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Literary Review
First Impressions
SUCHITRA BEHAL
Devil May Care, Sebestian Faulks, Penguin, Rs. 395.
Wish I could share the same sentiments as M: “Come in 007. It’s good to see you back.” Sadly, Sebastian Faulks’ venture into Ian Fleming’s territory spells a strange sense of foreboding for the character that Fleming created with such flourish. Here is a diminished Bond licking his wounds, sent off to regain his physical vitality and almost relegated into accepting the fact that if he gets back to the Service, it’s not going to be in the role of the dashing hero that he’s used to playing but more as a file pusher in some corner of the Service’s huge offices. Fate, as usual, has a way of intervening and Bond finds himself back in demand, with many harnesses attached, working on the strange case of Dr. Julius Gorner. Needless to say, there is a pretty young thing in the picture, who promises to deliver more than just Gorner to Bond. The twist in the tale is that she has a twin who is firmly ensnared in Gorner’s wicked ways, and Gorner, one time brilliant scientist, is now poised to wreak havoc on the mean streets of the West by pumping in huge amounts of drugs. Britian as it turns out, is his major target. Typically Bond stuff, you’d surmise. But here’s the rub. Bond is such a wimpish, washed out version of his real self that one begins to wonder whether Faulks has paid a tribute to Fleming’s greatest character of all times or just made him roll a double turn in his grave.
Keep off the Grass, Karan Bajaj, HarperCollins, Rs. 195.
Teen fiction, tween fiction and now the latest to hit the stands are yuppies writing on their adolescent experiences. Keep off the Grass is yet another book in this genre. Karan Bajaj embarks on a journey that many young men would have experienced in the hallowed portals of their college life. Samrat Ratan, at 25, has everything going for him. A great job in the land of milk and honey, supportive educated parents, a sleek apartment and some arm candy too. So when he decides one fine day to quit all this and take a trip to India to study in the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, his surprised parents and friends give him their usual dose of advice. Ratan however decides to follow his course of action but finds that a lot of his ideas on life and the classroom begin to come unstuck at the IIM. Here he teams up with the brilliant but doped Shine Sarkar, the dependable army ex Vinod, and the competitive Chetan. Ratan soon divides his time getting stoned and entering into long philosophical discussions on life with his gang. He soon finds himself in the bottom league but is curiously not ashamed of it all after a while. Too stoned to care even to get to an exam in time, Ratan finds himself trekking with Sarkar to the hills, meditating to get the answers they crave. The answers he seeks of course get to him by the end of it all. Meanwhile it’s a hellish rollercoaster ride. Bajaj manages to infuse some wit and perception into his account which reminds one of college gags, hilarious at one level, introspective at another.
With the Tiger, Inez Baranay, HarperCollins, Rs. 295.
With a canvas so wide, it takes some ingenuity to retell a story. Inez Baranay takes it upon herself to relive Somerset Maugham’s classic The Razor’s Edge, set, of course differently and in later times. Her story’s narrator is a middle-aged gay playwright, who recounts his meeting with Larry a young man, around whom this story revolves. Set against the backdrop of middle Australia in the 1970s , Elliot Templeton, the playwright, recalls his meeting with Larry and Isabel who suddenly burst into his life. The two are planning to marry when Isabel’s mother and uncle make clear their disapproval of Larry’s enigmatic lifestyle and his refusal to get himself a job. Larry, on his part, remains a bit of a mystery though he is effortlessly charming and gracious. His early experiences seem to have impacted him to a great extent and he ends up convincing Isabel that he needs time to find himself. She agrees, though reluctantly. Larry meanwhile hooks off to India, where he has already travelled as a teenager. He often alludes to the situation which changed his entire life but never really spells it out. Much later he confides to Templeton about his backpacking trip, drugs, the death of his friend due to an overdose and why his life is the way it is. The choices that Larry finally makes, Isabel’s reactions and the way it impacts the rest around them make a compelling story that Baranay writes with ease. Despite some overwriting and the need for tighter editing in parts, this is an interesting story that holds the reader’s attention to the last.
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