Rainy day reads

Monsoon is a season when creativity blooms; poets pick up their pens, verses flow. There's something about the gloomy, beautiful monsoon days which makes one want to curl up with a good book and a cup of cha.

It's no wonder we find ourselves feeling slower and quieter in rainy days. That rain is gloom and sunshine happiness is metaphorical rather than scientific, though it rings true because we humans are inherently sympathetic to our environment. Below are a few engaging pieces of fiction that complement the heavy, dewy, beautifully gloomy days of monsoon.

Mornings in Jenin
Written powerfully, Mornings in Jenin is a heart-wrenching read about the Palestinian life stuck in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  This is a brave, sad book that tells the story of a nation and a people through tales of ordinary lives lived in extraordinary circumstances.

Susan Abulhawa constructs a national narrative rather than expresses art through Mornings in Jenin. This is not your book if you're looking for a mood-booster but it is if you're looking for an engrossing, compelling and enlightening read. Pick it up on a dark morning filled with promises of violent downpour -- the book will resonate with the water drops.

The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov
Author of the controversial book Lolita, The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov is a collection of the Russian genius' short stories. Nabokov's writing is intoxicating, deviously witty, and has an ability to turn language into an instrument of ecstasy.

Start off with “Signs and Symbols”- five pages of genius prose. If you're the type of reader who is more of a sprinter than a marathon novel-reader, this is the book to curl up with on a rainy day.  Mind you, his short stories are not for shallow skimming, Nabokov's writing is simple and lyrical but layered.

The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka's startling and bizarre piece offsets the monsoon's gloomy, unwavering ambiance in the right way. Because the story is so odd yet layered, the dullness complements the quietness required to start reading this fantastical and philosophical read.

Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to discover he's been transformed into a giant beetle-like creature. Can he and his family adjust to his new form? I suspect it's a commentary about how capitalism devours its workers when they're unable to work or possibly about how the people who deviate from the norm are isolated, but the story also ponders over questions of personal identity and what defines it. The beginning is quite humorous too.

The Hungry Tide
This is a book that deals close to home -- the Sundarbans. The story is about a chance meeting between a young American Bangladeshi woman and a local businessman, and their subsequent divergences and intersections, form the core strands of this novel, set in rural Bangladesh.

The book sweeps in and out of the past and present and deals with questions of historical identity, love, class and man's hold over the environment. We often feel nostalgic during the rain, and this is a good piece to refer to like Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, to stir up the bittersweet thunders of pouring over identity, culture and the past.

Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte's classic, this is one of the most passionate and heartfelt novels ever written. Wuthering Heights tells of the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, the orphan boy her father adopted and brought to Wuthering Heights when they were children. This book resonates with monsoon thunder -- demonic passion, vengeance and love as a force of nature. This is a very dynamic and satisfying read.