The Sunday Haul (on 27-12-2020)

I spotted the first haul of last Sunday at Abids when I saw a copy of ‘Swimming Lessons & Other Stories from Firozsha Baag’ by Rohinton Mistry in a pile of books spread on the pavement meters away from where I park my bike. The copy was in a good condition and flipping through it I saw that it had eleven stories in it. Published by Vintage International, it was the first (and only?) short story collection by Rohinton Mistry I have found so far. I had to shell out two hundred rupees for this book.  

The second find of the day was another collection of short stories by a writer I have never heard of before. I spotted a copy of ‘River’s End and Other Stories’ by Anthony C.West with a cover that looked like it was published sometime in the sixties or so. I was right because inside I read that it was published in 1960! It was quite thick and running into 206 pages though there are only eight stories in it. On the back cover was a blurb by Sean O’Faolain ‘We must hold our breath in the presence of one of the most tremblingly sensitive imagination that has yet ventured into the jungle of Irish life.’

The next find was yet another collection of short stories and incidentally, published in 1960. It was a copy of ‘Saturday Lunch with the Brownings’ by Penelope Mortimer. I remember faintly reading about this writer and I was glad I found it because inside the Times has this to say about her: ‘She is a joy to read.’ On the back cover was this blurb from The Guardian: ‘A writer who can knock spots off most of her contemporaries.’ I hope the book is as good as they say. This collection has only twelve stories. I got both these books for fifty rupees. 

I had seen a title the previous Sunday but had not picked it up because the back cover was damaged but otherwise the book was in good condition. Later I realized it could be a valuable copy so when I saw it last Sunday I bought it. I got it for just twenty rupees. It was a copy of ‘Silence of Desire’ by Kamala Markandaya.

The last find of the day was at Chikkadpally. I found a nice copy of ‘The Eighteenth Parallel’ by Ashokamitran. I love this book because of the writing and also because it is set in Secunderabad where I live. I have several copies of it but I simply cannot resist buying a copy if I come across it. I paid only fifty rupees for this book.

These five books made up the last Sunday haul of 2020. I guess I bought around 170 books last year and have read an almost equal number of books thanks to the lockdown. Happy New Year.