#31// gangs, plans, kidnaps

shadows, bones, gangs

Dear Reader,
As much as I struggle with emails — how to start, how to end — I find myself at a loss on how to begin this newsletter. The current state of the pandemic has been very discouraging and for those of us in India, news updates have been a nightmare day after day. Last year I wrote that I did not imagine I would see something of this magnitude, bringing the world to a halt, in my lifetime. This year, the fears have worsened. To see a country ravaged by the pandemic, burning (literally), is beyond all my worst nightmares. Meena Kandasamy wrote my country is a crematorium, Arundhati Roy publicly asked the PM to resign and courts said death due to lack of oxygen is nothing short of a genocide. It is disheartening that even in the midst of all this — vaccine shortages, oxygen shortages, bed shortages, overworked frontline workers, deaths, lockdowns, crematoriums running beyond their capacity , high positive rates— all THIS, the government is still focused on its image building. On one hand, citizens have come together to help one another through social media and on the other, tweets asking for help/criticizing the government are being deleted. India is in a very bad place now. And so is every person residing in the country. To think we dug our own graves because of poor governance, and no measures whatsoever to stop religious and election rallies, is heart breaking.
 
In happy newsletters as these, what does one write? Nothing is happy, or even normal. I exist in a state of perpetual numbness. But I am finding solace in re-reads/re-watches. Six of Crows to be precise. And I know this is only because I am alright in health (for now) and so is my immediate family even though there are members at high risk. Fingers crossed.
 

Read

I have hunted (literally) my copies of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom after watching the Netflix series, Shadow and Bone, because I missed the Crows so much. The second time around, I am still in love with Kaz Brekker and his gang. I remember SoC as being fast paced with more action and CK as the one with new ‘ideas’ on how to resolve conflicts. So far, I am still on the same page. Leigh Bardugo is witty, writes great characters and promises entertainment — something I greatly long for, now.

I have the bees knees for heists in general. So when Brekker and his gang plan to kidnap a prisoner for a reward of thirty million kruge, that’s BIG STUFF. The Crows are thieves and thugs — lock opener boss Kaz Brekker (traumatized, revenge thirsty, blank as a wall), wall climbing, skilled-at-knieves, silent spy ‘Wraith’ Inej Ghafa, best shooter Jesper Fahey who knows he is awesome, quiet, music lover Wylan, flirtatious Heartrender Nina Zenik and ex-Grisha hunter and now-escaped-convict Matthias Helvar. There are commentaries — sex work houses, trafficking, drugs, merchants under the control of councils and higher bodies, borders restricting inter-country travel, gambling dens, canal rats and thieves, gangs, muggings, and rules of the underbelly of the city etc. But being a Young Adult book, many commentaries remain feeble (not in a bad way, feeble is too feeble of a word to use maybe. not deep?). The focus remains on the brisk plot and umpteen things going wrong with the ‘plan’. There are bodies falling dead left and right, dirty play (What do you expect in the underbelly?), close encounters of the kind oh-i-died-wait-i-didn’t, and a perfect gang that’ll steal your heart along with everything else they set out to steal.
 
For more kidnap stories after the Crows duology,
If you like to read,
º/A madcap of educational scams, fat Indian sons who steal the hearts of Indian mothers on reality TV, big money, gangster stuff, and contemporary humour in a pacy debut, pick How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina. Check my longer review here.
 
º/Something decadent, indulgent. A glittering, atmospheric, comfort read set in Victorian show period that takes you to pleasure gardens, circus performers, spectacles, show masters, stages that that your breath away, preorder Elizabeth McNeal’s Circus of Wonders (releasing in May). The writing is marvellous. Longer review here.

Watch

Circling back to where we began — Shadow and Bone series on Netflix was a stress buster. I haven’t read the Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse series (I heard people say the TV adaptation is better than the books, so yeey), and my heart is locked with Kaz Brekker and his gang, also set in the same world but separate from the Grishaverse novels. In the show we are introduced to Ravka, the armies (First Army of humans and Second Army of Grishas). I liked how they invented a whole new character, The Conductor, to bridge the Grishaverse novels and Six of Crows duology. Mighty clever! (PS: Brekker and gang are 16- and 17-year-old kids in the books unlike the series). You are introduced to the SoC characters in the show, which is basically the backstory portions in the book SoC. Hopefully the next season will focus on the SoC books and the heist (please!). TV Jesper remains my favourite. He is awesome and he knows it.

Shadow and Bone is your usual fantasy. Countries, troubled inter country ties, a ‘Fold’ that divides regions and prohibits travel, magical Grishas who can do things (like tailor your face into something new, heal, command tides and winds) but are hunted in neighbouring countries as witches. There’s a Darkling, and his army, a girl who is special ‘Sun Summoner’, but wants to go back to her normal, non-special life. Magic is lovely! You can put makeup on and style your hair at the swish of a hand; certain mythical animals when killed and the bones worn, give you more power. There are friendships, kisses, manipulations, delight.
 
I love the Grisha world. It is fascinating. However, world building seems lacking in the TV series. The sore thumb being Alina Starkov (Sun Summoner) being constantly told off or sprayed with racist comments for being (looking?) Shu while nobody explains why there is an enmity between Shu people and Ravkans. It is common for Netflix to add characters, dialogues and make a show diverse, especially when adapted from a book (And often fall into token diverse holes). These racist dialogues directed at Alina seem to be that way. Let’s make a show and add some racist comments with no context whatsoever. Turn a blind eye to that, and the series promises a good time. I especially loved how they explore getting comfortable with a new identity and power, and how manipulations can make or break countries (and hearts). No prizes for guessing, the Crows were my favourite part of the series.

Amazing Links

- True stories from the children of internet famous people
- A year of cooking with my mother
- Illustrations : Society’s obsession with tech through a warped and twisted world
 

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That’s all for today. Do not let your guard down. Stay safe, wherever you are. Thoughts to you and your loved ones. Vaccinate whenever you can.
 
Praying for India,
Until next time,
Resh



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