Jahanara - Lyane Guillaume

Mughal Emperors ruled northern part of India over 300 years, and their fall was along the time of the raise of British empire in India. Descendants of  Gengis Khan and Timur, came into India through the Khyber Pass, after conquering the Khandahar and the northern part of current Afghanistan, before moving south-eastern direction and setting up their regime in India.  Mughal rule is a significant development in the development of Modern India in many aspect. The spread of the Islam religion, the greying bifurcation of the Hindi heartland and the South, the consolidation of the geography under one administrative rule ( the earlier instance probably was at the heights of the Magadh) and the prevention of the European dominance in India during their time.

However, the handing over of the reign to the next in line wasn't smooth in most of the cases, especially towards the end. The cruel infighting amongst the siblings, resulting in death of all but the survivor, who ascends to the throne , the large scale massacre during the power transfer, the cleansing of the potential threats, even if they are your own family were the virtues of the Mughal Dynasty. Akbar, during his tenure made a rule, preventing the daughters of the ruler from marrying, in an attempt to eliminate one threat in the form of son-in-laws and their clan. 

Jahangir, Shah Jahan and later Aurangazeb ( who probably was the last true ruler of the dynasty) all had their own hand dirtied in the murky business of power. Putting their own father in jail, ruthlessly killing their siblings (also their sons in some cases Jahangir, Aurangazeb) destroying immediately those who assisted them to the power and later succumbing to the same fate that they delivered to their elders. Jahanara, the eldest daughter of Shah Jahan, educated, clever and intelligent, narrates the events of the two regimes she was to witness.

Despite being confined to the inner parts of the palaces, the daughters of the Mughal emperors shined in various arts and literature. Many were highly read and have contributed and assisted the rule with their intelligent intervention as needed. Nur Jahan, and Gulbadan Begum, the daughter of Babur ( who wrote  Humayun nama) and Jahanara were some of them. Their accounts, documented by them  would later become an important information about the dynasty, for the historians.

Based on the writings of Jahanara,  Lyane Guillaume presents the life of  the Mughal Princess reproduced in an its glory  Written in first person narrative, Jahanara documents the time of Jahangir, where the love stricken emperor, spends most of his time with his mistresses ( with Alcohol and Opium), and the rule was in the hands of his second wife Nur Jahan. The court room politics and the internal struggle for power sees Shah Jahan out of Agra, wandering in the plateau of Deccan as a nomad, gathering support and soldiers for marching towards Agra and capture power. The long eight years of weight and wander almost destroyed the family, before their triumph and  successful return to Agra.

It wasn't long before Shah Jahan lost his wife, and he took solace in the company of his daughter who reminded him of his wife ( the rumour about an incest relationship) . Restricted to the inner walls of the palace, Jahanara recounts her association with people, her many unsuccessful loves, and her tryst to bring harmony among the members of her family. Watching from close quarters, she was the first to recognize the growth of religious fundamentalism within the family and as a result to the empire. Aurangazeb with his hard core religious views threatened the fabric of the tolerance that was the basis of the social behaviour and drive observed by  the previous rulers. Her clever observation and articulation averted many disasters to the family, but she couldn't prevent the in-fight among the brothers. Dara, the eldest son of Shah Jahan, whom she loved dearly and whom she wanted to be the emperor of Hindustan, had to go loose out in the battle. She was such a huge presence in the life of Shah Jahan, Dara and later Aurangazeb ( they reconciled their difference, after Aurangazeb recognised her intelligence and her influence within the palace), supporting them morally and by taking care of the upbringing of the generations of sons and daughters.

One of the best documents of the time of Shah Jahan, the rise and rule of Aurangazeb, Jahanara with her keen power of observation ,intellect and her skill in writing gives the best possible view of the inner turmoil of the empire. Written when she was old, during the regime of aurangazeb, she writes with clear conscience, often critical to herself. She recounts the days of the death of her mother the legendary Mumtas Mahal, the construction of Taj Mahal ( the time of Shah Jahan considered the golden era for architecture ) with some meticulous planning, her and Dara's  connection with Sufism and various religious teachings, her many infatuations ( including the British Doctor who treated for burns) and her intimate relationship with a dancer who later died of burns and her closeness to Dara and her reservations and scare about the young brother Aurangazeb , all of which can be read as in a case of a thriller.

