​From Ireland to Bengal: Explore these interesting books this week 

1 Introducing Joyce: A Graphic Guide (Penguin India)

You’ll enjoy this crisply executed mini-sized visual storytelling book about James Joyce, the Irish literary genius by the brilliant David Norris with bold illustrations by Carl Flint. It includes an introductory map to the maze of Joyce’s Dublin, on which all of his writings are focussed. There is wit, detail, information and plenty to navigate, to better understand this cultural icon.

2 Maili Chadar and Truth and Justice (Seagull)

These two plays by Sahitya Akademi winner, Shanta Gokhale shine a light on the dark side of power and the human cost of injustice. The first traces the regression of the protagonist from the idealism of his roots, to the cynicism of a man who thirsts for power. The second is in the form of monologues where women from different places and times speak of what men in power have done to them in pursuit of their hatred for the other.

3 The Select Nonsense of Sukumar Ray (Oxford)

Sukumar Ray, father of Satyajit Ray, is one of the greatest children’s writers in Bengal, and the most popular when it comes to nonsense tales and verse in the Bengali language. This translation by Sukanta Chaudhuri is a fantastic ode to the original. Discover this literary style, and also marvel at Sukumar’s illustrations that add hilarity and humour to compliment his splendid wordplay.

  

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