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Not Quite a Disaster After All
In six connected, haunting vignettes that span two continents and two decades, we follow Anjali, misfit, the expensively educated daughter of a wealthy family, from her childhood in Calcutta to her coming of age in New York City, claiming the grimy dive bars of the East Village as her own. We also see her childhood friend Anita, who struggles with the quieter life, marriage and motherhood she has chosen, in a suburb of Ohio.
These are women who muster all their grit and resolve to make their way in the world, seeking their identity.
These are women who muster all their grit and resolve to make their way in the world, seeking their identity.
- GenresFiction
212 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2023
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108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 24, 2023
The last chapter of Buku Sarkar’s novel Not Quite a Disaster After All is the one which lends its name to the book. In this chapter, a highly successful designer, Anjali Ray, arrives in New York City—where she had once lived, before migrating to the UK—for the launch of her book. As Anjali hurries about, trying to get everything perfect for the launch party at a restaurant, one flaw keeps bothering her: a bunch of ugly wires hanging in plain sight. Anjali does all she can to hide those wires, to have everything look perfect. The solution she finally arrives at is hardly a solution, slapdash and apt to give way, but she makes do.
Hiding the truth is one of the main elements of Not Quite a Disaster After All. Sometimes, like those bunches of black wires marring the background, the truth is actually ugly. At other times, it’s just uncomfortable, something to be brushed under the carpet. Something like the many white lies with which we pepper our lives to make it easier to be part of society. To be easier with ourselves, too.
This subtle reflection on human nature is a thread that runs right through the six vignettes that form this novel. It begins with Anjali as a child in Calcutta, growing up in a wealthy family, privileged but careful to hide that privilege in front of school friends or poorer relatives. The first two chapters, the first two vignettes, are narrated in first person, seen through the eyes of Anjali as a girl; when the third vignette begins, not only does the novel shift from first person to third, it also shifts perspective. The story is now many years into the future, and told from the point of view of Anita, mother to a young child and wife to a struggling writer. Anita, who is Anjali’s old friend, and whose story bisects with that of Anjali’s as they meet, catch up, argue, reconcile. Still hiding things, from each other and perhaps from themselves too.
Anjali—as child, young woman, and older, more mature woman—dominates the story, but Anita, seemingly so unlike Anjali, also plays a significant role. She and Anjali may appear very different: Anjali is used to privilege, and comes with the arrogance that is often a corollary to that privilege, while Anita is quieter, more accommodating, more willing to make do. But there is, between these seeming opposites, a similarity: a deep-down instinct that helps both women find their own way in life, make of themselves what they, ultimately, wish.
Not Quite a Disaster After Allis how Anjali’s book launch ends up, despite the hiccups. But it could be more too: it could mean the sum total of Anjali’s relationships, with her parents as well as the man who had been lover and more for several years. It could mean Anita’s life, her search for fulfilment beyond the domesticity prescribed by society. It could mean life for any of us, as we make our way through heartbreak, through shame and secrets to be kept under wraps, through disappointment and compromise and much more.
This is an interesting story, and fascinating in the deeply detailed, raw insights it offers (no punches pulled, no holds barred) into the lives of its two main protagonists. There is insight, yes, but there’s also hope, and inspiration: the chance that, given time and patience, things will sort themselves out.
Buku Sarkar makes an impressive debut with Not Quite a Disaster After All: this novel isn’t just not quite a disaster, it’s quite a success.
(From my review for Open - The Magazine: https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/bo...)
Hiding the truth is one of the main elements of Not Quite a Disaster After All. Sometimes, like those bunches of black wires marring the background, the truth is actually ugly. At other times, it’s just uncomfortable, something to be brushed under the carpet. Something like the many white lies with which we pepper our lives to make it easier to be part of society. To be easier with ourselves, too.
