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If I Die Today
If I Die Today is an incisive and compelling picture of murder and what it does to a community.
Guru, an end-stage cancer patient, comes to a quiet medical campus and quickly befriends his hosts friends and neighbours, his warmth and sympathetic manner encouraging them to confide in him. Out of these conversations emerges a name Prabhakar Tambe which spreads a pall of uneasiness over the doctors and triggers a chain of events that leads to catastrophic results.
Rumours start to fly, old tensions and rivalries between colleagues and friends re- surface, and every family on the campus is caught in a web of suspicion. Within weeks, two people die in mysterious circumstances and it seems that life will never be the same again for the doctors and their families.
Guru, an end-stage cancer patient, comes to a quiet medical campus and quickly befriends his hosts friends and neighbours, his warmth and sympathetic manner encouraging them to confide in him. Out of these conversations emerges a name Prabhakar Tambe which spreads a pall of uneasiness over the doctors and triggers a chain of events that leads to catastrophic results.
Rumours start to fly, old tensions and rivalries between colleagues and friends re- surface, and every family on the campus is caught in a web of suspicion. Within weeks, two people die in mysterious circumstances and it seems that life will never be the same again for the doctors and their families.
- GenresIndia
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
7 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Shashi Deshpande
43 books164 followersNovelist and short story writer, Shashi Deshpande began her career with short stories and has by now authored nine short story collections, twelve novels and four books for children. Three of her novels have received awards, including the Sahitya Akademi award for `That Long Silence'. Some of her other novels are `The Dark Holds No Terrors', `A Matter of Time', `Small Remedies', `Moving On', `In The Country of Deceit' and `Ships that Pass'. Her latest novel is `Shadow Play'.Many of her short stories and novels have been translated into a number of Indian as well as European languages. She has translated two plays by her father, Adya Rangacharya, (Shriranga), as well as his memoirs, from Kannada into English, and a novel by Gauri Deshpande from Marathi into English.
Apart from fiction, she has written a number of articles on various subjects - literature, language, Indian writing in English, feminism and women's writing - which have now been put together in a collection `Writing from the Margin.' She has been invited to participate in various literary conferences and festivals, as well as to lecture in Universities, both in India and abroad.
She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.
List of books by Shashi Deshpande
Dark Holds No Terrors (1982)
That Long Silence (1989)
A Matter of Time
Moving On
Small Remedies
Shadow Play (2013)
The Narayanpur Incident
If I Die Today
In the Country of Deceit
The Binding Vine
Ships That Pass (2012)
The Intrusion And Other Stories
3 Novels : A Summer Adventure, The Hidden Treasure, The Only Witness
Come Up & Be Dead
Collected Stories (Volume - 1)
Collected Stories (Volume - 2)
Writing from the Margin: And Other Essays
Apart from fiction, she has written a number of articles on various subjects - literature, language, Indian writing in English, feminism and women's writing - which have now been put together in a collection `Writing from the Margin.' She has been invited to participate in various literary conferences and festivals, as well as to lecture in Universities, both in India and abroad.
She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.
List of books by Shashi Deshpande
Dark Holds No Terrors (1982)
That Long Silence (1989)
A Matter of Time
Moving On
Small Remedies
Shadow Play (2013)
The Narayanpur Incident
If I Die Today
In the Country of Deceit
The Binding Vine
Ships That Pass (2012)
The Intrusion And Other Stories
3 Novels : A Summer Adventure, The Hidden Treasure, The Only Witness
Come Up & Be Dead
Collected Stories (Volume - 1)
Collected Stories (Volume - 2)
Writing from the Margin: And Other Essays
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 10, 2019
Shashi Deshpande- as I have said in my earlier reviews, is one of my favorite authors. So I love her work irrespective of what she writes (Fiction, non-fiction, short stories). She is one of those writers who not only inspires me to read more but inspires me to write as well.
‘If I die today’ her Crime fiction is set in the midst of medical premises. Calling it a pure crime fiction does not seem right as it also throws light on relationships and how they become stale as time passes by. There is also no specific detective to find out the real culprit except for Manju a Pathologist’s wife who also happens to be the narrator of this story, and what a reliable and honest narrator she is! She spares none not even herself. That’s what I love about Manju. It's from her point of view that we see the various character come in to picture, out of all one of the most interesting characters we meet is Guru, a cancer patient who is awaiting his death with all his heart.
Manju becomes a very close friend to Guru, she talks to him about everything and values his opinion the most. As a person who is prepared for his death Guru understands people better and reads their mind in a strange way and responds to them uprightly. That’s how people get attracted to him and confess their deep down sorrows and secrets. The problem starts when he tries to solve or set right a secret but dies before his time.
