Book Review: The Man Within My Head by Pico Iyer

Title: The Man Within My Head
Author: Pico Iyer
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, Penguin India
ISBN: 978-0-670-08627-6
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 242
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

We all have our literary heroes. Sometimes in the form of characters, which we have loved reading about and idolizing while reading or sometimes in the form of writers themselves, who bring stories and characters to life. For me, there are so many writers who have changed my life and the way I see things and the world around me and then there are those who stay on irrespective of time.

Pico Iyer’s new book, “The Man within my Head” is homage to Graham Greene, and at the same time, it is a travelogue, a memoir and a literary biography of sorts. It is everything rolled into one, taking pieces from Graham’s books and his life and that is what makes the book an interesting read.

The book opens during a visit to La Paz, Bolivia and the imagery that Iyer leaves you with is fascinating. A lot but of course has to do with the fact that he can describe a regular scene with great intensity, and make it appear magical to the reader. I picture Iyer on his journeys, sinking in what he sees, settling in his hotel room and writing for his readers, writing about Graham Greene – his writing style, his books and his life. He does all of this and at the same time, gives us a sense of his (Iyer’s) life, juxtaposing the two, which makes for great reading.

Graham Greene was always an outsider and that sentiment was forever depicted through his characters – from the whiskey priest in The Power and the Glory to the adulterous wife in The End of the Affair to The Quiet American, Iyer takes the reader through a Greene journey, and pushes readers to visit Graham Greene.

Now to Iyer’s writing style – at times it is broken, fragmented, but then I love that kind of writing. I like writing that makes you think, that has layers and that is not given on a platter to ease the reading. The man inside Iyer’s head is Greene for most of his life, and later does he realize that there is another man who he has never known and lives within him – his father. Through this book, Iyer then learns how fathers and sons function – the relationship they share, what are they made of and what it takes to bind them.

Iyer’s writing is crisp and almost there – it made me stop and wonder about life at various points and if a book manages to do that, then for sure it has done something to you. We all have a man within us – someone different, someone similar, and someone who sometimes we want to be. As Iyer, eloquently puts it, “A man within your head whispers his secrets and fears to you, and it can go right to your core”. A must-read.

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Book Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Title: Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Author: Katherine Boo
Publisher: Penguin Books India
Imprint: Hamish Hamilton
ISBN: 9780670086092
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 280
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4/5

When I first started reading, “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo, it didn’t strike me as a different book. I mean I had read the similar story in Suketu Mehta’s, “Maximum City” (Honestly I didn’t think much of it), though it was in brief. It was still more or less the same – Mumbai and its dichotomy (like every major cosmopolitan), its slums, its smells and sights and the hidden side to the city, which we ignore or pretend doesn’t exist most of the time. Then what made this book so different that I finished in almost a day?

The difference lies in the way Katherine Boo has written the book – from providing a perspective on the what, the why and the how to experiences that will sometimes warm the heart and sometimes break it, knowing that this is the condition of a city that never sleeps. Having said that, there were also gaps in the book – the way it jumped from one story to another and how that was written almost in a haste which at times provided some disconnect with the overall structure.

The book, “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” is essentially about “Annawadi” – a slum in Mumbai next to the International airport and close to the luxury hotels there (again another facet of the caste and class division). The Annawadians are full of hope as the Indian Economy rises without any realization that nothing is going to change for them. The parity will exist if not widen itself. The under-city and over-city are explicitly portrayed in the book and that makes the reader think: Is this my city? Or could this be any booming cosmopolitan in the nation? The story (I call it that because it reads like one at times) is essentially about these people and their lives – some more and some less.

Abdul, a teenager sees a future beyond counting the recyclable garbage that the city’s rich throw away. He is quick at sorting waste. He is almost there in fulfilling his family’s dreams of moving out of the slum. Asha, a woman of the world and witty at the same time, opts for a different way out of this misery: political corruption. She wants her daughter to become the first female graduate of the slum and will not stop to make that dream come true. And just when all seems to fall in place, there is global recession and Abdul is falsely accused of a terrorist attack and the dream-world they are hoping has crashed to pieces.

Boo’s writing is stark and in your face. There is no pretense and cannot be when one is writing life-stories. The people in the book may seem stereotypical but they aren’t. Each of them is as different as you and I and with their own story to tell, which Boo captures beautifully. There are times when she appears disjointed in the book and fragmented, however in the larger scheme of the plot and writing, the reader tends to easily overlook that.