Lyane Guillaume, has done a commendable job in presenting the book, preserving the style and language inspired by the notes and documents of Jahanara written in Persian. The vivid imagery, the clarity of observation and the baroque style of the writing is true to the original. An easy reading, simple and elegant book, translated pretty well into English. Very interesting read, valuable for people with interest in the history and about the Mughal Dynasty.

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Jahanara ( 2003 )

 Lyane Guillaume ( tranalated from French by Uma Narayanan& Prema Seetharam 2003)

East West Books ( Madras) Pvt Ltd

299 Pages
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HHhH - Laurent Binet

It is difficult to put many things together in one book:  fiction, history, investigation and research, documentation and the process of writing, yet making it read as one wholesome work. Binet, cleverly tries to mix all these in his first novel, to some good effect, not flawlessly though. What he did well, was to rally around all that he was trying to do , within the central theme. Despite the various devices he deployed, the voice was always the same. A narrator, taking the readers through the pages of history, through his story telling as he is experiencing them. Thus, as a reader, you are part of the journey. Obsessed with the German Occupation of Prague and the death of the head of German Leader Heydrich, the narrator tries to get into the detail of the assassination and the unsung heroes of this episode.  However, around him he sees enough and more details in historical texts, in fiction as well as in the visual media ( documentaries and movies). Now, to write a book which surpasses all that was told earlier is a difficult task, hence he write about the process of writing the book. Thus, an amalgamation of all that was above, part fiction, part history part his own process of gathering evidences and documents and his own frustration and disappointments.

Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich ("Himmler's brain is called Heydrich"), was the talk among the Nazi members during the second World War.  One of the most feared figure, the head of SS, the right hand man of Himmler, a favourite of Hitler. Every key functions , the SS ( intelligence) and SD were under him. He had a say in most of the decision making of the Nazi regime and the notorious decision on the "final Solution to the Jews Question" is also linked to this person.  "The Butcher of Prague", "the Blonde Beast",  "the man with the iron heart" ( by Hitler), there are innumerable citation for this dreaded person. He was assigned to the post of the commander of the newly conquered land of "Moravia and Bohemia" ( The present day Czech Republic) and made sure that the opposition was suppressed with evil and cruel means. On the 27th May 1942, two soldiers trained by British, one Czech (Jan Kubiš) and the other Slovak (Jozef Gabčík), had attacked Heydrich in broad daylight after some meticulous planning ( under the code name Operation Anthropoid ) , in Prague street.. Haydrich, despite being injured bravely fought the attack,  succumbed to the injuries a week later in a hospital.

To get the basics in place, Binet starts with the early life of Haydrich. His childhood ( his spurious surname with a Jewish connection), his early days with Navy from where he was sacked, his entry into the world of SS, his fast growth in the regime ( gaining the  "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich" honour). Binet, even describe the physical features of his character "“Heydrich is the perfect Nazi prototype: tall, blond, cruel, totally obedient and deadly efficient". The general background of the early days of the raise of the Germany, the acquisition of territories, the strategic geographical position of Czechoslovakia, the clever political maneuver by the SS think tank, to get Czech into submission, the nationalist government in exile trying to re-establish themselves through sabotage operations with the help of England ( mostly) ; you get an idea of what is happening during late thirties and early forties, in the form of historical texts, before he get back to the key theme of 'operation Andropoid'. The build up , the attack and the combing operation are read like a typical thriller, with necessary glorifying, as expected. The atrocities by the German authorities post the attack ( almost cleansed two villages for their apparent connection with the attackers), the traitor amongst them, the siege and the last hours all can be read like thriller.

The narration is not flawless. The free flow is often interrupted by the narrative intrusion. Despite the changes in the narrative techniques, it was a gripping read. The historical part , especially towards the end were the action was at its best was very moving. What makes this book different. probably, is the approach. There are enough and more books themed around second world war ( not necessarily with holocaust theme) and almost everything takes the often paved path. Binet, tries to take a different path, fresh and not mundane as the rest. In the bargain, it often drifts towards historical texts or to silly personal notes ( intended) , a bit off-putting at times.  He wonders towards the end that " "I think I'm beginning to understand. What I'm writing is an infranovel".