This subtle reflection on human nature is a thread that runs right through the six vignettes that form this novel. It begins with Anjali as a child in Calcutta, growing up in a wealthy family, privileged but careful to hide that privilege in front of school friends or poorer relatives. The first two chapters, the first two vignettes, are narrated in first person, seen through the eyes of Anjali as a girl; when the third vignette begins, not only does the novel shift from first person to third, it also shifts perspective. The story is now many years into the future, and told from the point of view of Anita, mother to a young child and wife to a struggling writer. Anita, who is Anjali’s old friend, and whose story bisects with that of Anjali’s as they meet, catch up, argue, reconcile. Still hiding things, from each other and perhaps from themselves too.
Anjali—as child, young woman, and older, more mature woman—dominates the story, but Anita, seemingly so unlike Anjali, also plays a significant role. She and Anjali may appear very different: Anjali is used to privilege, and comes with the arrogance that is often a corollary to that privilege, while Anita is quieter, more accommodating, more willing to make do. But there is, between these seeming opposites, a similarity: a deep-down instinct that helps both women find their own way in life, make of themselves what they, ultimately, wish.
Not Quite a Disaster After Allis how Anjali’s book launch ends up, despite the hiccups. But it could be more too: it could mean the sum total of Anjali’s relationships, with her parents as well as the man who had been lover and more for several years. It could mean Anita’s life, her search for fulfilment beyond the domesticity prescribed by society. It could mean life for any of us, as we make our way through heartbreak, through shame and secrets to be kept under wraps, through disappointment and compromise and much more.
This is an interesting story, and fascinating in the deeply detailed, raw insights it offers (no punches pulled, no holds barred) into the lives of its two main protagonists. There is insight, yes, but there’s also hope, and inspiration: the chance that, given time and patience, things will sort themselves out.
Buku Sarkar makes an impressive debut with Not Quite a Disaster After All: this novel isn’t just not quite a disaster, it’s quite a success.
(From my review for Open - The Magazine: https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/bo...)
April 21, 2023
“It was always important to choose. To know that life didn't happen to you, but was a consequence of everything you did.”
🌆
10 years from now, where would this 24yo self be? Will the dreams she's manifesting come true or will they morph into something predictable or unpredictable? Will she be merely surviving or will she be enjoying? Will she fall in love with her career or will it be a new city that would become her first love? Will she be roaming carefree or will she be a judging snob?
In Buku Sarkar's "Not Quite A Disaster After All" we trace the journey of Anjali & her friend Anita in 6 interconnected vignettes.
The 1st & 2nd chapter from the lens of Anjali as a child reflects upon the innocence of childhood & the secrets a child's heart holds. The narration from the 1st person shifts to a 3rd person, and we see Anita & Anjali in their 30s & 40s and grasp their changing lives & relationships.
The two protagonists are flawed, complex, with secrets but at the same time they exude a sense of autonomy & control over their lives & decision making.
There are no clear answers to a perfect balanced life in this book, nor does it set a beginning & an end, but reading it reminds you of the lives you've led & the desires you've acted upon but sometimes left unattended. The free flowing stream of thoughts takes you back to your first taste at freedom & the dreams you've hidden within your being.
On days of solitude, draw the blinds & curl up with this book to relish this starkly bold, mundane yet evocative journey Sarkar wants you to be a part of.
If you're a Jhumpa Lahiri fan, Buku Sarkar's prose would remind you a lot of Lahiri's musings, especially her recent book 'Whereabouts'.
I know I'll be reading this again at a different stage of my life, linking it to my own journey & thinking maybe life isn't 'Quite a Disaster After All'.
Do yourselves a favor & add this to your TBR!
Thank you publishers for sending across the review copy in exchange for honest review.
🌆
10 years from now, where would this 24yo self be? Will the dreams she's manifesting come true or will they morph into something predictable or unpredictable? Will she be merely surviving or will she be enjoying? Will she fall in love with her career or will it be a new city that would become her first love? Will she be roaming carefree or will she be a judging snob?
