Growing up with Poirot

Growing up with Poirot

June 23, 2014
Who is Poirot really? What is he like? There is no room for doubting his abilities, his reputation as one of the two greatest detectives of all time is firmly established. Readers and viewers know all about his hypochondria, his seasickness, his attire, his moustache, his friends and his habits of straightening, arranging and cleaning things.
The Satanic Verses – Beyond the Rushdie Affair

The Satanic Verses – Beyond the Rushdie Affair

May 31, 2014
Almost instantly after its publishing, the title of Salman Rushdie’s fourth novel The Satanic Verses has become known to the worldwide audience as one of the most controversial books of the 20th century. Both the novel and its author have become practically inseparable from the notion of fatwa – a legal pronouncement in Islam that Rushdie was sentenced to by the Iranian religious and political leader Ayatollah Homeini.
An Artist of the Floating World – The Character of Masuji Ono

An Artist of the Floating World – The Character of Masuji Ono

September 19, 2013
Throughout the period of three years, we follow the main character from his childhood years, from his decision to take up painting as a profession to breaking free from traditional Japanese art and producing propaganda work. Like Stevens from The Remains of the Day”, Ono is not a reliable narrator. We are a given only pieces of a puzzle and only if we read between the lines are we on the right path to understand Ono as a man who “wanted so badly to make a grand contribution”, a man who had ambition to produce “work that will be a significant contribution to the people of (our) nation”.
Judging a book by its cover: The Bell Jar

Judging a book by its cover: The Bell Jar

September 17, 2013
This is a heart-rending story of big expectations, secret hopes and immense disappointments. Esther Greenwood, Plath’s invented persona, feels trapped inside the dreary world that surrounds her. It is as if she’s living under a bell jar. On her road from adolescence to adulthood, she is lost since she has no hand to guide her. Poetry may be the only thing that could protect her from her suicidal tendencies. Undoubtedly, Plath’s persona is so realistic and relatable that the readers cannot help but empathize with her.