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HHhH  (2010)

Laurent Binet ( translated from French by Sam Taylor in 2012)

Wintage Books

336 Pages
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Wiki Entry, NY Times, Guardian, The Millions, New Yorker, Shigekuni

the map and the territory - Michel Houellebecq

Jed Martin, is an average photographer earning his living from taking the photographs of industrial artifacts, living alone in a Paris sub-urban apartment, bought by his father. The only time he meet his widowed father is for the Christmas eve dinner. His mother is apparently committed suicide when Jed was small, for reasons not known to him, and his businessman father, does not give him any details of the age old story. The father as is the case with the son, lives a solitary life. It is in one of such rendezvous, Jed had his first stroke of intuition. Inspired by the Michelin product, he started taking pictures of the roadmaps. The Michelin executive, and young Olga a Russian working in Paris, had different idea with these. A clever management and the use of the press, she manages to get sufficient attention to his work, making his rich immediately, while helping her own company to increase its sale. As is his wont, the course is changed again, now turning into painting, he did a series of works on a variety of occupation, which includes a meeting between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, and his retired father leaving office among others. This series , again with clever marketing help, had tremendous success making him ultra rich instantly. It was for this exhibition, he was introduced to the celebrated writer Michel Houellebecq, for an article to be printed in the catalogue. Apart from the agreed payment, he had offered to to a portrait of the writer, which Houellebecq reluctantly accepted. In the third and final phase of the book Jed Martin, involved in solving the murder mystery of the celebrated writer Michel Houellebecq , who was found brutally murders in his ancestral home in the French province, after returning from Ireland, and living in isolation. This is in short the story, of the latest novel from this writer.

For those familiar with his works, this is another in the same line, the middle aged urban man living a solitary life, occasional encounter with the opposite sex, fairly away from the family and social connections. The usual straight forwards narrative, rather thin. Few provocative social observations or comments. But this time, with no overdose of sex. The novelty factor may be the writer himself being a character in the novel ( not in the usual first person narrative style), and see himself murdered. At many places he reiterates himself as the authour of "atomised" or the author of "platform", trying to get a legitimacy of the fictional character to the real writer. Not sure, if this was called for as any fictional writer would have made a similar impact.

The book had its own controversies, with alleged plagiarism. Apparently, the French original has some adapted parts from the Wikipedia entry. However, in this edition in English, the author acknowledges the support from Wikipedia foundation. Beginning his acknowledgement with a denial as "I don't normally thank anyone, because I gather little information..", he makes amends with the Wiki with a "I also thank Wikipedia) and its contributors whose entries I have occasionally used as a source of inspiration..".

I am not greatly impressed with this book. For that matter, I haven't liked any book other than 'Atomised' ( or Elementary Particles as the version I have is called). While reading this book, I had the strange comparison with Haruki Murakami. May be its their outlook of the society, the style of writing, which is of no real depth and their way of treating sex in their books. A satire on art and literature, trying to play with some self parody , I'm not sure if he pulled it off. To me, it did not.

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the map and the territory ( 2010)

Michel Houellebecq ( translated from French by Gavin Bowd 2011)

Vintage Books

291 Pages
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NY Books, Guardian, NY Times, Book Slut

Caligula & Cross Purpose - Albert Camus

Reading Camu almost after 20 years has been a new experience. This time, reading his plays. These are written in the early days of his literary career, before the celebrated novels and his raise to stardom. As I understand from the introduction, Camus was deeply involved in the theater movements in Algeria, and played a prominent part in founding the so called Theater du Travail, in Algiers. This collection of two plays brought together by Penguin are my introduction to this aspect of the writer.

Caius Caesar Caligula, the third of the 12 Caesars, ruled Rome from AD 37 to AD 41, from the age of 25 until his assassination. He was known as a cruel ruler, He was known to have incestuous relationship with his sister Drusilla, and was intended to marry her. An untimely death of her prevented this, but he was a changed man after that. Often absconding from the palace for days, spending sleepless nights in the streets and in the open, he planned and plotted his cruel actions against the citizens. He killed and tortured many of his subjects so that the patricians finally came out in open rebellion and assassinated him.

Camus intend was not to present the 'monster in human form' the the audience, but to examine the nihilistic response of individual and its not so obvious reasons. One do not see a bad character here, but a Ruler carried by his own actions trying to find a logical conclusion of his misdeeds, knowing the repercussions could be his own death, even manipulating the events that leads to his own death.

