Synopsis
As Vishnu lays dying, his neighbors in his apartment building continue to lead their lives. As their parallel worlds are revealed, the panorama of contemporary India unfolds--and Vishnu, who may be Everyman and may be a god, ponders the conundrum of mortality. A New York Times Notable Book for 2001.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2001-01-01 | | Narrated by: | John Lee | | Edition Description: | Unabridged |
| Size | | Height: | 5.8 in | | Width: | 4.3 in | | Thickness: | 2.5 in | | Weight: | 11.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
A compelling spiritual quest viewed through the color and tumult of life In a Bombay apartment block. At the opening of this masterful debut novel, Vishnu, the resident odd-job man, lies dying on the apartment building staircase he inhabits, while his neighbors, the Pathaks and the Asranis, argue over who will pay for an ambulance. As the action spirals up through the floors of the building, the dramas of the residents' lives unfold: Mr. Jalal's obsessive search for higher meaning; Vinod Taneja's longing for the wife he has lost; the comic elopement of Kavita Asrani, who fancies herself the heroine of a Hindi movie. Suffused with Hindu mythology, this story of one apartment building becomes a metaphor for the social and religious division of contemporary India, and Vishnu's ascent of the staircase parallels the sours progress through the various stages of existence. As Vishnu closes in on the riddle of his own mortality, he begins to wonder whether he might not be the god Vishnu, guardian not only of the fate of the building and its occupants, but of the entire universe.
Industry Reviews
"...Suri [has] wickedly perfect pitch, as well as an almost tactile sense of language that can neither be faked nor learned. For once, all the hype about a major new literary voice isn't wrong."
Entertainment Weekly - Mark Harris (01/19/2001)
"[C]risp and often comic....Suri leaves the fate of his characters hanging--open, though somehow not unresolved. It's a beautiful job of plotting, and it depends on the skill with which the book's last quarter cuts between Mr. Jalal and the sweet melancholy of...the widower Taneja, creating a suspense that deepens the book's emotional register."
New York Times Book Review - Michael Gorra (01/28/2001)
"Suri writes with obvious affection about a Bombay perhaps already lost, evoking its moods and attitudes, its light and smells....Suri's eye for detail and natural ability to create a strong sense of place and time define his considerable talent...."
Times Literary Supplement - Navtej Sarna (03/09/2001)
"Suri has a cynic's sense of humor and a seeker's sense of wonder, and the author displays both to penetrating effect in his first novel."
Book - Padma Viswanathan
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