Welcome to Litsy!

Short story? Novella? Whatever the form it is a thought provoking story about the price of upward mobility for one insular family in India. It leaves the reader with more unsettling questions than answers, which means I won‘t easily forget it.

What great set-up in the first chapter! 😁 This has been TBR for me quite a while and by chance found it in a thrift shop. Love those lucky finds.

This is short and interesting. In case any of you are looking to add numbers to your book goals quickly. It takes place in Bangalore and gives an interesting perspective on family life. The title is a made up phrase meaning a tangled mess.

My feelings about this #NewYearWhoDis pick are “ghachar ghochar”: all twisted up.

Confession time: I don‘t typically love books in which unlikeable characters abound. It‘s one of my secret literary shames. 🙈 So, this novella - about a codependent family that loses their kindness when they fall into wealth — wasn‘t my favorite. Still, the writing is strong. 👇🏻

I started my 3rd #NYWD22 book last night…& then promptly flew into a panic when we realized our pet was having a medical emergency.

Ultimately, we think it was a bout of GI stasis (common in rabbits) but it was much more sudden & dramatic than anything we‘ve experienced. We thought we were going to lose her. ❤️‍🩹

Today, she‘s returned to her usual ravenous, food-motivated self. So, I‘m gratefully & relievedly returning to my usual, too. 📖

In this video I talk about 10 short works of fiction that I heartily recommend, as well as two others that I will be reading soon.

https://youtu.be/ynxuRidpQbM

A novella about a family who has newly come into wealth. It tackles topics such as capitalism, corruption, marriage, women's standing in society and money within this slim volume.
Read for #booked2021 for #under150pages and #india for #readingasia2021
@Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

Ghachar Ghochar was just great! It‘s short, so you can read it in a day, but you‘ll be thinking about it for much longer! I‘ve been wanting to read this for a couple years, and I‘m glad I could finish before school starts again tomorrow 📚 #AxeTheStacks #ReadingAsia2021 #India

This Saturday calls for a short book and a quick breakfast because I have a busy day ahead. #booksbeforechores

The first page brings back fond memories of The Indian Coffee House... waiters with the elaborate red cummerbund and all.

#currentlyreading #fiction #India

A sweet novella set in Bangalore that tackles what happens when a family suddenly moves from a tight budget to wealth. While they‘re much more comfortable in some ways, fundamental relationships among each other and with those around them unravel as a result.
#Booked2020 #SetInSouthAsia

This short novella packs a punch, and will stay with me for quite some time. Shifting family and power dynamics weave a tangled web. Characters you can never quite trust, and an ending that left me shaken. Thank you so much to @Blackink_WhitePaper for gifting me the ebook, I likely wouldn't have found this one without it, and I think this may be one of my top reads of the year!

Thank you thank you thank you to @Blackink_WhitePaper for the birthday surprise! What a wonderful thing to wake up to. I can't wait to read it!

I love drinking coffee 🥰 and my place is famous for coffee, we grow coffee too. Somehow books and coffee are well connected. Please share your thoughts on this 😊

I don‘t know any other littens who loves coffee except @CoffeeNBooks So tagging some friends, forgive me if you don‘t like coffee.

This very short novel is simply amazing! Unnamed narrator sets out the tangled web of his family, finances, and his wife in present day Bangalore. The twist at the end is brilliant. Must read!! https://cannonballread.com/2020/07/ghachar-ghochar-a-novel-elcicco/

A sharp novella set around a family who transitions from being lower middle class to rich, and how the newfound status causes a change in their moral compass, relationships with each other, attitude towards life.

📷: There's a coffee house mentioned (like a lingering character) in the book, which reminded me of the times when i could go to a coffee shop carefree. Sigh!

This is a story of a family & how they struggle to cope with altered economic status. Full of family dramas, emotion,helplessness & sarcasm. This reminds about the cherished childhood, happiness of the past. It portrays the harsh reality of growing up, happiness & peace which can‘t be purchased by money. I enjoyed reading it in my local language. It‘s suitable for a quick read.

#Kannada #localauthor #readingwithmaja #setinIndia

Amazing 3 hrs read...Story of a family from rags to riches & how money affects relationships
#ghacharghochar #bangalore

Extraordinary portrayal of silent acquiescence of darkness engulfing a Patriarchal family. Probably among the best short novels I have ever read.

Very well crafted story of a family which grows rich overnight although they loose the bond they had between each other when money comes in. Ends in a cliffhanger tho :(

‘It‘s true what they say – it‘s not we who control money, it‘s the money that controls us. When there‘s only a little, it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us.‘

With amazing economy, this novella recounts the history of a family corrupted by money and the lengths they will go to to keep the status quo. Highly recommended! Plus at just 118 pages, one can read it in a day.

Beautiful book.

This novella was brill!
A reminiscing account of rags to riches with enough mockery to make it understandable.

One from the birthday stack... sent by a friend who makes superb literary recommendations.
Stunning cover and wonderful reviews!

Quite fun, yet menacing and disturbing. Shines a light on the dark underside of family life and examines the morally corrosive effects of easy wealth. I wish it were up to 50 percent longer, elucidated some characters further. Though I can see reasons for not doing so!

