A debut novel by Anuradha Roy
Of late I've noticed 2 things. Debut novels are usually the best works of an author (in terms of my liking, not revenues). And especially with young Bengali authors, debut works are simply outstanding.
This is one such book that I thought was very, very well written. I usually like stories that bring in a flavor of culture, a glimpse into history, and a feeling that you were physically there when something important happened. This book was very warm in that sense...
When Amulya decides to build a house and settle down in Songarh, all he wants is a quiet life with no people to bother him. Unfortunately for him, his wife Kananbala is so used to the bustle and chatter of Calcutta that the isolation of Songarh soon drives her to insanity.
As the family grows, we see how Kamal and Nirmal, the two sons, grow to be two very different people. Kamal naturally takes over the business from daddy, while Nirmal devastated by his wife's death giving birth to their daughter, becomes a historian who wants to keep thoughts of home as far away as possible.
As Nirmal goes through his father's accounts he finds out about the orphan child that Amulya has been paying for, and is overcome by a desire to meet the boy. That meeting results in Mukunda coming to live with the family - a decision that is met with reluctance and makes for a very confused life for the little boy.
Mukunda and Bakul, Nirmal's daughter, become the best of friends as they grow up together in the otherwise boring and lonely house.
The story then follows Mukunda as he leaves the family, and grows up in Calcutta to quickly become the closest assistant to a smart but rather ruthless real estate broker of sorts. His job one day brings him back to Songarh after 13 years, where he is asked to evict Nirmal himself and take possession of the house for his boss.
The rest of the story is about how Nirmal battles with his life, his conscience, and his practicality to make the right decision.
A good read especially if you are reading it in a beautiful and quiet place, far away from civilization :)
The novel is set in a small town called Songarh in the Bengal of the early twentieth century, and tells the story of 3 generations of a family. Songarh is in the middle of nowhere, and the big and lonely house that Amulya brings his Calcutta wife to, soon unnerves her. Amulya being completely absorbed into his
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Better Man
A first novel by Anita Nair
I've heard about this book a lot.. and somehow I read some of Anita's later works before laying hands on this one. Add to the fact that I went through a lot of Kerala-based books and decided to take a break for a while, this book came under my reading light only now.
The Better Man reveals itself only close to the end.. it's like one of those movies that seem to wind and meander on in a certain direction but you never know where it's going to take you. Mukundan, a 56-year old government officer decides to return to his native village that he hasn't visited in over thirty years for one simple reason. He has nowhere else to go. He never married, had no friends close enough and single enough to accommodate him, and wasn't much of a traveler. But the village, and his gargantuan ancestral home hold several secrets, suppressed by the years. What Mukundan wants is a slow life of rest and relaxation.. getting to know the village and its many people.. what happened after he left so long ago, and the regular musings of everyday languor. What he gets instead, is sleepless nights tormented by his mother's soul that accuses him of leaving her alone.. his eighty five year old father's still strong hold over him, and the villagers who don't trust him or understand what he is doing here.
The story weaves around how the house's caretaker Krishnan Nair, arranges for Mukundan to meet and know Bhasi. One screw loose Bhasi - painter by profession, healer and curer by reputation. Krishnan Nair wants to know if Bhasi can help Mukundan get rid of his nightmares. But eventually their friendship goes much deeper to the depths of Mukundan's souls and his darkest hidden fears.
The beauty of the book and its story hits you only towards the end.. till then it meanders slowly like a river that knows it has nowhere else to go, no route else to take every single day. But when it does, everything else falls in place. Mukundan's realization that for all that he hated his father, the two of them were not too different. His resolve that he now had a chance to prove to himself, more than the world, that he could be the better man of the two. And how he slowly but surely makes those changes forms the end.
But the story as it flows, is written very beautifully. The way Mukundan falls for Anjana, the memories of his past.. so different, yet as painful as hers. The bond that ties him to his girl cousin Meenakshi.. and the hate that he never has the courage to show for Power House Ramakrishnan.
A wonderful read, and a breath of freshness. Reaffirms my belief that debut novels from most writers are mostly their best pieces of work.
I've heard about this book a lot.. and somehow I read some of Anita's later works before laying hands on this one. Add to the fact that I went through a lot of Kerala-based books and decided to take a break for a while, this book came under my reading light only now.
