INTERVIEW: Sanchit Gupta, author of ‘The Tree With A Thousand Apples’

ABOUT

Born and brought up in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, Sanchit began his career as a part-time copywriter. He went on to co-found his own theatre group, worked as a freelance film screenwriter and as executive producer–fiction for a leading television network. His short stories have been published in several publications and lit festivals, viz Muse India, Indian Ruminations, Contemporary Literary Review India and Tata Lit Live to name a few. He has worked with All India Radio as a talk show host and regularly features in poetry recitals at Prithvi Café, Mumbai. This is his debut novel, the screenplay based on which has been long-listed in Sundance screenwriters’ International lab- US.
When not writing, he is usually hanging out with his wife or looking for people to play poker with.

Book Review: Alice: The Wanderland Chronicles by J.M. Sullivan

 

RATINGS :-
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4.5/5
OVERALL RATING : 4.5/5

Genre : Young Adult, Science Fiction, Action and Adventure,Romance
Age Recommended : 13 yrs and up

“Always protect your queen.”

Ever since the outbreak of the Plague, life hasn’t been easy, and for seventeen-year-old Alice Carroll, it just got worse. Her sister, Dinah, has contracted the ‘un-deadly’ Momerath Virus and without a cure, will soon be worse than dead. She’ll be momerath.

Alice must leave the safety of the Sector and venture into Momerath Territory to find the antidote – if it exists. Chasing a rumor about a mysterious doctor with the cure, Alice falls down the rabbit hole into Wanderland, where ravenous momerath aren’t the only danger lurking.

Book Review: The Tree With A Thousand Apples by Sanchit Gupta

Ratings :

Writing- 4/5

Plot- 4/5

Characters- 3.5/5

Overall Ratings- 4/5

Genre: Fiction

Age Recommended: 13 and up

It’s not very often that we receive review copies of books that completely take us by surprise. The Tree With A Thousand Apples was certainly one of them.

I belong to a region that I haven’t visited for the past seven years. The reason? It’s ‘terribly unsafe’. Between 1980 and 1990, among other Kashmiri Pandits who fled the gorgeous valley, were my relatives. After over two centuries of residing there, the descendents of our ‘Kaul’ clan unfortunately were left with no choice but to leave the valley which they once called home. Slogans saying “Asi gacchi Pakistan, Batav ros te Batanev san” ( We want a Pakistan along with HIndu women but without their men) were openly glorified while most women my dad’s own aunt, chose to hide themselves in closets along with matchsticks (to set themselves on fire) for defense from the ferocious protestors who could barge into the house any moment.

This isn’t my home. You don’t know what it is to be on a lifelong exile. I have no home.

The issue of Kasmir is a one that is incredibly close to my heart and so, when I was approached by the author with the request of an honest review, I obviously could not refuse.