#Book Review: Illicit by Dibyendu Palit

Translated by Arunava Sinha

I have always enjoyed reading translations by Arunava Sinha and this was one of the reason for me to pick up this book. But, it was an utter disappointment.

Dibyendu Palit's Illicit, translated to English by Arunava Sinha, was originally published in 1989 as Aboidho. 

The plot spans just three days and is a slice of the protagonists' illicit life. Jeena, an attractive young housewife is bored of her 'wooden relationship' with much older husband, Ashim. Partha, her neighbour, is married, a father of two, and equally bored in his marital life. We are introduced to them in the high point of their illicit relationship when the two are planning a secret sojourn to Puri. Quelling her self-doubts and pangs of guilt, Jeena takes the bold step to be with Partha.

In the next three days that Jeena spends with Partha, she discovers that all is not as it seems. Partha's lust takes an aggressive turn and Jeena feels violated. Beguiled by shame, self pity and doubt, she decides to head back home and put to an end everything illicit. Undergoing the intense emotional crisis and coming to the end of the story, the readers will expect an unconventional end, but somewhere the thread gets lost. You land up reading another clichéd love story, tormented and torn apart between the pangs of infidelity and clashes of conscience.

Throughout there are detailed account of Jeena’s emotional crisis yet other characters remain vague. The plot is very wobbly and predictive. I slowly lost interest. The book jacket refers to Partha as Mukherjee while he is Majumdar throughout the story. In Pg106, second last para Jenna is referred to as Gina.  

This would definitely not be in my list of good reads.

Genre : Fiction

Publisher – Penguin

#Book Review: Days of Longing by Nirmal Verma Translated by Krishna Baldev Vaid

The beauty of my country is its colourful culture and diverse language which makes it so rich yet so different. I have always regretted not knowing to read all our languages and hence indulge in reading a lot of translations. This pick was one of them and I am glad I made a wise choice.

This book is timeless and quintessential. You can finish it in one sitting and would not even realise, that you have completed a novel. The translation is brilliant and very lyrical. The wonderful facet of this book is its multiple layers of emotions, which adds to its lushness.

This is a book by Padma Bhushan recipient Nirmal Verma, translated by Krishna Baldev Vaid about an Indian student who lives in Prague for over two years and is spending the Christmas holidays in the city, instead of returning home, with a few friends who are still around. A Burmese student Than Thun (TT), a restless German cinematography student Franz and his girlfriend Maria are his points of salvation in this frigid city. Much of their time is spent visiting pubs, lolling about in their gloomy hostel and spending the whole day drinking vodka or beer according to their capability to spend; not just for the sake of getting drunk but to keep themselves warm.

Life takes a turn for this unnamed India student, when he is assigned an interpreter’s job for an Austrian lady named Raina who comes for a holiday in Prague. The professional meeting explodes into an intense, passionate relationship. Prague in winter with its beautiful and moody setting makes this love-affair more viral.

This could be an essentially sad story disguised as something brighter; or the converse, a breezy, slice –of-life tale narrating a tragic love story. The complicated and inevitably short-lived romance is poignant and deeply moving.

This is one of the most moving novels I have read in a while and among the most unusual.

Genre : Fiction

Publisher – Penguin Modern Classics

#Book Review: Tales of Fosterganj by Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond can never let you down. He tops my chart as my most favourite writer. Tales of Fosterganj is his latest bestseller. Set in a fictional hamlet near Mussoorie, this book reads like you are in a holiday in a bizarre place yet very happy. Bond has once again shown his creative brilliance in creating a host of characters who are quirky in their own supernatural way yet few characteristics lend association with the real world.

The story chronicles the adventure of a of writer from Delhi, who while exploring the beauty and serenity of Mussoorie passes through the quaint hamlet of Fosterganj and after liking the calmness of the place, he decides to spend some time here while working on his next book project. He finds himself a small place to stay which is not a very luxurious one, yet takes it up for the magnificent bathroom view. Slowly during his solitary walks he gets to know people living in Fosterganj and that each one has a story to tell.

He comes across Mr. Foster, a drunkard who always has sorry stories to rope in money from people to fulfill his alcoholic needs. Hassan, a hardworking baker, who rents out his place to the writer. Vishaal, a bank manager, who resides in a place considered to be haunted by the denizens of Fosterganj. A mother and son living in an old haunted palace; a pick-pocket who is trying to make it big but too bogged down by the habit of his picking pockets. Being part of their lives, the writer discover new stories and explores lot more being part of the unusual adventures which the people of Fosterganj get into; such as close encounters with a leopard, a night spent in a disheveled haunted palace only to add to his bizarre adventure list. Then, going after monster lizards and getting trapped in the horrors of an unpredicted earthquake.

 Another attraction point of this book is its jacket with the beautiful illustration of Fosterganj. I was more attracted by this colourful cover even before peeking into the book.This book is timeless, witty and charming.The beauty of this book is in its simplicity and once, you are done reading it, you would surely want to take the next bus in search of such a place. Who knows you might get lucky in finding your own Fosterganj.

Publisher : Aleph Book Company

Genre : Fiction

#Book Review: A New World by Amit Chaudhury

Amit Chaudhury deftly portrays new worlds converging as a family rebuilds itself and Calcutta gingerly enters globalization. In A New World, he depicts three generations of Chatterjee family grappling with the aftermath of divorce and adjusting to retirement.

Jayojit Chatterjee arrives in Calcutta on holiday with his seven year old son Bonny after a divorce. He puts up with his parents, a retired Admiral and a housewife. This leads to two months of bonding within the family members.

Chaudhuri’s delicately nuanced descriptions of dislocation and the disorientation that comes with the adoption of the lifestyle of U.S.A while still held by memories set in another India touched my heart.

The loud traffic and busy streets of dense, urban Calcutta form the backdrop to the two month stint of father and son and unravels the emotional life of these protagonists.

The tight prose and cinematic approach of Chaudhuri, makes it worth a read.

This book reads like a long-short story and renders a touching portrait of a family in throes of change.