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Printpick

The Eye in the Jungle

Photographs and

Writings of M. Krishnan

Compiled by Shanthi and

Ashish Chandola

With T.N.A Perumal

Universities Press

An extraordinarily well-put-together compilation of some of the photographs and writings of M.Krishnan, a pioneer in the field of black- and-white photography, whose "contribution to wildlife photography and writing on natural history in India has no parallel", Eye in the Jungle is not only great to look at, but also equally good reading, for it comes with Krishnan's own writings as well as interesting introductory essays by the book's compilers, Shanthi Chandola, Ashish Chandola, and T.N.A Perumal and a biographical sketch by Ramachandra Guha.

Published by Universities Press, Eye in the Jungle is available at all leading book stores in the city. And in virtual bookshops.

Eating Naked

Stephen Dobyns

Penguin

A collection of the most extraordinary short stories I've read in a long time, Dobyns seems to have an uncanny ability to take really ordinary events, which would appear to be quite predictable, and to give them breathtaking twists and qualities just by making the characters say something that we wouldn't even dream they would.

It's like these number games that are so fascinating, and so tough, the various combinations and permutations of human traits, of the changing moods of the human mind that Dobyns writes out on the pages of this riveting collection. All the stories are interesting, my favourite is the one with 60-year-old Lily, whose five children, fathered by five different men, or maybe not — she's not sure herself who fathered which — all given up for adoption, have found her and come to meet her. What happens then is something you should read. Go out and buy yourself a copy of the book, you won't regret it!

Smell of an Evening

Suresh Menon

Yeti Books

A collection of stories by expat Indian Suresh Menon, who lives and works in Singapore, this book is not uninteresting. The stories, with the exception of one called "Companions", which is a total horror, are strongly plotted and efficiently narrated. There is enough in each story to keep the reader absorbed. They are strange stories, with an unreal aura about them, and you never can tell what might spring up next. Unfortunately Menon seems to be one of those who think that more is better and crams his stories too full of events and characters. Nevertheless, they are very readable.

Bangalored

Eshwar Sundaresan

East West Books

Eshwar Sundaresan's book about expatriates in Bangalore — their stories told in a casual, intimate style — is easy and pleasant reading. This is Sundaresan's first book and one hears that he gave up a lucrative career to write books. And that kind of thing is immensely welcome. If we go by this book, in which Sundaresan comes through as somewhat of a natural for writing, with a wacky sense of what is appropriate for a writing topic, the next one that he's supposedly already working on, should be something to look forward to.

Bangalored tells many expat stories, and we meet many expats in its pages and they are all interesting voices, carefully edited one would guess, from recorded conversations (that's a definite advantage as far a book goes, good cutting, which most writers these days seem to dispense with without a thought!) The book's other plus point is the absence of any academic agenda. So altogether, quite a good read.

Books new and old; can be ordered from any virtual or real-time bookshop. Prices available online.

KALA KRISHNAN RAMESH

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