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I recently came across an article which talked about how brain researchers made strides in understanding the function of specific regions by studying brains with damages or wounds. The whole idea of understanding something by comparing it with a reduced form of itself was fascinating for me. With a protagonist who is cursed with being forgotten, this book presents a similar opportunity for understanding our subjective reality by comparing it with a reduced form of itself, one where all relations are ephemeral. ...

“The trouble with Lucious," he said, putting his feet up on the desk after this cousin has gone," is that he thinks politics is a fight for justice. Politics is a profession.” Imperium presents the tale of Cicero’s rise to power, narrated through the notes of his loyal slave and scribe, Tiro. Through his oratorical prowess and political theatrics, we see Cicero climb the shaky ladder of power. Each passing rung accompanies with it an erosion of the moral values that propelled him into this grand venture, until acquisition of power becomes an end in itself. ...

I’ve observed that misanthropic traits in protagonists manifest primarily in two ways - In those that are weak, in whom misanthropy arises as an effect of their inability to hold their own, and in those that are strong, in whom misanthropy arises because of their utter disregard for those who are weaker, poorer, or otherwise unfortunate than them. For me, a heart-warming story usually involves humanizing a strong misanthropic protagonist. A skilled author portrays this “thawing of the frozen heart” in an artful way, making the character more relatable and empathetic, with bits of humor thrown in along the way to tie the whole package together. In “The Man Called Ove”, it’s the stubborn widower who’s set in his ways, and in “A Gentleman in Moscow”, it’s an estranged aristocrat who’s the subject of this artful dissection. Through whimsical adventures and happy little accidents, the author turns The Count into an endearing character whom we root for and relate to with the utmost passion. ...

This book was my first foray into non-fiction this year. I believe that human beings, with our incessant need for order and meaning, are obsessed with stories and the deeper meaning that lie behind them. This is exactly why I prefer learning about abstract concepts narrated through a well fleshed out story where the ensconced idea gets communicated in a much better manner as opposed to works of non-fictions where they’re presented, cooked and cleaned, with minimal seasoning to make it palatable for the masses. ...

As a reader, I have always been predisposed to seek out “happy books” - the ones with stories where things eventually work out, where the hero accomplishes his quest, where peace is restored in the realm, and where people “lived happily every after”. In these stories death, despair, and sadness caused by heinous crimes were nothing but decoy targets that were used to accentuate and make the eventual triumph of all that is good even more satisfying. They were analyzed and enjoyed merely as instruments of comparison, a convenient plot point, which would eventually be swept under the rug and forgotten in the face of the grand conclusion. This book threw all of those expectations out the window. It spat in the face of my conventional expectations and brought me face to face with some unsavory subjects which I had tried hard to avoid all my life. ...