Zen

<b>Shabnam Minwalla is a mother of three teenagers, an ardent saree-shopper and a Mumbai-holic.</b><ul><li>She has spent most of her life with words-editing her school magazine, working as a journalist with the Times of India and writing non-fiction</li><li>What she most enjoys, though, is writing fiction.Many of her books for children and young adults-including When Jiya Met Urmila, Saira Zariwala is Afraid, Murder at Daisy Apartments and The Six Spellmakers of Dorabji Street-have won prestigious awards</li><li>Her non-fiction book on the Mumbai Neighbourhood of Colaba is very popular.Shabnam was a student at St Xavier's College in Mumbai and got her MA in Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles</li><li>She was a Chevening Scholar at Wolfson College in Cambridge.|In 1935, Zainab Essanji wants to break out of her restricted life and be part of the independence movement</li><li>But it seems that all she is destined to do is embroider and wait to get married.In 2019, Zainab Currimji, class XI student, is unhappy at getting drawn into debates and controversies which she would rather not be part of</li><li>But in India of 2019, how can one not be drawn into these?In this deeply addictive, sweeping book about the life and times of the two Zainabs, is captured a short history of Mumbai, and of India</li><li>Of what we were and what we have become.Zipping between the past and the present, between midnight's children and millennials and getting both right, Shabnam Minwalla has crafted a page-turner whose heart is open, inclusive and populated by a host of memorable characters</li><li>-Jerry Pinto|If I were to make one book a mandatory read today, it would be Zen by Shabnam Minwalla</li><li>It ticks all boxes-there is history, there are these women with strengths beyond their times, there are things that have not changed despite the passing and changing of time and there is the kind of romance that gives you butterflies in your stomach when you thought you had none.|It has EVERYTHING I love in a book-nuanced characters, mystery, history, ghosts, a split timeline, doomed romance(s), strong young women, fantastic writing.|Bombay and Mumbai, Zen and Zainab, pop culture, contemporary issues and history, there is so much to love about Shabnam Minwalla's new book</li><li>I read it in a gulp.|Shabnam writes her characters with a gentle authority and her YA voice is probably the best in India right now</li><li>Yep</li><li>She's India's best YA writer.|I loved Zen for the Bombay/Mumbai setting , for remembering history, for reflecting on the world today and of course for the two fierce heroines</li><li>There are old diary entries vs present day texts, the anticipation of an electric refrigerator vs fast food and wedding parties, a girl questioning her restrictions in the 1930s vs a girl questioning prejudice within communities, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and more</li><li>It is a political story, a mystery, a coming-of-age, a love story (and recipes too!) all rolled into one.|Sensitively and powerfully told, Zen is a story of embracing (even while trying to escape) love, individuality and identity</li><li>It perfectly portrays the messiness that makes life what it is</li><li>Nothing is black and white, is it? And colour floods this gripping narrative</li><li>The complexities of having a mixed identity, the terror of having to choose what you believe in over the people you love, the guilt you experience when all you want to do is not get involved ..</li><li>I was stunned at how brilliantly these are portrayed</li><li>Zen is a book for keeps, a book with so many layers that each time you reread it, you'll discover a little more.|Minwalla is a master of her craft</li><li>She has a pulse on the YA readership and senses the zeitgeist of the times</li><li>She also captures the essence of the past</li><li>Her portrayal of the inner words of the protagonists shows a deep grasp of their psychology</li><li>She effortlessly weaves in a gripping narrative, suspense, romance and pressing concerning political issues in a hard to put down tale! This one's a clear winner for both YA and Adult readership.|This YA tome has been a revelation-the art of bringing together intergenerational conflict with the rich history of South Mumbai; interspersing that with Indian current affairs and showing its effects on the youth and then adding a dash of romance and skillfully making it appeal to both simpering millennials (like me) and Gen Z-it is nothing short of an unimaginable feat yet, Shabnam Minwalla does it effortlessly.|If I were to make one book a mandatory read today, it would be Zen by Shabnam Minwalla</li><li>It ticks all boxes-there is history, there are these women with strengths beyond their times, there are things that have not changed despite the passing and changing of time and there is the kind of romance that gives you butterflies in your stomach when you thought you had none.|It has EVERYTHING I love in a book-nuanced characters, mystery, history, ghosts, a split timeline, doomed romance(s), strong young women, fantastic writing.|Bombay and Mumbai, Zen and Zainab, pop culture, contemporary issues and history, there is so much to love about Shabnam Minwalla's new book</li><li>I read it in a gulp.|Shabnam writes her characters with a gentle authority and her YA voice is probably the best in India right now</li><li>Yep</li><li>She's India's best YA writer.|I loved Zen for the Bombay/Mumbai setting , for remembering history, for reflecting on the world today and of course for the two fierce heroines</li><li>There are old diary entries vs present day texts, the anticipation of an electric refrigerator vs fast food and wedding parties, a girl questioning her restrictions in the 1930s vs a girl questioning prejudice within communities, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and more</li><li>It is a political story, a mystery, a coming-of-age, a love story (and recipes too!) all rolled into one.|Sensitively and powerfully told, Zen is a story of embracing (even while trying to escape) love, individuality and identity</li><li>It perfectly portrays the messiness that makes life what it is</li><li>Nothing is black and white, is it? And colour floods this gripping narrative</li><li>The complexities of having a mixed identity, the terror of having to choose what you believe in over the people you love, the guilt you experience when all you want to do is not get involved ..</li><li>I was stunned at how brilliantly these are portrayed</li><li>Zen is a book for keeps, a book with so many layers that each time you reread it, you'll discover a little more.|Minwalla is a master of her craft</li><li>She has a pulse on the YA readership and senses the zeitgeist of the times</li><li>She also captures the essence of the past</li><li>Her portrayal of the inner words of the protagonists shows a deep grasp of their psychology</li><li>She effortlessly weaves in a gripping narrative, suspense, romance and pressing concerning political issues in a hard to put down tale! This one's a clear winner for both YA and Adult readership.|This YA tome has been a revelation-the art of bringing together intergenerational conflict with the rich history of South Mumbai; interspersing that with Indian current affairs and showing its effects on the youth and then adding a dash of romance and skillfully making it appeal to both simpering millennials (like me) and Gen Z-it is nothing short of an unimaginable feat yet, Shabnam Minwalla does it effortlessly.</li></ul>