Book review: Malice (Detective Kaga, #1) by Keigo Higashino

Malice by Keigo Higashino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is a short book that you can finish in a day. At the very onset, you know that something is not right but you can not quite place your fingers on it. Humans are capable of great cruelty, especially towards those whom they feel inferior to. And the kindness from the object of your malice kills you from inside even more. This is my first book from the author and am surprised by the layers of lies you have to peel through to get to the heart of the truth. Interesting observations in human psychology, and a cursory nod to one of the greatest evils happening in schools- bullying. Makes you think twice after you have finished reading it. A must-read for people looking for different flavors of thrillers. No gore, no gratifying violence. Just a pure, wholesome thriller.

View all my reviews

A deity

Doppelgänger

You rise from my ashes
Someone like me
I seem to know you from long ago

Your hands are clenched into tight fists
Like you are raring for a fight with the whole world

But your heart, unlike mine,
Is not made of glass
That breaks easily
With harsh words
And betrayals

You rise from my ashes.
Invincible.
You contain the fire only you can.
The kind that ignites in you
After you have died a thousand deaths.

RIP Adrian

This is a Romanian Easter egg, a gift from our late friend Adrian Albert. On June 15, he passed away in a hit-and-run while biking in Sonoma. I was heartbroken and cried, asking Sangram, ‘Why do good people have to die so early? It is so unfair!’

Adrian was a brilliant guy with a PhD from Stanford, a post-doc from MIT and was working as a machine learning research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab when he met Sangram.

He was one of the nicest guys we had ever known. He had great regard for Sangram and was warm and respectful towards me. Adrian was intrigued by Sangram’s scientific publications and work at NASA and had approached him to become the CTO of his startup, Terrafuse. Sangram had to refuse the offer because he had agreed to be the CTO of Rhombus officially by then.

Nevertheless, we considered him one of the good guys with whom we would have stayed in touch. We had made plans to go camping together. I was looking forward to it after the lockdown was over.

RIP Adrian. 💔
Do the good work in Heaven, our friend. I will try and transform my life to give respect to the philosophy and drive you had. All distractions must go.

Lessons from my father

So many lessons I have imbibed from him over the years. Just a few-
1. Speak the truth, no matter the cost;
2. Take bullshit from no one. Protest when you are unfairly treated;
3. Fight for what is rightly yours. Even if it takes twelve years;
4. Always respect the competence of a person, not his stature in life.
    Those may involve other unseen factors;
5. Do not treat love as entitlement. Invest in your relationships;
6. Be generous in your gifts. Give what you would like to have;
7. Love your job;
8. Have creative pursuits. No matter how busy you get;
9. Do not always judge profit and loss. Neki kar, dariya mein daal; and
10. (This I am trying hard to learn again .)
Do not give two figs about other people’s negative opinion. Be yourself.

To be honest, a huge part of my personality has been molded by these lessons and more. I am also very privileged because he invested in our education while he could have saved that money and enjoyed more luxuries in life earlier. When I feel low or defeated, I remember the debt I owe to my parents and then I am able to find my true north again.

Only gratitude for you. Forever. Happy Father's Day!

বিরহিনী

Another Bengali poem written by me.
Hope you enjoy it :)

A poem for the ones we failed