Pragya's Updates

Pragya added 'Still Life'

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 23:42:38 -0700

Pragya gave 5 stars to Still Life (Hardcover) by Sarah Winman
It took me quite a while to get through—not just because it’s a long book, but because it’s layered with rich references to art, history, literature, and different time periods. I have a habit when reading: I like to pause and look up what the characters are seeing, imagining, or talking about. It’s not necessary, of course, but it makes the experience more vivid and immersive for me.

Initially, the book starts off slow. After the first chapter, I wasn’t sure it would live up to all the praise I’d heard. But as I continued, I found myself completely charmed. The characters are incredibly endearing—so much so that they start to feel like family. I especially felt for the makeshift family Ulysses creates in London, and how it expands when he moves to Florence, blending new friends from Italy with old ones from back home.

The story is deeply humane. It’s filled with warmth and joy, but also touches on loss, loneliness, sadness, and death. There are characters I loved instantly, and others who grew on me slowly as their arcs developed. By the end, I cared about all of them and looked forward to every new chapter about their lives.

More than Ulysses and Evelyn, it was the side characters and their stories that truly stayed with me. The book is not just a narrative—it’s a walk through Florence, a love letter to art and history, and a gentle exploration of post-war Europe. If you’ve been to Florence, it will bring the city alive in your memory. If you haven’t, it might just make you want to go.

Despite its heavy themes—war, grief, aging—the novel never feels too heavy. It manages to carry emotional depth with lightness and grace. My only critique is that the first and last chapters felt a bit disconnected in tone compared to the rest of the book. But aside from that, I have no complaints.

Still Life is, in many ways, a warm hug in book form. It’s tender, thoughtful, and quietly profound. A perfect summer read that stays with you long after the last page.

Pragya is currently reading 'Samarkand'

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 04:55:47 -0700

Pragya is currently reading Samarkand by Amin Maalouf

Pragya is 94% done with Still Life

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 04:24:56 -0700

Pragya Jain is 94% done with Still Life.

Pragya added 'Jamilia'

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 09:53:34 -0700

Pragya gave 3 stars to Jamilia (Paperback) by Chingiz Aitmatov
Sometimes, you read a book and it lingers—not just in the mind, but somewhere deeper, where questions grow slowly. Jamilia is one such story. A novella of barely a hundred pages, written by Kyrgyz author Chinghiz Aitmatov, it carries the emotional weight of a much larger novel. It made me think. Think about love—its purity, its acceptance, its quiet resilience. It made me wonder: what defines love as "forbidden"? Is it truly forbidden, or just inconvenient to a world built on rules?

The beauty of the book lies in its simplicity. Aitmatov doesn’t rush to make moral judgments. Instead, he lets the characters live and breathe, their choices shaped by love, not rebellion. The story shows how emotions bloom in the most unexpected places—between shared burdens, long walks, and silent understandings. It's about choosing the heart’s voice over society’s noise.

The prose is dreamy and poetic, like a landscape bathed in golden dusk. But beneath its soft, lyrical surface, the novel raises hard, timeless questions: What is loyalty? What is freedom? And is love truly wrong if it brings you home to yourself?

In the end, Jamilia is not just a love story—it's a quiet rebellion wrapped in beauty. A brief, unforgettable glimpse into a different time, a different land, and the universal ache of wanting something more.

Highly recommended for lovers of delicate, thoughtful fiction.

Pragya added 'Jamilia'

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 23:56:19 -0700

Pragya is currently reading 'Jamilia'

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 02:57:20 -0700

Pragya is currently reading Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov

Pragya wants to read 'Isola'

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 22:56:08 -0700

Pragya wants to read Isola by Allegra Goodman

Pragya started reading 'Still Life'

Tue, 20 May 2025 01:59:46 -0700

Pragya started reading Still Life by Sarah Winman

Pragya added 'Raphael, Painter in Rome'

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 13:12:15 -0700

Pragya gave 5 stars to Raphael, Painter in Rome (Hardcover) by Stephanie Storey

Pragya added 'The Tobacconist'

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 12:07:32 -0700

Pragya gave 2 stars to The Tobacconist (Paperback) by Robert Seethaler