Customer Reviews

Sex, Scotch & Scholarship

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This book exemplifies the plight of the South Asian Society in the 21st century. It is an excellent overview and depicts something which can be related to anyone living in South Asia. Very Well Done Khushwant Singh!

There is dismally little information about this book here, so I'll do my bit. Amazon.com recommended to me while reading up on "The Great Indian Novel", which is a novel. This is somewhat misleading, because "Sex Scotch and Scholarship" is NOT a novel.

It is a compilation of Khushwant Singh's more popular writings -- he is a regular columnist of some repute in India, usually seen as the country's more maverick souls, associated mainly with his best-selling ribald jokebooks which pack a bunch of double entendres.

This collection though is not just a light-hearted one. It spans a wide range of Singh's moorings -- from a near-lyrical chapter on his passions for nature to the predicaments in his home state in northern India (Punjab), where he primarily laments the notion of "Khalistan" -- a separate state for rebels -- an idea he is opposed to. There's an interesting take on religions of the world, especially his own (Sikhism). To lighten the vein somewhat, we get an amusing glimpse of his years as a Member of Parliamnet. Finally, as the only other review on this site mentions, there're some essays on Singh's travels around the globe (predominantly South East Asia.)

As irreverent yet thoughtful writing as Singh is typically known for. Interesting nuggets and ramblings from a good writer, but may not be very relevant for non-Indians unless you have at least a passing familiarity with what I talked about above.