"This Is How You Lose Her" is a collection of short
stories in English by Junot Díaz, a Dominican American writer. Most of the
stories in this collection deal with men's infidelity and though Diaz's writing is
powerful and evocative, the stories get repetitive and the women more
hysterical. The occasional use of the Spanish language could put off a new
reader (I'm not complaining; it's one of the reasons I read it in the first
place).
Sanjaya Baru's "The Accidental Prime Minister" may have got the cash
registers ringing in India, but I just read it and failed to understand what
the fuss was all about. Manmohan Singh's daughter had protested against its
publication but she need not have bothered about any revelations by the PM's
former media adviser. Baru paints a very sympathetic picture of Singh as an
honest and committed statesman who was let down by some within the Congress
party. Singh's first term was outstanding but his second was a disappointment.
There are a few interesting snippets from political life but on the whole,
Baru's book is highly over-rated.