Articles by Arunima Mazumdar
Ginny Tapley Takemori: “Japanese lends itself to ambiguity”
At the Alliance Literature Festival in Bengaluru, the winner of the Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize (2020-2021) spoke about literary activism and the nuances of Japanese to English translation
Updated on Mar 28, 2025 10:23 PM IST
Santanu Bhattacharya: “When I write, I don’t think of outcomes”
The novel ‘Deviants’ is about three generations of Bengali gay men navigating homosexuality in India.
Published on Mar 24, 2025 05:33 PM IST
Report: Shillong Literary Festival
The fourth edition of the festival, held at the city’s famous Ward’s Lake from 18 to 20 November 2024, celebrated regional voices from north east India
Published on Feb 26, 2025 04:46 PM IST
Asako Yuzuki: “It seems ‘Butter’ is more popular in India than in Japan”
The author of the best selling Japanese novel talks about her exploration of the relationship between food, pleasure and shame.
Published on Feb 20, 2025 05:30 PM IST
Susegad and strawberry sunsets served with a side of books
A reading holiday in Goa allowed the writer to submerge herself in the works of authors who helped her regain a sense of peace and quietude
Updated on Jan 08, 2025 08:03 PM IST
HT reviewer Arunima Mazumdar picks her favourite read of 2024
In this novel translated from the original Japanese, five individuals find purpose and meaning after reading books recommended to them by an enigmatic librarian
Updated on Dec 20, 2024 12:24 PM IST
Of bishonen, tales of same sex love and the I-novel
From 17th century author Ihara Saikaku’s stories to Murakami’s queer characters, that reveal the author as a staunch ally, and Mishima’s writing that touches on homosexual themes, Japan has a long and varied tradition of queer literature
Published on Nov 15, 2024 08:06 PM IST
An earful of Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka centenary was commemorated in New Delhi with ‘I, Josef’, an unusual ‘headphone theatre’ performance of the German author’s unfinished novella, ‘The Trial’
Updated on Oct 23, 2024 07:31 PM IST
Matt Haig – “In fiction, you can talk about things in a freer way”
In an exclusive interview, the bestselling author talks about his struggles with depression, how the hard partying life in 1990s Ibiza pushed him to a dark place, the role of fiction in healing, and his latest novel, The Life Impossible
Published on Oct 11, 2024 09:11 PM IST
Monika Halan “Don’t get taken in by get-rich-quick schemes”
On the importance of listing the particulars of your financial life from savings accounts to insurance, real estate assets to stocks, taxes and wills
Published on Aug 09, 2024 09:11 PM IST
Michiko Aoyama – “I have a new favourite Manga author every day”
On why libraries are “dream systems”, her memories of working in one, her love of Manga, and her plans to collaborate with an artist on her next work
Updated on Jul 22, 2024 05:45 PM IST
Alex Michaelides: “Novels are about expansion”
The bestselling British-Cypriot author and screenwriter is best known for The Silent Patient, which sold a million copies worldwide. His new novel, The Fury, is set on a remote island in Greece much like the one where he grew up
Updated on Jun 15, 2024 09:02 AM IST
Appupen - “I’m scared of AI just like everybody else”
On his new graphic novel Dream Machine on Artificial Intelligence and on teaming up with Perumal Murugan to recreate CS Chellappa’s classic jallikattu novella, Vaadivaasal
Published on Jun 10, 2024 09:21 PM IST
Akshaya Bahibala, author, Bhang Journeys – “I believe in the power of stories”
Bookseller and co-founder of Bhubaneshwar’s The Walking BookFairs bookstore, Akshaya Bahibala’s debut book is a recounting of the years he spent intoxicated along with an assessment of the production and abuse of drugs in Orissa
Published on Jun 03, 2024 08:36 PM IST
Simon Rowe - “I wanted to flip the stereotype of the hard-drinking male detective”
Originally from New Zealand, Rowe has been living in Japan and writing about the country and its culture for more than 25 years. His debut novel, Mami Suzuki, is about the escapades of a contemporary Japanese single mother who manages the front desk of a hotel by day and moonlights as a private investigator by night
Updated on May 18, 2024 05:28 AM IST
Battue La Terre: Love lost on the tennis court
A unique theatrical production in New Delhi explores the end of a relationship through a game of tennis, blending emotions and sport in a thought-provoking way.
