Reviews of the latest books from and on Southasia

Next Door: Stories
by Jahanavi Barua
Penguin India, 2008

Ishwar Baral, the famous literary critic of Nepal, once wrote that a short story is a window from which the world outside is peered at. The cover of Next Door depicts just such an opening, beyond which lie windswept green vistas. This is a book that needs to be judged by its cover: its content takes readers on a voyage of discovery to places that are either imagined or linger in memories of half-forgotten dreams. Some tales in the collection are short – the eponymous one, for example – but most are of just the right size to capture the essence of emotions sought to be depicted in their full glory. Descriptions of locale in which human dramas unfold are exquisitely crafted, where not a word is wasted or spared to catch the spirit of time and space. Children and adults share the world of the author with intensity, but it is in the presentation of her aged characters that she truly excels. Koka-mama in "Holiday Homework" and Dhiren Majumdar in "Patriot" catch the dilemmas of the sunset years with acute sensitivity and sympathetic understanding.
It is astonishing to discover that such a live imagery of Assam – lived and remembered – is possible in English. But the lady does take the liberty of sprinkling her stories with Asomiya words that taste like chocolate powder sprinkled over instant coffee. The context explains native terms adequately without requiring translations. (C K Lal)

Viva Santiago
by Colin Fernandes
Penguin, 2008

Viva Santiago begins with promise: a young man's engaging enough tale of his grandfather, a perpetually drunk, acid-loving Goa hippie, with a secret just waiting to be unveiled to the reader. But the plot unravels quickly from here on, becoming a Da Vinci Code-like treasure hunt. Sadly, the series of clues the grandfather has scattered around Goa are dull, as is the action that leads up to their discovery. With a tendency to overuse Bob Dylan lyrics and stories of drug use to add spice to the story, the book almost appears to be trying too hard. Ultimately, it cannot even be interesting. In his note at the end the book, Fernandes thanks a friend for the loan of a laptop for the three weeks during which he wrote Viva Santiago. On reading this, one wishes he had kept the machine for a few more weeks – his friend would surely have agreed to the loan request after a glance at the manuscript. (Surabhi Pudasaini)

Blog Print
edited by sulekha.com
Penguin, 2008

Sulekha.com, the Internet media site, collaborated with Penguin Books to put together this excellent collection. Over a period of four months, two blog posts per week, of the many submitted daily, were picked off the Sulekha site, at the end of which those deemed the best 25 from this shortlist were selected for publication. Considering the forum in which the tales first appeared, it is easy to image the diversity of the writers – in location, age and interests, to name just a few. What has emerged from all this is a vibrant anthology of short stories, in which each narrative provides a glimpse into an India so vastly different from the one portrayed in the preceding and subsequent piece. And though the reader journeys from a middle-class household in Bombay to New York on 11 September 2001, and then onward to India's insurgency-torn Northeast in just a few pages, the transition is never jarring. (SP)

The Wasted Vigil
by Nadeem Aslam
Faber and Faber, 2008

Nadeem Aslam weaves a compelling story around Marcus Caldwell, an English perfume-factory owner; his Afghan doctor wife, Qatrina; and Zameen, their beautiful rebellious daughter. Meanwhile, Casa, a young Taliban recruit; Americans David, James and Lara; and a Russian woman with a mission to uncover family secrets, are the padding to the tale. Not one of the miseries that Aslam describes – sometimes in morbid detail – would be new to anyone familiar with Afghanistan's war-torn history; but this piece of fiction seems stranger than the truth. From the Russian invasion to the current crisis, Aslam paints a broad canvas; but all the while each individual's life is delicately chronicled, much like his 2004 work, Maps for Lost Lovers. While one might complain that the characters are stereotyped, the predictability of their actions allows the reader to focus on the larger picture. But it is the imagery woven around the exquisite statue of the reclining Buddha, discovered when Marcus is laying the foundations of the perfume factory, that somehow permits a reaching out for hope amidst all the brutality. (Laxmi Murthy)

In the Country of Deceit
by Shashi Deshpande
Penguin/Viking, 2008

Passion, abandon and ardour would generally be associated with extramarital relationships, along with subterfuge and leading a double life. Yet, Shashi Deshpande's bland portrayal of a "relationship without a future", more in line with archaic social norms belonging to a bygone era, leaves one strangely bored. Granted, small-town India might not be the stage on which the glitterati play out their out-of-the-box relationships; but surely, extramarital affairs are not the monopoly of metropolises. Yet what the vapid portrayal of the little-described relationship between Devayani and her lover lacks, Deshpande more than makes up for in her sensitive handling of the relationships between the women in the novel. Teasing out the layers in the web of complex give and take; resentment and unconditional love between sisters, aunts and nieces, friends and neighbours in Rajnur; a fictitious slow-paced little town is where Deshpande excels. (LM)