Books
I like fiction, poems, biographies, politics, economics, history and technological developments. Since 2005, I have started writing in my blogs about some of the books I enjoyed reading.
My reading and review of Latin American books are in the blog:
Non- Latin American book reviews in the blog: floatingweed
Latin American authors and books
These days most of the books I read are Latin American. My favourite authors are:
Brazil
Jorge Amado. His works bring out the Brasilian and Latin American character. I have read over a dozen of his novels. Teresa batista. Dona Flor and her two husbands, gabriela, clove and cinnamon Tieta, Tent of miracles, Home is the sailor, Pen, sword, camisole, Golden harvest, Sea of death, shepherds of the night, the violent land, Jubiaba, The two deaths of Quincas wateryell are some of the fascinating ones. His themes are about life in Bahia, the state in northeast of Brazil and is home to Afro Brazilians. His characters are seafaring adventurers, Colonial landlords, slum heroes and women of pleasure. His stories are mostly about the colonial period.
Graciliano Ramos - Sao Bernardo
Paulo Coelho - His books are not about Brazil or nor do they have Brasilian themes. His spiritual and mystical stories are based mostly in spain and outside Brasil. Alchemist, Veronica wants to die, the fifth mountain, Zahir (blog review) have themes and words which makes one reflect. The only book in which he touched a Brazilian theme is "Eleven minutes". This is about a Brazilian callgirl who goes to work in switzerland. His story telling in the book comes out at best awkward and tentative.
Argentina
Tomas Eloy Martinez - The Peron Novel (review) , Santa Evita, The Tango singer
Julio Cortazar - Hopscotch
Jorge Luis Borges - Fictions and non-fictions
Angela Pradelli - Combi
Luisa Valenzuela - Clara (review), Black novel
Manuel Puig - Blood of requitted love
Jorge Fernandez Diaz - La segunda vida de las Flores ( review)
Cesar Aira - “ The divorce” (review)
Maria Gainza “ The optic Nerve” - book review
Hernan Diaz - Trust - book review
Colombia
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - i have read over a dozen of his novels of "magical realism"- "Love at the time of cholera" is my favourite. His latest book "Memory of my melancoly whores" is a shocker. His autobiography "Living to tell the tale" itself (blog review) is like magical realism.
Laura Restrepo - I have fallen in love with the magical realism of Laura. I have read: the dark bride (blog review), The angel of Galileo, Leopard in the sun (blog review), “Save the world” blog review of the book "the isle of passion", “No place for heroes”, “ A tale of the dispossessed” and “ Divine Boys” ( book review).
Alvaro Mutis - His book The adventures and misadventures of Macquarol is one of the most delightful one about latino characters. The adventures take place in places like Panama as well as in the sea. my blog review
Juan Gabriel Vasquez of Colombia.. my blog on his book 'The sound of things falling'. other books “ Reputations”; “ The All Saints Day Lovers, The secret history of Costaguana
Santiago Gamboa - I enjoyed reading his novel " Night Prayers". My review. Other books: Volver al oscuro valle’ Perder es cuestion de metodo, “The night will be long” -review
Alonso Salazar - born to die ( review)
Juan Allfredo Pinto - Atalaya XXI (review)
Hector Abad - Oblivion: A memoir (review)
Virginia Vallejo - Loving Pablo and hating Escobar ( review)
Venezuela
Romulo Gallegos - Dona Barbara
Peru
Mario Vargas Llosa- I adore his writings and have become his fan. I have read almost all his books including his autobiography (like a fish in the water). Aunt Julia and the script writer, Don Rig oberto's diary, Feast of the goats, The war of the end of the world, in praise of stepmother, Conversation in a cathedral (blog review) and story teller, "The way to paradise " ( blog review) are some of the best ones. Vargas Llosa has his own unique style of story telling. Some of the themes are unconventional and provocative. He has written a book about how he wrote his novels, a kind of backend peek. In this he writes about what incidents and real life characters including himself motivated him to write. He has written a kind of guide book for aspiring writers, called as " letters to a young novelist". He stood for elections against Fujimori and lost. My blog on his latest book" The discreet Hero". my review of his latest novels " cinco esquinas" and Harsh Times
Mexico
Carlos Fuentes - I am deeply impressed by this powerful writer. I enjoyed his books, Eagle's throne” “The campaign” The Good Conscience and The years with Laura Diaz. 'Diana, the goddess who hunts alone' and ' Adam in Eden', “ The Campaign”, “ The old Gringo”, “ The good conscience” “ Where air is clear” (review)
Octavio Paz - His book The labyrinth of solitude, analyses Mexican character and identity..It is like Bhagwat gita..have not completed this yet. His collection of poems" A tale of two gardens" compares India and Mexico. He was Ambassador in India and wrote a book " In the light of India" which gives an introduction to India as he perceived it.
