Issue 5 / On The Shelf: Our Must-Read Books Roundup For July

by Matthew Currie

On The Shelf: Our Must-Read Books Roundup For July

Jun 21, 2015

Looking to get lost in some literature? Here is our list of cool July books for you!

Land Where I Flee (Quercus)

By Prajwal Parajuly

Image Courtesy Quercus/goodbooks.blogspot.com

Dylan Thomas Prize nominee Prajwal Parajuly established himself as a man to watch with this debut novel that’s finally gotten a North American release. Critics have hailed Land Where I Flee as a witty, insightful look at three grown siblings — one brother and two sisters, all living in the West — who return to Sikkim for their grandmother’s eighty-fourth birthday. Dragging secrets, regrets and lingering resentments along with them, they steel themselves for the unique reckoning that is a family visit … not to mention a “mischievous maid” and a secret uninvited guest whom no one saw coming.

Indian Kitchen: Secrets of Indian Home Cooking (Hodder & Stoughton)
By Maunika Gowardhan

Image Courtesy Hodder & Stoughton/amazon.co.uk

Earning rave reviews from the likes of Jamie Oliver, the Mumbai-raised Maunika Gowardhan teaches Westerners how to incorporate Indian cuisine into their daily routines — no matter how little time they have. This recipe book comprises four sections: “Hungry” for quick dishes featuring easy-to-find ingredients, “Lazy” for cooks craving a more elaborate but still fairly simple eat, “Indulgent” for meals that take time and love, and “Celebratory” for knocking your friends’ socks off with a truly decadent feast.

Lifelines: New Writings From Bangladesh (Zubaan Books)
Edited by Farah Ghuznavi

Image Courtesy Zubaan Books/University of Chicago Press

Billed as “the first collection of its kind,” this anthology showcases the work of several talented up-and-coming female writers working to expand the world’s perception of Bangladesh beyond “poor and underdeveloped.” Set in Bangladesh as well as among Bangladeshi ex-pat communities the world over, these stories include a New York cab driver reflecting on his old life as a banker, an architect unexpectedly saddled with two young kids and a student brought face-to-face with a secret from his past.

Of Mothers and Others (Zubaan Books)
Edited by Jaishree Misra

Image Courtesy Zubaan/University of Chicago Press

A variety of Indian writers contribute poems, essays and short stories to this anthology that delves into how women experience motherhood — from “traditional” families to single mothers to surrogates to grandmothers. But more than just celebrating the gift of life, this collection explores the problems inherent in being a mom. These stories focus particularly on new mothers’ altered social standing and the redefinition of their entire sense of self. These adjustments can be problematic — particularly when a woman becomes a mother reluctantly.

The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty (Ecco)
By Vendela Vida

Image Courtesy Ecco/sfgate.com

In this novel, a woman heads to Morocco on business only to have her ID and all her luggage stolen. But what starts as a traveller’s nightmare quickly changes into an intriguing personal evolution as the protagonist embraces the freedom that comes with losing every trace of her old life. While walking the streets, she lands an unlikely job as the on-set stand-in for a big-time movie star. This stroke of fortune ultimately leads to her taking on the star’s glamorous life on the Casablanca social scene. But what dark business brought her to this exotic land in the first place? Why is she so eager to ditch her old life? And where will this exhilarating trip down the rabbit hole end?

In the Unlikely Event (Random House)
By Judy Blume

Image Courtesy Random House/flavorwire.com

Legendary young-adult novelist Judy Blume returns to an adult audience for the first time in 15 years with this generation-spanning tale of loss and renewal. The book opens in 1987 and finds a woman named Miri returning to her New Jersey hometown to attend a memorial for a series of plane crashes that rocked the small community 35 years earlier. In the process, she’s compelled to relive the highs and lows of the ’50s — from the fear of the A-bomb to young love to obsessing over Elizabeth Taylor. What emerges is a portrait of a community reshaped by a volatile time of social change and unfathomable tragedy that managed to pull through together and remember the good times instead of dwelling on the bad.

^{Photography courtesy of book publishers}

Matthew Currie

Author

A long-standing entertainment journalist, Currie is a graduate of the Professional Writing program at Toronto’s York University. He has spent the past number of years working as a freelancer for ANOKHI and for diverse publications such as Sharp, TV Week, CAA’s Westworld and BC Business. Currie ...