The Twenty-Seventh City - Jonathan Franzen

 

I read this book because, well, it's Franzen and I've read every other Franzen novel (I believe - I know I could check on Wikipedia, but I can't be bothered at the moment). 

Despite the low expectations, I enjoyed this book "enough". That said, I was a bit at odds with the scheming police officer's background. Indian people have got a little less than zero visibility in North-American literature as as I know, and in here Jammu essentially comes across as the Palpatine of St Louis. On the other hand, Franzen does look at one individual and the influence she has on "her people" (both in terms of those around her in general, and the Indian community in the city) and does not seem to make (too many) harsh generalizations. 

The book packs in a lot. As is the case at times with Franzen, it probably packs in too much. And by the time the final pages come, the novel and its author definitely jump the shark. 

Oro Puro - Fabio Genovesi

 Yet another typical display of contemporary Italian literature: 

- Sappy love story. Check

- Pure good-hearted main character. Check

- Loss leading to shallow pseudo-philosophical approach to life. Check

This one also has the added bonus of taking place against the backdrop of one of the most significant voyages of discovery in history (perhaps the most significant?) and - lo and behold! - attempts to give a voice to the voiceless and tells the story from the viewpoint of the most junior member of the crew. 

All in all, really rather pathetic. 

The Refugees – Viet Thanh Nguyen

The very last of the books one of my well-read colleagues gave me before changing jobs. Honestly, I hadn’t heard of Nguyen until then (and he’s a Pulitzer winner, which goes to show how much I know about literature probably!) – my bad…

I’m still not the biggest fan of short stories, but this book is one of the exceptions. What I particularly liked is that it mostly talks about South Vietnamese who were never happy with the actions of Ho Chi Minh, Giap and the Viet Cong.

Obviously, some of the stories are better than others. The meeting of the two half-sisters separated by Oceans, continents and culture is a bit bland, but the story of the old demented professor who confuses his wife and his past lover is pure gold, as is the opening one about the refugee and the gay couple in San Francisco.

At this point, too bad I missed Nguyen’s talk at Shakespeare and Co when I was in Paris last week!

Transmission – Hari Kunzru

The third Kunzru novel I’ve read, something considerably more light-hearted than My Revolutions but still really enjoyable. Both in literally and touristic terms, I’ve never really felt the pull of the Indian subcontinent with its charm and its mysteries – yet this book, split between India, the US and the UK, made me reconsider that.

Arjun, the novel’s main character, is so adorably ill-equipped to face the world that you just want to reach out to him through the pages and hug him. Most people who have left home to find work have probably faced some similar misadventures (I surely have) – but probably very few have had so many. The ease with which Kunzru portrays the challenges of life in India, in the UK, and in the USA are probably a reflection of his own life experiences between the three countries (and continents)

Many have tried to write modern love stories in the internet age, but very few have done it with the light touch of Kunzru, who in many ways also preceded the writers of The Big Bang Theory (seriously, some traits of Arjun’s personality really remind of Raj).