From memoir to mystery: My latest four reads

(This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025, wherein 10 posts are published in 15 days. This is the fourth one. The prompt: The last four books you read.)

If there’s one thing I treasure, it’s discovering new worlds and perspectives through books. My reading habit had taken a serious hit while I was working. Now that I have more time for myself, I have got back into the habit.

Here are the four books I read last, listed in the reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent first.

1. MEN WITHOUT WOMEN

Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular Japanese authors; perhaps more celebrated outside Japan than within. The last book I read by him was the anthology Birthday Stories, several years ago.

Last month, while on a short visit to Kerala, I entered Aluva metro station to take a train to Kadvanthra. There, I was surprised to find a book exhibition-cum-sale. I spent about 45 minutes browsing the books on display, eventually picking up two. 

One was Murakami's Men Without Women. The other was The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh by Sanjaya Baru, which I have yet to start reading.

Men Without Women is a collection of seven short stories, all revolving around the complex emotional lives of men separated from women.

Each story features a different protagonist grappling with loneliness, longing, and the mysterious presence, or absence, of women in his life. The tales explore a range of situations: lost love, betrayal, quiet marriages, and more.

One of the stories is “Drive My Car”, where an actor forms a bond with his female chauffeur as he struggles with memories of his late wife’s infidelity.

Murakami’s characteristic style of quiet melancholy and introspection runs through all the stories.

2. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

There were two reasons I bought this book. First, it simply appeared on Amazon while I was browsing the book section; second, and more importantly, both the title and the blurb caught my attention.

This novel by Paula Hawkins is a psychological thriller set in London, centred on the lives of three women: Rachel, Megan, and Anna.

Rachel Watson takes the same commuter train every day, passing by her old neighbourhood. She becomes fixated on watching a seemingly perfect couple, Megan and Scott, who live near her ex-husband Tom and his new wife Anna.

When Megan goes missing, Rachel finds herself drawn into the investigation, spurred by hazy memories and her urge to help. As Rachel probes deeper, her unreliable recollections and desire to be useful push her into dangerous territory.

The novel’s suspenseful plot kept me guessing about what happened to Megan.

3. HOW PRIME MINISTERS DECIDE

Neerja Chowdhury is a reputed journalist who has spent decades in New Delhi as a political reporter. When I was with The Indian Express in their Ahmedabad edition, during the politically tumultuous early 1990s, I had the good fortune to edit many of her stories.

She is one of the few top journalists in India who has witnessed at close quarters the changing political landscape in the nation’s capital. She has met all the prime ministers except Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Gulzarilal Nanda.

That’s one reason I picked up this book, which examines the decision-making styles of six Indian prime ministers: Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V. P. Singh, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh. 

She sheds light on the intense pressures prime ministers face from several quarters: not just public expectations, but also from diverse groups, communities, and even their closest advisers.

What makes this book particularly interesting is the detail she provides regarding some of the controversial political decisions our prime ministers have made.

Anyone interested in Indian politics will surely enjoy reading this book.

4. RECKONING

A couple of years ago, while my son was preparing for his journey home from Sydney, he asked me what I would like him to bring for me. I told him to get me a book about Australia that I might not easily find in India.

He got me two. One was Reckoning: The Forgotten Children and Their Quest for Justice by David Hill. The other was Born Into This by Adam Thomson.

I will take the first one.

Reckoning tells the powerful true story of how David Hill and other former “Forgotten Children” from the Fairbridge Farm School in New South Wales sought justice for the abuse they suffered as children.

Hill recounts the shocking institutional abuse endured by vulnerable British and Australian children, who were sent to Fairbridge under imperial schemes, and then mistreated; sometimes as young as five years old.

Their battle led to a record $24 million compensation awarded by the New South Wales Supreme Court. Hill describes many personal stories, and with the appropriate historical context, sketches so well not only the resilience of the survivors but also their struggle to hold those responsible accountable.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Each of these books, on diverse themes, left its own mark, sparking thought and, sometimes, even stirring up memories. Have you read any of them? If not, which one of these you would like to read?

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