Cards on the Table by AGATHA CHRISTIE

Book:  Cards On The Table
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication Date: 1936


Mr Shaitana was a  person of dubious character. He was attending a snuff box exhibition when he ran into our own detective Hercule Poirot. Shaitana was quick enough to invite him for dinner and lured him to meet some strange invitees.


There was something peculiar about that invitation. A collector of many strange things, Shaitana also nurtured a macabre habit. Some of the invitees to the dinner invitation were none other than people who have gotten away easily after committing murders. He had a strange talent of extracting hidden secrets from people and he used his talent arduously to find such people and bring them together to a dinner table at his house.


Finally, the fateful day had come. After the dinner, the guests decided to play bridge and divided themselves into two groups.

When the first group consisted of Dr Roberts, Major Despard, Mrs Lorrimer and Miss Anne Meredith, the second group consisted of Hercule Poirot, Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard, detective fiction writer Mrs Adriane Oliver and Colonel Race, a retired secret service operative.

Both of the groups sat in two different rooms while Shaitana, the host did not take part in the game but sat in the first room by the fire, observing the players.

When they approached their host to bid good bye, after the bridge, to their utter shock, they found him murdered in his chair. He was stabbed in the neck with a stiletto.

In no time, Superintendent Battle took charge of the situation. It was then, the players in the second room realised that Shaitana had carefully picked his guests. While the guests in the second room were associated with investigation and authority, his choice of guests in the first room was a hint from Shaitana that they were possibly murderers who had gotten away after committing it. Shaitana had suggested the same thing to Hercule Poirot when they met at the snuff box exhibition.

Never in the wildest of his dreams, he might have thought that by inviting such people he was inviting his own death.

According to Christie, this was Hercule Poirot's favourite case though Hastings, his companion found it dull. For a change, she had come up with three other sleuths as well along with Poirot to nab the culprit from among the four possible murderers. It's not mostly the clues which had helped the four detectives in their sleuthing but pure psychology.

Though I understood the basic plot, the reading became a bit strainful when Poirot decided to analyse the suspects from their bridge scores. Because I don't know how to play bridge. Besides, there were many twists and turns.

Like most of her novels, Agatha Christie in this novel too was adamant that the reader shouldn't find out the culprit before she discloses it to them. Even though she had offered a clue in the foreword of the novel that there were four possible murderers, I failed miserably in detecting the real one. But that's the fun of it and that makes her the " Queen of Crime ".

To talk about the character Mrs Adriane Oliver, the 'whodunnit' mystery writer, she was full of energy and fun and Agatha Christie did leave no stones unturned to poke her.

Long and short, in her 25th novel, her plotting abilities were at its zenith.

- by Shalet Jimmy

Sandhya Iyer - Interview with a Book Reviewer ( Mesmerized by Maugham)

It's a matter of great relief that even after technological invasions, the art of reading has not diminished one bit. One of the best examples are the numerous blogs which speak only about books. When some do it professionally, some for the pure love of reading. Sandhya Iyer's blog belongs to the latter category. Hence, she is in no hurry to come up with the review of latest releases. Instead, she just ruminates over books of different genres and comes up with insightful reviews. Perhaps this might be the reason page hits on her blog never come down even when she leaves it unattended for almost a year. No doubt, her blog can be used as a reference material.

Sandhya's blog also lured me to read her favourite author Somerset Maugham. I am currently reading his  ' The Painted Veil'

If you love books and want to start a serious conversation on books, Sandhya's blog The Summing Up  is the right  platform for it.

Let me introduce her to you.

1. Sandhya, tell us about yourself.

If you ask from the point of view of career, then much of my time has been spent in various newsrooms. I started as a campus reporter at Midday, where I connected with some of the best and brightest names in journalism. My love for language was constant, and I think, without realising it, I had a deep interest in the business of information dissemination as well. I went on to work with The Times of India, Sakaal Times and The New India Express (Kochi). With both journalism and publishing careers being on the decline, it is important to consider fields where editorial skills would still be valuable but in a new context. Content publishing for brands is a growing field, and I do see myself gravitating towards it.

