Book: The Book Hunters of Katpadi: A BibliomysteryAuthor: Pradeep SebastianPublisher: Hachette India, 2017Pages: 418 Price: 599Never judge a book by its cover’ – the age-old adage that exhorts us to read more carefully is exactly what you will learn to ignore when you read Pradeep Sebastian’s delightful The Book Hunters of Katpadi: A Bibliomystery. The joy of seeing a Jane Austen first edition; the pleasure of touching The Maltese Falcon inscribed by Dashiell Hammett in his spidery signature; the elite world of rare book auctions – this is the world Sebastian evokes. For those expecting Marquez-like magic realism, mellifluous prose and Dickensian characters, this is not the book for you. Books are in the foreground in The Book Hunters and everything else – the protagonists, the plot – merely serve as props. In sum, The Book Hunters of Katpadi is like an exquisite meal, seasoned well, but not, as this reviewer fancies, to everyone’s taste.

Source: dna February 04, 2018 02:15 UTC