Nine Rupees an Hour: Aparna Karthikeyan

 Non Fiction

Verdict: Meh

I don't think I meant to pick up this type of book when I bought this, but such is trying your luck in the book store. I've never heard of the author before this book.

Aparna Karthikeyan brings us through a few traditional livelihoods in her home state of Tamil Nadu in the South of India. I won't mention all of them just for time sake. The book does a wild dance of how traditional and handicraft livelihoods are dying out and cannot support the person who would wish to do these, and how it's a damn shame. 

As I was reading this, I was a bit confused. The author does a fine job of outlining and setting a solid case for her premise - traditional and handicraft livelihoods do not support people. There are weak arguments about technology, people moving to the city, and rising costs. After she has made her case though, you almost can agree comfortably, that yes, it doesn't make sense to go into such jobs. Unfortunately, culture and nostalgia play very little part in what can sustain a person and their family. India in general is susceptible to this romantical, nostalgic mindset about moving back into a simpler time, living with less money, and valuing culture over making money. While one can identify with the yearning, it's a deeply impractical wish. 

One livelihood, which actually is needed and is a whole other white whale to chase, is farming. Unlike the impracticality of the other professions, farming is a very required profession. Unfortunately the deep society and structural challenges aren't likely to resolve soon, if ever. This was the only part of the book that didn't have me looking for patience. 

It's a typical poverty is bad book mixed with nostalgia about professions that are no longer valued. These types of books are a bit sad to read, but mostly because there's a sense of helplessness because of the inherent impracticality that has arisen from such persuits. I can't buy a new veena (I don't even play the veena!) every year to support small artisans even if I think it's an amazing skill to have. 

Read this for perspective. People from the West have a hard time understanding being tied or obligated into a family profession that no longer can support a person's family or is so difficult it takes a physical toll on health. 

~Becky~

Delhi Noir - Omair Ahmad et Al

Fiction

Short Stories

As I mentioned, I have been very into short stories as of late. I have to be honest, the introduction to this collection sold me before I even started on the stories. The stories did not disappoint either. 

These stories feature the grittiness of life in Delhi. After visiting a few times, Delhi is not a place I'd ever want to visit again, for many of the reasons that come to the forefront of these stories. They are not happy ones, nor ones that give you any hope for humanity. Yet people move along with their lives because that's just how Delhi is. 

The authors and stories chosen gel very well together and do an excellent job of portraying the city in a realistic way that is often missing from the sanitized, glamorous life that the rich and famous live. 

A pale view of hills - Kazuo Ishiguro

Fiction
Verdict: Read it?

This book confused the hell out of me. A japanese woman living in England with a daughter are reminiscing about her other daughter, who had committed suicide. We then jump back to an earlier time when they lived in Japan. The main character was expecting and has a series of encounters with a decidedly weird neighbor and her unsupervised child.

I kept waiting for something to happen to the irresponsible parent and child, but other than trying to marry someone and move away....nothing much happens with them. I also did not get the opening chapter nor what that had to do with the rest of the book.

Read it and maybe it will make sense to you.

Dollar Bahu - Sudha Murty

Fiction
Verdict: Read it

One of Sudha Murty's earlier works, but still well worth the read. He writing is still a bit raw, but it works with the characters she's created. She spins the perfect divided house dynamic. A greedy grasping mother who wants her son to earn in dollars, she picks out the perfect wife for him and sends them to the US. Her other son marries a simple girl with no connections or money. Life doesn't work out as the mother hoped. While she has every material thing she could want, her well off son and daughter in law are distant from her. Never given any respect from her, her other son and daughter in law also find it difficult to be kind to her. 

The entire book is a brilliant skewer of families who think that having someone earning in dollars is the ultimate show off.

Read it.

Becky

The Better Man - Anita Nair

Fiction
Verdict: Read it

Anita Nair is a recent find for me, and one I am thrilled to have come across.

Nair's book is about a man who moves to a village and gets into an odd friendship with a painter. Stuck in his traditional house with difficult family, the protagonist questions his life and what direction it will take.

After the local politician decides to rob the painter of his land, readers get a glimpse into how difficult village life can be. Politics, jealousy, exclusion, land grabbing - it makes one never want to live in a village. There is none of the usual romanticism about villages.

The book is very raw in a good sense, there's no frills or pretensions.

Read it.

Becky

Tales from Ferosha Bhaag - Rohinton Mistry

Fiction
Verdict: Read it

All the previously discussed good things about Rohinton Mistry writing, but with a community focus rather than a single family. This is a compilation of short stories within a community that obviously features some of the same characters.

The beautiful thing about this book was how seamlessly Mistry leads you from one family to the next, one home to the next.

Definitely worth the read.

Becky

Family Matters - Rohinton Mistry

Fiction
Verdict: Read it

Rohinton Mistry is one of my favorites and he didn't disappoint in this book.

Set in a Parsi family, the plot winds around an aging Grandfather who injures himself and requires intensive care. The family dynamics, property disputes, and ducking of responsibilities are something that everyone can relate to. I really ended up feeling bad for the old man as well as the family that actually loved him because long term care is hard on the body and the wallet. 

Another thing I love about Mistry's writing is how well he blends information about Parsis into his writing. I learned about rites and rituals, family culture, and even language to some degree through reading this story. 

While it's rather lengthy, and to be honest a bit slow at certain points, it's well worth the time and effort.

Read it!
Becky

Indian Love Stories - Sudhir Kakar

Non-Fiction
Verdict: Read it

Another anthology about love stories, another book that was vastly different from what I expected.

Love in all it's manifestations, it's not always about roses and smiles, and warm fuzzies. Sometimes it's hard, or gross, or not what was expected. Another glimpse into a culture's version of love.

Not long or difficult. Take the time and read it.

Becky

Adultery - Farrukh Dandey

Non-Fiction
Verdict: Read it

Another book that turned out to be vastly different than I had expected. This is very surprisingly not about smut, or adultery, although there is a fair bit of that. What this book is about is relationships.

A collection of short stories, most of them do not turn out quite as you would have expected. I found this a bit disappointing, but it made reading it much more interesting.

Not a long or difficult read - take the time.

Becky

Afghan Rumor Bazar - Arbabzada

Non-Fiction
Verdict - OK

We've heard  a lot about the negative, violent aspects of Afghani culture, the war, and the taliban. The author of this book attempts to unravel the social quirks of Afghanis without resorting to any of the above. She strives to keep it as normal as any other society. Now mind you, not everything she says is flattering, but she largely avoids the mindless "Afghanistan is evil" idea Americans have been spoon fed. As the title suggests, the author insists that Afghanis like rumors.

It's not a difficult or long read, and if you're a culture junky like me, it's definitely worth the time.

Becky