|
Literary Review
First Impressions
SUCHITRA BEHAL
Company of Liars, Karen Maitland, Penguin, £4.99.
A motley bunch of people thrown together in the most extreme situation. One is a seller of faith and hope, the other a musician and his young apprentice; then there is a magician, a storyteller, a heavily pregnant woman and finally a little girl, unu
sual in more ways than one. Each member of this troupe that has banded together to escape the plague that sweeps through middle England in the year 1348 has a story to tell and something to hide. Except the little girl Narigorm who plays the runes to tell your fortune.
Panic and suspicion travel with them as they make their way through a bleak landscape and even more bleak and freaky weather. They are viewed with suspicion at almost every village which is closing its gates to outsiders fearing the plague. But the plague is insidious and before long it travels to outposts that they imagined would not be affected. There is a breakdown of law and order and as this band does its best to outrun everything, chaos strikes at their very roots when one day they find a member of their troupe hanging mutilated from a tree. Everyone is shocked except the little girl who insists that the runes had told it all.
Soon she is like a master player using the runes to get each person to spill his innermost secrets. Each one with a story more bizarre than the other. But as soon as their darkest secrets are revealed the little girl plays the runes to prophesy the outcome. Which usually is death. But nobody suspects her since she is only a girl of 12. Except the narrator of this story who stumbles upon the darkest secret of all. He confronts the little girl who merely laughs him off. A tale of twists and turns, Company of Liars is a must-read.
Breathless in Bombay, Murzban F. Shroff, Picador India, Rs. 295.
Mumbai has recently been crowned the dirtiest city in India and seventh dirtiest in the whole world. A city that continues to massage egos larger than life. A city that means different things to different people. A land of opportunity to the penniless who make it big; a rainbow at the end of many travails for those who seek and find fame; an existence of sheer drudgery for the millions that flock to its shores in the hope of finding a life and finally a city that continues to fascinate and repel at the same time. Many books have been written on this city — some in praise, some defiling it. Mumbai haunts like no other. Be it the poor dhobis that eke out a living on its shores. The dabbawallahs, the old Parsis who have made this city theirs for generations, or the boorish taxiwallah who refuses to play ball. All these different and unique characters make this city what it is. Their struggles spill out onto the city’s footpaths where many spend their entire lives. If there is gold to be found here, there is also heartache. This anthology of short stories epitomises all these characters with a surprising dexterity.
The Co-wife and Other Stories, Premchand, Penguin, Rs. 250.
For those who have read Premchand, this wonderful translation in English only adds to the value of this great writer. A compilation of some of his best stories, each one is a sensitive portrayal of human values and sentiments, many of which are relevant even today. Their simplicity is their power and their message loud and clear. Reading these gives an insight into an India that most would never know of. Premchand has written about the villages of this country with such deftness that it is easy to picture life as it was. Each story of this collection is a tiny gem, polished to perfection. Premchand writes on everything: horror, injustice, opportunity, love, romance and social inequality. Some of the stories included in this anthology are rarely available to the average reader. Well translated, this is a book worth adding to your shelf.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Literary Review
|