2. After reading your blog, I presume that Somerset Maugham is one of your favourite authors. Even your blog is named after his last work ' The Summing Up.’ How did you come to being his avid admirer?

I remember a friend showing me a film called 'The Painted Veil.' I was deeply touched by that experience, and I ended up reading the book on which the film was based. Soon, that book became one of my most favourite possessions, because everything in that novel - right from its genteel Edwardian setting, the powerful plot line, the searing insight it provides into the human condition, and its ability to be so perceptive about human weakness - spoke to me in a manner few others ever have. I was mesmerised by Maugham, and soon enough, I was devouring every one of his books. I was lucky he has a tall body of work, and the four years that it took me to read up his entire oeuvre gave me immeasurable happiness.

3. Your book reviews are insightful. You are concentrating not only on fiction but all genres. What is your criteria for selecting a book for reading and book reviewing?

Yes, my book blog is an indulgence for me, in that I don't necessarily review latest releases. In fact, most of the books that I have written about are classics or contemporary classics. I read and review as I please. I was doing a lot of book reviews for the newspapers I worked for, so that allowed me to keep my blog going.  Usually, though, I like to read books that I feel are relevant to my life phase in some sense. When I moved to Toronto, I had a deep urge to know more about Canada, and hence I took up books that could give me an insight into the country's cultural and political character. Now, that I am not reviewing professionally, I choose books with particular care.

4. When did you start blogging?

As early as 2007. I was doing a lot of writing anyway as a journalist, and maintaining a blog seemed like a logical thing to do.

5. I had never thought of buying a Kindle until a month ago when I realised that it is one of the best possible ways to read my favourite books without spending too much money. What is your take on e-books?

I haven't used Kindle yet, but I am sure I will like it a lot. Books for me are a way to get away from technology. I do a lot of short-form reading on my laptop, Ipad, and smart phone, but I tend to turn to physical books for immersive leisure reading. One of the reasons is because I currently have access to one of the best libraries, where practically any book can be found. I also tend to mark a lot of words and sentences, and then take notes later. But yes, there is no doubt that physical books are not going to be with us forever. They are already becoming scarce and in 50 years, they could well become a curious object like a cassette or typewriter.

6. Are you a fast reader? Do you also review every book you read?

I am not a fast reader necessarily, but I am a committed reader. When I'm reading a book that gives me endless joy and thrill, I actually tend to slow down my reading, so I can savour every word and phrase. I don't actually review all the books I read, for various reasons. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the writing that I can't summon up the courage to review it. But mostly, when I don't review a book I read, it is because of laziness and a lack of time.

7. You have another blog called ' Matinee Mix' which concentrates on movies. Unlike your book blog, it is not updated frequently. The reviews are insightful just like your book blog. Do you plan to revive it in the near future?

I was a film reporter for many years. I was always passionate about movies and had a thorough knowledge of the beat. I'm proud to have done some memorable interviews. Again, like my book blog, I started Matinee Mix because I was writing a lot on films. I haven't been updating that blog at all because my film viewing has drastically reduced. Also, whenever I feel like saying something about a film, I tend to post a few lines on FB or on some other film blog.

8. Most readers nurture a dream of being a writer? Do you have such a dream or a plan?

Definitely! The more you read, the better equipped you are to tell a story. There are no immediate plans, but I do see myself writing a short story at the very least. I think we can agree that pursuing a writing career is not all that feasible. The publishing industry is on the decline, so writing a book is more a matter of self-expression and prestige rather than an avenue for making a lot of money.  There are exceptions of course, but by and large, even well-known writers have to take up second jobs such as teaching to make their writing careers viable.

9. Which is your favourite genre? What is your take on ' Surrealist fiction'?

In fiction, I enjoy period dramas, family stories, romances etc. I don't think I have read any surrealist fiction.

