FIRST IMPRESSIONS
BY SUCHITRA BEHAL
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian; Marina Lewycka; Penguin; £4.50.
ONE look at the title and you might be tempted to put it aside. Don't make that mistake. Because here is a story that will leave you with a huge grin. The narrative begins on a somewhat plaintive and brusque note, as the narrator describes how her 84-year-old émigré father, now a British resident, falls head over heels in love with a voluptuous, busty 36-year-old Russian woman who is hell bent on acquiring a western passport and wealth.
The old engineer, whose lust gets the better of his logic, proceeds to empty out his meagre pension to "save" the woman and her son who, he believes, is a genius and therefore needs the best of British education. But when he announces his decision to marry the woman to his grown-up daughter, the dice really begins to roll.
What follows is a beautifully crafted story of a culture clash. It is a touching story of families, a long-standing sibling rivalry, hidden histories and of the darkest moments of European history, which are artfully intertwined into this account. For all its hilarity, it is also a rich commentary on multi-cultural Britain. A story of lust and greed and a dark underside of human emotions all strung together in an amazing riot of laughter.
Diary of a Married Call Girl; Tracy Quan, Harper Perennial; Rs. 275.
WHEN Xaveria Hollander wrote Happy Hooker, a first person account of her hi-jinks as a high society prostitute, many felt that the thin line between pornography and seductive literature had been shattered. But decades later, once again there is a blurring of lines. Tracy Quan's second book Diary of a Married Call Girl proves that there is no business quite like smut. So you have newly-married Nancy who is a hooker by day and a wife at night. Business is good and Nancy has a small but well-established list of "regulars" who bank on her and her discretion. Life coasts along at a pleasant, if somewhat, hectic pace till her husband mentions children. Scared, Nancy runs to her therapist and tries to get a hold of the drift her life is taking. In between pie-throwing sex sessions, straight coupling and twosomes, Nancy manages to wriggle out of calamity till she decides that nothing is worth giving up the oldest profession for, and while the going is good she might as well continue. Tracy Quan leaves little to your imagination. Apart from being repetitive, this is not even good soft porn.
First Proof; Penguin; Price not mentioned
SEQUELS have a nasty habit of flopping. Even with anthologies. But it is to the credit of the publishers that the second book of new writing in India has included a neat list of authors who have explored uncharted territories. "Mrs. Anand" could be anybody living in any town of India — a familiar middle-aged woman rushing from her job to home, trying to make ends meet with a husband who has long given up trying to please her and a bunch of over anxious children. Mrs. Anand is tough on the outside, never given to expressing love or sympathy. Poker-faced she goes through her dull life till one day her emotions finally spill over. "A Matter of Faith" is an interesting story set in a small town. Its unusual plot and equally unexpected end make the reader sit up. "Roy's Quest" is a story about growing up, while "Roderick Banda and the President's Tears" is a story that could occur anywhere in Africa and is easily identifiable despite being a fictionalised account. Short stories these might be but they cast their spell far and long.
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