Hands Up!

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka | Shubham Rai

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.” ― Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka touches upon themes like conditional love, hypocrisy within families and alienation. However, during this conversation we expand the scope of the conversation which recognises the fact that men do feel disposable when they are of no use to a specific person or a family. (Of course, the same logic can be applied to both genders) Shubham and I try to explore how we felt when we read the story and understand why Kafka's works are relevant even today.

Why the Poor Don’t Kill Us by Manu Joseph | Abhishek Pisharody

It is quite entertaining to read a book that tells you why the poor are not killing us. Not that I was ever afraid of being killed by a poor person. The book is enjoyable and readable. It might even make you feel intelligent. But it’s not. That’s the opinion of my guest Abhishek Pisharody, a political consultant. Read his detailed review here.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa | Srishti Khurana

“Math has proven the existence of God, because it is absolute and without contradiction; but the devil must exist as well, because we cannot prove it.” ~ Yoko Ogawa In this episode, I discuss the book “The Housekeeper and the Professor” with Srishti Khurana. The book is based on a quirky character who loses memory every 80 minutes. In addition to the story involving the lives of the housekeeper, her child and the bond which they share with the professor, the author manages to philosophize about math and truth. The book is a great read for those who hated math and failed to see it as an artistic pursuit. This conversation might just egg you to pick this book.

The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann | Nikita Pathak

“God had a full beard, Satan had a goatee” ~ Marion Poschmann. The ‘Pine Islands’ is a page turner that tracks the journey of a young Japanese man and a German national (who is a beard researcher) through the forests of Japan. It explores thoughts of Basho, Haikus and German character’s fraught marital life. Though I read the book with some curiosity, I felt it was a muddled narrative. However, my guest Nikita feels it was enjoyable. Drop into this conversation, and maybe read the book to know more about this unconventional book.

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoru Yagisawa | Deeksha Sharma

After recording a podcast [https://open.spotify.com/episode/1B7a0q4UZqqlMDGCoYFdQb?si=75a4e498e4144314] about the first book "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoru Yagisawa, I discuss the sequel to the book with Deeksha Sharma who studies Computational Social Sciences at IIT Jodhpur. In this episode we discuss independent bookstores, a brief summary of the sequel and 'slice of life' genre. We also debate whether reading can be a viable escape, book clubs and something about Deeksha's own "Morisaki Bookshop" in Delhi. However, this episode doesn't dwell so much on the book or its characters and has no spoilers. It may not be so relatable to those who have not read both the books.