There is a lot to consider packed this little novella. A young man's family rises from the slums of Bangalore to the rich neighborhood in a matter of weeks and the family dynamic shifts irrevocably. As the young man marries and brings his wife into his tightly knit family, suddenly it becomes clear that she is not #oneofus and therefore may not ever fit in... an unsettling story!
#ABBAinApril

Today‘s lunch/dinner. Don‘t you just love fresh tomato season??

I wish this book was longer. I believe the audio is about 5 hrs normal (1x) speed.

I‘ll be using the phrase Ghachar Ghochar in real life now.

Home from vacation to a wonderful #shortstoryswap parcel from @BookishMe. It's amazing!
Look at all these gorgeous books! I love that you included a mix of authors, some familiar and some new-to-me. I loved the note explaining why you chose the books. And yay for coffee, tea, and snacks!
Thank you! Thank you!
@CSeydel

A beautifully crafted novella read in one sitting...About family, life purpose and changing social norms.

" They say the newly rich carry umbrellas to keep the moonlight at bay".

This short novella - explores how a family change within themselves, their relationship to each other & their values when their fortunes change. It was sparse, but cutting and although it left me wanting 300+ more pages, it told its tale well.

“When there's only a little (money) it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us"

Hmmm. This was a delectable little audiobook (less than 3 hours), a dramatic yet banal family story easily enjoyed. A young man & new husband found his way to a comfortable salary in his family‘s business without putting in the work. Favorite scenes include his people-watching and his mother‘s a vendetta against ants.

I feel like I missed a few things, didn‘t fully understand who‘s who in dialogue so will likely give it another listen soon.

The Best Translated Book Awards 2018 Longlist is out.....this is the one I‘m going to head for first...what do you fancy??

https://themillions.com/2018/04/announcing-2018-btba-longlists-fiction-poetry.ht...

Me: I shouldn‘t start a new book, I shouldn‘t start a new book ...
Me 20 minutes later: I am not good at this game

(Check out the flyleaf - so cool!)

An elegantly written, spare novel about a family and the nuanced dynamics when one brother‘s business becomes very successful. By observing the characters in turn, he shows the complex strings that keep a family in balance; & money‘s power to corrupt. The tone is wonderfully engaging, the narrator charming, but he emerges as a passive character, trapped by lack of purpose. Much happening between the lines, deft & thought-provoking.

This was a quick but good read. I do wish it had been a little longer. But I also like how it's a story of a small portion of a family's life after going from poverty to wealth in a short amount of time.

Vendela Vida, David Rosenfelt, Matt Haig, Min Jin Lee, Vivek Shanbhag, Sandhya Menon, Peter Swanson and Isabel Allende are some of the writers I discovered last year and read for the first time. These are few of the books I enjoyed most (Snow Child should have been included!)

Among these writers, new to me, Isabel Allende's exquisite writing completely enticed me.

Share authors new to you for @mrozzz 's #ItsGottaGoGiveaway

Great little audiobook- it‘s only about 2.5 hrs despite what it says above. Set in modern India, a family‘s fortunes change from bad to great quickly when the uncle starts a spice business. The change not only shakes up the family dynamic, but also changes most of the family members. Sparely written with great use of language and selective detail. Available on Hoopla.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Loved this little novel about an Indian family whose circumstances change when they go from poverty to well-off quickly and how that changes both the family dynamic and the individuals in the family. Loved the writing/translation and the ending was perfect. 🤗

This is my first #24in48 ! I'm not sure I can complete it but it seems fun to try. Here are most of my options, plus some audiobooks. Anyone have tips or something you wish you'd known for your first #24in48 #readathon ? Thanks! 😊
#rediscoveringatwood

Brief, immersive look at family and class status. Short enough to finish in one sitting, but full of depth. A great work in translation. If you‘re looking to read something set in India or read more in translation, be sure to check this one out.

Heartfelt, frustrating, wonderful story!

This is a fascinating short novel about the peculiar inner-workings of a family in Bangalore who started out lower-middle class then suddenly became fabulously wealthy when the father's younger brother makes a fortune in the spice trade. Things are not always as they seem, though, as the unnamed, diffident narrator puzzles through his family's suspect foibles at his favorite Coffee House. I only wish it were longer.

This novella kind of crept up on me. Going along, going along, reading about this rags-to-riches business family in India, and it slowly dawns on me that something is very wrong. Great impact! #Translation.

Ghachar ghochar: “There are only four people in this world who know what it means. My parents, my brother, and I.”

Trying to fall asleep to an audiobook instead of Netflix.

Quick, interesting and unsettling read.

Don‘t miss out on this gem of a novella, the first work of Indian fiction to be translated from Kannada into English. A rags-to-riches tale set in modern Bangalore, its simplicity is deceptive, and the unnerving events punctuating this seemingly white-picket-fence story are utterly riveting. Shanbhag‘s been called India‘s Chekhov; I don‘t know about that, but I do know I want to press this wonderful piece of fiction into your hands.

#QuoteOfTheDay

#QuoteOfTheDay

This wee novel is utterly engrossing so far!

#QuoteOfTheDay

Reading Envy Podcast 097: Blank Spaces with Lauren Weinhold. https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy097

Lauren is a friend I made in Goodreads and then we always seemed to be reading the same books at the same time! Last year we got to hang out in Baltimore and talked for hours, so bringing her on the podcast was a no-brainer.