In Buku Sarkar's "Not Quite A Disaster After All" we trace the journey of Anjali & her friend Anita in 6 interconnected vignettes.
The 1st & 2nd chapter from the lens of Anjali as a child reflects upon the innocence of childhood & the secrets a child's heart holds. The narration from the 1st person shifts to a 3rd person, and we see Anita & Anjali in their 30s & 40s and grasp their changing lives & relationships.
The two protagonists are flawed, complex, with secrets but at the same time they exude a sense of autonomy & control over their lives & decision making.
There are no clear answers to a perfect balanced life in this book, nor does it set a beginning & an end, but reading it reminds you of the lives you've led & the desires you've acted upon but sometimes left unattended. The free flowing stream of thoughts takes you back to your first taste at freedom & the dreams you've hidden within your being.
On days of solitude, draw the blinds & curl up with this book to relish this starkly bold, mundane yet evocative journey Sarkar wants you to be a part of.
If you're a Jhumpa Lahiri fan, Buku Sarkar's prose would remind you a lot of Lahiri's musings, especially her recent book 'Whereabouts'.
I know I'll be reading this again at a different stage of my life, linking it to my own journey & thinking maybe life isn't 'Quite a Disaster After All'.
Do yourselves a favor & add this to your TBR!
Thank you publishers for sending across the review copy in exchange for honest review.
April 7, 2023
The book is a compilation of certain parts of a person's life. It really makes you wonder about the wholeness of being, and if it is ever achieved.
April 13, 2023
This COULD have been a four star read, but the protagonist doesn't like ilish maach. What kind of person doesn't like ilish maach?
December 17, 2023
Quite a disappointment after all.
June 8, 2023
Because I have been a fan of contemporary fiction in recent times, some modern, disjointed, mature, open ended writing appeals to me a lot! Buku Sarkar's Not Quite A Disaster After All from @harpercollinsin therefore is a book that quite triggers the right charms for me.
.
Set into six distinct sections, what is essentially being called a vignette, this book although has one woman in the centre but can be read as totally unconnected stories at that.
.
The first two are set in the posh household of the elite ' Bengalis , the sort that declares themselves most sophisticated but hides secrets that are actually quite open to society. Money is what flows here fluently, emotions not so much. Told in first person the mind of Anjali even at that age is brought out quite photographically I should say and the nuances, the way she interacts describing her stiffling yet luck to be in such a household is well put out.
.
The third one is the arrival of Anjali in New York and her early days. The freedom, her fatal attractions to all that is opposite to her upbringing completely and to Shane - she finds her existence defined in all that she has never had, with all that money could buy.
.
The fourth one has Anita - right the opposite of Anjali but wanting to be Anjali. In her structured life Anita probably wants some adventure but she can't place her emotions. She is caught between the security, stability of her household, husband, child and the want to get out, see, feel, live, as she wants.
.
The fifth one is where we Anita and Anjali are seen to meet and we see them arguing over little things and choices but you can feel that somewhere in trying to defend, trying to make it right, both of them are the same.
.
The last and longest one now sees the present day Anjali Ray in her full fledged out pose, hypochondriac, well established designer and author. How the view of some wires triggers her wired memories and irks her is clearly brought out.
.
The entire book plays with light, shadow, desires, thoughts of the human mind really well. How often we fall back on to our upbringings, how often we want to break free of shackles, how often we judge others for choices we make, how often we adjust to things we abhor for the sake of love we want, how often we throw away love that is freely given, and how often we sit down to gather our past. This book is one that will leave you wanting but seem complete at the same time. I think just like the two women in the book, this will leave you with a lot of mind paradoxes
.
Set into six distinct sections, what is essentially being called a vignette, this book although has one woman in the centre but can be read as totally unconnected stories at that.
.
The first two are set in the posh household of the elite ' Bengalis , the sort that declares themselves most sophisticated but hides secrets that are actually quite open to society. Money is what flows here fluently, emotions not so much. Told in first person the mind of Anjali even at that age is brought out quite photographically I should say and the nuances, the way she interacts describing her stiffling yet luck to be in such a household is well put out.
