Of love, god and partition

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Hachette. Pages: 341. Price: Rs. 295/-

Eleanor Maud, a.k.a. Elly, is born into a middleclass family in the suburban Essex. Her father is a lawyer with middling practice and mother a trained psychologist. She has an elder brother, Joe. At school she makes friends with Jenny Penny who has magical skills (hypnosis?) to produce coins from her skin – coins that have dates from future. Elly’s initial childhood years are typical of early 1970s, viz., ‘blaspheming’ in the Sunday School and asking questions that would make grown-ups uncomfortable. However, soon colouful characters begin to make their presence felt, viz., the elderly Mr. Golan, Elly’s Jewish neighbour, who tries to keep the Holocaust legend alive; Jenny’s mother who changes boyfriends at an embarrassingly fast rate; and many others. There’s a rabbit, named God, too! A jackpot helps Elly’s family to become rich. They buy a seaside property at Cornwall where a loveable elderly oddball, Arthur, becomes a part of Elly’s family. Their driver is an ex-convict!

This is a story of Elly’s unusually strong ties of friendship, and unflagging sibling love. Its subplots retail bizarre tales. The narrative factors in the violence in the 20^th century England and in the world outside as epitomized by Joe’s friend Charlie’s kidnapping in Dubai, reaching its zenith with the aftermath of 9/11 twin-tower demolition in New York whereafter secrets begin to unravel. Homosexuality, paedophilia, violent crime and illicit sex keep the story’s tempo fast. But what makes this novel unputdownable is the subtle and dark humour, strong characterization and Winman’s ability to complete the picture using minimal strokes.

My Bollywood Wedding by Rekha Waheed

Hachette. Pages: 344. Price: Rs. 295/-

If it is a tale of Indian love and marriage the Bollywoodian love-breakup-reunion formula becomes indispensable. No, it is not exactly Indian, but Bangladeshi. But, that is a minor geo-political detail in the more all-encompassing generic narrative. Maya Malik is from a middleclass Bangladeshi family in London. She falls in love with Jhangir – a doctor and scion of a wealthy Bangladeshi family in New York. When she comes to know of his engagement with Preeya, who too is from an upperclass New York Bengali Muslim family, Maya jets across the Atlantic and proposes to Jhangir in public. Jhangir accepts. This tradition breaking chutzpa naturally riles Jhangir’s father and the rest of the family. But, Jhangir’s mother becomes Maya’s sympathizer.

As happens in every Bollywoodian masala movie the path of true love is potholed with scheming vamps, intriguing villains and searing confrontations. Zain, the Clooney lookalike, enters Maya’s life as The Temptation. Things become rough for her when Seema, Jhangir’s sister-in-law, turns out to be a relentless antagonist hell bent upon smashing the lovers’ dream. The narrative, garnished with racism, love, seductions and infidelities, has charming details of the various customs and rituals of a typical Bangladeshi family. You will love it if you are a Bollywood buff.

God is a River by Mona Verma

Prakash Books. Pages: 284. Price: not mentioned

The story begins in the Punjab of circa 1900 and meanders to the post-Partition era. Yes, the ‘P’ word again! Seth Jamnadas is a rich landlord of village Ghakkar Mandi located in district Gujranwala (now in Pakistan). The area is famous for its wheat and sugarcane produce. When the British implement their plans to destroy the local economy and force the farmers to grow indigo he resists, and suffers in the bargain. He and his kin join the nationalist movement. But this is not about patriotism or partition alone. It is also about a family saga entwined with the stems and twigs of perfidy and treason, incest and infidelity, love and hatred, revenge and mortification; unraveling of dark secrets; and, eventually, understanding and reconciliation.

Published in The Tribune dated 16 October 2011