Was he killed? Who was the culprit? What was the reason behind it? Is what this story is about. Shashi Deshpande weaves this story not just as crime fiction, but as a story about human’s criminal mind and what goes behind it and how people who are not even part of the crime get forcefully involved. Though we know who the real culprit is, in the end, we never get to know the real motive behind it. I think that’s how a human brain works sometimes.
‘If I die today’ her Crime fiction is set in the midst of medical premises. Calling it a pure crime fiction does not seem right as it also throws light on relationships and how they become stale as time passes by. There is also no specific detective to find out the real culprit except for Manju a Pathologist’s wife who also happens to be the narrator of this story, and what a reliable and honest narrator she is! She spares none not even herself. That’s what I love about Manju. It's from her point of view that we see the various character come in to picture, out of all one of the most interesting characters we meet is Guru, a cancer patient who is awaiting his death with all his heart.
Manju becomes a very close friend to Guru, she talks to him about everything and values his opinion the most. As a person who is prepared for his death Guru understands people better and reads their mind in a strange way and responds to them uprightly. That’s how people get attracted to him and confess their deep down sorrows and secrets. The problem starts when he tries to solve or set right a secret but dies before his time.
Was he killed? Who was the culprit? What was the reason behind it? Is what this story is about. Shashi Deshpande weaves this story not just as crime fiction, but as a story about human’s criminal mind and what goes behind it and how people who are not even part of the crime get forcefully involved. Though we know who the real culprit is, in the end, we never get to know the real motive behind it. I think that’s how a human brain works sometimes.
February 28, 2017
Shahsi Dehspande, just broke all my sickening presumptions I had about Indian writing. I mean i am not that thick head to generalize every Indian writer to be poor, I do believe there are genuinely good Indian writers whom I have not come across yet . In fact its my resolution this year to read as much good Indian fiction as possible. But I absolutely didn't expect the writing to be this good. You could easily drop her in the box of world class writer. Glad I came across this.
To dive into plot, this books revolves around the close knit community primarily belonging to medical fraternity, where everyone knows everyone, in a jovial and congenial kind of way. And their cordial appearance is tested with the arrival of terminally ill person named Guru. For Guru seemed someone who had come in terms with his condition a long time back, as if he had made amends with God for his misfortune and almost carried the sense of purpose behind his arrival.
Soon drawn by his unworn aura, most of the people among the community confides their darkest and stark secrets with him and with secrets so fraudulent and immoral it doesn't take much time to blow the roof of well disposed community , to the extent where everyone starts mud racking at each other and feels there is something sinister behind the natural death of Guru. Something like murder.
Told from the perspective of a pregnant teacher named Manju who unlike everybody else considers Guru to be a just a good friend who retorts to her feelings with a positive vibe. Perhaps its deliberate choice from the author to tell it from her perspective, the most clean-hearted person among the community and judges the people around her in its virtue, which is tested to its crux.
Its a dense book packed within 150 pages, with many questionable characters and author does a brilliant job shifting suspicion. Mind you for most of its ambiguity takes place inside Manju's mind.
And prose so beautiful woven, you feel every tinge of nervous itch in Manju.
I juts wish if the writer delved deep into each characters, and came up with a riveting ending this this book would have been slam dunk for sure to me.
To dive into plot, this books revolves around the close knit community primarily belonging to medical fraternity, where everyone knows everyone, in a jovial and congenial kind of way. And their cordial appearance is tested with the arrival of terminally ill person named Guru. For Guru seemed someone who had come in terms with his condition a long time back, as if he had made amends with God for his misfortune and almost carried the sense of purpose behind his arrival.
Soon drawn by his unworn aura, most of the people among the community confides their darkest and stark secrets with him and with secrets so fraudulent and immoral it doesn't take much time to blow the roof of well disposed community , to the extent where everyone starts mud racking at each other and feels there is something sinister behind the natural death of Guru. Something like murder.
Told from the perspective of a pregnant teacher named Manju who unlike everybody else considers Guru to be a just a good friend who retorts to her feelings with a positive vibe. Perhaps its deliberate choice from the author to tell it from her perspective, the most clean-hearted person among the community and judges the people around her in its virtue, which is tested to its crux.
Its a dense book packed within 150 pages, with many questionable characters and author does a brilliant job shifting suspicion. Mind you for most of its ambiguity takes place inside Manju's mind.
And prose so beautiful woven, you feel every tinge of nervous itch in Manju.
I juts wish if the writer delved deep into each characters, and came up with a riveting ending this this book would have been slam dunk for sure to me.
August 3, 2021
A fast-paced account of the unravelling of a chthonic community of doctors and their families on the arrival of an outsider – a manipulative busy-body, despite being terminally ill with cancer. The breathless narration with ominous overtones makes for gripping reading, despite the Rams, Shyams, Prems, Gautams, Meera, Neeta ad nauseaum.