.
The third one is the arrival of Anjali in New York and her early days. The freedom, her fatal attractions to all that is opposite to her upbringing completely and to Shane - she finds her existence defined in all that she has never had, with all that money could buy.
.
The fourth one has Anita - right the opposite of Anjali but wanting to be Anjali. In her structured life Anita probably wants some adventure but she can't place her emotions. She is caught between the security, stability of her household, husband, child and the want to get out, see, feel, live, as she wants.
.
The fifth one is where we Anita and Anjali are seen to meet and we see them arguing over little things and choices but you can feel that somewhere in trying to defend, trying to make it right, both of them are the same.
.
The last and longest one now sees the present day Anjali Ray in her full fledged out pose, hypochondriac, well established designer and author. How the view of some wires triggers her wired memories and irks her is clearly brought out.
.
The entire book plays with light, shadow, desires, thoughts of the human mind really well. How often we fall back on to our upbringings, how often we want to break free of shackles, how often we judge others for choices we make, how often we adjust to things we abhor for the sake of love we want, how often we throw away love that is freely given, and how often we sit down to gather our past. This book is one that will leave you wanting but seem complete at the same time. I think just like the two women in the book, this will leave you with a lot of mind paradoxes
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2023
Two decades, two strong women, too fragile when it comes to relationships and the US. It’s never easy to make your way through life as a woman. That’s what this book is about. The unpredictable stones that life throws your way and the hurdles you seep through.
Woman may have a quieter life, an even quieter perfect events that predominate the sequence of life. This story just reminds us how family, motherhood predominates a career if a woman, it’s a story of discovering what they choose and make themselves of.
It’s definitely more in terms of story and there writing is so beautiful, nuanced that I was mesmerized by the descriptions of seasons, US and how the women felt.
The two women Anjali and Anita left me inspired and baffled. But some parts were little hard and dragged is what I felt.
It’s a good read if you like reading about unique, interesting experiences of woman and why did they choose what they chose.
Woman may have a quieter life, an even quieter perfect events that predominate the sequence of life. This story just reminds us how family, motherhood predominates a career if a woman, it’s a story of discovering what they choose and make themselves of.
It’s definitely more in terms of story and there writing is so beautiful, nuanced that I was mesmerized by the descriptions of seasons, US and how the women felt.
The two women Anjali and Anita left me inspired and baffled. But some parts were little hard and dragged is what I felt.
It’s a good read if you like reading about unique, interesting experiences of woman and why did they choose what they chose.
May 2, 2023
If this is her debut, I can’t wait to read the future writing by Buku Sarkar! Detailed and beautiful, it’s like an album filled with photographs telling a story of a modern woman’s life. I believe I read that Buku is also a photographer. That makes perfect sense - her description of the intricate world through which Anjali, the main protagonist, navigates, is apt and moving.
“Mistakes are okay as long as you don’t regret them. Regret is for those who don’t believe in their own actions.” - Anjali, p160
“Mistakes are okay as long as you don’t regret them. Regret is for those who don’t believe in their own actions.” - Anjali, p160
March 12, 2023
Something between a short story collection and a novel, this book crawled under my skin and made me real uncomfortable. Story of two Indian women coming of age in America, living together, yet turning out complete opposite of each other.
April 26, 2023
Had quite an expectation from this book, specially with quotes from Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Mohammed Hanif, etc. But it all ended with a disappointment.
The first story Afternoons was engrossing and promised a lot to come. Aunt B held the interest too. But felt that narrative went downhill thereafter. Lily and Reece was all over the place and just couldn’t connect to story line despite efforts to make the links. The last story, and the title Not Quite A Disaster After All, did pull things back significantly and tried to make the book feel wholesome. However, as a story it went quite well, but a continual to the overall narrative, it couldn’t do enough to pull through.
