The Sunday Haul (on 07-02-2021)

I had been reading about the ‘Balkan Trilogy’ by Olivia Manning on Twitter quite a few times in the past couple of days. I wondered why I had not come across this title at Abids or anywhere. As if in answer to my prayer I came across a nice copy of ‘Fortunes of War’ Volume II of The Levant Trilogy by Olivia Manning. It was the first book I saw as soon as I reached Abids and began my rounds of the sellers. I was very pleased that I found a nice title to start with, and also extremely pleased that I got it for just hundred rupees.

Many years ago, sometime in 2011, I had found a copy of ‘This Boy’s Life’ by Tobias Wolff and picked it up on a hunch though I hadn’t heard of Tobias Wolff or his titles until then. After I read the harrowing memoir I decided to look for his books. But it was a long time before I found another Tobias Wolff title, of all the places, in Dehradun. I found a nice copy of ‘The Pharaoh’s Army’ of which I had read about a little before I found it. Then a few years later, on a Sunday morning at Daryagunj market in Delhi I found another book of short stories- Our Story Begins. I also found a copy of ‘Hunters in the Snow’ by Tobias Wolff at Select in Bengaluru in 2015. Last Sunday I found another copy of the same title at Abids. I picked it up since I wanted to give it to a friend. I got it for just thirty rupees.

I also found yet another copy of the war classic- ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Erich Maria Remarque. I had found it and read it soon after and was so impressed that I picked up another copy that I came across afterwards. Now again last Sunday I came across another copy in a heap selling for only twenty rupees. I picked it up to send it to the same friend for whom I had picked up the Tobias Wolff title.