" I'm the only man on earth to know the secret - that power can never be complete without a total self - surrender to the dark impulse of one's destiny. No there's no return. I must go on and on, until the consummation."

Despite the knowledge of the conspirator among his men, his close friends, Caligula is unperturbed. As the plot thickens and the eventual end of his life

"Then there must be two kind of happiness, and I've chosen the murderous kind. For I am happy. There was a time when I thought I'd reached the extremity of pain. Bu,no, one can go farther yet. Beyond, the frontier of pain lies a splendid, sterile happiness. Look at me."

Even as the dagger thrust and gasping for his last breath, he goes down with a shriek "I'm still alive".

Originally written in 1938 , as a similar nihilistic ruler was gaining control over large part of Europe, his play seemed to be having a prophetic outlook. Unlike his novels that came out later, these do not seems to have the existentialist overdose. Mostly going by the French and European absurdist style, Camus too presented his plays as expression of ideas, of moral dilemma rather than the judgmental and morally decisive.

Cross Purpose , written in 1943 ( as The Misunderstanding ) is Camus idea of the absurd. Jan, the prodigal son, who had been living abroad for more than 20 years, returns home to his mother and sister. Widowed mother and sister, now making a living by providing lodging to travellers and then murdering them, taking away all their processions. Not recognizing Jan as their son and brother, they continue their act, as usual. Jan, on his hand deliberate the idea of announcing himself first, but decide to surprise them later. Having realised their mistake of killing their own family member in a rather cold manner sans any emotions, mother commit suicide by drowning in the river and the daughter followed her by hanging herself only after advising Maria, the wife of Jan, " to pray God turns her to stone or kill herself too". Maria cries to the heavens for help and in what is supposed to be an incarnation of the power of the world, the old man servant appears and conclude the play with an emphatic 'NO".

Camus once remarking that this play "resembles me the most", While not reflecting on the philosophical nature of the human, Camus seems to have written this during his time as a propaganda agent for the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation. It must have influenced by his own live in distant land leaving behind his wife and family in Algeria. Cross Purpose, interestingly is the reversal of the classical prodigal son's story of the bible.

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Caligula & Cross Purpose ( 1938)

Albert Camus

Penguin Plays

156 Pages
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Caligula, Cross Purpose, 

A Void - Georges Perec

One of the initial impression on this book is that it is a 'lipogram'. Near 300 page book without  the use of letter 'e'. The curiosity did not last long, as the reader seldom feel the absence of the letter in the narrative. However, Perec takes this a step beyond. Creating a void in the narrative technique, takes us through multiple riddles creating the sense of void, the incompleteness , frustration through out the book.  Shear skills in writing and mastery over the use of language, from the writer whose "Life - A User's Manual' , which is considered a master piece in the literary circle.

Anton Vowls goes missing from his flat during a turbulent 1968 in Paris. There seems to be some disturbances in his life before his disappearance. His friends and acquaintances,  search ( or ransack) his apartment to get any clue leading to his disappearance. All he left there was few pages of cryptic writing in the form of a diary. Vowl's interest in wordplay, or lipograms, evidently leave others to fill in what is cleverly left , or unsaid.  His friends work through this puzzles and start their investigations, adding to further twists and turns to the plot. Every puzzle worked out reveal more of them. As the game progresses, most of they too disappear ( or die ) mysteriously, creating further chaos and confusion. Who will remain is the question being asked as the participants gather in an old mansion, speculating ( through their long speeches and story telling), building new connections and relations among them, through these multi-generation narrative, in progress leaving one after the other perish.

The book is full of plots and sub plots, some of them are phenomenally brilliant.  People on trail and on pursuit. The definitions and equation changes constantly. One void closed opens up many more. As a reader, you experience the same sense of void in the narrative. There are missing links, elements of creative uncertainty , the clever manipulation of the theme.

The book is a triumph of literary prowess. A mastery in writing by a gifted writer. Gilber Adair ( himself a reputed writer) brings out  a brilliant translation befitting the original theme and structure. While it is too difficult to grasp being a tough read, one can not stop admiring the clever writing. The regular use of literary allusion ( Moby Dick in the initial parts) and various other references to writers and books can be found through out the book.  In the Post script, Perec says, "My ambition, as Author, my point, I would go so far as to say my fixation, my constant fixation, was primarily to concoct an artifact as original as it was illuminating, as artifact that would, or just possibly might, ast as a stimulant on notions of construction, of narration, of plotting, of action, a stimulant, in a word, on fiction-writing today."

