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The story has seamlessly moved from a mystery in Kerala to introducing a new character arriving in India from Glasgow. The character spends time in Chennai in 1930s and the descriptions of the smells, sounds and sights is transporting me home :) one of those rare unputtdownable books of the year for me

Right from the start, I simply love how scientific and precise this book is - the first chapter heavily discusses the role of eggs, fats, leavening agents and flour and the techniques of incorporate them into a cake batter.

I love how the recipes are written as well - accurately detailed with metric system measured and the description provides the texture that can be achieved with each method.

Gripping and hard to put down. You connect with the young, kind and compassionate Frankie from the first page. You move with her through the horrors of Vietnam war, but also take in the softer moments of humanity

The author grounds the importance of truly seeing a person at the consciousness that they display. He defines Illuminators as people who have a persistent curiosity about others, and shine the brightness of their care on people and make them feel bigger, deeper, respected, lit up.
Diminishers, on the other hand, make people feel small and unseen, and see people as things to be used.

The narrative is tight with the plot developing thicker than expected - that comes at the small cost of the character development. Still very gripping and a book that’s hard to put down

The plot thickens and the political situation is intriguing but the Romance drama is tedious

Gripping

The fundamental human problem is the need to search for the true Self. Who am I is a pertinent question driving all our actions. When we are sad, we seek to remove the suffering causing the sadness. We seek knowledge and shun ignorance. We seek comfort and security. The philosophy of Vedanta says this is like searching for a key outside when the key is in one's pocket. What if the essence of who we are is all of this