Upamanyu Chatterjee

At times laugh-out-loud funny, but more often a bit depressing, the author takes us inside the mind of a young, unambitious Indian man trying to figure out his life while training for his position as a civil servant in small town India. The book is full of rich characters which I had difficulty keeping straight, and outrageous moments of work avoidance I'm sure more could relate to than are willing to admit. Gives the impression of a society that learned from occupying forces how to appear to be a manager without really managing. I appreciated the window into Indian culture, but was happy to finish the book.… (mehr)

It’s part of an anthology. Or so I hope. A little story of revenge simmering inside an administrative officer across decades while he has the power to decide, or rather influence, the life of a person, death more so. Very few books paint a picture more accessible and subtler, ironically at the same time, of power structure in lesser words.

Or is it just very telling of the dull life bureaucrats are often fated to live in places remote and unfashionably uninteresting? That they need something very personal invisibility clinging to them so that they can get some sense of satisfaction from it knowing fully well that do not have any real power broadly speaking, being the instrument of the state they are? I have doubts. I reckon it’s just very personal in the guise of discussing something broader and deeper and not the other way round, which is usually the case with books. And that’s good.

Excellent book; a novella. It’s essentially a long story. Excellent nonetheless. What fine storytelling. Sprinkled with that occasional signature dry humour with or without the tinges of officialese which, more often than not, can be quite funny entirely on its own.… (mehr)