It's an uneasy read, and often leave you puzzled and confused. A narration you never seems to be in grasp. However, it is an interesting book, despite the absence of an important letter E.

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A Void  (1969 )

Georges Perec ( translated from French by Gilbert Adair 1994)

Vintage Books

287 Pages
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Wiki Entry , Postmodern Mystery,

Journey to the End of the Night - Louis-Ferdinand Celine

Louis Ferdinant Celine's 1932 masterpiece 'Journey to the end of the Night' is one of the nihilistic novel I've read. A semi-auto biographic account of him told through a first person narrative, he has a pessimistic view of the human nature.  Ferdinand BArdamu, his alter ego, narrates his journey through the war stricken Europe during WWI, where he participated trying escape the war in verious pretexts , faking injuries or madness. Escaping the war, sailing to colonial Africa, his fate wasn't different. All he could see was the inhuman values and general apathy of the human situation. Esacping from one of the remotest jungles of Africa, we see him re-surfacing in US, where he eventually work as an apprentice at the Ford factory in Detroit. Unable to survive the life in US, he returns to France , post the war and start his medical practice in a Paris suburb. As is his fate, he is not able ot make it big. While the rest of the doctors made fortune, had their own houses and cars, Bardamu is contemned to lead a life similar to the patients whom he attend to. Living in constant poverty, he was often delivered service with no payments.

The book is not greatly plot driven. I has a free flow of human experience, mostly on the dark side, through the turbulent period of WWI to the great depression.  The anti-hero Ferdinand Bardamu supposed to be derived from Celine's own experience ( in Africa and in Detroit) , and his shadow companion Léon Robinson epitome of all the bad qualities, which Bardamu is unable to carry himself. The extreme pessimistic view of the human conditions in its full vigour. The cruelty, the revenge, the vulgarity , its helplessness, cowardice, murder, decease , death, attack, isolation, you name it, all those negative elements are in full view. While Bardamu is the observer through out the journey, it is Robinson, that is the action man. From their initial encounter during one of the night guard work of Bardamu during his WWI days, Robinson was in his life either directly of as an influence. Appearing at various intervals of his life, Robinson seemed to be the executing all that Bardamu is incapable of doing. Robinson was in Africa before Bardamu and he escaped through the jungle, paving way for Bardamu. They met in the US, and later Robinson followed Bardamu to Paris.

The book is not an easy read. However, it is as near as possible to the human experience, albeit on a negative side. I understand the language is fluid and natural in French. May be it is no so evident in the English translation. A novel that sets the benchmark in the 20th century literature and supposed to have defied the traditional style and wisdom of writing. The initial 100 odd pages were phenomenal as I went through the pages. It started getting a bit heavy as it progressed as the continued negative emotion and the cynical humour hits you hard. You start labouring through these pages. Even though, one can not stop admiring his writing and the control over the language.

May be intended, but the protagonist is boring and very seldom you connect with him. However, most of the peripheral characters are brilliant and colorful. The journey into the night, the darkness of human existence is not an easy one to go through. The absurdity, the existentialist tendency, the loss of virtue and such heavy and intense feeling comes to one's mind as you finish the long book. Here is one writer, who influenced a whole generation of writers with his style and writing.

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Journey to the End of the Night ( 1932)

Louis-Ferdinand Celine ( translated from French by Ralph Manheim 1966)

Oneworld Classics

418 Pages
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The immoralist - Andre Gide

Reading classic novels are very different from reading contemporary novels. There are already been many readers and many interpretations of these classics. There are various in-depth study on each of them. Having read the Andre Gide's "The immoralist" , I was going through some of the critics and analytical pieces. To some this is a novel of self-destruction, to some it is about self realisation, to others is about inner and outer journey. It is in effect all of these and more.

Michel send a letter to three of his close friends ( they are friends from their school days) requesting a meeting urgently, to seek help. Three friends reach to help their troubled friend, not knowing what is in store. Michel, thus starts to tell his story over one night. The novel is this story as told by Michel.

