A RANT ON INDIAN BESTSELLERS.

RANT ABOUT BESTSELLERS.

Recently, the books that have been making it to the top of bestselling lists of the country for weeks and the conditions of publishing in India is something that I've been meaning to talk about. First off, I am in no way targetting some authors or judging anybody for liking their books so please read the entire thing before coming at me.

Great literature has been a part of Indian culture for centuries but recently there seems to be little difference between Bollywood and the publishing industry of the country as both are selling brainless content to the audience in the name of 'entertainment' and earning huge amount of money which is apparently the only thing that matters. 
This country has such variety of talent and ability to produce writers whose work could probably change the current scenario for Indian literature in the world but only if cheesy teen romance novels stop making it to the #1 place for not weeks but months! Who doesn't like reading a good heart-warming love story, but that isn't even what we are offered in Indian romance novels. All we need is two good looking protagonists in college who fall for each other, have 2-3 sex scenes then some tragedy befalls them which gets resolved within 200 pages and they live happily ever after or one of them probably dies to force some emotions out of the readers. Sounds like a cheesy Bollywood movie? Well, that's what you'll find at the top of every Indian best selling list since the last few years. 

As a result of this, publishing houses ignore writers that come with manuscripts that have potential because that isn't in line with what 'works' in India. How long has it been since any of us read a non-fiction book? Nowadays reading Chetan Bhagat books seem like they are written just so a movie can be made on them where Arjun Kapoor is running across half NY to find Shraddha in a city of thousands. And within 3 days that book sells more copies than any others with great content.
We belong to a country where writers like Tagore and many others were born. So what happened to the rich quality of lit. today? Please ask yourself this ques. before you buy your next book.

MAYBE ESTHER (Book review)

NAME: Maybe Esther.
AUTHOR: Katja Petrowskaja.
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins.
PAGES: 272
GENRE: Autobiography/ Biography(family history).
RATE: 4/5

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To be honest, when I received this book from a book box subscription, I was a bit unsure if I would like it, as its definitely not my genre.
But this is such an intelligent and different read; and research into family history can seldom be this exciting as well as emotional. Katja Petrowskaja takes you to a journey in search of her place in past and present, from Google searches, strange encounters and coincidences to archives, anecdotes and jokes. This is an unforgettable and unique work of literature that tells you a haunting story in the twentieth-century Europe about the writer's grandfather, great granduncle, and especially her great grandmother, Rosa- whose name may or may not have been Esther, and who was killed by a Nazi outside her house...
This book will keep you hooked to the story which is filled with incidences, illustrations and memoirs from the family members that help to stay connected with them, even though a more personal touch through their own records like journals or writings etc, instead of it being completely the author's version of their lives would have been more relatable and emotionally connecting, but this is definitely a treasured read and the positives are quite abundant and good enough to cover these limitations.
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I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a read out of the box, or a great modern piece of literature.
Happy Reading!