Bookless in Baghdad: Reflections on Writing and WritersArcade Publishing, 2005 - 277 páginas 'A fluid and powerful writer, one of the best in a generation of Indian authors' (New York Times Book Review), Shashi Tharoor, the acclaimed author of six books, all published by Arcade, is once again at his provocative best. Supremely personal, yet always probing and analytical, this brilliant collection is part memoir, part essay and literary criticism. In the title piece, we learn what Iraqis go through in their beleaguered land merely to get hold of a book, and how selling books from their own libraries on the street helps some put bread on the table. Tharoor reminisces about growing up with books in India and discusses the importance of the Mahabharata in Indian life and history. There is also a poignant homage to Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, whose home was raided by the oppressive military regime while he lay on his deathbed, and who famously said: 'There is only one thing of danger for you here-my poetry!' Pondering world affairs, Tharoor declares that 'the defining features of today's world are the relentless forces of globalization-the same forces used by the terrorists in their macabre dance of death and destruction.' Tharoor's astute views on Salman Rushdie, India's love for P. G. Wodehouse, Kipling, Pushkin, le Carr, V. S. Naipaul, and Winston Churchill make for fascinating reading. His insightful takes on Hollywood and Bollywood will intrigue even the most demanding cinephile. Together, these 39 pieces reveal the inner workings of one of today's most eclectic writers. |
Índice
INSPIRATIONS 1 Growing Up with Books in India | 11 |
Revenging Rudyard Subverting Scarlett | 11 |
Whose Culture Is It Anyway? | 16 |
In Defense of the Bollywood Novel | 37 |
A Novel of Collisions | 42 |
Art for Hearts Sake | 47 |
RECONSIDERATIONS 7 Right Ho Sahib Wodehouse and India | 53 |
Malcolm Muggeridge | 62 |
Rushdies Reappearance | 133 |
Books and Botox | 137 |
Illiteracy in America | 142 |
The Great American Literary Illusion | 146 |
Literature SIl Vous Plait | 150 |
Bharatiya Sanskriti in the Big Apple | 155 |
The Poets of Protocol | 160 |
The Critic as Cosmetologist | 165 |
Winston Churchill | 67 |
The Spy Who Stayed Out in the Cold | 72 |
Remembering Pushkin | 80 |
The Committed Poet | 84 |
Nirad Chaudhuri | 90 |
R K Narayans Comedies of Suffering | 95 |
The Enigma of Being V S Naipaul | 101 |
The Ground beneath His Feet | 107 |
THE LITERARY LIFE | 131 |
The Cultural Geography of Criticism | 169 |
How Not to Deal with a Bad Review | 174 |
Elegy for a Literary Monument | 179 |
Why the Yeti Brings Hope to a Land without Snow | 183 |
How Riot Nearly Caused a Riot | 187 |
APPROPRIATIONS 30 With Friends Like These | 193 |
From the Bathtub to Bollywood | 198 |
Outras edições - Ver tudo
Bookless in Baghdad: Reflections on Writing and Writers Shashi Tharoor Pré-visualização limitada - 2012 |
Bookless in Baghdad: Reflections on Writing and Writers Shashi Tharoor Pré-visualização limitada - 2011 |
Bookless in Baghdad: Reflections on Writing and Writers Shashi Tharoor Visualização de excertos - 2005 |
Palavras e frases frequentes
American asked audience better Bollywood Book Review British Calcutta called Carré caste century characters Churchill colonial country's course critic Delhi dian diplomat English epic faith fiction film foreign French friends global Hemingway heritage Hindi Hindu Hinduism Huesca human idea identity imagination Indian cultural Indian languages Indian Novel Indian writers Indo-Anglian Jenkins Kerala land literary literature live Mahabharata Mailer metaphor mind movie Muggeridge Muslim myths Naipaul Narayan narrative Nehru Neruda never Nirad Chaudhuri novelist P. G. Wodehouse Pablo Neruda pluralism poem poet poetry political prime minister prose publishing Pushkin question readers religion retelling Riot Rushdie's Salman Rushdie secular Shabana Azmi Shashi Tharoor Show Business society Sonia Gandhi speak Stephanian Stephen's stories tell tion told truth United Nations V. S. Naipaul voice Wind Done Gone Wodehouse Wodehouse's words written wrote York