Overall, fairly average read…
The first story Afternoons was engrossing and promised a lot to come. Aunt B held the interest too. But felt that narrative went downhill thereafter. Lily and Reece was all over the place and just couldn’t connect to story line despite efforts to make the links. The last story, and the title Not Quite A Disaster After All, did pull things back significantly and tried to make the book feel wholesome. However, as a story it went quite well, but a continual to the overall narrative, it couldn’t do enough to pull through.
Overall, fairly average read…
March 18, 2023
Two women. Strong yet fragile. Two women who couldn’t be more different from each other. Two women in search of their identity. Interweaved with two cities, Calcutta and New York. Calcutta felt claustrophobic for one. New York represented freedom for both.
Not Quite a Disaster After All by Buku Sarkar is a series of six vignettes across decades and two continents. A book about how our expectations from life change over the years. Between self-destruction and survival.
In all its starkness, the cover well represents the book. Scruffed. No filters. Laying it all bare. But with the promise that lies ahead across. Much like the author’s photography, her writing is sharp-edged. Feminine and unapologetic.
Similar to a short story collection, some of the vignettes stay with you and some leave you wanting more. Sometimes coming a full circle. Sometimes not. There is no beginning, no end, just a slice of life, a no holds barred intimate look. Warts and all.
The charm of the book is the evocative prose. Right from the first paragraph that draws you in. The anxieties. The rebellions. The wins – big and small. By no means a light read, it is a book that makes you uncomfortable. A book that makes you think. It is an impressive debut and I am looking forward to reading more by the author. If you enjoy layered characters and narrative, do pick up the book.
More of a 4.5. Read the complete review at https://bohemianbibliophile.com/not-q...
Not Quite a Disaster After All by Buku Sarkar is a series of six vignettes across decades and two continents. A book about how our expectations from life change over the years. Between self-destruction and survival.
In all its starkness, the cover well represents the book. Scruffed. No filters. Laying it all bare. But with the promise that lies ahead across. Much like the author’s photography, her writing is sharp-edged. Feminine and unapologetic.
Similar to a short story collection, some of the vignettes stay with you and some leave you wanting more. Sometimes coming a full circle. Sometimes not. There is no beginning, no end, just a slice of life, a no holds barred intimate look. Warts and all.
The charm of the book is the evocative prose. Right from the first paragraph that draws you in. The anxieties. The rebellions. The wins – big and small. By no means a light read, it is a book that makes you uncomfortable. A book that makes you think. It is an impressive debut and I am looking forward to reading more by the author. If you enjoy layered characters and narrative, do pick up the book.
More of a 4.5. Read the complete review at https://bohemianbibliophile.com/not-q...
March 2, 2023
Blurb of the book-
In six connected, haunting vignettes that span two continents and two decades, we follow Anjali, misfit, the expensively educated daughter of a wealthy family, from her childhood in Calcutta to her coming of age in New York City, claiming the grimy dive bars of the East Village as her own. We also see her childhood friend Anita, who struggles with the quieter life, marriage and motherhood she has chosen, in a suburb of Ohio.
These are women who muster all their grit and resolve to make their way in the world, seeking their identity.
Not Quite a Disaster after All is a novel about how our expectations from life shift and change, how they can be pushed in the most unpredictable ways. It is about the thin line between self-destruction and survival. It is, equally, about falling in love-with a person, a city, or simply with the alluring, exciting promise of the new.
Deceptively simple in its telling, and gently ironic, a nuanced narrative of depth and power, it marks the arrival of an outstanding voice in fiction.
In six connected, haunting vignettes that span two continents and two decades, we follow Anjali, misfit, the expensively educated daughter of a wealthy family, from her childhood in Calcutta to her coming of age in New York City, claiming the grimy dive bars of the East Village as her own. We also see her childhood friend Anita, who struggles with the quieter life, marriage and motherhood she has chosen, in a suburb of Ohio.