Enrique Krauze - “Redeemers” and “ Biography of power”
Laura Esquivel " Like water for chocolate".
Jorge Volpi - “In search of Klingsor” ( review article) and “ In spite of the dark silence”
Book on Frida Kahlo by Heyden Herrera - Review
Dominican Republic
Julia Alvarez - She was the reason for my falling in love with this exotic country. She is delightful, funny and perceptive. I enjoyed reading Butterflies,Aunt Julia came to stay, Yo, and A cafecito story. Her themes are mostly about the traditonal Dominican society and the cultural challenges faced by those who go to USA. She herself lives in Vermont and gone through such experience. The novel " Butterflies" is about the killing of the famous three sisters by the Trujillo dictatorship of Dominican Republic. Her book "saving the World" which is a fascinating historical story starting from spain to the Latin American colonies.
Junot Diaz - ' The brief wondrous life of Oscar wao'.
Chile
Isabel Allende - House of spirits is her best book. This gives an account of the evolution of the Chilean society from colonial to feudal and democratic stages. The Infinity plan, Portrait in Sepia, Of love and shadows and city of the beasts are other interesting novels. "The Japanese lover" is about Japanese and American characters. “ A long petal of the sea” is about asylum to revolutionaries who fought in Spanish civil war.
Violeta - latest novel - book review
Pablo Neruda - This Nobel prize winner is the most famous poet of Latin America. Cantos general and Alturas de machupichu are about the quest for Latin American identity. liked his autobiography. He had visited India during his assignment as Consul in Rangoon and later to meet Nehru. He did not find India particularly appealing or inspiring. His house in isla de negra on the sea side is a dream house for poets and artists and worth a visit. His other houses in Santiago and Valparaiso have fantastic collections.
Neruda: the biography of a poet by Mark Eisner ( review)
Luis Sepulveda - "The old man who liked to read love stories". is the book which mesmerized me. It is a magical realism story in the amazon. Other books “ The name of a bullfighter”
Roberto Bolano - I read the novel "A distant Star" by this Chilean author. My blog review
blog review of the book " Night in Chile"
Chilean poet - novel by Alejandro Sambra - book review
Costa Rica
Where there was fire - novel by John Manuel Arias
Guatemala
Miguel Angel Asturias - I have read only one book of this nobel laureate. It is "The President" which depicts the typical latino dictatorship and its devastating impact on the society.
Francisco Goldman- His book “ The long night of white chickens” is about the violence, insecurity and politics of Guatemala.
El Salvador
Mario Bencastro - A shot in the cathedral is a novel about the civil war which traumatised the society even in the eighties.
Horacio Castellanos Moya - read his novels “The Dream to return” and “ Tyrant memory” ( blog )
Bolivia
Edmundo Paz Soldan - “ Turing’s Delirium” and The matter of desire”. I have written reviews in Latinamericanaffairs blog.
'Panama
Panama fever' by Mathew Parker - a history of the trials and tribulations involved in the construction of the Panama Canal
Paraguay
Augusto Roa Bastos - I, the supreme
Nicaragua
Sergio Ramirez - Divine Punishment (review)
Cuba
Alejo Carpentier - The Kingdom of this world, The lost steps
Uruguay
Eduardo Galeano - The open veins of Latin America
Other books on Latin America
Ioan Grillo - "Blood Gun Money: How America arms gangs and cartels" - review
Paul Blustein - “And the money kept flowing in (out)” - on the role of IMF and Wall Street in Argentine financial crisis of 2001 - blog post
Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria - Modern Latin American literature: A very short introduction
Damian Platt - Nothing by accident: Brazil on the edge - book review
I found the biographies of the following personalities fascinating:
Bolivar: The epic life of the man who liberated South America by Marie Arana
Che Guevara (blog review) - "Companion" by Jorge castanada. He is the ultimate revolutionary.
Eva Peron - " Evita- the real life of Eva Peron" written by Nicholas Fraser and Marysa Navarro- Evita is a fascinating personality. This book gives some clues about the great Argentinian puzzle. - blog review
I have been inspired by the autobiographies of Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Pablo Neruda.
"I Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian woman in Guatemala" - This book is a kind of autobiography of Rigoberta Menchu in which she gives vivid details of the life and struggle of herself and other Indians in Guatemala.
Ingrid Betancourt (colombia)'s autobiographical account of her captivity as a FARC prisoner in her book " Even silence has an end: my six years of captivityin the Colombian jungle" is a heart-breaker. My blog on this book
Books on history, politics and economy
Forgotten continent: the battle for Latin America's soul - by Michael Reid. This is a fairly comprehensive book covering political, economic and cultural perspectives of the region.