The Better Man reveals itself only close to the end.. it's like one of those movies that seem to wind and meander on in a certain direction but you never know where it's going to take you. Mukundan, a 56-year old government officer decides to return to his native village that he hasn't visited in over thirty years for one simple reason. He has nowhere else to go. He never married, had no friends close enough and single enough to accommodate him, and wasn't much of a traveler. But the village, and his gargantuan ancestral home hold several secrets, suppressed by the years. What Mukundan wants is a slow life of rest and relaxation.. getting to know the village and its many people.. what happened after he left so long ago, and the regular musings of everyday languor. What he gets instead, is sleepless nights tormented by his mother's soul that accuses him of leaving her alone.. his eighty five year old father's still strong hold over him, and the villagers who don't trust him or understand what he is doing here.
The story weaves around how the house's caretaker Krishnan Nair, arranges for Mukundan to meet and know Bhasi. One screw loose Bhasi - painter by profession, healer and curer by reputation. Krishnan Nair wants to know if Bhasi can help Mukundan get rid of his nightmares. But eventually their friendship goes much deeper to the depths of Mukundan's souls and his darkest hidden fears.
The beauty of the book and its story hits you only towards the end.. till then it meanders slowly like a river that knows it has nowhere else to go, no route else to take every single day. But when it does, everything else falls in place. Mukundan's realization that for all that he hated his father, the two of them were not too different. His resolve that he now had a chance to prove to himself, more than the world, that he could be the better man of the two. And how he slowly but surely makes those changes forms the end.
But the story as it flows, is written very beautifully. The way Mukundan falls for Anjana, the memories of his past.. so different, yet as painful as hers. The bond that ties him to his girl cousin Meenakshi.. and the hate that he never has the courage to show for Power House Ramakrishnan.
A wonderful read, and a breath of freshness. Reaffirms my belief that debut novels from most writers are mostly their best pieces of work.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Finger Puppet
A debut novel by Anu Jayanth
I know I should have written this as soon as I finished reading the book, but as usual things came up.. the week started with all its expected madness, and I totally forgot about it!
Here's from what I remember :(
The Finger Puppet is a very unusual book. And I was intrigued by the synopsis on its back cover. So I thought I'd give it a try. After reading it, I'd say the book was a tard confusing. At times I thought Tara was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder... other times delusions... either way the narrative was engrossing, but maybe a little over the top for someone like me.
The book is essentially the story of a family of 3 daughters and a mother, ruled in every sense of the word, by a violent and highly egoistic father. Growing up with Amma's stories from the Vedas and the Gita, and Appa's Cambridge rhetoric and stolen antiques, each of the girls become very different women in their own way. Padmini, the eldest, naturally becomes the embodiment of their mother. Protecting the younger ones, excelling in music and the veena. Cordelia, the youngest and the most bashful of the lot, takes to complete rebellion and pretends to live in her own world where all that matters is herself. Tara the second, is born mute, or rather with her tongue stuck to the bottom of her mouth. Humiliation and loneliness push her to fantasize about a best friend who loves her and is loyal to her at all times. And this is where the finger puppet - her thumb, is born.
Most of the story is told from the perspective of the thumb.. how things change around them... how they finally decide to escape their father, only to return when he is paralysed and unable to fend for himself.. how they cope with the arrogance and authority of a man, who even when he is immovable, manages to weild complete control over them. And then the culmination, when Tara finally lets go of her fantasy friend who almost takes control of her life, and becomes independent to decide things on her own.
A good read, sometimes going off track with ponderings on the Vedas and Hindu rites... the author holds a lot of promise.
As for me, I think I should stop picking up books with violent male characters subjucating the women in their life for a while ;)
I know I should have written this as soon as I finished reading the book, but as usual things came up.. the week started with all its expected madness, and I totally forgot about it!
Here's from what I remember :(
The Finger Puppet is a very unusual book. And I was intrigued by the synopsis on its back cover. So I thought I'd give it a try. After reading it, I'd say the book was a tard confusing. At times I thought Tara was suffering from Multiple Personality Disorder... other times delusions... either way the narrative was engrossing, but maybe a little over the top for someone like me.
The book is essentially the story of a family of 3 daughters and a mother, ruled in every sense of the word, by a violent and highly egoistic father. Growing up with Amma's stories from the Vedas and the Gita, and Appa's Cambridge rhetoric and stolen antiques, each of the girls become very different women in their own way. Padmini, the eldest, naturally becomes the embodiment of their mother. Protecting the younger ones, excelling in music and the veena. Cordelia, the youngest and the most bashful of the lot, takes to complete rebellion and pretends to live in her own world where all that matters is herself. Tara the second, is born mute, or rather with her tongue stuck to the bottom of her mouth. Humiliation and loneliness push her to fantasize about a best friend who loves her and is loyal to her at all times. And this is where the finger puppet - her thumb, is born.