“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” is a depiction of our times and where we live. It represents the societies we create and how we take advantage of those to fulfill our selfish ends. The book removes masks that we sometimes wear and compels readers to take a better look at their worlds and surroundings. A disturbing read at times, however quite stark and impactful in its essence.

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Book Review: Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru

Title: Gods without Men
Author: Hari Kunzru
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, Hari Kunzru
ISBN: 978-0-241-14531-9
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

Gods without Men is a big book with a big heart. It accommodates characters and also abandons them at will and for me that probably was the most striking thing about the book. A book about the human condition spanning from 1778 to 2009 and honestly, nothing much has changed. Lives intersect through the times in the Californian Desert and that is where the action takes place.

The characters in the book are central to the plot – I think each and every one of them. The action takes place when a four-year old autistic boy, Raj Matharu, disappears in the wilderness, while his parents are caught in the media frenzy. There are others whose fate and destiny are linked with the boy and his parents – a rock-star whose career and relationship has failed miserably, a former member of an extra-terrestrial worshipping cult, and a teenage Iraqi refugee who befriends an African-American Marine, while playing the role of an ‘Iraqi village’ at a military simulation exercise camp. Their lives converge and dissect in ways unimaginable in the desert, in a remote and secluded town, near a rock formation called The Pinnacles.

For me as in every other book I have read, the characters and the plot need to be in perfect synchronization to appreciate the writing and Hari Kunzru as usual achieves it with brilliance. The theme of humanity and sometimes its loss runs strongly throughout the book.

The book is multi-layered – spanning across centuries and that is what makes it a great read. Every character has a story to tell and as a reader you only want to know more –sometimes about your favourite character and sometimes about the not-so-favourite character.

The writing is powerful – so much so that at one point I had to keep the book down at certain points. The emotions are all there – raw, isolating at times, and they map the human heart and condition with such empathy and brilliance that your heart goes out to the characters. The reader has to keep a track of which character is where and what is happening throughout the book – in that case the book does keep you on your toes.

All in all, Gods without Men makes you look at the human condition more closely and what it really means to be human.

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Book Review: There But For The by Ali Smith

Title: There But For The
Author: Ali Smith
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Books
ISBN: 978-0241144541
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 364
Price: Rs. 550
Source: IBN Live
Rating: 4/5

I was initially intrigued by the plot: a friend of a friend brings a stranger to a dinner party. Halfway through, this stranger goes upstairs to the spare room, locks the door and won’t come out. No one knows why, and months pass with him still in there and no one any the wiser. It made me think a little of The Slap – an incident at a social gathering that then has reverberations in the lives of every person who was present.

There but for the isn’t quite like that though. It doesn’t follow any linear conventions. There were parts of the novel that were truly compelling, others fell very short because, to be honest, I couldn’t make a lot of sense of them. Having said that, it is no easy task to write such a book. It is brilliantly told – there were times I had to literally stop reading, just to make sense of the book and what was happening.

The characters are quirky and fully formed. One of the highlights of the book is where over about 40+ pages we are at the dinner party with all the guests on the evening everything happened.This could have been really dull because it’s full of random conversation pieces, bits of politics, buts of `world issues’, drunken embarrassing over sharing and accidental stereotyping. It’s entertaining, its maddening, its funny, its sad, most of all its insightful – especially in how much is said by what’s unsaid. I had a feeling of `uh-oh’ when it started but I utterly loved it. I don’t think I have read anything quite like it. It’s a piece of writing that some authors would have given their writing arm to, well, write. It’s intricate.

The novel works on many levels – it is a book of language, experience and thought. It makes you want to think from the outside-in perspective and that I found quite amusing when reading the book. “There But For The” is yet another novel by this amazing author. Smith writes the way i think. She writes about the inner voices in our heads and hearts. She forgets the boundaries of punctuation and grammar and spins out words that weave together in such a connected way that I’m always blown away.