Brazil- The troubled rise of a global power - Michael Reid - informative and analytical book
Latin American political economy - by Javier Santiso. The author gives a balanced perspective of the new trend of the rulers who are pragmatic in their approach, shedding dogmatism. my blog review
Authoritarianism in Latin America - by Paul H Lewis. This gives some clues and traces the origin of dictatorship tendencies in the region. my blog review
Brazil on the rise - by Larry Rohter - somewhat objective and balanced although the author is from US
Maras - book by Bruneau Thomas, Dammert Lucia and Elizabeth Skinner. This is about the brutal gangs of Central America, their origin and atrocities. My blog review
Brazillionaires: The godfathers of Modern Brazil by Alex Cuadros
Adios Muchachos: A memoir of the Sandinista Revolution - by Sergio Ramirez
Latin American guerrilla movements - blog
The Tango war - blog
How Peron brought Nazi war criminals to Argentina - blog
India from Latin America: Peripherisation, State Building and Demand-led growth- book by Manuel Gonzalo… Book review
Gold, oil and avocados: A recent history of Latin America in 16 commodities - by Andy Robinson - review
Inside the collapse of Venezuela - by William Neuman - book review
Bitter Fruit - the story of the American coup in Guatemala - book review
Indian authors
Ramachandra Guha - I enjoyed reading his book “India after Gandhi: the history of the world’s largest democracy”. I am in the process of reading two more of his books on Gandhi. I found him as an inspiring and impressive speaker too..
My blog A Gandhian journey with Guha
Salman Rushdie He is my favourite Indian writer. I have become his fan -Shalimar, the Clown- the novel brings out the political and human part of the kashmir issue (blog review) - Fury, Midnight's children and " the ground beneath her feet "- i liked these.
Victory City - latest novel- book review
Vikram Seth I started his epic book " A suitable boy" with some hesitation but i did not want the book to end. The other book " Equal music" - delightful
Geeta Mehta River Sutra -i was fascinated by this one
Pawan Varma His book " Being Indian " brings out the complexities of the Indian society. I finished the second half of the book at Barista Cafe, since light went off at home when I was in the middle of reading.
Kandhekar (marathi) His book "Krouncha vadam", in Tamil translation set me on fire... in the college days
Jhumpa Lahiri "Namesake" illustrates the emotional transition and challenges of the first and second generation Indians in USA.
Kiran Desai - I liked her book " The Inheritance of Loss". Blog Review
Padma Viswanathan - The toss of a lemon ( book review) and The ever after of Ashwin Rao
Silence of the Cicadas by M Ramesh.. My blog review
Autobiographies of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have inspired me. Also biographies of Dr Varghese Kurien and Sridharan ( Metro man)
Karunanidhi, a life - by AS Panneerselvan - book review
International authors and books
I found the biographies/autobigraphies of
Einstein - biography by Walter Isaacson
Elon Musk - biography by Walter Isaacson
Bill Gates - I read his autobiography The Road Ahead. I admire him.
Steve Jobs - He is not admirable like Bill Gates. But his achivements are impressive. (blog Review of iCon),
Google Guys - I adore the audacity and out of the box appraoch of the Google guys (blog Review)
Napoleon - remarkable and colourful personality. I admire his audaciousness.
Thomas Friedman - I liked his book " The world is flat". It brings out the new paradigm of Indian mindset and the opportunities arising from globalisation for india. Blog Review . In general I find his columns interesting.
Tolstoy "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" - i read these on the recommendation of a dear soulmate. I liked the long emotional journey through the long novels.
Trevanian "Shibumi"- this opened me up to a new world. "Summer of Katya" was simply delicious (blog review)... i love his puns and plays on emotions. His Basque characters are memorable.
Wordsworth His poems elevated me to fly with the clouds in the romantic youthful years
Keats Some of his poems added to my craziness during college days
PG Wodehouse I remember Jeeves and Lord Emsworth every time i eat fish. laughed and laughed...
Miguel de Cervantes- Don Quixote . …still reading
Tamil Authors
Jayakanthan My favourite Tamil writer. I have been inspired by his essays and books. I like his originality of thought and the way he has dealt with Tamil social issues
Lakshmi her book "Malarhalile aval mallikai" set me on the romantic course during college days
Kalki his works helped me to survive the challenges of adolescent growth in the village.
Chandilyan His books made me a dreamer
Laa Sa Ramamirtham His lyrical prose had evoked powerful sentiments.
Bharathiyar His " Kannan Paatu" and "kuil pattu " besides other poems were early sources of inspiration
Bharathidasan He made me want to become a poet....still waiting to become...
Kannadasan His songs inflamed romantic passions