On the racks – December 2020
Romancing the Heart
Author : Dr Akshaya Mehta
Publisher : Kindle Edition
Pages : 320; ₹285
Keeping both the young and old in mind, Dr Akshay Mehta lays out affordable, effective and universally available means to a healthy heart and spells out how heart diseases can be avoided altogether. He points out to the early warning signs of a heart attack, and if struck by it, the correct choices of treatment and guidance to the path of recovery.
With 30 years of experience in cardiology, the author explains in details some of the most frequently asked questions and also some of the lesser known facts about heart disease. This book shares knowledge and works as an actionable guide to aid anyone who wants to lead a healthy life.
For a hard copy of the book email: heartbook.akshay@gmail.com
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Shuggie Bain
Author : Douglas Stuart
Publisher : Grove Press
Pages : 430; ₹499
With a dream of a perfect life, Agnes Bain leaves her husband for a taxi driver who later abandons her. Agnes believes in having everything picture perfect as opposed to how it is actually supposed to be. She puts up a proud face, when in reality her world is falling apart. She turns alcoholic to cope with her struggles and it is up to her six-year-old son Shuggie Bain to take care of his mother. We follow the life journey of this small boy from age six to 17 giving up on everything for the sake of his mother, who wrecks his life. As a result, he grows up amid poverty and violence. Bain also struggles to conform with the standards of his society in terms of proving his masculinity.
Winner of the Booker Prize 2020, this book weaves a tragic tale that showcases the grim realities of life.
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The New Wilderness
Author : Diane Cook
Publisher : Harper
Pages : 416; ₹299
A group of twenty people from a world overrun by pollution and population are sent to the only remaining pocket of nature — The New Wilderness. In the group is Bea who desperately wants to improve her daughter Agnes’s health spoiled by the contaminated city they used to live in. The wilderness is governed by Rangers, who check the movements of the group. With minimal possessions, the group is expected to live by hunting while carefully leaving no trail of themselves behind. All of them are strictly supposed to adhere to the rules laid out in a manual. While the daughter thrives in the new setting, learning new skills and taking things positively, the mother misses her old life and finds herself becoming a reluctant leader of the group. The story follows the community’s struggle to survive in a new land as they step out of the guidelines.