Michel, Parisian aristocrat and an scholar, is suddenly orphaned at the death of his father. Forced to marry Marceline, another orphan with no parents or relative, to fulfill the wishes of his father, he found himself with a new wife, whom he does not even know properly, let alone be in love. As is the case with most of them, Michel and his new wife starts their honeymoon journey from Paris, through Marseilles, take a ship through the Mediterranean islands to the Northern Africa. The disaster stuck as Michel is diagnosed with tuberculosis leaving his newly wed wife to tender him. Two individuals forced to marry in a hurry now seek and try to accommodate each other; love is still at bay. She take sympathy of the downtrodden , poverty stricken arab kids , nursing them and offering them food and support, bringing them to the place of their residence. Michel, fall fancy to the good looking young boys and prefer to spend time in their company. He also, manages to go for his walks in order to meet them and bring them to play with. As his health improved, and bored with their nomadic life, they decided to return. One incident involving a drunken carriage driver, where Michel had to intervene and rescue his wife in a personal and public show of his recovery, the realisation of love for his wife comes to him. That day they sleep together, first time after wedding. After returning through Italy and the couple decide to settle in one of their old estate in the country side, far away from the crowd at Paris. Michel take a love towards the agriculture and the estates, getting into the daily routine of the workers and their family. Again he shows his fascination towards the handsome young boys, making every effort to be with them. Marcelene is now carrying and the fatherly responsibilities, make Michel to spend more time with her.

His academic responsibilities , make the couple to move back to Paris. soon, bored with the usual set of visitors, and by his nomadic nature, the couple return back to their country estate. This time, Michel spend more time with the low-lives partaking in their ways of living, sometimes against his own interest. Another disaster stuck as Marcelene had a miscarriage with almost devastated her. It was also revealed that she is in the spell of tuberculosis, caught tending to Michel when he was ill. Now the turn changes, and in order to improve her health, they decides to take the journey back to the tropics. In a reversal of events, they traces back the route, this time Michel taking care of his wife. however, she succumbs to the decease during the journey in Tunisia, leaving Michel with the questions he seek help to get answered.

This book has a lot of similarities to the real life of Andre Gide. The decease, the sale of the estate, the incident with the drunker carriage driver, the journey through northern Africa and the Italian and Swiss towns are all part of his own life. Michel , in this case is a character with questionable qualities. His suppressed homosexuality, his uncomfortable with the people of his own nobility. The ability to relate to people of the lower rung of the society all making him question his own life. He is also a man of contradiction. He wanted to safety and power of the nobility, but also the excitement of living the life of others. His own suspected sexuality, while his obligations as a husband with his wife. His need to excel in the academia with his research papers, but unable to remain there continuing his work and presentations. Micheal is trying to identify his real self, he has a reputation as a scholar and has certain social standing. He has the obligation to behave to those norms, which he he try to unshackle. In the process he looses his wife, his job, his wealth.

Andre Gide, writes a book with multiple possibilities and interpretation. It question the basic belief on morality, sensuality and the way of life. The writing is very descriptive and deliberate. A simple straight forward narrative and a brilliant short novel.
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The Immoralist
Andre Gide ( translated from French by Stanley Appelbaum )
Dover Publications
99 Pages
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Further Read : Andre Gide.org , web.center.edu

Onitsha - Jean Marie Gustav Le Clezio

Like many others around the world, I was also a bit surprised with this years selection of Nobel Prize for Literature. Not having heard his name before ( leave alone reading his books), or seen any of his books in India earlier, I was told by a friend that Rupa Publishers have plans to release many French Books in India, which include that of Le Clezio.

The first book was available at the book shops and I had my copy last week. Though it is may not be the best book of JMG Le Clezio, Onitsha is an important book of his bibliography and have some good remarks by fellow readers.

Fintan ( a young boy) travels with his Italian mother to Africa in the year 1948 to join his English father whom he has never met. Geoffrey, stationed at Onitsha, a Nigerian town on the bank of the river Niger, is serving the East Africa Company managing their warehouse operations. After his initial apprehension, he start recognising the exotic beauty of the place and its people, befriending the local boy and running and exploring the plants and animal world on bare foot.

Maou, his mother was also taken aback initially with the place as she expected the place to be as very exotic and wild. " She had imagined naked savages, painted for war. Adventurers, missionaries, doctors consumed by the tropics, heroic women school teachers. In Onitsha she had found a society of boring and sententious civil servants, dressed in ridiculous outfits and head gear, who spent their time playing bridge, drinking, and spying on each other, and their wives, cramped by their respectable principles, counting their pennies and speaking harshly to their maids, waiting for the return ticket to England".

