On a Wing and a Prayer - Arun Sarma

Fiction

Verdict: Read it

This is the first novel I've read by Arun Sarma. It kept coming up on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a go. I enjoyed the cover art.

The novel is set in Assam as India moved towards Independence. The north east, especially the rural parts, have their own flavour of life and writing. It turns into a generational story, which I enjoy greatly. 

It took me a while to get into the storyline. The author writes simply, matter-of-factly, and doesn't linger on unnecessary details. The book does get into some communal commentary closer to the end, but it doesn't leave you with any verdict on it. 

Honestly, while the story was well written, it didn't catch my emotions like many other partition books have. It feels intentionally set back from the realities a bit, perhaps due to the rural setting. There are better books on this subject.

~Becky~

Blood Brothers - MJ Akbar

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Brief Note: Ironically, I read this before and didn't even realize it until I was making my entry into my list of books read and checking if I read anything from MJ Akbar before. This is what happens when you read too much. I'm going to review it anyway because I don't think I did before.

Blood Brothers is yet another novel that I picked up from Bookworm. I'm not sure what made me pick it up. This is the first book I've read by MJ Akbar

The time just prior to and during partition is well-tread ground for good reason. This book is a multigenerational novel about a family that has moved to Bengal outside one of the famous Jute Mills and how the events unfolded around them during and after partition. They are decently well off thanks to a smart grandfather. The family has influence in the community and helps to avert the community tensions that plagued many other places in Calcutta during partition. 

What I Enjoyed:

The novel is well-written and easy to understand. MJ Akbar does a masterful job of splitting his attention between character development and historical events. While a little out of the ordinary, Akbar managed to find a balance between hope and being believable in terms of avoiding community bloodshed. 

What I Disliked:

I would have liked a little more detail on the family relationships. While the importance of the historical events is undeniable, the effects on families and their relationships can't be ignored either. I felt the father's character development could have gone into more depth. There were a few slightly slow sections.

Summary:

It took me quite some time to finish this novel for the 2nd time. There are very few novels I will voluntarily read twice. I would not read this a third time. That being said, this is a suitable contender for a reader who is not familiar with Calcutta and partition. Read it!

 

~Becky~

  

The Anatomy of Hate - Revati Laul

NonFiction

Read it

Revati Laul takes us through the riots in Gujarat in the form of shoft stories about people who were involved. It's less about the events and more about the sentiment and mentality behind them. To be sure, the Gujarat riots were a horrific occurence and one that left a big scar. The author's ability to make it personal for some of those involved can help to explain why mentalities and actions occured as they did.

Reading this made me deeply angry at how easy it is to manipulate simple people and how India was manipulated and fooled into the communal violence routine it readily embraces to this day. It's unnecesary and a shame. Like anywhere with uneducatied masses, creating enmity and communal identities results in mindsets that are difficult to change. As someone who grew up in the United states, watching the changes in socially accepted behaviors and mindsets from a mainly uneducated mass of people is hard to swallow. It's hard to swallow knowing that news media and politicians engineered this mindset - the same as India. 

The stories in this book aren't shocking or outrageous, they're just about ordinary people driven by their upbringing and mindset. They're not necessarily bad people, but they did bad things. It makes one wonder what we ourselves would do in such a situation  or even our neighbors should they be different from us. It's anathema - individualist thoughts in such a deeply community minded country. This is a definite read - it personalizes and gives accountability for the tragedy that happened.

Read it.

~Becky~

The Assassin's Song - M.G. Vassanji

Fiction

Verdict: Read it!

M.G. Vassanji is also a new author for me. This novel, internets, is why I pick up books by new authors. Once in a while you find something amazing.

It took me a little while to get into this book. It opens up and shares it's secrets slowly. But the further in you get, the more you must think - especially if you have ever had family expectations or religious doubts. 

Karsan, the protagonist, grows up in a small Gujarati village. His father is a revered holy figure from a small sufi shrine. Karsan is expected to fill his shoes one day and grows up with this expectation on his shoulders. As happens with many children, Karsan grows up and begins to resent the expectations on him. He overcomes his family's reluctance and goes away to the US to study. Granted, it happens through pure chance and good luck, but sometimes small incidents like this can massively change a life trajectory. 

As his mind opens and he is exposed to many different experiences and knowledge than his village, Karsan decides that he is going to turn his back on filling his father's shoes. As expected, this brings about a rather large rift in the family. Karsan never sees either of his parents alive again, and his relationship with his brother, who becomes a Muslim and is chased by the police for circumstances that are never verified. Karsan is able to shuck off the expectations of family and community, but sometimes decisions come with unseen and unavoidable consequences. 

Woven in with this story, is the story of the pir in which their dargah is built for. Stories, lore, and myth surround the pir and follow Karsan through his life and bring him comfort even after he has decided that he won't follow his father's path. Such is the case for many who turn their back on religion and tradition. Many still find comfort from the songs, lore, and community.

So many themes, so much thinking. Definitely a must read.

~Becky~

Mrs. Ali's Road to Happiness - Farahad Zama

Fiction
Verdict: Good time pass

With the enforced lockdown of Bangalore, I find myself with much more time to read these days. As Justbooks showed up unexpectedly at my doorstep the day before the lockdown began, I found myself with 2 new books to read. Not that I wouldn't have had plenty anyhow next to my bed, ha!

Anyhow, I started on Farahad Zama's novel. Set in Vizag, one of my favorite cities, the novel takes us through some hot button topics. The novel centers around an older couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ali. They are average, ordinary, middle class and middle road Indian Muslims. No surprise, the novel is about that segment of society here. The author is obviously writing for an international audience, as many of the community specific words uses are immediately explained after. This is both helpful and a bit irritating.  I also kept waiting for the Telugu influence to creep into this book as they are all Telugus, but this never made an appearance.

The author had me thinking about adoption in India as well as community sentiments. I had not thought on this before and it was an interesting window into the difficulties some people face with adoption, and how strongly others feel they have a right to enforce their culture and beliefs on others.  Even the police are not interested in legal papers when an election is coming and someone has used their influence to get into someone's business. 

The adopted boys mother was not able to change her circumstances in the end other than moving to Mumbai (where people would hopefully mind their own concerns), but she still was refreshingly outspoken and did not allow herself to be walked over or controlled. The gathering of family behind her in support also was a very heartening thing to read. 

The novel ended up with everything ending well and neatly wrapped up, leaving me with a very unsettled feeling as this is not something Indian authors do often, nor was it particularly realistic in the context of the issues of this novel. 

There's nothing earth shattering in this book, but it does make one think on certain issues and how they could possibly affect us one day. It attempts to make Islam and Muslims accessible to those who aren't familiar, and does it in a lovely non-preaching or moralizing manner. All in all, a good way to pass an afternoon.

~Becky~