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Surely, comrades, you don’t want Jones back?

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  Unless introduced as a moral story in middle school, it is unlikely that anyone would have read  Animal Farm  merely as a fairytale. It is only natural to explore the milieu of the writer, especially if critically acclaimed as in this case, and the context in which he situated the story before picking up a classic. Such an attempt here would reveal that it was a political satire that George Orwell wrote, taking a stab at the political environment in Russia at the time. His attempt was much discouraged since the British media during the time, unquestioningly, almost servilely, supported Russia and whatever it stood for; Russia was an ally to Britain in the war and was strictly not to be upset. To give some context, the book was written by the end of 1943, but wasn’t published till August 1945. What’s worse, the Russian viewpoint was supported and publicized uncritically, as it were, even without the influence of the British government or any pressure groups.  “At th...
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Time, Love, and Perspective in 'Tales from the Café'

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Also published in The Literary Times   This essay is my response to Tales from the Cafe: A Novel —the second book in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. The series hinges on a cafe that allows one to travel back—and forward—in time. This is possible only while sitting in the chair, one which is constantly occupied by a ghost, and that one has to grab during her once-daily trip to the toilet if they want to make use of this special offering by the cafe. Time travel begins from the moment coffee is poured to the customer and lasts till the coffee gets cold. The person travelling has to drink up the coffee to return to the present before it goes cold or else… I picked this book because the first one in the series had ended almost on a spiritual note for me: “At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present does not change. So it raises the question: just what is the point of that chair?’ But … no matter what difficulties people face, th...
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