Clockwork stani

Londonstani delivers manipulating ‘devices’ It was with some narrowing of the brows that I picked up Gautam Malkani’s Londonstani. The North American dust jacket is a piece of delicious eye candy, but absolutely littered with glowing words like “electric,” “ball-grabbing” and “brilliant.” One British review of the book even gave the silliest praise modern society…

Build it up, tear it down

I love idea books, and so my delight at seeing these two Canadian works land on an XPress desk was palpable. Idea books follow a particular thread from inception to conclusion, and try to trace the ripples it creates. I love to wade through rivers of detailed, delightful prose and think, Wow, so the Roman Empire actually crumbled because of poor celery harvests!