Souvik

Book Review: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I couldn't finish Neverwhere and only managed to get through Volume 1 of Sandman. So, I picked up Stardust with a specific goal—to complete a Neil Gaiman book from start to finish. I wanted to experience his storytelling firsthand, not just rely on popular opinions. For context, I also couldn't make it through Norse Mythology!

But Stardust turned out to be a game-changer. Now, I truly understand the magic of Neil Gaiman. What a delightful read! Heartwarming and filled with his signature blend of wit and comedy. I must have missed some of this charm in Sandman and may need to revisit it. And now, I'm definitely motivated to finish Neverwhere. This book is simply awesome! ⭐️ 5/5.

“Everybody Lies” is a fascinating dive into the digital footprints we all leave behind—our private secrets and hidden behaviors laid bare by data. From a technical standpoint, the book opened my eyes to how algorithms and big data analytics can unravel patterns in human behavior that we might never admit, even to ourselves. It's like having a witty friend who gently teases you about your online shopping habits while revealing how our digital lives are far more complex than we'd like to believe. In short, it's a compelling reminder that in the digital world, numbers don't just lie—they tell the truth in ways we often overlook.

Amazing! My kinda book. Happy, quirky, and all's well that ends well. This book made me feel happy, made me burst out in chuckles and waves of laughter in between. I loved this book, very much. No place to critique. I love closures and this book gives me that. I love how the author seamlessly ties everything up and that too in a very remarkable way. My only gripe is that it is a translation and I know there are so many nuances that miss out on translations. I wish I could read the Swedish version. But then again really grateful for this translation to exist. How many such great works I am missing out on because of this language barrier.

Book Review: The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

I heard about the second book in this series but decided to start with the first one, with no special expectations beyond knowing that Japanese authors often bring unique storytelling to obscure topics. As an otaku, I've had my fair share of such experiences.

Overall, this is a very simple book—perhaps too simple. While the premise is somewhat unique, if you're familiar with a lot of Japanese content and literature (like manga or anime), it may not seem all that unique. Each chapter stands alone, and there isn't much continuity, although I found the last two chapters to be more engaging.

My Rating: 1.5 / 5 stars

Introduction & Expectations

I approached Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo with high hopes, in part because of the buzz surrounding its release and my previous admiration for her lyricism. Rooney’s reputation for capturing emotional nuance and inner life drew me in—yet, by the end, I found myself underwhelmed. I expected a richly textured exploration of interpersonal dynamics; instead, the narrative felt compressed, and I struggled to connect with both the prose and the characters’ internal experiences.

Narrative Style & Prose

From the opening chapter, the sentences in Intermezzo struck me as unusually dense. Rooney’s writing is famously pared-down, but here it verges on feeling like “compressed versions of sentences,” as though every layer of context has been stripped away. Where I once delighted in savoring each turn of phrase, I now found myself hunting for emotional grounding. Instead of allowing me to inhabit the characters’ minds, the prose often jumps ahead before I can fully imagine their internal landscapes. In contrast, my first ever foray into literary fiction with Tagore at age eleven—offered moments where I could visualise a scene so vividly that it stayed with me. Intermezzo rarely granted that luxury.

Characterization & Empathy

Rooney’s protagonists often skewer the intricacies of modern relationships, and here she leans heavily on physical intimacy as the principal language between characters. While sex can be a portal to vulnerability and connection, in Intermezzo it sometimes felt like a veneer—an expectation that intimacy alone would suffice for emotional depth. I was left wishing for more contextual “scenes” that made me truly feel what the characters were experiencing, rather than simply reading about their encounters. When a narrative can’t fully convey its characters’ thoughts or emotional stakes, it becomes difficult to empathize or root for them.

Themes & Comparisons

Thematically, Rooney attempts to juggle ideas about desire, disillusionment, and the search for meaning. There are moments when I saw faint parallels to Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies, in terms of characters striving to escape circumstances—but even that comparison underscored Rooney’s minimalist restraint. Ghosh’s sweeping generosity of detail allows readers to inhabit a world, whereas Intermezzo often skimmed over the “why” behind its characters’ decisions. In fairness, Rooney never intended to write an epic saga, but I found myself craving the very complexity and nuance she seems to have sacrificed. The central theme—perhaps a critique of how easily people chase novelty (in sex, substance, or escape)—felt diluted rather than incisive. I finished the book thinking: “If 90 percent of people read this for its themes on sex or modern malaise, is that enough? I’m not convinced.”

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Intermezzo fell short of the expectations I brought into it. While I admired Rooney’s ambition to strip away excess and present characters in their barest form, the result was a narrative that often felt stunted. The lack of lyrical immersion—those small scenes that transport you into a character’s mind—left me disconnected. I recognize that minimalist fiction isn’t for everyone, and that many readers will find beauty in Rooney’s unadorned approach. For me, however, Intermezzo missed the emotional resonance I value in literary fiction. If you’re hoping for sweeping empathy or the kind of vivid character-study found in a novel like Sea of Poppies, you may want to temper your expectations.