These are women who muster all their grit and resolve to make their way in the world, seeking their identity.
Not Quite a Disaster after All is a novel about how our expectations from life shift and change, how they can be pushed in the most unpredictable ways. It is about the thin line between self-destruction and survival. It is, equally, about falling in love-with a person, a city, or simply with the alluring, exciting promise of the new.
Deceptively simple in its telling, and gently ironic, a nuanced narrative of depth and power, it marks the arrival of an outstanding voice in fiction.
May 27, 2024
this was such an amazing book! i absolutely loved the vibes of it! i am not much of a re-reader tbh but i think i am definitely up for a reread when it comes to this one.
we follow anjali and anita, two cousins in america who have the same bengali roots. the story is divided into six short vignettes and we see them evolve as humans. admittedly, we see more of anjali and her growth from a priviledged daughter of wealthy parents, from having things coveted by others in school, to settling down in the US, we see her arc form through the ignorance to startling precociousness, to the rebellious stage of life, until the sobriety of late middle age.
as a child, her world is not very big. we as the reader are given a glimpse of this intimate world, in a funny and yet poignant way. from her realization that her cousin Dinky was not so well off as her, nor had access to the priviledge she did with all her parents' money, to our realization that we were not too different as kids either - our realizations, our pettiness, our anger, or condescension, and all other aspects of emotions.
buku sarkar has woven a masterpiece of humanity with all its tenderness, its anger, its dejection and all its highs and lows. i think my review in no way does any justice to it - perhaps as i too grow older and wiser and have more experiences, and as i read this book again then, i will decipher something else and understand it a bit more! i will definitely recommend this book to everyone! absolutely brilliant!
we follow anjali and anita, two cousins in america who have the same bengali roots. the story is divided into six short vignettes and we see them evolve as humans. admittedly, we see more of anjali and her growth from a priviledged daughter of wealthy parents, from having things coveted by others in school, to settling down in the US, we see her arc form through the ignorance to startling precociousness, to the rebellious stage of life, until the sobriety of late middle age.
as a child, her world is not very big. we as the reader are given a glimpse of this intimate world, in a funny and yet poignant way. from her realization that her cousin Dinky was not so well off as her, nor had access to the priviledge she did with all her parents' money, to our realization that we were not too different as kids either - our realizations, our pettiness, our anger, or condescension, and all other aspects of emotions.
buku sarkar has woven a masterpiece of humanity with all its tenderness, its anger, its dejection and all its highs and lows. i think my review in no way does any justice to it - perhaps as i too grow older and wiser and have more experiences, and as i read this book again then, i will decipher something else and understand it a bit more! i will definitely recommend this book to everyone! absolutely brilliant!
October 28, 2023
Despite its attempts to go deep in a meaningful way, covering the life of the protagonist in six different phases of her life, through short stories, the books lands flat, surfacial and fails to grip the reader in its entirety. The characters are very a-typical, the plot points cliched and dialogues rushed through in a lot of cinematically-thought-through scenes. The only saving grace is the writing style and craft of Biku, which has potential, perhaps submerged in a very ordinary package of these stories.
April 28, 2023
From New York to Calcutta. 6 stories with simple narration about two women - Anjali and her friend Anita. It’s about their expectations and realities. About falling in love with people, love-hate with an old city and what lies ahead of them.
Love this line where the author describes a place far from her university where the nights ran long-
“….where the cheap vinyl stuck to you at seven in the morning like remnants of one’s eyeliner.”
Love this line where the author describes a place far from her university where the nights ran long-
“….where the cheap vinyl stuck to you at seven in the morning like remnants of one’s eyeliner.”
May 5, 2025
The writing style and characterisation reminded me strongly of Jhumpa Lahiri. The first and last chapters signify the title of the book but few of the chapters in the middle were a bit contextless. Nonetheless, loved the stories and Anjali’s disconcerted personality. 3.5 stars!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews