Shut the Lights - Smita Bhattacharya

 Fiction

Verdict: Read It (3/5)

Overview:

Smita Bhattacharya is a new author for me. 

Set in Mumbai, this is a Covid Era mystery that unfolds like one of those plays that has only one set. A servant's child goes missing and it's puzzling how. The children are surly and secretive, the marriage is on the rocks, and COVID is adding a crazy pressure to everything.

What I Enjoyed:

The format was different. You're left guessing a million different ways it could have happened. The author does a good job of keeping you wondering until the very end.

What I Disliked:

Unfortunately, Covid sucked. Big time. I did not want to read a novel about Covid time - I remember it too well and the murder mystery didn't alleviate that. The culprit, and I won't give away who it is, was pretty obvious if you ask me. The response to the culprit was also pretty disappointing. 

Summary:

Murder mysteries aren't really my thing yet I seem to keep finding them in my book stack. I'm not sure anyone wants to revisit covid, even in the form of a good murder mystery. It was well written, but still not my cup of tea.

 

~Becky~

 

The Mountain Shadow - Gregory Roberts

Fiction

Verdict: Read It (4/5)

Overview: 

The Mountain Shadow was a surprise find at Bookworm. It's the second novel from Gregory Roberts, following the infamous Shantaram. I read Shantaram as well, so this would be the second novel. As Shantaram was influential in my decision to relocate to India, I definitely wanted to read the follow up.

Lin Baba makes his return appearance to continue bringing us through the life of crime, love, and friendship in Mumbai. 

What I Enjoyed:

Gregory Roberts is a good writer (or has an excellent editor!) and has interesting experiences to share. I think most of the fascination for me was a follow-up for the first novel and to see if his story resonated with mine. While the plot meandered quite a bit, the pacing was good. The characters are well-developed and entertaining. 

What I Disliked:

While I liked the epic romance story with Karla, it got a bit much at times. I also got the distinct impression that Lin Baba thought himself quite the Bollywood hero at times. Not a turn-off exactly, but it was amusing. This novel also had me questioning if anything new was coming to the table, or if the author was simply capitalizing on previous success. Nothing wrong with that of course if the story is good, but the plots were similar enough to make me wonder.

Summary:

If you enjoyed Shantharam, you'll enjoy this as well. It's not a short read, it took me a good amount of time. I personally liked Shantharam better, though it's been so long now I need to go back and read it again. If you've run to India for some reason you might resonate with this novel. Read it!

 

~Becky~

  

Mountain Tales - Saumya Roy

Non-Fiction based novel

Read it

I picked up this book thinking it was about actual mountains and the people who lived in them. I guess it's obvious I didn't read the blurb or even the front cover of the book well enough. Oh well. It was worthwhile anyhow.

There is much said about waste and disposal in India. With a population of around 1,403,643,260 (https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/india-population/), obviously there is much to say. With many very rich people and an ever skyrocketing middle income segment of society, trash is on many minds. 

This novel is based on a community that developed in response to a trash dump that developed and grew to epic proportions on the outskirts of Mumbai. India has a fantastic way of creating economies and opportunities wherever it can, and trash is no exception. They may not be a well off population, but there are people who make their living picking through trash for saleable, recyclable, or tradable items. The novel follows a few families who do this. As the story is woven, you start seeing the issues that arrise for populations that live on the edges of society in less than ideal physical and economic situations. Health problems, theft, gangs, and little hope for bigger things all plague the families in the story. 

As I've mentioned before, there are a few societal ills that India suffers from that are near impossible to eradicate. Poverty is one such of these ills. There are never enough NGO's, societal support, money, or opportunities to even think about touching poverty. As such, we end up with marginal communities like the ones in this novel. When we throw caste concerns in amongst this it becomes more gloomy.

I'll be honest, it wasn't an easy book to read. It's damn depressing to consider that people live this way and most likely, nothing will be done to help them. I think it's good for people to know this exists. It's definitely not something that comes to light regularly, even with the common discussion of waste.

Read it.

~Becky~

Girls of Mumbaistan - Piyush Jha

Fiction

Read it

I resisted this novel quite a few times (for no obvious reason that I can identify) when going to the bookshop, but then finally gave in. Piyush Jha takes you on a short, succinct tour of Mumbai and life for some average women. Really, they could be almost any woman.

The first novella is about a woman who gets taken in by a scam artist in order to try to save her husband's life. Jha does a fantastic job of unravelling the plot knot and the twist at the end was superb. I won't say much besides this so as not to spoil it, but I enjoyed this story immensely. The ending too, is extremely satisfying.

The second novella is a short vignette about a woman who works in a rich family's house as a housemaid. Gritty, realistic, and the unfortunate reality for many people, this story is short but powerful. Again, I won't say much more, but well worth the time.

The final story is about a transvestite police woman. Hijras are a part of society, but almost never accepted, included, or talked about. Jha turned this on it's ear. His character in this story is tough, inventive, and empathetic. Another flavor of suspense story, I very much liked this as well.

Overall, I don't think I've ready anything else besides Pyush Jha, if anything else is out there, but I would love to do so in the future.

Read it!

~Becky~

Bhendi Bazaar - Vish Dhamija

Fiction

Meh

I picked up this book because I saw the movie adaptation of Bhendi Bazaar. I think that with very few exceptions, novels are better than movies.  I'm not quite sure if that is the case here. 

Let me clarify a bit. The story is good. Dhamija was able to keep the pace and mask the resolution right until the end - which was brilliant. However, his use of English is awkward to the point of being humorous. Perhaps it's just a language/translation problem - but from other data points in how he writes, I suspect not.  I'm not trying to discourage people from reading his work, but a good editor would have helped him out a lot. 