Book Review: The Tao of Travel: Enlightenments from Lives on the Road: Edited by Paul Theroux

Title: The Tao of Travel: Edited by Paul Theroux
Author: Paul Theroux
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
ISBN: 978-0241145258
Genre: Non-Fiction, Travel,
PP: 256 pages
Price: Rs. 499
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

I have read many of Theroux’s previous travel books, have enjoyed all of them, and have learned something from each of them. Therefore it was with considerable anticipation that I read this book. I knew before I read it that it would be a compendium or compilation of travel musings from Theroux and others, and I was not sure whether I would enjoy it. I am happy to say that I enjoyed the book thoroughly and that it quite exceeded my expectations.

It is true that there is very little that is original in this book. So what? What is there is marvelous, and even though Theroux quotes from himself a good bit, it is also quite true that it is highly unlikely that I would ever have come across most of the reflections on travel by other authors that Theroux includes here. That alone makes this book a gem. For example, here is this pearl from Hans Christian Andersen, right on page 1: “Homesickness is a feeling that many know and suffer from; I on the other hand feel a pain less known, and its name is ‘Outsickness.’” Is there any true traveler with whom that quote won’t resonate? I am very much like Theroux in that, like him, I have felt a wanderlust, and urge to travel, at least from childhood or early adolescence, and it is exactly that wanderlust that Andersen is referring to when he mentions “Outsickness.” For me the urge to travel began when I read Richard Halliburton’s books as a teenager, and I was happy to see that Theroux mentions and quotes from Halliburton here. This is especially gratifying because, although Halliburton is remembered and revered by people of a certain age, he is almost forgotten today.

Theroux does not shrink from differentiating between travelers and tourists. I had to chuckle at one of Theroux’s own comments: “Choose your country, use guidebooks to identify the areas most frequented by foreigners–and then go in the opposite direction.” This is very similar to something I have always said to acquaintances that I consider serious travelers–if, when you tell people where you are going and their response is “what the hell do you want to go THERE for?”–then you know you’re going to the right place. Theroux also mentions other essentials of travel if it is truly going to be the learning experience or epiphany that you want it to be: travel alone, don’t overplan, and above all, leave your electronic equipment at home.

This book is unlike anything that Theroux has written before in that it seems to be a distillation of everything essential to be said about travel–hence, I suppose, the title. But it also caused me to wonder, given that Theroux recently turned seventy: is this Theroux’s swan song? Is this his goodbye to travel writing? Is this his way of saying “that’s all there is; there is no more?” Will we be seeing any more travel books from Paul Theroux? If that is indeed the case, then this book is a very worthy ending to an illustrious career. If you love travel, and if you haven’t done so already, I urge you to buy a copy posthaste.

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Book Review: The Good Muslim by Tahmima Anam

Title: The Good Muslim
Author: Tahmima Anam
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780670082896
Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
PP: 304 pages
Price: Rs. 499
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

It isn’t easy to write a sequel, specially when the first book was a resounding success. Of course comparisons will be made and sides will be taken. How can the author not expect that? The fact is that Tahmima Anam doesn’t have to worry about that as The Good Muslim is as brilliantly written as A Good Muslim. One can read The Good Muslim in isolation as well, you don’t have to read the first book, however since the premise is that of a trilogy, it is best recommended that you do.

We meet the children again and their mother. We meet them after years and the Bangladeshi War of Independence contines. Rehana has regained her two children after years and that is where the story begins – from Rehana’s subconcious and what she feels while Sohail and Maya move in and out. Maya is now a surgeon. Sohail is a fundamentalist – well almost. The book is about Sohail and Maya surviving the war and living with the consequences of their actions. There is a depth to it told in deftly controlled prose. It is once again beautifully written and yet more devastating because it is sparse. There is no over-writing here. Anam deals with the consequences of war: the killings, the rapes, the fate of war babies, the shame and the injustices.

Maya does not know how to react to Sohail’s religion persona. She cannot recognize him anymore. How Sohail changed from a carefree brilliant student to a troubled soldier, scarred by his experiences and unable to help the woman he rescues and with whom he has fallen in love. Rehana on the other hand is older and happy that her family is back together, however not in the way she had imagined. It is a tale of fractured and broken lives and how sometimes one doesn’t know where to pick up the pieces and start again.

Anam’s tale is vividly told and yet though the book and subject is a tough one, she doesn’t let the book get heavy. There were times when I thought that may be the book was getting preachy, but I was wrong, as the next sentence immediately shook me up and that defines brilliant writing in my opinion. The Good Muslim is even better than the first book. A must read.

