First Impression

TRUMBLE is a high security prison with prisoners serving life sentences for offences relating to the drugs trade, money laundering and tax embezzlement. It is also a relatively easier place to be in than in centres of its kind in the country. Most inmates know this and go about their daily business quietly. As do the Brethren, three former judges. Their office is the prison law library where they meet daily, write cases, and pass judgment. They also dispense jailhouse justice for what it is worth. Nobody ever questions this little routine. Life goes on, until one day a letter drops in for one of them. It is a seemingly innocuous reply to a mail scam that they have been working on. And they seem to think they have netted big fish when they realise that the answer is from a prominent banker. The only catch in this is that the banker seems to have gay leanings. The Brethren play on and decide to blackmail him. The money comes pouring in. Their appetite whetted, the Brethren decide to continue but this time round they get stuck. Their candidate is rich, and with major connections. Even as the money pours in, the mail scam starts to come apart at the edges. Soon storm clouds gather. A good, taut thriller, with a superb instinct for the unpredictable.

The Brethren, John Grisham, Rupa, Rs. 195.

ONE father. One role. And one family. Either life is sweet or bitter hell. Manthri, like most young women yearns for the good life. But as fate wills it she marries a man who is unbending in his ways. Life is on his terms. Then come two children - a boy and a girl. Next is a transfer to Australia, but Mahendra becomes more and more autocratic. The children revolt and Manthri continues to swing from reality to fantasy. Their son's destiny according to the father, lies in medicine. But the boy is more interested in music - Kurt Cobain at that. An angry Mahendra Forbids bans the guitar. Broken, the boy drifts.

Chandini Lokuge's debut novel is a classic story about the dilemma of growing up.

If the Moon Smiled, Chandini Lokuge, Penguin, Rs. 200.

TWO action packed books for children could make summer more enjoyable. Stories about the wily tiger, the stupid one, a cunning jackal and an ill fated crocodile, with endings that could teach you a little more about life. These are a lovely collection of folk tales written by Upendrakishore Raychaudhuri and translated for the first time into English. These little stories make delightful reading where bullies always get knocked out and where good always wins over evil.

"The Stupid Tiger" is a delightful account of a tiger who in his greed to marry a princess gets tricked by the cunning jackal. Or the story of the Tailor Bird and the Barber is where an extremely angry bird wants the barber's head since he refuses to lance the bird's boil and mocks at it. The wily bird seeks justice but most of those he approaches laugh at him except one. The bird triumphs in the end ....

And once again Saloni (our desi equivalent of Hillary) is set to enjoy her holiday in Thailand. But things never go the way they should. Saloni ends up looking for a kidnapped girl with her friends which leads them onto the trail of an international gang of animal runners. As the plot thickens so does the adventure.

The Stupid Tiger, William Radice, HarperCollins, Rs. 50.

Saloni's Adventures in Thailand, Loveleen Kacker, HarperCollins, Rs. 50.

MICKEY MALONE arrives in Peshawar with a sense of foreboding. He cannot quite decipher the air of mystery around him. And then before his three-day stay is up, Malone disappears. According to all evidence he has been done in. As Iqbal takes on the case, he finds himself caught in a web of deceit, rivalry and prostitution rings. The players in this game have high stakes. Set in Pakistan but written by a feoreigner, this book is at the same time a funny, yet serious, commentary on the terrible misunderstandings between a western and eastern mind. Unfortunately, the book is neither a thriller, nor a historical account of life. In what appears to be a hotch potch of remarks combined with text on the situation of women in Pakistan, the political climate, the role of a foreign consul, the book makes difficult reading.

Murder In Peshawar, Cheryl Bernard, Penguin, Rs. 250.

SUCHITRA BEHAL

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Fresh old tale
Next     : A broad sweep at the art form