Bhendi Bazaar is a murder mystery. A serial killer who mutilates men to be specific. The story follows the DCP on the case - a woman to Dhamija's credit - as she fights to match wits and catch the killer. This is unusual on a few fronts. I'm not going to do a spoiler here, because the end is brilliant, but you won't see it coming, I guarantee that. And I love when an author is able to drop just enough hints to keep you restless for a resolution, but not enough that he or she assumes the reader is dumb and does too much forshadowing, leading to an easy guess.

As Dhamija himself writes in the forward, his main character is a good one. She has personality, flaws, and people can relate to her.  I wouldn't mind reading more of Dhamija's work with this character. One point I didn't much care for - and this is a common trap that writers fall for in order for their work to be accessible - is over explaining. There were way too many asides about India, police, and Mumbai. I get it - those points were important, but it would have been better if Dhamija worked them into the story in other ways. I also was left unimpressed by the romance. Sure, profilers/psychologists are useful in a case like this, but I didn't really get into the connection and transition. I think he could have either developed this or left it out all together,

Read it if you are in the mood for a Mumbai serial killer mystery and can get around the awkward writing - the story is good.

~Becky~

Mumbai Fables - Gyan Prakash

 Non-Fiction

Read it

It's been quite some time since I read a non-fiction book. I picked this up from the library thinking it would be stories of or from Mumbai. I was a bit wrong on that count, but was quite satisfied with the book.

Mumbai, or Bombay as I still call it, is a fascinating city. It's history and cast of famous characters are no less fascinating. Gyan Prakash has done a lovely job of drawing us into the magic of Bombay. Architecure, movies, papers, characters, legends. It's quite the read. The city that never should have been - a series of islands and land reclaimed. 

I won't go too far into all of the historical timeline, but I will say that a general knowledge of India and Mumbai is helpful.  I was hoping that Gyan Prakash would get into some of the more recent developments in Mumbai, but as many historical books do, it doesn't get into anything all that recent. 

Read it!

~Becky~

Baumgartner's Bombay - Anita Desai

Fiction
Verdict: Read it

Anita Desai is a favourite of mine, so when Justbooks offered me a selection of her books because they aren't shipping what I want, I picked one I hadn't read yet. 

I have to tell you internet, the forward was intimidating. Pulling together Germany, WW2, an internment camp, and India and it's a mess of confusion. Definitely an angle I've never even remotely thought of. It took me a while to get into, partly because of the reason I just said, and partly because Desai's main character is, so.....bland. He's not wildly loveable, hateable, or even notable. But he's had one hell of a life. 

However I did get into it. And had a hard time putting it down. Desai gets into being a long term foreigner who tries to fit in, mixed families, people without a solid direction in life, and what it means when you no longer belong somewhere you thought was home. Right up my alley if I do say so myself.

Underneath it all, Baumgartner is a good man. It unfortunately costs him in the end, but he's a harmless character. He has a spate of run ins with decent people also, making his life nothing fancy, but comfortable and not traumatic.  I guess what's so striking about him is how ordinary and uninteresting him. He's truly the ordinary man. If you didn't know his history and his life, you'd just assume he was a plain doughnut.

Not that I'm an expert or anything like that, but there are very few things that take me by surprise about India anymore. The internment camp, however, really threw me sideways. It was such a logical but surprising occurrence.  No one ever talks about India in relation to WW2 so I assumed it was a typical isolationist country, totally neglecting that Britain's rule in India would have had consequences for Germans, Jewish or not. I definitely will read up on this more.

It's rare to find an Indian author who incorporates anything but mildly British references, and Anita Desai does a masterful job of it. I truly believe she understands the cultural references she includes. It's an amazing thing to watch.

My only complaint is the German poetry - in German - that persists through the book. As a non-German speaker, I wish I could have understood these snipets. Languages leave clues that help us understand context and I definitely felt it when I couldn't appreciate those as well.

Do read it for a different perspective on Indian literature.

~Becky~ 

Mumbai Avengers - S Hussain Zaidi, Gabriel Khan

Non-Fiction with creative liberty
Verdict: Read it

This was a recommendation from a friend. I wasn't sure before I started it, but since I usually listen to him, I decided to give it a try. It was worth it.

India was reeling from the bombs that exploded in Mumbai. This is the story of the team that went after them. It's a police story that hits very close to home as it revolves around a tragic event. 

Touching on communalism, terrorism, and police mentality, this book is undoubtedly, as it must be, a pro-police viewpoint. One does end up cheering for Ret. General Waris as he is so dogged and passionate about his objective.

A good read for patriotic Indians who like a little masala. Or boys who like police stories. Either way.

Becky

The Lost Flamingos of Bombay - Siddarth Sangvhi

Fiction
Verdict: Read it.

It's rare enough that you find an Indian author that is open about infidelity. One that addresses face on a Mrs. Robinson situation is truly something unique. For those that aren't familiar with The Graduate movie, Mrs. Robinson reference refers to an older woman preying on a younger man, just out of school. 

True to many Indian authors, this book has a pathos that just hangs on you for the whole book. The ending, also true to form, isn't rosy nor what you would hope would happen. It leaves you wanting a bath to be perfectly honest. That being said, read it. 

I have a romantic attachment to Bombay for numerous reasons. This book is one of them. As I mentioned, it's an interesting look into Indian attitudes about forbidden romance of a very unique and specific variety. 

There are a lot of people that think Siddarth Sangvhi went overboard with his prose. There's some truth to this, but if you're able to look past it and some of the other stereotypes, it's well worth the read.

Becky