Updated on May 14, 2024 09:09 PM IST
Report: Kerala Literature Festival 2024
The seventh edition of the Kerala Literature Festival, held in Kozhikode, was a literary spectacle with just the right dash of history, technology, politics, and celebrity appearances
Published on Mar 15, 2024 07:55 PM IST
Karen Powell - “I feel drawn to Emily Bronte’s untamed spirit”
The author of Fifteen Wild Decembers on her evocative reimagination of Emily Brontë’s life narrated in the 19th century novelist’s own voice
Updated on Mar 09, 2024 05:00 AM IST
Shenaz Treasury - “Marriage was invented when people lived till 35”
During a conversation at the Kerala Literature Festival, the actor and travel influencer spoke about her new book about learning from her breakups
Published on Mar 07, 2024 09:16 PM IST
Review: The Seaweed Revolution by Vincent Doumeizel
A deep dive into the marine world, this extensively-researched book lays out the potential of seaweed to save the planet
Updated on Feb 27, 2024 05:27 PM IST
David Yang - “It was like translating film subtitles or poetry”
The translator of Japanese artist duo Nishioka Kyodai’s ‘Kafka: A Manga Adaptation’ talks about hybrid translation and Kafka’s influence on Japanese literature
Updated on Feb 24, 2024 05:30 AM IST
Sucheta Dasgupta - “Trailokyanath’s ghosts have interesting qualities”
On her translation into English of the work of Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay, who invented the genre of speculative fiction in Bengali literature
Published on Feb 21, 2024 04:35 PM IST
Interview: Kanan Gill – “I believe in the gods that I have written”
Set in a post nuclear world, Kanan Gill’s novel, Acts of God, a work of speculative fiction, combines his love for science with his passion for writing.
Published on Jan 22, 2024 11:41 PM IST
Harini Nagendra, Seema Mundoli - “Caste shapes access to water in so many ways”
The authors of Shades of Blue talk about climate change, its impact on the most disadvantaged sections of society, and the ongoing water crisis across Indian cities
Published on Jan 13, 2024 06:41 AM IST
Arunima Mazumdar
HT reviewer Arunima Mazumdar picks her favourite read of 2023
A retired man reminisces about his school days and the repercussions of his conduct in this Booker Prize winning novel from over a decade ago
Updated on Dec 22, 2023 03:12 PM IST
Arunima Mazumdar
Yamini Narayanan - “We have no understanding of what cows endure as dairy animals ”
The author of Mother Cow Mother India talks about how cows are both commodified for dairy production and deified as a mother and goddess, and how dairy products are intensely connected with cow slaughter
Updated on Nov 25, 2023 05:58 AM IST
Arunima Mazumdar
Interview: Natasha Sharma - “Above all, my childhood memories are about food”
The award-winning author’s latest children’s book, Biji’s in the Kitchen is an unconventional story about a motorcycling Punjabi grandmother
Updated on Nov 01, 2023 08:00 AM IST
Arunima Mazumdar
Liz Nugent – “Dysfunctional characters in literature have always appealed to me”
The Irish novelist’s international best seller, Strange Sally Diamond, delves into the dark lives of siblings Sally and Peter, who grew in extreme confinement and abuse
Updated on Oct 28, 2023 07:52 AM IST
Arunima Mazumdar
Interview: Victoria Lloyd-Barlow, author, All The Little Bird-Hearts
The first autistic writer to have been longlisted for the Booker Prize talks about her debut novel that looks at how society treats the neurodivergent
Published on Sep 29, 2023 09:53 PM IST
Arunima Mazumdar
Flowers, guns, and stereotypes
French photojournalist Oriane Zerah’s pictures draw attention to the beauty that exists alongside tragedy in Afghanistan
Published on Sep 26, 2023 05:50 PM IST
Arunima Mazumdar