Book Review: The Eighth Guest and Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries by Madhulika Liddle

Title: The Eighth Guest and Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries
Author: Madhulika Liddle
Publisher: Hachette India
ISBN: 978-93-5009-275-0
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Pages: 286
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

Imagine this: 1656 Delhi. Muzaffar Jang – an aristocrat with friends in low places. He has just finished solving a case that involved two Englishmen and the Imperial Exchequer. All he wants to do is take it easy and here come more cases waiting for him to be solved. Muzaffar Jang also happens to be a detective – a part-time one but a detective nonetheless.

The series of mysteries in this collection are something else – from the elephant that killed his mahout to the murder of an artist, these ten stories will have you wanting more. I am always biased to good mystery stories and when they came with an appropriate historical background, it makes it even better.

Madhulika Liddle’s writing has definitely come of age from her first book. The writing is crisp and taut, just the way a good mystery tale should be told. At the same time, the essence of the book is not lost. Delhi in 1656 must have been very difficult to conjure for any writer. Historical fiction is probably easier to write when supported by some facts as a map. In the absence of such a map, it becomes a task to invent characters and fit them in situations and yet exhilarating from the author’s point of view.

There were times I wondered and wanted the book to be a novel, only because I wanted to see where it would go and what turn it would take, more so for the last story, “The Woman who Vanished” as it is my personal favourite from the collection. The Eighth Guest and Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries still stands as a testimony that Indian writers can write a good mystery. Madhulika Liddle is a writer to watch out for. Read this book and her earlier book, “The Englishman’s Cameo” as well.

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Book Review: You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik

Title: You Deserve Nothing
Author: Alexander Maksik
Publisher: Europa Editions
ISBN: 978-1609450489
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 336
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 4/5

You Deserve Nothing by Alexander Maksik is based on a true story and I just came to know of it while I was writing the review. It then may be changes the entire tone of the book for me (but obviously) and goes on to becoming more than just a read which I enjoyed to some extent. However, when the reader knows of the story having its roots in what happened for real then the entire perception changes. Especially in a story like this one – of an affair – between a teacher and his student.

Alexander Maksik worked as a teacher for the senior English class at the American School of Paris for five years before he was expelled for having an affair with one of the students. The book opens with three perspectives – of one teacher and two students, who have now aged and reflect on the year of their school life that changed everything. Will (the teacher) is now thirty-eight and his students, Gilad and Marie are twenty-four and twenty-five respectively. The book deals with not only the affair, but also the meaning of life. What does it take to life? What does literature mean to people? What can be made of literature and relate it to life?

The story starts when Gilad and Marie are students at an International School in Paris, the IFS (the name was changed). They are from privileged backgrounds – living life in the fast lane (some of the students) and Will Silver is a popular tenth grade English teacher. Marie is not Will’s student and cannot help but flirt with him and be enamored by his existence. Gilad on the other hand is his student of existential literature and wants to impress him at any cost. Both Marie and Gilad are in love with Will or may be the idea of what Will represents – confidence, charm, intelligence and the drive to live than just survive. Will then has an affair with Marie and things start spiraling down to another level. That is what the book chronicles – literature, life, art and an affair.

The writing is told from three perspectives, so the tone changes with every character. The setting does as well, most of the time. What I liked about the writing was that it did not take sides, considering it would have been easier to do so. What I didn’t like was the fact that there should have been more detailing to characters. For instance, something more about Marie’s background than just cardboard cut outs for parents. At the same time, the biggest plus of reading this book was the fact that literature was so seamlessly merged into it. Will’s passion for teaching and literature were made evident and also were metaphorical to some extent – choices such as “The Stranger” by Camus and “As I Lay Dying” by Faulkner convey Will’s state of mind in an effective manner. At some point though, while writing this review I am compelled to think of the girl (Marie) and what came of her after the affair and the expulsion of the author. However that may be is not for me to decide or draw an assumption on. Gilad’s voice on the other hand is real and honest and about coming to terms with how he feels for his teacher.

I would recommend this book to readers who love a little literature in their books and who want to know something more beyond what lies on the surface. You Deserve Nothing may be a true story, but I like how it has transformed itself on paper as a work of fiction.

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