10. Do you think reading 'Classics' is a must for a book reader? If yes, suggest some of the must read books?

I think classics are classics for a reason, so it is always good to dip into it.  But remember the reputation of an author or book waxes and wanes through the passage of time. Stunningly, Somerset Maugham was undermined by critics for a long time, which meant his name never appeared among the greats. However, his books have lived on. There is something to be said about the timeless wisdom and perspicuity in Maugham's writing that his plays are regularly staged for audiences around the world, and his novels continue to be adapted for the big screen. Not all classics are timeless, but a good number of them are. My own favourites are Jane Austen, George Eliot, and Mark Twain. Among the books that have made a deep impression on me are Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer and Middlemarch.  I have read all of Maugham's books, but my personal favourite would be The Painted Veil, Up At The Villa, The Vagrant Mood, and his play, The Land of Promise. I am also a huge admirer of his short story collections.

11. Now Amish's Sita, the warrior has been released. Chetan Bhagat's book has been included in the syllabus of Delhi University. What is your take on Indian contemporary writers and Indian writing in English?

I always enjoy reading Indian writing in English. There is so much atmospherics that our writers are able to capture. But I don't know the wisdom of having Chetan Bhagat's book as part of the syllabus. He is an important phenomenon in terms of making book-reading accessible to the average or below average English reader, but I don't think I'd like to do a critical analysis of his plot or characters as part of a course. Some of the books that are prescribed in a course are the only ones many students will ever read in their entire lifetimes, so careful deliberation should be there in choice of books.

 12. Apart from reading and writing what are your other interests?

Cooking, nature, music, shopping for this and that...

13.Your 10 favourite books and 10 movies

Books
Funny Boy - Shyam Selvadurai
The Hungry Ghosts - Shyam Selvadurai
The Painted Veil - Somerset Maugham
The Vagrant Mood - Somerset Maugham
Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Middlemarch- George Eliot
Bookless in Baghdad - Shashi Tharoor
The Land of Promise - Somerset Maugham

Films
Lagaan
Piku
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander
Kandukondain Kandukondain (Tamil)
Varavelpu (Malayalam)
Masoom
The Second Best Marigold Hotel
The Best Marigold Hotel
Bangalore Days

14. How many books do you have in your library?
250 plus.

- by Shalet Jimmy

published here Mesmerized by Maugham

GREENLIGHT by Kalpana Swaminathan

It began when a six-year-old girl from Kandewadi, a small slum near Andheri in Mumbai goes missing. Pinky was the first to go, then Jamila followed by Mary, Sindhu and Tara.

Panic grips the slum when these children are returned as mutilated and raped corpses. Lalli takes charge of the investigation with police officers Savio and Shukla and her niece Sita who is also her accomplice. Written from Sita's point of view, Kalpana Swaminathan's latest book slowly opens to an unimaginable cruel world of crime and put forth several questions to ponder upon.

The book has dealt with issues like brutal child abuse, politics that can sell and buy anything, the helplessness of the officials who are not corrupt, pseudo feminism, etc. Though crime fiction written especially by Indian authors highlight several issues and makes the reader ask pertinent questions, there’s often a tendency to dismiss fiction noir as mere 'pulp fiction'. It is unfortunate.


If you put down a list of serious crime novels, Kalpana Swaminathan's ' Greenlight' will be the first in the category. It is her sixth book in the Lalli series.

Let's see who Lalli is? She is a retired police detective who has ace shooting skills. She is in her sixties and is ruling the roost in a world dominated by men. If there is a murder, Lalli is the last resort even for the police.

The book is unputdownable and a great relief that Indian writers can create novels in this genre that can compete with the west.

To speak further on the book, it throws light on the bizarre mindset of the people. On one side when the rich believes in committing horrendous crimes just for the sake having a thrill and also inflicting cruelties on children from slum purely, because they do not consider them worthy of living in this world, there are slum dwellers, on the other side,  who refuse to show any empathy to Tara's mother who is a sex worker even after Tara is abducted and killed. They even pray to take the life of Tara in exchange for their daughters' lives just because her mother is a sex- worker and they think she deserves it.

What I also like about the book is the innuendoes on pseudo- feminism. In a meeting called by Seema, the journalist who is following the Kandewadi story, women easily forget the atrocities and rape and easily shift their attention to take it as a platform to indulge in their own selfish interests – some writes articles, poem, etc. One has killed her feotus and has written a poem on it justifying her actions that she aborted it to save the fetus from the world. She has taken the decision after reading the Kandewadi incidents.