Most of the story is told from the perspective of the thumb.. how things change around them... how they finally decide to escape their father, only to return when he is paralysed and unable to fend for himself.. how they cope with the arrogance and authority of a man, who even when he is immovable, manages to weild complete control over them. And then the culmination, when Tara finally lets go of her fantasy friend who almost takes control of her life, and becomes independent to decide things on her own.
A good read, sometimes going off track with ponderings on the Vedas and Hindu rites... the author holds a lot of promise.
As for me, I think I should stop picking up books with violent male characters subjucating the women in their life for a while ;)
Friday, February 06, 2009
Istanbul blues
I picked up this book for 2 reasons... (A) I've never read a Turkish novel and (B) the story sounded rather interesting. And I have to update this blog faster... I've finished another book by the time I get the enthu to sit down to write about this one!
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Aparently this book had a lot of media attention... being the ever ignorant person that I am.. I had no clue.
The Bastard of Istanbul is a book about family.. about attitudes, culture, perceived oppression, and friendship. The book starts with Zeliha, the last sister in a family whose men seem to have been cursed to die early. She is on her way to get an unwanted baby aborted, when something happens in the last minute for her to change her mind and keep it. That baby grows up to be Asya Kazanci, a fun, fearless, I give a rat's ass about the rest of the world girl. Half way around the world, the only brother of the family is pushed out to America in an attempt to keep him away from the mysterious curse in the hope that he will live and provide for the family for a bit longer than the rest of the male clan. Mustafa grows up to hate his Turkish family and the country for abandoning him, and forcefully pushes all that is Istanbul out of his mind. Mustafa meets and later gets married to Rose, whose biggest secret reason for marrying him is to anger her former husband's Armenian family. The daughter from that marriage - Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian, Amy for short, grows up to be a bright, beautiful, but confused girl who really doesn't understand the pain and anger her Armenian family feels. She decides to go to Istanbul and that's where she meets Asya and the beginning of a warm friendship filled with discovery.
Whew! Did I give out too much of the story? I loved the book... for its uniqueness, its style of writing, the complex thread of relationships, and the underlying emotions that were portrayed so well... so sorry if I got a bit too excited there!
Overall a good read... the other interesting part is that each chapter is named after a special ingredient in cooking... am not sure if all of them are in Turkish food... but I liked that... and once you finish that chapter, you will realize why the chapter was titled with that ingredient :)
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Aparently this book had a lot of media attention... being the ever ignorant person that I am.. I had no clue.
The Bastard of Istanbul is a book about family.. about attitudes, culture, perceived oppression, and friendship. The book starts with Zeliha, the last sister in a family whose men seem to have been cursed to die early. She is on her way to get an unwanted baby aborted, when something happens in the last minute for her to change her mind and keep it. That baby grows up to be Asya Kazanci, a fun, fearless, I give a rat's ass about the rest of the world girl. Half way around the world, the only brother of the family is pushed out to America in an attempt to keep him away from the mysterious curse in the hope that he will live and provide for the family for a bit longer than the rest of the male clan. Mustafa grows up to hate his Turkish family and the country for abandoning him, and forcefully pushes all that is Istanbul out of his mind. Mustafa meets and later gets married to Rose, whose biggest secret reason for marrying him is to anger her former husband's Armenian family. The daughter from that marriage - Armanoush Tchakhmakhchian, Amy for short, grows up to be a bright, beautiful, but confused girl who really doesn't understand the pain and anger her Armenian family feels. She decides to go to Istanbul and that's where she meets Asya and the beginning of a warm friendship filled with discovery.
Whew! Did I give out too much of the story? I loved the book... for its uniqueness, its style of writing, the complex thread of relationships, and the underlying emotions that were portrayed so well... so sorry if I got a bit too excited there!
Overall a good read... the other interesting part is that each chapter is named after a special ingredient in cooking... am not sure if all of them are in Turkish food... but I liked that... and once you finish that chapter, you will realize why the chapter was titled with that ingredient :)
Saturday, January 03, 2009
House of Blue Mangoes
A debut novel by David Davidar
This novel gets 5 points for a very simple but almost always ignored piece of information for the reader - a family tree on the second page. You never realize how useful it is especially when you have a story that transcends 3 generations of a family - in this case, the Dorai family.
The book is set in small town Chevathar, somewhere close to the border between Kerala and Tamilnadu in the beginning of the 20th century, and witnesses the travails of the Dorai family as they grapple with issues as disparate as caste and the rising nationalism. Book 1 maps out the life of Solomon Dorai - the classic patriarch bursting with leadership in both the brain and the brawn, who dies fighting for a cause that he himself does not believe in.
