million miles for free. It is apparent that from Frank W. Abagnale's early teenage years itself that he had a knack for conning others. From misusing his dad's Mobil Gas credit card, to writing fraud checks, to even escaping prison, this man had a certain skill. This skill along with his meticulous observation really helped him pull off all these elaborate schemes. But it is a little relief to know that he never “diddled” an individual. Sending actual cash...

Everything happened so spontaneously!                                              Image courtesy: Goodreads It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I was enjoying that week's The New Yorker fiction issue. I came across and enjoyed reading a fiction piece called " Arrivals " by Bryan Washington. Finding a sudden liking for the writer's style and close to real life characters, I was instantaneously looking for more works by the author. I suddenly found myself driving to the public library and picking up a copy of his novel "Memorial". Having read and enjoyed " Call me by your name " by André Aciman, before reading the Memorial, the latter felt like the former's stark contrast (definitely not in a bad way). While CMBYN seemed almost too dreamy, Memorial seemed more rough and real. While the scenes of CMBYN had a poetic nuance embedded in them, Memorial gave a more raw, humanly tou...

                                                  Image courtesy: The Mookse and the Gripes / New Yorker        Having read “ The Reluctant Fundamentalist ” and “ Exit West ”, I have been a fan of Mohsin Hamid. The way he creates a seamless fusion between fantasy/surrealism and the current affairs have always mesmerized me. This was quite evident in “Exit West”, where mystic realism was weaved into the issue of the immigrant crisis in Middle Eastern countries. With the fiction piece “The face in the mirror” (May 16,2022), Hamid brings his magic into the topic of racism and race superiority. In the wake of the Buffalo Tops Supermarket shooting and other similar racially motivated hate crimes, there hasn’t been a better time to publish this piece. It speaks volumes about the false fear that has been instilled in at least a fraction of the C...

A Backman Classic! After reading and enjoying " Anxious People " and " A Man Called Ove ", I have been trying to get my hands on a copy of "Beartown". Despite the high praise I have heard, a hint of skepticism lingered. The earlier works I have read by Fredrik Backman have been phenomenal and have generated so many emotions in me that I didn't think it would be possible to top that. But little did I know, I was about to be proven delightfully wrong. The author has poured his soul into every word, creating a piece of fiction that transcends boundaries and creates a world of its own in a town called Beartown. As I started reading,  in the beginning it felt like there might be a lot of characters in the plot and that  it might create some confusion in following through. But in a true Backman fashion, each character ends up bringing something unique to the story and actually staying in the reader's mind for a long time.  The author has taken the time ...

  No Man Is An Island; Every Book Is A World.   During a casual stroll through my local Barnes and Noble, I stumbled upon this gem of a book. Although buying a book at full price from a store is a luxury I cannot yet afford, I borrowed a copy from my local library and read it during an 11,287 km journey. One word that perfectly captures the essence of Gabrielle Zevin's "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" is "life". The novel encapsulates the highs and lows of life - moments of joy, sorrow, gain, and loss. Reading this book felt like receiving a warm hug or a word of consolation. It emphasizes that not every gain is a gain, nor is every loss a loss. I was impressed by the well-crafted twists and turns that kept the story fresh and unpredictable, despite a seemingly predictable storyline. The titular character from the TV show "Bojack Horseman" once said, "Kelsey, in this terrifying world, all we have are the connections that we make." This line r...

 My rating: 5/5                                  Image courtesy: Goodreads *SPOILER ALERT*  This novel made me go through a roller-coaster of emotions ranging from hope and perseverance to sympathy and fear. I don't usually read much science fiction but this was one novel I really enjoyed. And that is probably because of the fact that the operation and related tests seem believable and something that is possible in the near future. The entire novel consists of journal entries or rather progress notes written by Charlie, and his transformation from being intellectually disabled to a genius and back is quite evident. There is a proverb in my mother tongue that roughly translates to "you won't know the worth of vision until you are blind" and it is very true. Charlie didn't know about knowledge, intelligence or the need to have it but after the surgery and realizing the amount of things he could ...

     This truly hilarious and heartfelt novel was recommended to me by my sister. She had taken it with her on vacation to Mexico. If she had time to enjoy the book even while having a great time vacationing at beach shores and pool sides, I knew this novel would be worthwhile. And indeed it was.      The story is about odd friendships made between unlikely group of people and even animals. Similar to "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole and " Anxious People " by Fredrik Backman , this novel with its comedic elements felt like a wholesome slapstick comedy film.      The descriptive dialogues and intricate backstories made me feel like I too had just met and became friends with these characters, ultimately making me feel like I was part of this new friend group as well. Thanks to the detailed writing, a palpable bond between the group can be felt. This bond is evident through their mutual understanding and love for each other. The w...

Having gotten a chance to read (and completely admire) The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, it was almost a no-brainer for me to pick up another work by her. This time it was the Pulitzer prize winning collection of short stories "Interpreter of Maladies".  What struck me most about Lahiri's writing is its relatability and the seamless flow of her words. Just as I mentioned when discussing "The Namesake," the struggle for identity and a sense of belonging are recurring themes masterfully portrayed by the author. As an immigrant growing up in the United States, I found Lahiri's choice of words to be a reflection of my own experiences, as well as those of countless other immigrants. The short story format employed in "Interpreter of Maladies" brought a breath of fresh air to my reading experience. Each story stood on its own, unique and poignant, while maintaining a central theme of immigration that intricately connected them all. Lahiri's writing st...

 2 years! That's how long I have been waiting, rather impatiently, to read this novel. And today I can proudly say that it was worth the wait! Even though it is quite evident from my past reviews, I admit that I mostly read fiction and is especially a sucker (like an octopus) for feel-good novels! For me, there is an impalpable joy that comes from within when I am floating (again, like an octopus) on the pages of a feel-good novel. And that is exactly the sensation I felt as I read this beautiful story. The author was very successful in weaving fantasy into the mundaneness and melancholy of daily life in such a subtle and nuanced manner that the story felt real and believable. The camaraderie demonstrated between a human being and a Giant Pacific octopus felt rather natural. It did not feel forced or exaggerated at all. In this novel, humans and other animals equally craved affection and the need to be part of a family. All the main characters, including Marcellus, were haunted by ...

We knew more about each other than we knew about ourselves.  Yet, suddenly we turned into strangers.  A paradox, perhaps even a contradiction; But sometimes  truth can be stranger than fiction.  -Rithin. 

I am yet again spellbound by the enchanting Dan Brown magic, this time the work of literature leading me through the arduous yet rewarding course being “Angels and Demons”. This is the first book in the entire Brown series where the main protagonist, the Harvard professor and passionate symbolist Robert Langdon gets an introduction. But I have been very familiar with this particular intellectual after falling in love with “The Da Vinci Code”.  Image courtesy: Goodreads As I finished reading the very last page of this book, the only word that came out of my mouth was “wow”, as never in my life have I ever read a book so full of twists and turns that there is this great unpredictability surrounding every page and perhaps even after every single sentence; forever leaving me in the edge of the seat. The knowledge one acquires from Dan Brown’s books makes us wonder how a book of fiction can be so informative and well researched. And I strongly believe that that is where his brilliance r...