The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino

This is a very satisfying murder mystery. It kind of happens in reverse, which you will understand once you read the book. Perhaps because it is translated from the Japanese to English, the language is a bit heavy, and I had to pause between each chapter. The story is about a single mother and her daughter who kill the mother’s ex-husband when he harasses them too much. A neighbour who is interested in the mother helps them to cover up the murder using his mathematical brain to work out all the alternatives precisely. He coaches the mother and daughter as to what they should say when and how they should behave. The twists and turns the story takes took me by surprise. And I hope I don’t give away anything by saying this, but the ending really is heart-rending. True love can make us do some far out things!

The book also gives an idea of life in Tokyo and goes beyond the cliches and stereotypes about Japan. Overall a book I would recommend for those who like murder mysteries.

I was reminded of the Tamil movie Papanasam and the Hindi movie Drishyam while reading the book. 

Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy

First off, let me say, that the book has a belated mention of Jupiter right near the end, almost as if the author realised that she has to somehow relate the book to the title. And the only reason it seems to appear in the book is because it was the title. I have been wanting to read the book since it was shortlisted for the Man Booker only because of the title. So I guess this proves, you can really call your book anything and if the title is catchy enough it will sell. Small mercies, I didn’t buy the book, merely borrowed it.

The book starts off very slowly. Several characters are introduced at leisure. The writer uses a lot of hyperbole as seems to be the fashion with younger writers nowadays. The descriptions are full of similes and metaphors that try to be clever - some are, some aren’t. At one point she is so full of her similes, she uses three to describe the same thing - none would have been the ideal number. After you get past the detailed and very minute descriptions, you reach the actual story. Of course all these disparate characters are connected, however tenuously. And just when you get hooked into the story, the book ends. Just like that. 

I felt quite annoyed at that abrupt end. And then I felt even more annoyed that the title was merely a ruse. 

The chapters are called ‘First Day’, ‘Second Day’ and so on. Somewhere the sequence is skipped and we are at ‘Eighteenth Day’. I wondered what that was about till I read the acknowledgements where the author thanks someone for explaining the the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Yes, there was the Shabari story. But the Mahabharata? Then I realised that ‘Eighteenth Day’ refers to the war in the epic!!! My exasperation is complete. Perhaps the book is full of hidden allusions like this which I totally missed. I am not good at innuendo and hidden meanings - if you have something to say, just say it please! Or at least don’t hide it so deep that the average reader doesn’t get it. 

The book has potential, but it is incomplete just now. There are many characters introduced and I believe they are all just left floundering like me!

The Masque of Africa by V S Naipaul

The Masque of Africa was written by V S Naipaul just ten years ago. He was exploring religious rituals in Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Gabon and South Africa. Since there is no introduction or foreword or preface to the book, it is not clear why he wrote this book. (Yes, I can go search on Google, but the book itself does not tell me.) His writing is jerky in parts and the perspective is quite “white saheb”. His genius comes through at times when he almost seems to see behind the facade of words that the leaders he meets recite repeatedly. 

I am so used to reading about the poverty, corruption and injustice in Africa; I suddenly realised that this is about the people themselves - not what is done to them. Naipaul does go for the exotic like any “white man” would. But then he kind of pulls himself back as if he realises he is doing that. That struggle within him is interesting to watch right through the book. In parts, the book read like watching a documentary film about, especially, West Africa. This is the kind of travelogue that I like to read - not merely going from place A to place B and using hyperbole about the sights, but talking about people you meet and describing them in-depth. That tells me a lot more about the country. His detailed description of how cats are killed in Ivory Coast will stay with me for some time. He repeats it thrice in the book, just to make sure you don’t forget. I guess it horrified him as much as it did me. 

His struggle is most evident when he is in South Africa visiting monuments and Winnie Mandela rather than forests and ceremonies. While in the other countries he steered clear of politics, he admits that it is just not possible in South Africa - everything there is about race. SA is one country where the issue of “race” has actually “united” people across colour. At least from Naipaul’s telling of it. His confusion in SA is evident from the vagueness of his writing about the country. It is like he couldn’t really understand what was happening there.

I would recommend this book to anyone who still thinks of Africa as one big country rather than the continent of 57 countries it really is.