Les(s) Miserable!

Surprising how life turns out…

Y’day there was Stephen Fry (and that woman called Sharon Stone) on the show Parkinson, which I managed to catch in one of those rare instances when the TV and I met. Since Fry is a personality we like, we watched.

He was talking about this documentary on Manic Depression, that he has made, due to appear on BBC soon. It was quite revealing to hear him talk about his exploration of the world of Bipolar Disorder, as it is termed in the land of coinages… He also alluded briefly to his homosexuality and his own take on it. The guy is glorious to watch and a fine sport.

And we managed to finish our book, Saturday which is quite good, but not as great as we thought it could turn out to be when we started. So we are snubbing it with just a summary mention rather than a full post. It is essentially about a day in the life of a brilliant neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne. The writing is very McEwan – tight prose, amazing figures of speech. Sample this – “…Its like visiting a graveside. The true business is with the past…” However the denouement is closer to Black Dogs than my favourite McEwan – Amsterdam, sort of a breathe in – breathe out, kind of ending rather than the ‘gasp after a punch in the stomach’ style that I am usually partial to.

Paul Aster on the joy of reading and Monica Ali on our own Malgudi and RK Narayan

And of course, just registered for the Mumbai Marathon 2007.