Merlin Franco

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Merlin Franco

Goodreads Author


Born
India
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences

Member Since
June 2018

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Merlin Franco is an Indian-born academic with a PhD in Ethnobiology. He currently lives in Borneo with his imaginary girlfriend and a gang of feral monkeys. Merlin’s hobbies include staring at the ceiling, stroking his greying beard, and running away from stray dogs.

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Merlin Franco A Literary Fiction [Romance-Satire]: Two young lovers, madly in love, yet pulled apart by forces beyond their control. Exploring love, loss, and longi…moreA Literary Fiction [Romance-Satire]: Two young lovers, madly in love, yet pulled apart by forces beyond their control. Exploring love, loss, and longing, this novel, halfway through its writing, delves into the struggles of the underprivileged to bet and survive against all odds. (less)
Merlin Franco From my ten years of residence in Borneo!
Average rating: 4.3 · 5,841 ratings · 206 reviews · 4 distinct worksSimilar authors
Saint Richard Parker

4.30 avg rating — 5,805 ratings — published 2023 — 5 editions
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A Dowryless Wedding

4.26 avg rating — 35 ratings4 editions
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Ethnobotany of the Mountain...

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating2 editions
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Ethnobotany of the Kondh, P...

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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Love the dogs, hate the kids—Indian elites and the stray dog problem

AI generated image of a street dog

In 2022, a 4-year old child was mauled to death by street dogs in Telangana, a state in Southern India. Late, on 11 June 2023, a 8-year old child was mauled by street dogs in Kerala. These precious lives have been reduced to mere statistical figures in the ever-exploding stray dog population in India. The Indian Express reports that in the first half of 20

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Published on August 26, 2025 04:41
The Dictionary of...
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Merlin’s Recent Updates

Merlin Franco is currently reading
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
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Merlin Franco rated a book really liked it
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
The Mermaid Chair
by Sue Monk Kidd (Goodreads Author)
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𝗔𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

The Mermaid Chair begins as a story of the mundane, about the midlife crisis when people overlook what they have in hand and go around chasing mythical ge
...more
Merlin Franco rated a book liked it
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Book of Longings
by Sue Monk Kidd (Goodreads Author)
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[image]

This is another novel from Sue Monk Kidd that I intentionally slowed down to read.

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞. Every written sentence (except for two: see below) flourishes as if they were cultivated by the autho
...more
Merlin Franco has read
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
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𝑬𝒅𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.

This is the story of half-Apache, half-White Edgar. It's fun at times, painful otherwise, as Brady Udall takes us through the everyday st
...more
Merlin Franco rated a book it was amazing
Vernon God Little by D.B.C. Pierre
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Vernon God Little found me (yes, it came buried under a hundreds used books) at a crucial point in my life, like a miracle. I was half through with Saint Richard Parker, where I used first person POV in present tense, employing an absurdist tone. Tho ...more
Merlin Franco has read
Saint Richard Parker by Merlin Franco
Saint Richard Parker
by Merlin Franco (Goodreads Author)
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There has been much confusion about what Saint Richard Parker is about. Here comes the author’s perspective.

𝑺𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝑹𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. This is a satirical take on the maladies of South and Southea
...more
Merlin Franco rated a book liked it
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
The Book of Longings
by Sue Monk Kidd (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
[image]

This is another novel from Sue Monk Kidd that I intentionally slowed down to read.

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥—𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞. Every written sentence (except for two: see below) flourishes as if they were cultivated by the autho
...more
More of Merlin's books…
Quotes by Merlin Franco  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The most beautiful things in life are unassuming and simple to begin with.”
Merlin Franco, A Dowryless Wedding

“To you, the beautiful human in you, who, like everybody else on this planet, is on an everyday struggle to love and be loved. I hope you find the love, happiness, and enlightenment you have been looking for, in you, in your backyard, in your wretched little neighborhood.”
Merlin Franco, Saint Richard Parker

“Let your ego go . . . This is how the world is. Everyone chases love, but very few recognize it. Because to love unconditionally is the toughest task on earth. Learn to accept it.”
Merlin Franco, Saint Richard Parker

“Buccal list: A list of food a person has never tried before but wants to taste during their lifetime.”
Merlin Franco, Saint Richard Parker

“If you had closed your eyes and looked inward, you would have seen me; you would have seen us. We have always been inseparable, like night and day, light and dark, flowers and fruits, and spirituality and sexuality.”
Merlin Franco, Saint Richard Parker

“Swim, crawl, stagger, walk, bend, stagger and gone – that’s life in simple terms, and all that matters here is how well we fought.”
Merlin Franco, A Dowryless Wedding

“We have only one option, to struggle or succumb. The choice is ours.”
Merlin Franco, A Dowryless Wedding

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