“The form the novel, with the narrator and his audience both acting as characters, allowed me to mirror the mutual suspicion with which America and Pakistan (or the Muslim world) look at one another,” said author Mohsin Hamid. Hamid’s recent novel, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” is written as a monologue, a very challenging style since the…

Karma, chance, fate, destiny, and providence, are the muses for a set of tales skillfully crafted by Rishi Reddi in her debut collection of short stories titled “Karma and Other Stories.” Set mostly in the Boston area, the stories vividly portray the interconnected lives of the local Indian American community, who struggle to balance the…

Reading Michael Chabon’s new “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union,” you can almost visualize the film noir to which this gripping novel pays homage–the down-and-out boozer of a detective, cracking wise as he pursues the truth; the mysterious murder victim, found dead in a seedy hotel. Cue the slow, sexy music for the sudden appearance of the…

For anyone else like me who can’t seem to stop making fun of Rhonda Byrne’s “The Secret” (OK, so I’ve been obsessively blogging about it–first about the DVD review, again about a New York Times feature, and yes, still another time about Oprah’s endorsement), or is still truly mystified that so many people are buying…

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