Sita who could not bear this hypocrisy comes out of the meeting and thinks to herself that “ I had lacked the courage I might have had five years ago to tell those women what a misogynystic bunch of voyeurs, they were, what pathetic human beings they were, if their only response to the pain of others was to trot out sorry tales of their own. I wondered what they would have said, or done, if they had seen Tara in her empty hut.”

Calling ' Lalli', a ' Desi Miss Marple' will not do any justification to the round character Kalpana Swaminathan has created. Even the author has clarified once that Lalli is not like Miss Marple. There are no similarities barring the fact that they love sleuthing. Like Miss Marple of Agatha Christie, Lalli has her own identity.

One thing that could have been avoided is the gory description of the brutalities committed to the children. It's horrendous. This reminds me of books written by a renowned Crime writer from the West, Tess Gerritsen. Perhaps it might be their background as medical doctors which enable them to write precise description though a bit gross.

When the story ends Swaminathan also puts across a question to ponder “ The Cry, How can I bear that someone should use my body like this? Is usually read as a woman's outrage. But isn't it equally a man's? It is men who should protest against rape, and not women.”

- Shalet Jimmy

Toba Tek Singh by Sadat Hasan Manto

Only a few works could surpass the era in which they were written and can still hold relevance. Undoubtedly, “Toba Tek Singh” written by Sadat Hasan Manto is one.  Toba Tek Singh, one among the 15 stories in the book make use of powerful satire to tell the story of displacement and mayhem caused by the partition.

The cut was through the heart of both the countries. A couple of years after the partition, the respective governments decide to exchange the inmates of lunatic asylums in both the countries. The situation was such that nobody, not even the guards could tell exactly where both countries are situated. One day, an inmate who was fed up with the India - Pakistan - Pakistan - India rigmarole climbs up a tree and declares “ I wish to live neither in India nor in Pakistan. I wish to live on this tree.” It’s  certainly a gibberish of a lunatic but without any prejudice. With his simple but powerful language, Manto portrays explicitly,  the dilemma of thousands who were once caught in a no man’s land.

It is a strange paradox that even when Manto speaks about the displacement all through his stories, both countries still clamour to own him. Nandita Das who is directing a movie based on the life of Manto says “ Pakistanis says he is a Pakistani writer and Indian says he is an Indian writer.” For her, Manto is a South Asian writer who could be a perfect conduit for both countries to come closer.”

Bishen Singh, whom the author calls Toba Tek Singh is introduced as an old man who had not slept in 15 years. Occasionally he would rest against the wall but most of the time he was found standing. On a cold winter evening, the Hindu and Sikh lunatics were taken to Wagah border to be transferred to India. When his time came, Toba Tek Singh refused to budge from where he is standing. The swelling on his legs got worse as he was standing for a prolonged time. He stood there firmly as a rock until he fell dead in a no - man’s land.

Like Toba Tek Singh, thousands had lost their lives in a no man’s land whose stories will never be heard.

 The significance of these stories could not be undermined by confining it to the backdrop of partition. Because there lay “ Stark naked emotions” everywhere.

“ Colder than Ice”, the story of Ishwar Singh made me go stoic for a while. Frantic to erase some memory which was gnawing at him, he engrosses himself in a love game with his lover Kalwant Kaur but fails miserably. Why? He was in a “Muslim Mohalla” to kill several in the community and plunder to seek vengeance. He had broken into a house and starts eliminating one by one in the family barring a little girl. The little thing was so beautiful that he could not bring himself to do away with the child until he ravishes her. He carried her on his shoulders until he found a suitable place to commit the task.

“ first I thought I would shuffle her a bit… but then I decided to trump her right away”

“ I threw the trump...but but she was dead…..I had carried a dead body...a heap of cold flesh,”  Ishwar Singh confesses to his lover.
It’s strange that the living could not evoke any kind of emotions in a man but the dead.

I wonder why Kalwant Kaur's hand became colder than ice when she placed her hands on his.