Book Review: The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad

Title: The Wandering Falcon
Author: Jamil Ahmad
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
ISBN: 9780670085330
PP: 180 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Price: Rs. 399
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5/5

There are boundaries between countries and maybe the boundaries exist for a reason, or do they? This question haunted me long after reading the book. There are very few books like these that leave you with lingering thoughts. Thoughts that do not seem to stop. I am often disturbed when I read about territorial issues and added to that communal violence topped with “whose land is this”? kind of sentiment. And somehow you cannot be a judge of anything that is happening in places that you are not a part of. That you have witnessed or felt. We in all probability have no right to.

So back to the book. What is it about?

It is about a boy, known as Tor Baz, the black falcon, and to put it the way I read it, he is a wanderer. The story is set before the Taliban regime, in the forbidden areas where the borders of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan meet. Tor Baz wanders between tribes and meets different men and women. Men who have only battles and wars on their minds and women who are shunted away in the name of honour. And in these encounters, he tries to make sense of everything else in between.

The tribes and the tribal race are almost extinct now. I do not know if anyone ever mentions them as well these days – even in our own country, where they exist only probably as a heritage symbol. What I loved most about the book was of course the writing and that goes without saying, however the vast canvas on which it was written – the territories unexplored, you can almost feel the heat on your back as you read the book.

The Wandering Falcon is one of those books that take you by surprise. It isn’t about the age of the author; after all writing has no age limit, isn’t it? It is the simplicity of the storyline that will keep you glued to the book. He charts the lives of the tribals who live in inhospitable conditions and often misunderstood. Jamil Ahmad also lived with the tribes and their people to understand them better and that is what struck me the most while reading the book – as all the vividness and clarity in the writing made perfect sense.

The Wandering Falcon is a book that touches on various emotions – loyalty, camaraderie, family, clan togetherness, graciousness, forgiveness and the feeling of being in a tribe. Through Tor Baz, the reader sees and experiences it all – I would highly recommend this short and fine piece of fiction. It is definitely worth a read and a re-read.

The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist by Orhan Pamuk

I have always wondered while reading a novel, as to what goes on behind the scenes – the writer’s mind and his thoughts that provide the shape and form to the novel. How does he/she manage to produce such brilliant works time and time again, without any break or reluctance? How is the novel crafted? Is it art imitating life or vice-versa? And my answers were partially (I think) answered by Pamuk’s new non-fiction collection of Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, titled, “The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist”.

The title draws from the famous essay by Friedrich Schiller, “Uber naive and sentimentalische Dichtung”, conventionally translated as “On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry” – even though the principal connotation of “sentimentalisch” in German is different than “sentimental” in English. Schiller posited two types of poets and, following his example, Pamuk refers to two models of novelist and reader.

What the book really consists of are Pamuk’s meditations on the art of the novel, comprising “all the most important things I know and have learned about the novel.” Pamuk sets as his main goal “to explore the effects that novels have on their readers, how novelists work, and how novels are written.” Pamuk certainly is well qualified to speak on that subject (in addition to having won the Nobel, he teaches comparative literature and writing at Columbia). Further, his perspective is rather unusual, being a self-taught novelist from a Turkish culture with a fairly weak tradition of writing and reading books.

There is no coherent theory of the novel in the book. What it does have is the authors’ perspective on writing and reading and that is what makes the book so different and unique. It does not come with a reading list either. The chapter that stayed with me after I had finished reading the book was about The Center of the Novel and how as readers we read novels to search for that center. How as readers we feel that the novel is here to present us with “that something larger meaning” which may be the other art forms don’t live up to and I agree to a large extent with that. No one can take that away from readers or the novelist.

To sum up the book, I loved reading it. Pamuk presents his case engagingly and tautly, in a pleasant mix of autobiographical titbits, reading and writing experiences, and theory. It does not convince as presenting a ‘theory of the novel’, nor does it claim or attempt to. What it does instead is make the reader see things differently and apply them while reading a novel. It talks about how a reader and writer’s thoughts can and may be one day wil merge and the true center will then emerge.

Last Thought: I could not wait to read a novel after I was done with this book. Thank you, Mr. Pamuk.

Naive and the Sentimental Novelist, The; Pamuk, Orhan; Hamish Hamilton; Penguin India; Rs.450