tales of Suchita

I’m usually wary of reading books that Bookstagram swears by – or a book that has won too many literary awards. I can never figure out why it’s famous in the case of the former, and the latter are usually pretentious, obnoxious and many times unreadable. 

But what pushed me into picking up this book was the gorgeous cover. In fact I’m guilty of adding books – even those books with the most unimpressive blurbs – if they have an interesting cover.

The only reason this is a reading tale and not a book review is I find myself unable to express how warm, funny and like-a-hug this book is. I remember reading this book in 2020 – at the height of the pandemic when the knee-jerk reactions and survival was being taken over by the panic that I could not step out of my house.

I also picked up this book because one of the characters was called Arthur and I have a particular affinity towards this name since I became familiar with the legend of King Arthur. And I can safely tell you, it’s the gentlest book you’ll read.

The book is about so many things! It’s about family, orphaned children finding a home with a man named Arthur, and how all of us regular folk like Linus have it in us to do extraordinary things. It also has such cleverly named departments like “Extremely Upper Management” that calls Linus, who is a case worker, and sends him on a very important mission to check and report on Arthur’s orphanage.

It’s a fantasy book the likes of which I have not read before. Most of them have quite a bit of gore and bloodshed in them. But this one is like a gigantic teddy-bear that will suck you in and leave you with a mile-wide smile. There are magical creatures, of course, but they’re different from the usual affair. The actual magic I feel lies in the characters, how they’re navigating life and not so much in the fantastical.

After finishing it, I made a friend read it, assuring her it has a happy ending. And sometimes you do need a book that leaves you a little changed, a little settled and with a happy ending, even if your life feels unmoored because of the outside world.

PS: I checked my e-book to see if I had made any highlights. There are only three – but this one is my favourite:

“I like being round,” Talia announced. “It means there’s more of me to love.”

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Connecting this post to #BlogchatterA2Z. To read other posts, check Theme Reveal 2022: Without Prearrangement.

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PS: If you like how I write and would like to read more, I have 2 ebooks on Kindle – both free if you’re on Kindle Unlimited. You can read more about the ebooks here.

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Photo by Fabian Wiktor