The Immigrant - Manju Kapur

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This is the first piece I've ready by Manju Kapur. It was definitely an interesting start.

The story opens with 2 different families - Nina's and Ananda's. Both are well into their 30's and unmarried. Through chance, they end up getting an arranged marriage. Ananda is a dentist who has emigrated to Canada and is constantly looking to remove anything from himself that reminds him he is Indian. Nina is a school teacher. After a lengthy, mail driven courtship they get married and Nina follows Ananda to Canada. The remainder of the novel follows Ananda and Nina as they adjust to each other, the new situation, and life.

I found this novel both familiar and interesting for a few reasons. The familiar: Nina's story is one I've read quite a few other times. A simple, traditional girl leaves her home to be with her husband. She is enamored with the idea of life in the West but has no idea what that means and she ends up lonely and unfulfilled sitting at home. It's tragic and tired, even if it's a common experience. It just made me incredibly sad. 

The interesting: The book addresses some interesting subjects. 1. Ananda suffers from premature ejaculation. This is spelled out and explored in a way that I have never seen in an Indian novel. The author went into male mindset on this too, which was very brave of her. He goes alone to see a therapist about it and over comes the problem, but from then on is obsessed with counting and timing to the point where their lovemaking becomes about his counting and not a connection. The couple is unable to have children. Again, the author delves into the typical mindset of masculinity and how it shouldn't be his problem. Both Ananda and Nina end have affairs that are fun but ultimately unfulfilling. The novel ends with Nina leaving Ananda. The spotlight on arranged marriage and the lack of intimacy that has resulted is very startling.  It's a great example of how you can't just throw 2 people together and expect them to be moving the same direction and truly invest in each other and intimacy. The author also addresses clinging to traditional mindset versus trying to distance as far as possible from that mindset. 

I found the characters relatable and the writing well done. It's not a sunshiny book, and I ended up thinking a lot about the subjects the author included. I felt all of them were good ones to get out in the open. 

Read it!

~Becky~

Firaq Gorakhpuri - The Poet of Pain and Ecstasy: Ajai Mansingh

Non-Fiction

Verdict: Maybe if you have an interest in poets or Urdu

I bought this books because 1: the cover is pretty, and 2: because I thought it was poetry and I'm trying to expand my understanding of poetry. It turned out not to be poetry per say, but a biography. 

The author is a relative of Firaq Gorkahpuri, and he makes it very clear from the beginning that he wishes to clear up misconceptions of the poet. Some of this he does, some of this he reinforces, so it's a little odd. 

Overall, the man behind the poetry struck me as a simple man. Fussy, flawed and normal as any other man. I was particularly unimpressed with his obsession with how he was fooled into marrying a sub-optimal woman in his words. 

It was interesting, as most biographies are, to watch the progress of someone's life and to understand how they ended up how they did. In spite of this not being a poetry book, there's quite a bit of poetry in this book to illustrate the poets mindset. I very, very much liked his poetry. I found myself spending way too much time translating in my head. I wasn't particularly impressed with the translations given, but that may just be a result of my not understanding Hindi/Urdu as well as I wish. 

The book was quite a bit longer than it needed to be, and often circled back to the same content.

Read it if you enjoy Urdu poetry or want to understand about Firaq Gorakhpuri.

~Becky~

The Village - Nikita Lalwani

Fiction

Verdict: Read it!

I haven't read anything by Nikita Lalwani before this, and I loved my introduction to her writing. The Village is about a film crew that comes from the UK (specifically from the BBC) to film a documentary for a series about an open door prison. All the convicts have murdered someone, but have the right to go out and work, so long as they return by evening. 

It's an interesting concept and Nikita Lalwani does a brilliant job of it. Her main character is a woman fighting for professional acceptance and respect, yet is the only one portrayed from the film crew with any humanity. They live in simple conditions with the prisoners. Even being Indian, she is never able to make a connection as people are suspicious of her. The main character makes connections with some of the people, only to have them spoiled later as the film crew manufactures or exploits situations in order to get more "feels" from the shoot. It is rather astonishing how far they can depersonalize the inmates to sell a film.

The main character leaves before the film is done as she can't live with the accusation that she never cared. The whole novel has a very surreal feeling. 

Read it.

~Becky~