cover image Bookless in Baghdad: On Writing and Writers

Bookless in Baghdad: On Writing and Writers

Shashi Tharoor, . . Arcade, $25 (277pp) ISBN 978-1-55970-757-2

This collection of short essays by the Anglo-Indian novelist and senior U.N. official would seem to hold out the promise of an ethnographic consideration of the life of letters. Alas, the title essay, about the "book souk" in besieged Baghdad, is something of a red herring. These essays, newspaper columns and speeches do not, by and large, try to assess the situation of literature in war-torn regions, or any other regions for that matter. In one piece, the author describes the experience of having his novel adapted to the big screen; another is an elegy for a defunct Anglo-Indian review; a third is an anecdote of traveling to Spain for a cup of coffee. These are all personal reflections—as when Tharoor devotes an entire column to answering the criticisms of an Indian journalist, deflecting critiques of his hairstyle and choice of clothing. Tharoor's novels, as he never tires of writing, have been lavishly praised all around the world. But this book's topics—as well as the author's liberal use of culture-specific shorthand—would seem to make it primarily of interest to the Anglophone Indian community. (July)