Soon the brutality and the greed of the colonisers have come to light to the Maou and Fintan and the rift between her and the British rulers of the place starts widening. Marooned at the house with no one else to interact with, she too starts exploring the people and their lives, fascinated by their rituals and culture.

Geoffrey is engrossed in his project of the history of the African people and their migratory culture and the settlement. He dreams of the gods and the people and their voyage, partly from the folklore and partly from the earlier works of his predecessor.

While the British colonisers continue their act of atrocities and abuse of power, Geoffrey continues his fascination towards their culture, which do not go well with his superiors. As Sabine Rhodes tells Maou, "My dear signorita, you must realise we see people like your husband pass throgh here every day, people who think they are going to change every thing. I am noy implying that he is wrong, any more than you are, but one must be realistic, one must see things as they are and not as one would like them to be. We are colonisers, not the benefactors of mankind."

Soon he was given with the orders of deportation, and was replaced by another Britisher, not before the seeds of rebellion started. Sabine Rhodes, another British National, already a miscast in the colony recognises the inevitable. " The days are numbered for all of us, all of us! The empire is finished, signorita, it's crumbling on every side, turning to dust; the great ship of empire is sinking. But I shan't leave. I shall stay here to see it all, that's my mission, my vocation, to watch the ship go under".

A beautifully written book, about the intolerance and brutality of colonial powers and the destruction of native culture and exploitation of their resources. The prose is very clear and straight forward , and look at the events at difference perspective of the child, mother and the father. After a somewhat dragging initial pages of their voyage to Onitsha, the novel is a superb read.

The book released in 1991, is supposed to be based on his own experience in his childhood in Nigeria. It is a novel of the greed of few countries of the world to master the natural resources of the world, by deploying their military power, destroying native civilisations, disarming and subjugating the natives. The role of the countries are now being replaced by large corporates as we understand at the end of the novel. The tactics deployed are similar and often supported by the economical and military mightiness of the nations of their origin.

PS : While the efforts of Rupa Publications have to be lauded , in getting these books in India at an affordable price, I wasn't all that impressed with the print and presentation quality of the book. To me, it had a printing and styling similar to that of the 'pirated', locally printed paper-backs of popular books available at the road sides, next to forum mall and other parts of the city.
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Onitsha

Jean Mari Gustav Le Clezio . Translated by Alison Anderson

Rupa Pulibations

206 Pages

Rs 295
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More reads : Translators note on Onitsha , World Literature today , Oxford Journals , Inerview with Nobel Committee

THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE

THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE
Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by M D Herter Norton

This book is supposed to be the only novel written by the famous 20th Century poet and that was my attraction in buying this book. If you plan to read this book, let me warn you , it is not an easy read. This book is quite a hard read and needs a lot of concentration and attention. This book is very lyrical, I guess it come naturally from a poet.

Written as a collection of notes and musings, this book is of random recollections of his childhood and growing up in a royal familiy. A very depressive or dark essays with the once fashionalble 'existential touch' , this book hit you in a very different way. The lack of flowing storyline and the predeominant negative mood of life through out, this book makes it a slow and hard read. Rilke maintains that this is not autobiographical, however the charecters and places makes one to believe it otherwise. As one of the reader suggested this book is about the crisis modern existence. Death is a constant companian through out the pages. May be there is an underlying necessity for Rilke to tell this story of his childhood, family and upbringing, as if he is searching something within.

Somehow, this language did not appear to me as clear and conventional. I'm not sure if I could get beyond the written words and find the hidden meaning. Rilke himself put it as " There will come a day when my hand will be far from me, and when I bid it write, it will write words I do not mean. The time of that other interpretation will dawn, when not one word will emain upon another, and all meaning will dessolve like clouds and fall down like rain."

I may have to go back to this book at another time and may I have better luck with it.

THE NOTEBOOKS OF MALTE LAURIDS BRIGGE
Rainer Maria Rilke Translated by M D Herter Norton
235 Pages
$12.95

Pick: She was far away when she read, and I dont know whether she was in her books; she could read for hours, she seldom turned the leaves, and I had the impression that the pages became steadily fuller under her eyes, as though she looked words into them, certain words that she needed and that were not there.