There is no dumbing down for the reader here, much like Em never talked down to her children, however young they were. It stands its own, with its head held high (and rightfully so) in a scenario where simplicity is often confused with stupidity. Pinto’s prose isn’t the musical kind like Zusak’s or the slow, glide-into style of Lahiri’s or the heavy, engrave-this-into-your-memory style of Rushdie’s. I have discovered since that such effortlessness is not easy to achieve and its weightlessness is in direct proportion to the effort put in. The book is so fabulously effortless to read. The fear of living with a parent always on the verge of suicide. The lightheartedness of that parent narrating to the children the story of how she met their father. The reality of living with a depressed parent. No glory, no gilded-frame of self-pity, but stark truth. It is a profound book, yet utterly unpretentious.

Out of all those wonderful books, Em stands out with its simplicity. I’ve learned something from each each had its own merits, and its own beauty. I have discovered and read some great books this year. At least, I have good books to keep me company through this. Forget that my own depression has resurfaced, or that I have decided to stop updating my other blog. If I’m recommending it to others, I can’t help but turn into a bumbling idiot, unable to convince people that if you read one book this year, or this decade, let it be this one.Ģ016 has been a good year for me where books are concerned. I cannot describe in words how beautiful this piece of literature is. At that moment, I wanted my recommendation to be exclusive, and thus Em and The Big Hoom went only to him. I recommend to him only those that I believe he would enjoy, and those whom I want to discuss with him, during the few and far occasions that we meet or speak. I sent it to my friend because he is often hard pressed for time, and is therefore choosy about the books he invests his time in.

Not because I did not want others to read it.

In the case of Em and The Big Hoom, I recommended it to only one friend. I want them to know that they crossed my mind while I was reading this book – whatever the reason may be. I genuinely want to know what they thought about a particular book. On rare occasions, I write a personal note with my recommendation, because I want people to know that I’m not just clicking a button. While I regularly shout out book recommendations from here, I sometimes share them on goodreads with selected people.

Why? Because I was still trying to gather my thoughts around its beauty. But I’m reviewing Em and The Big Hoom really late. I am not quiet about the books that I like. There’s so much in your head that you can’t bear any distractions, you want to pay attention, careful attention, otherwise everything is going to explode.

Em and the big hoom review