Big Book of Malice

Book excerpt: Malice. The word is synonymous with Khushwant Singh; his pen has spared no one. For over four decades as India’s most widely-read columnist, he has commented on just about everything: religion, politics, our future, our past, prohibition, impotency, presidents, politicians, cricket, dog-haters, astrologers, the banning of books, the secret of 1ongevity...the list is endless. Candid to the point of being outrageous, Khushwant Singh makes both his reader and subject wince. He writes unabashedly on nose picking, wife-bashing, bribing journalists, gender wars and the desires of an octogenarian; on Nehru and Edwina, Laloo, Bal Thackeray, Chandraswami and Sonia Gandhi, among host of others. Khushwant Singh’s Big Book of Malice brings together some of his nastiest and most irreverent pieces. Witty, sharp and brutally honest, this collection is certain to delight and provoke readers of all ages. ‘Good people can be crashing bores. Evil men who combine evil-doing with drunkenness, debauchery and making illicit money make more interesting characters because they pack their lives with action. They do what most of us would like to do but do not have the guts to.’ —Khushwant Singh