May 27, 2014
Theme and Ambiance:
If I die today by Shashi Deshpande is set amidst the placid and idyllic Medical College Campus in Bombay, built by the benevolent Sethji, where everyone is either a doctor or related to the medical fraternity in some or the other capacity. Manju who is married to Prem, a quiet, reserved and dour faced pathologist finds herself drifting away from her spouse even as her second pregnancy progresses.
As her marital woes continue to baffle her ,she finds a perfect friend in Guru-a terminally ill patient who arrives in her neighborhood and who also happens to be distantly related to her good friend and neighbor of many years-Meera. Guru is the exact opposite of Prem. Where Prem weighs each and every word of his, Guru is a people’s person. He indulges them and draws them into his cocoon of sympathy and camaraderie. Although this book talks of marital woes and lack of communication in an otherwise good marriage, it runs deeper than that . It is about the contradictions inherent in life and death.
While Guru is incredibly brave about his impending death and draws everyone into his warm and sympathetic demeanor, it is apparent that his affable presence creates many a ripple in the otherwise perfect lives of the campus inmates. Although the book is primarily about murder, there are no detectives looking out for clues or tapping their heads to find motives. What sets the book apart from the usual whodunits and murder mysteries is that murder is done so subtly that for the most part of the book, the reader is left wondering if the murder had indeed taken place. Who would want to kill a dying man? How could his remaining alive for only a few weeks threaten the very core of people?
Read rest of the review at http://halfbakedvoices.blogspot.in/20...
If I die today by Shashi Deshpande is set amidst the placid and idyllic Medical College Campus in Bombay, built by the benevolent Sethji, where everyone is either a doctor or related to the medical fraternity in some or the other capacity. Manju who is married to Prem, a quiet, reserved and dour faced pathologist finds herself drifting away from her spouse even as her second pregnancy progresses.
As her marital woes continue to baffle her ,she finds a perfect friend in Guru-a terminally ill patient who arrives in her neighborhood and who also happens to be distantly related to her good friend and neighbor of many years-Meera. Guru is the exact opposite of Prem. Where Prem weighs each and every word of his, Guru is a people’s person. He indulges them and draws them into his cocoon of sympathy and camaraderie. Although this book talks of marital woes and lack of communication in an otherwise good marriage, it runs deeper than that . It is about the contradictions inherent in life and death.
While Guru is incredibly brave about his impending death and draws everyone into his warm and sympathetic demeanor, it is apparent that his affable presence creates many a ripple in the otherwise perfect lives of the campus inmates. Although the book is primarily about murder, there are no detectives looking out for clues or tapping their heads to find motives. What sets the book apart from the usual whodunits and murder mysteries is that murder is done so subtly that for the most part of the book, the reader is left wondering if the murder had indeed taken place. Who would want to kill a dying man? How could his remaining alive for only a few weeks threaten the very core of people?
Read rest of the review at http://halfbakedvoices.blogspot.in/20...
February 5, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed the book! It felt like Agatha Christie novel to me. How is this not a movie yet? I’m surprised!
March 24, 2020
Really gripping story! The characters have been crafted masterfully.
August 6, 2021
This is my first book by Shashi Deshpande and I totally loved her work and suddenly I am tempted to read all her other books. ‘If I die today’ her Crime fiction is set in the midst of Medical College Campus in Bombay, built by the benevolent Sethji premises, where everyone is either a doctor or related to the medical fraternity in some or the other capacity. Calling it a pure crime fiction does not seem right as it also throws light on relationships and how they become stale as time passes by. There is also no specific detective to find out the real culprit except for Manju a Pathologist’s wife who also happens to be the narrator of this story, and what a reliable and honest narrator she is! She spares none not even herself. That’s what I love about Manju. It's from her point of view that we see the various character come in to picture, out of all one of the most interesting characters we meet is Guru, a cancer patient who is awaiting his death with all his heart. As her marital woes continue to baffle her, she finds a perfect friend in Guru-a terminally ill patient who arrives in her neighborhood and who also happens to be distantly related to her good friend and neighbor of many years-Meera. Guru is the exact opposite of Prem. Where Prem weighs each and every word of his, Guru is a people’s person. He indulges them and draws them into his cocoon of sympathy and camaraderie. Although this book talks of marital woes and lack of communication in an otherwise good marriage, it runs deeper than that. It is about the contradictions inherent in life and death.
May 6, 2015
The ending was rushed and it's a rather dense book with not enough time for character building. Disappointing, given it started off with a lot of promise.
September 10, 2015
calm and quiet story... everyday life.. strong portrayal of women..
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews