Maps for Lost Lovers - Nadeem Aslam

Fiction

Read it

I wandered past this book in Just Books, unable to stop myself from trying out such an interestingly titled book. I'm glad I did. I've had extensive exposure to Indian authors - much to my delight - but not many (if any at all) Pakistani ones. It was definitely a textured difference to explore.

The novel centers around a Muslim Pakistani family that has settled into life in a "South Asianized" section of an English town. The two main characters are a middle aged man and wife. They have 3 children who are grown and visit far too occasionally.

The main character's brother has moved in with a divorced Pakistani woman, much to the community's dismay. The two are murdered and the book dances around who has done it until the very end. Indeed it's almost like a mystery where the strings come together at the end, but not really. In fact, while the whole novel dances around the murder, the novel itself really has very less to do with the murder (or finding the culprit) rather than focusing in excruciating depth about the cultural factors and attitudes that lead to the events themselves. The small attitudes, justifications, and rationalizations prevalent in that community that persist even though the community itself is far from the land that spawned such thoughts in the first place.

I found it very curious that the author chose to portray the wife as the move vehement believer than the husband. Indeed, he strikes one as a milquetoast character who just wants to get through his life comfortably and his morality is flexible as to what suits him. The wife is not concerned with anything but what is proper. The children, as can be expected, have vastly different outlooks and standards than their parents. 

Another interesting thing I noticed in this novel is the persistent mentions of plants, flowers, and insects. It made me wonder if it was a leftover from Urdu poetry references. 

The plot line definitely wanders and there aren't any huge surprises in this novel. Weirdly, I didn't find myself minding too much. While I try to be open to different cultures and ideas, I have to admit that this book made it difficult for me to remain indifferent to some of the cultural aspects of both Islam and Pakistan that I object to. But I did appreciate the honest look - and it was quite honest I feel. I could identify with the displaced population, desperately clinging to tradition and identity, and always feeling outside and persecuted. Overall, it has whetted my appetite to explore further into Pakistani literature. 

It's not an easy read, especially if you truly think about the attitudes behind the scenes and accept that this is their tradition. But it IS different than the standard Indian fare. It will seem shocking for those who don't understand the cultural underpinnings that have created these attitudes, but life is good when you learn about others.

Read it!

~Becky~

Two Lives - Vikram Seth

 Non Fiction

Verdict: Read it

I picked up this book because I had fought my way all through A Suitable Boy (happily I might add, but it's a huge book) and An Equal Music and wanted to read more from him. I wasn't quite prepared for a non-fiction biography type of (also long!) adventure, but that is what I ended up with.

Seth takes people into the lives of his Uncle and Aunt, whom he spent time with as a young man. Both people had extraordinary lives and Seth does an excellent job examining them, both from an independent perspective as well as a family one. After reading A Suitable Boy, Two Lives was illuminating about Seth as an author, and the family that spawned the ideas for A Suitable Boy. 

I enjoy family sagas in general, and there were old photos - also + points for me. Seth wanders into so many topics that it's quite the mindful to consider. It's quite something how people's lives twist and turn and wander in the most random of directions. Seth's uncle went to dental school in Germany. He happened to be living with his future wife's family as a boarder right before WW2. He leaves and goes to England to begin his career. He has his own stint in the military which results in him losing a part of one arm. His wife, a Jewish German is given the opportunity to leave Germany when things start to get difficult for Jewish people. She takes it and survives, unlike most of her family. The two wander into mid life, and eventually settle into a companionable marriage that doesn't produce any children. 

Seth does a brilliant job of exploring many different themes through the book. Not the least of which is how WW2, views of Jewish people in Germany at the time, and how it affected his aunt's entire life. He also gets into how we may not know people we love when they are alive, and only get a small window is we happen to run into letters or memories from others into other sides of people after they pass. He explores cultural ideas of families, an interracial marriage at a time when it was not common.

Vikram Seth's life paralleled his Uncle's in many strange and wonderful ways. It's quite interesting to watch this as it unfolds. One cannot avoid the thoughts that patterns within families determine many things.  

The most interesting thing for me, was the author's dismay at the end of the book over how his uncle had changed into someone he didn't know due to age and mental decline. How someone walked into their lives and took the property from under their noses. The property itself was less hurful than comments that were made about life long loving relationships - both due to age related confusion and unmet expectations. I found this fascinating because it's not a subject often discussed in such brutal honesty. We don't like to think that others may change because they are old and uncomfortable, or slightly confused. We don't like to talk about that people respond bitterly when they feel their expectations aren't met. 

As I mentioned, Seth is a prolific writer and his books are not short. But they are well worth the investement. Read it.

~Becky~

The Enigma of Arrival - V.S. Naipaul

Fiction
Verdict: God speed young man

There are very few books that I read that I do not finish. I will stubbornly persist until my eyes bleed on occasion because there may be some redeeming value to a book at some point. That's not what we're going to discuss today. I just couldn't.

This isn't my first run in with V.S. Naipaul, and due to all the hullabaloo about how brilliant he is, I thought that I might give him another go as an author. I just couldn't find my stride or anything interesting about the first third of this book. 

Naipaul wanders around and around in the English countryside without a purpose. Unfortunately, I don't find the English Countryside all that fascinating. It gets slightly more interesting when he starts on his journey, but not much. 

Maybe there is a grand point to this novel, and perhaps it does pick up half way through. I will leave that to the heartier souls who are brave enough to get that far without fear that the novel will be one big long description of what's going on around the narrator. I'll have to sit this one out.

Let's see if I have the fortitude to pursue Naipaul in the future.


~Becky~