Blakwall

Murder in Mahim was a quick and interesting read. Although it is a crime novel in a general sense, but it could very well serve as a viewing window for the dark underbelly of Mumbai's gay scene. This book reminds me of another book I had the chance to read, The Boyfriend by R. Raj Rao. Both books dealt with the role of casteism and sex. Murder in Mahim starts with the discovery of the body of a boy called Proxy, in the loo of a train station that is known to be frequented by gay men. Bodies follow in a quick succession and the two people at the centre of it, Inspector Jende and retired journalist Peter "Pittr" Dsouza are nowhere close to solving it. It is a proper muder mystery book, with all the gore and blood. The narrative is fast paced and in the process of going through it, you might end up guessing some of the plot points( it isn't a bummer, though!). But it isn't just the murder at the centrefold. The chaos surrounding the characters take up as

Growing up, I've listened to my mother read out stories and folk lore about gods and goddesses as prayers. As a kid, these stories enthralled me and I'd listen to them with rapt attention. One such story was that of Devi Manasha and Behula. And it is one of those stories that form the backdrop of Amitav Ghosh's new novel Gun Island. Based on the legend of the Bonduki Saudagar and Devi Manasha, the book is set years after the end of Ghosh's previous book, The Hungry Tide. While in The Hungry Tide, Ghosh took us on a journey of the beautifully dangerous waters and jungles of the Sunderbans, in Gun Island, he takes us from the waters of Sundarbans to Venice and then further out to the ocean. Dinanath Dutta or Deen, the rare books dealer, Cinta, the Venetian historian and Piya, the marine biologist from the previous book form the pillars of Gun Island. Fakir's son, Tipu and Rafi, one of the last descendents of the entrusted caretaker of the shrine of the god