Books

I am a sucker for Indian corporate drama. I don’t know if it is a defined genre. If not, it should be. I was introduced to it by Ravi Subramanian’s Banker series, and totally fell for it. Possibly because I could relate to the aspirations, apprehensions, and relationships of the characters. Having experienced those myself in the 7 years I spent in Indian corporate life. RV Raman is a brilliant exponent of the Indian corporate drama genre, taking it a step further into murder mysteries. I had read two of his previous books along similar lines - Insider and Saboteur. Those were great, and as is Conspirator. I finished the book in a week - something of a record for me (I labored over Kanan Gill’s Acts of Got for over three weeks, and couldn’t get myself to read over 60% before finally giving up). ...

OMG! What did I just read! I’m infuriated. So, I just finished reading Sakina’s Kiss. The review is full of spoilers, so if you don’t want them, do not read further. First, the book held my attention right till the end. Reading the book feels like an average man telling you some stories. That is good and bad. The good is that I find stories of average men quite interesting when told well, and the book tells the stories quite well. The stories are interwoven in a way that it doesn’t feel like you are reading a collection of stories. The writing is quite good. The author, Vivek Shanbag, never loosens his grip on the reader from start to end. ...