Book Review:The Thugs and a Courtesan by Muktha Singh zocchi

Title:The Thugs & a Courtesan
Author:Muktha Singh Zocchi
Price:195 INR
Source: review copy via Think Why Not
Pages:191
Publisher:Shristi Publishers 
Genre:Historical Fiction

           I have had the opportunity to review quite a number of desi (Indian Writing in English) works by first time authors in the recent past.While some of them had been really good,the majority of them were either passable or slightly above average works.So,when I got this new book to review from the wonderful people at 'Think Why Not',quite naturally I was expecting the book to fall into either of the above categories.
         ' The Thugs and a Courtesan' is a difficult book to review.The author has attempted to pen a historical fiction with the 'thug culture' as it's backdrop. Set in the 18 th century India,the book traces the journey of a thug/nomad (left to the reader's discretion)named Firangia and in the process gives a bird's eye view of life in pre-British India.In the course of the journey,he fights,romances,imbibes virtues and protects his fellow men.Well,that's all what I remember as far as the basic plot of the book is concerned.There are many sub-plots woven into the narrative with some of them being cute and short love stories.
           The book has got a novel premise and the writer deserves applause for trying something like this in her debut work.The mystery surrounding Chanda Bhai's character has come out really well.But as it's often said,good ideas don't necessarily translate to blockbusters. 
            The basic problem of this book is that it's too confusing.There are far too many poorly written characters (even the protagonist is not well etched out),innumerable sub plots with absolutely no connection to the central plot and the story loses focus in more than a couple of occasions.What makes the matters even worse is the manner in which the story is told.The writing is way over the top and at times too self-indulgent.A 'heavy' subject like this would have worked big time had the author resorted to a somewhat 'light' treatment.In short,'Thugs and a ....' is not an easy read by any stretch of imagination.

Verdict: On the whole,'The Thugs and a Courtesan' belongs to the 'could have been better' category.Rating- 2/5. 

PS: I would like to thank the wonderful people at 'Think Why Not' for sending me a review copy of this book.

-nikhimenon
           

Read More

Book Review: The Devil's Gate-An Impossible Journey by Deepak Kripal

 

(Book Cover)

Title:The Devil's gate-an impossible Journey
Author:Deepak Kripal
Price:175 INR
Source:review copy send by the author
Pages:240+
Publisher:Leadstart/Frog Books
Genre:Fantasy/Thriller

                   I am not sure how many of you have heard about this cute little book called 'The Devil's Gate:An Impossible Journey' by first time author Deepak Kripal which had hit the stores recently.Frankly speaking,even I was not aware about this book till it's author sent me a review request a couple of weeks back.Initially I was a bit apprehensive about choosing this book for review but still decided to give it a try as the blurb managed to impressed me.

The Plot :Well,the story is pretty weird.United Animals (U.A.),a secret agency meant for the protection and welfare of the animal kingdom decides to send their special task team comprising of a Cat (Katy) and a Dog (Dug) to the island of five hundred graves,an island which becomes visible only at night and  widely believed to be inhabited by Devils.Their Mission is to negogiate with the Demons and persuade them to allow animals to inhabit the island as human beings are fast destroying their natural habitats.During their pursuit the duo gets an acquaintance in Billy,the tawny fish owl.True to the tag line,'TDG' narrates the story of the trio's impossible  journey to meet the ruler of the island of five hundred graves.The climax is open ended leaving room for a sequel.

The Characters: The book has three principal characters.Katy-the stubborn but intelligent Cat;Dug-the 'trained' yet jovial Dog and Billy-the geeky and philosophical Owl.These three characters have been well etched out though the dialogues given to them go overboard quite often.The villain and the peripheral characters are also well written and the author definitely deserves applause for lending some degree of believability to his characters.

The Writing:It's hard to believe that 'TDG' is a debut work.The writing is imaginative,well researched (honestly,I didn't know that there was a prehistoric fish called Dunkleosteus) and packed with enough twists to keep even the most disinterested reader hooked to the proceedings.Except for the heavy philosophical lines which appears often,Deepak has used simple,conversational English to tell his fantasy tale.Infact it's his competent writing which makes even the most implausible of the situations/scenes work.

Possible Inspirations and references: The overall tone of the story is similar to that of the 'Madagascar' series and Nikhil Advani's National Award finning flick animation adventure,'Delhi Safari'(animals embarking on an adventurous journey).Though the inspiration is pretty evident,the book never relegates itself to a bargain-basement version of the above two.'TDG' definitely has an original and a solid story to tell and succeeds in it's efforts to a very large extend.Likewise,I believe that the inspiration for the 'island of five hundred graves' comes from the algae island in 'Life of Pi'.

The scenes/stuff which I liked the most in this book- 

1.The scene in which Katy meets Dug for the first time.

2.The sequence in which Billy rescues Katy and Dug from Kako.

3.The meaningful dialogues in this book (though their placement and relevance in a genre like this are debatable).Sample this-" I know about a resource that is fading,humanity it is"

What I didn't Like: The book isn't entirely devoid of flaws.

1.The heavy duty philosophical dialogues between the animals (Katy- Dug-Bill) though well written don't quite gel with the overall mood of the book.
2.The pace slackens a bit towards the middle of the book and a bit of editing could have made these portions crisper.
3.Another thing which I felt is that the animals in the story quite often talks and behaves like humans.

Verdict: On the whole,'The Devil's Gate' is a good read.If you have a penchant for 'Madagascar'/Delhi Safari kind of stories,you will definitely enjoy this journey to the mysterious island! Rating- 3.25/5

-nikhimenon

Read More