In " Bitter Harvest", Manto evoked the darker side of a man when he is pushed beyond his limits. But does that justify his action? The answer can be only in the negative. A father molests a little girl to take vengeance against the rape committed against his daughter, Sadly, the little girl was in no way connected to his daughter’s murderers’. The partition had literally opened a ‘ pandora box’.

The story named “ A woman for all seasons ” is about a silent manipulative woman. And we can see many of them still living with their heads held high amidst us.

I would like to call  it as  “ The story of a seductress.” Besides, it also reminded me of the poem - La belle Dame Sans Merci ( The beautiful Lady without  Mercy). 

The uniqueness of Toba Tek Singh is that every story stands independently whether it is regarding the backdrop, portrayal of emotions, characters and what not.  Sometimes, you are so enamoured by certain movies and books that you do not want it to end forcing you to put intermittent gaps while watching or reading them. Toba Tek Singh did that to me.

- Shalet Jimmy

The Grandmother's Tale by R K Narayan

There was a time when grandiloquent writings gave me sleepless nights. How I wished I could use such words while writing. It was then I accidentally chanced upon R K Narayan's books which thankfully broke all my misconceptions. I knew at once that a story could be told beautifully with simple words too. My all time favourites are ' The Guide ' and ' The English Teacher'. But there are several more to explore.

Coming to Grandmother's tale, I did have a different picture before reading it. I was associating the title of the book with so many things such as pickles, Tairu saadam, the mischief of Swamy and many tales told by his grandmother. But it was not so. The book was about Bala and Vishwa, RK's great grandparents and their life from marriage until their death. Though I could read this book at a stretch, I could not relish it as I have done many of his other books.

RK's  grandparents tied the knot when they were little children. Unlike today, the husband and wife could not be together until the young wife Bala attains puberty. Once in a while, they were left alone only for a few minutes to talk to each other. Many of their such meetings went awry as they could not muster the courage to talk to themselves. But eventually, in one of such meeting, Bala somehow manages to talk to him. All she did was to point out to Vishwa, a dark patch under one of his ear. To this, he replies “ This is a lucky sign and my mother says I would be a king,” which became true.  He becomes rich but at the cost of Bala. 

 The story is all about how Bala manages to bring back his husband who left her and got married to another woman. As the story was completely told only from the point of Bala, there were many questions unanswered. Why did Vishwa become ready to desert his second wife though he loves her and come back to his first wife whom he hardly knows? What happened to Surma, his second wife when she was abandoned by Vishwa. Though he prospered after coming back to his village why didn't he make any effort to search Surma?

I grabbed this book as I was quite lured by the picture of the book where a small boy was seen sitting with his grandmother with inquisitive eyes on a swing.

- Shalet Jimmy

Riot by Shashi Tharoor

I read this book around 10 years ago. Ever since Lakshman and Priscilla Hart remained with me. Ten years after, I thought of re-reading it again. Just because I felt I can understand the emotions portrayed in the book much better.

When the story starts, Priscilla Hart, a 24-year-old American24-year-oldad. Why did she die? Was she murdered or was she at the wrong place at the wrong time?
Though there is the element of ‘ Who dunnit?’, the story is not said through the shrewd eyes of a sleuth but with a heart full of emotions.


Priscilla came to India when she was a little girl. Her dad was a Coco Cola executive. Though she had to leave India after some time, she left her heart and soul in the country only to return after a couple of years. She volunteered a population control programme in Zalilgarh in Uttar Pradesh, a place completely marred by the riots. She gets acquainted with the District Magistrate Lakshman and slowly the acquaintance blossoms to love. An abandoned ‘Kotli’ in the district is the witness of all their romantic trysts.

But Lakshman is married and could not leave his wife ( though he knew that he was not in love with her) and his little daughter. But he knew that Priscilla is the love of his life – with whom his life again bloomed. On top of that, he is in charge of a city marred by riots.

Putting an end to Lakshman’s dilemma, Priscillia was about to leave India when the fate struck its hardest blow. In the riots that broke out in Zalilgarh, there were eight people killed and her name was one among them. She is found dead in the same Kotli where she used to love Lakshman. The story slowly unravels the mystery of her death.

Tharoor has written a beautiful love -story in the backdrop of a riot-torn city.

- Shalet Jimmy