If I Have to be a Soldier: Nikhil Alva

Fiction

Verdict: Read it!

This is the first book I have read by Nikhil Alva. I can't remember if I found this at the bookstore or in the paper. 

Nikhil Alva takes us through a war-torn North East India. The protagonist is a preacher's son on a mission from the army to interrogate the main rebel - a childhood friend. It's one of those books where it starts with clear good and bad guys but ends up a muddy mess by the end. Much like real life. Good guys have bad parts, bad guys have good parts. 

The book takes us through the hunt for the rebel and then the inevitable situation where they are stuck together and have to work together to reach civilization. During the trek, they discover some things weren't understood correctly in the past, the other guy isn't evil, etc. Yes, it's a bit tropy. But the pacing is good and the story line is solid. Aside from the obvious, in-your-face bit about everyone just being people, there are some interesting things to observe. 

I happen to love books that don't portray the army as a perfect or morally superior entity. It's not and should not be portrayed as such, even if the author is nationalistic. In a place as messy as the NorthEast of India, it was refreshing to see simple themes of humanity shine through. 

I won't say the book was perfect. As I said, tropy and a little preachy at times, but as far as army and war books go, not a bad choice. 

Read it!

~Becky~

The Wasted Vigil - Nadeem Aslam

Fiction

Read it

This is my second book by Nadeem Aslam. I was prepared for another Pakistani in England story, but that is not what I got. What I found was even better than the first novel. 

Aslam takes us through a tragic story of a mixed family - a White Father, Afghani mother, and child - and how their lives have been linked to a Russian woman who came looking for her long lost brother. Afghanistan's history and war with Russia color the novel in the darkest of shades - you just know there are no happy endings here. And indeed you find out at the end that's true. 

The novel is fascinating, and very well done in terms of the author's understanding of Afghan culture and the reality of culture and how things are done in Afghanistan. He knows just how much hope and despair to balance to keep you moving on, desperate to prove yourself wrong that it's just that bad. But it is. 

I personally have not had much exposure to the effect that the Russians had on Afghanistan and vice versa, so that was interesting to learn about.  I most definitely look forward to reading more from Nadeem Aslam. 

It's not an easy read in terms of social niceties, but it is well worth it. 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~ 

Cuckhold - Kiran Nagarkar

Fiction
Verdict: Read it


To be perfectly honest, with a name like Cuckhold I was expecting something much.....smuttier than I discovered. I am so glad I did, not that I don't like smut - I do - but because this was so much richer and deeper and more satisfying to wade through.

A long novel, Cuckhold is a historical fiction. In a land of arranged marriage and an almost comical obsession with finding love in spite of arranged marriages, Cuckhold addresses when married couples don't necessarily gel well. Not in a violent, argumentative fashion, but simply because priorities are different. In this case, royalty and a devotion to god get in the way of developing a relationship that is meaningful and satisfying for both of the partners. As in most cases, there is no option of divorce and obligation reigns supreme, creating a huge sense of resentment as well as desperate need to connect with the other person. 

Not at all a sentimental or romantic work, Nagarkar fills the novel with feudal mindsets and war of kings of old. This doesn't detract at all, and helps avoid the usual cliches of romantic novels. The battles, schemes, and royal angles to the book are well done and a very much appreciated break from the futility of pining for someone that is so in love with God.

Do read it.

Becky