6 Mind-Boggling Books To Kick Start 2019

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6 Mind-Boggling Books To Kick Start 2019

• A guide by Suryansh Gaur

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1. The Silent Companions
Laura Purcells gothic novel, The Silent
Companions, centers around a newly widowed woman
who goes to live in her late husbands country
estate. After his death and the end of a short
marriage, Elsie goes to see her pregnancy through
at the dilapidated old house. With only her
husband strange and awkward cousin Sarah for
company, she finds that theres more to fear than
the resentful servants and hostile village
locals. The ladies discover a diary filled with
accounts of death and despair, and a strange
wooden figure the silent companion. Soon, new
figures start to appear. Are the ladies seeing
things or something is going on? The Silent
Companions is a genuinely unsettling novel with
its fair share of spirits, mysterious doors and
spooky night-time noises that will have you
jumping out of your skin. Residing in Colchester,
the oldest recorded town in England, Purcell has
previously written Queen of Bedlam and Mistress
of the Court. She is also known for her
spine-tingling Victorian Gothic fiction. If you
are a fan of all things spooky, then this is the
book for you. The well thought-out, richly
developed plot and well-written storyline put it
on high on the list of this seasons must
reads. Author Laura Purcell Published By
Bloomsbury Publishing Price ?599
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2. The Secrets Of My Life

This is the memoir of a one-time Olympic champion
and American television personality, Bruce
Jenner, who later transitioned into womanhood and
was as Caitlyn. The book helps you look at gender
in a new light. One of the famous transgender
women out there, Jenners journey helps you
understand the struggle she faced but doesnt beg
for sympathy or pity. She talks about growing up
as a male in a conservative family and the joy
she got from dressing as a woman in private. She
also touches upon her three marriages and her
regrets when it comes to her children. For fans
of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, this memoir
also offers an interesting behind-the-scenes take
on the life of Bruce Jenner and his relationship
with wife, Kris. Though its a memoir, the book
does a good job of telling a bigger story about
transgenders and gender dysphoria. And even
though it lags in some places, The Secrets Of My
Life offers a great perspective if you stick with
it.
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3. Carnivore Let the Villain Win


The protagonist (21-year-old Leander) is a
druggie and a manipulator. He also has a rare
condition called synesthesia, which causes the
sufferer to see sounds, taste colors, and
perceive numbers as having particular hues.
Leander experiences constant pain, which he
attempts to counter by renting himself out for
some BDSM sex. He explains that he does this only
to feel something different. The reader is thrown
into this primal world. Leanders condition means
that at times the text is influenced by the
narrators clash of senses. This makes the
narrative intense and the reader knows if what is
described is real or not. It is almost impossible
to read the book at a stretch. And even if the
reader manages to keep up, there are points where
you dont know what is happening or who is
talking to whom. The content is sexually explicit
and there is a gruesome amount of violence. The
writing is unapologetic and yet somehow you feel
for this anti-hero, a feat that makes the book
worth picking up. Author Caitlyn
Jenner Published By HarperCollins India Price
?399
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4. Every Last Lie

Clara Solberg has a loving husband Nick, an
adorable daughter Maisie, and a newborn Felix,
whose birth completes her family. One afternoon,
her husband and her four-year-old get into a car
crash, where Nick dies. She is left to grieve for
her dead husband and care for their two young
children. Then Maisie begins talking about a bad
man and a black car that followed them that
afternoon. So, was Nicks death an accident or
was he murdered? Thus begins Claras journey in
search of the truth. Mary Kubica, whose earlier
works include the bestseller The Good Girl and
Dont You Cry, has managed to weave a gripping
tale that will have you hooked. There are enough
lies and betrayals to keep you turning pages. The
story is told from two perspectives Nick takes
you through the days leading up to the accident,
while Clara deals with the aftermath. You never
see the whole picture until the end. Every Last
Lie is a quick weekend read. The writing is lucid
and succinct, but the authors strength lies in
her ability to keep her characters real. This
could be anyones story. After all, one never
knows what goes inside the dark recesses of our
minds.
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5. Ginny Moon

Fourteen-year-old Ginny must eat exactly nine
grapes at breakfast, has to have her watch tell
the exact time, and carries a secret she cant
talk to anyone about. Benjamin Ludwigs debut
fiction novel, Ginny Moon, is about a wonderfully
quirky world of an autistic child who doesnt
fully comprehend most of the things she does and
yet feels compelled to carry them out. After
years of emotional and physical abuse by her drug
addict mother, Ginny is passed around foster
homes until Social Services finally finds her
forever parents in Brian and Maura Moon who
live in what will come to be known as the Blue
House. Here, Ginny experiences a sense of
stability. Things, however, take a drastic turn
when Maura gives birth to a baby girl and this
triggers disturbing memories for Ginny. It takes
her back to when she was living with her birth
mother and results in her obsessing over the
Baby Doll that she left behind. Ludwig, himself
the adoptive parent of an autistic child, brings
his own keen experiences to the well-written and
engaging book. As a reader, one cant help but
feel drawn into this confusing yet beautiful
world.
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6. Tin Man

British actor and author Sarah Winmans novel
opens with Dora winning and painting in a raffle,
an incident that ignites something in her. The
narrative then moves forward in time to see her
son Ellis. The story is essentially one of love,
loss, and grief, and is told from two viewpoints,
that of Ellis, a lonely boy who is rejected by
his father, and his friend, and his friend
Michael, who pens his side of the story in his
diary. A quick read, Tin Man is about two
teenagers growing up between the 1970s and 1990s
around a car plant in working-class Oxford.
Michael arrives in Ellis and Doras life and fits
in perfectly, forging deep connections with both
mother and son. While the story is largely sad,
its interspersed with moments of joy and
happiness. As the adult Ellis remembers his past
loves, he begins to start the process of
accepting and loving himself, something that hed
stopped doing years ago. Revisiting the ghosts of
his past makes him more aware and appreciative of
the present. Beautifully written with well-etched
characters, the book makes you ponder over your
own ideas of love, loss, and longing. Winman, who
made her writing debut in 2011 with the
International bestseller When God Was a Rabbit,
seems to have made her mark as an author to
reckon with.
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Thank You