India, Nov. 14 -- A Journey of Love is Sonia Gandhi's warm, emotionally led memoir, far less political than the noise around it, and its honesty is strongest where it is most private.

The book deserves a read, as a leader who rarely speaks at length has done so, and a publishing row and managed disclosure made it a political event. The Hindustan Times, citing unnamed sources, said Penguin India's deal collapsed after she refused edits on Modi, the RSS and Chinese intrusions; Penguin denied it. A disclaimer here: I am yet to read the book, and this by no means is a book review. It is observations and takeaways based on excerpts and secondary media sources. One thing is for sure: it is a bestseller and reports of a frenzy are anecdotal; th...