Thursday, September 27, 2012

Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga

September’s Book Club pick was Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger; having already read it, I decided to tackle Adiga’s followup, Between the Assassinations.  Having just gone from an admittedly light and fluffy read to Assassinations was, well, jarring to say the least. Still: loved it.

Set up as a series of short stories all taking place in tiny port town Kittur, the entire book is almost a character sketch of place instead of people.  Which makes sense, as each chapter begins with a tongue-in-cheek travel-brochure introduction to a part of the town.  It spans the time period between the assassination of Indira Gandhi and her son Rajeev, serving up weighted book ends for quick glimpses into Indian life.  The characters weave in and out of the stories, sometimes having a direct impact and sometimes a mere spot of colour for the background.  And what characters they are!  Covering from young to the old, rich to destitute, malicious to officious to naïve, it’s a true ensemble.  There are no neat and tidy endings, each story serving as a literal snapshot instead, capturing what is happening in that moment alone. 

I think some people judge a book by how much they like the characters they’re reading about; if that’s you, don’t read this. There are no “likeable” characters to be found; only compelling ones. Even the one I cheer for at the start makes me rethink my assessment of his character by the end. If you like White Tiger at all, you’ll like Between the Assassinations, despite the different format and delivery.

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