Anshuman got the renowned book Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Unlike McCarthy’s previous books, this one explores violence with gusto. The story revolves around Kid who is part of a mercenary gang who scalps Indians and sells those scalps. The landscape where the gory masterpiece unfolds is the Texas-Mexico borderlands. McCarthy retains the wildness in the Wild West and removes the romanticism of the idea of the Wild West, probably created to reconcile with the goriness of the past..In fact Anshuman felt that it was a parody of the Wild West. McCarthy goes deep into the theme of violence and he pictures redemption through violence like no author can.

Jeeth brought along a classic historical fiction The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, set in France, in the nineteenth century. The story deals with the classic theme of revenge going wrong. Edmund Dantes has been severely wronged and he longs for retribution. But at what cost?  The book has spewed many adaptations on screen and off it.

Meera Iyer got the book Nature in the City by Harini Nagendra. Since we live in Bengaluru, this book is of great relevance to us. We’ve all heard about how beautiful the Garden City once was, but now it’s at the mercy of development and human ambition. Harini Nagendra talks about nature in Bengaluru, something that was once taken for granted but which is now being remembered in its absence. The author effortlessly straddles between history, ecology and sociology of Bengaluru from the seventh century to the present day. She writes about the changing landscape, including its sacred groves, lakes and home gardens. She takes a hitherto unknown look at nature in slums.

Although the author is optimistic about the role of civil society in saving the city, Meera is not completely convinced as the situation requires a radical change of mindset.

More books in Part 5.