Book 2 I found most interesting, as it etches the life of Daniel Dorai, Solomon's despised first son, who veers away from the brawny Dorai cult to study and excel in the Siddha practice of medicine. It also talks about Aaron Dorai, Solomon's second son who seems to have inherited all of his father's courage, dare, and arrogance, and not the wisdom of a true leader. Aaron dabbles briefly with the nationalist movement that is slowly picking up steam in the country before dying from torture in jail. Daniel on the other hand, turns out to be a really talented doctor, who becomes hugely successful by inventing a fairness cream that actually works! With his wealth Daniel establishes Doraipuram in Chevathar, a fantasised vision of all members of the Dorai family living and prospering together as a community. Unfortunately communal harmony is rather hard to achieve - especially when you're getting your house, the land it's built on, and food almost free.
As Daniel struggles to keep this community together, we move into Book 3 where Daniel's son, Kannan is pushed to study in Madras. Between studying botany in college and trying to find his feet in the strange and overcrowded city, Kannan falls head over heels for Helen - an Anglo-Indian beauty without so much as an inkling of liking towards him. Unlike the first 2 books, Kannan returns to Chevathar only towards the end, spending most of his life as a tea planter in Pulimed, a beautiful and misty hill town. Kannan's realization dawns when he finds the same Englishmen he wines and dines with, discriminating against him at the first instance.
The reference to "blue mangoes" brings to memory the kind of unique and undisputed leadership this fruit holds in India. Book 2 had a great chapter on how Daniel travels across India tasting the different mangoes grown across India to decide for himself if the Chevathar one was the best. He is fascinated by a Nawab's mango tasting festival, and hosts one at his own Chevathar that turns out to be a huge hit.
Overall, I found the book to be very well written. The story weaved itself perfectly around the lives of each member of the family (thanks again to the family tree!) to make the reader understand and appreciate why someone did what they did. I think that's more important than dwelling on what they did alone.
This novel gets 5 points for a very simple but almost always ignored piece of information for the reader - a family tree on the second page. You never realize how useful it is especially when you have a story that transcends 3 generations of a family - in this case, the Dorai family.
The book is set in small town Chevathar, somewhere close to the border between Kerala and Tamilnadu in the beginning of the 20th century, and witnesses the travails of the Dorai family as they grapple with issues as disparate as caste and the rising nationalism. Book 1 maps out the life of Solomon Dorai - the classic patriarch bursting with leadership in both the brain and the brawn, who dies fighting for a cause that he himself does not believe in.
Book 2 I found most interesting, as it etches the life of Daniel Dorai, Solomon's despised first son, who veers away from the brawny Dorai cult to study and excel in the Siddha practice of medicine. It also talks about Aaron Dorai, Solomon's second son who seems to have inherited all of his father's courage, dare, and arrogance, and not the wisdom of a true leader. Aaron dabbles briefly with the nationalist movement that is slowly picking up steam in the country before dying from torture in jail. Daniel on the other hand, turns out to be a really talented doctor, who becomes hugely successful by inventing a fairness cream that actually works! With his wealth Daniel establishes Doraipuram in Chevathar, a fantasised vision of all members of the Dorai family living and prospering together as a community. Unfortunately communal harmony is rather hard to achieve - especially when you're getting your house, the land it's built on, and food almost free.
As Daniel struggles to keep this community together, we move into Book 3 where Daniel's son, Kannan is pushed to study in Madras. Between studying botany in college and trying to find his feet in the strange and overcrowded city, Kannan falls head over heels for Helen - an Anglo-Indian beauty without so much as an inkling of liking towards him. Unlike the first 2 books, Kannan returns to Chevathar only towards the end, spending most of his life as a tea planter in Pulimed, a beautiful and misty hill town. Kannan's realization dawns when he finds the same Englishmen he wines and dines with, discriminating against him at the first instance.
The reference to "blue mangoes" brings to memory the kind of unique and undisputed leadership this fruit holds in India. Book 2 had a great chapter on how Daniel travels across India tasting the different mangoes grown across India to decide for himself if the Chevathar one was the best. He is fascinated by a Nawab's mango tasting festival, and hosts one at his own Chevathar that turns out to be a huge hit.
Overall, I found the book to be very well written. The story weaved itself perfectly around the lives of each member of the family (thanks again to the family tree!) to make the reader understand and appreciate why someone did what they did. I think that's more important than dwelling on what they did alone.
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