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The Story That Must Not Be Told
Simon Jesukumar, an ageing widower in Chennai, passionately aspires to do something worthwhile with what remains of his life. Dominated by his wife during their otherwise happy married life, he struggles to break free from the haunting memories of the iron hand with which she led him. His aspirations are stirred by his nagging guilt about the slum, optimistically called Sitara, next door. As the story plunges into the heart of the slum, it brings together the most unlikely characters. Simon begins to understand why good intentions and small acts of mercy are no answer to the problems of a section of humanity he never knew.
Simon’s dilemma is ours: How can, or how should, the well-off help the poor?
Coming from one of the finest chroniclers of modern Indian life, The Story That Must Not be Told holds up a mirror to a moving, unseen, and deeply unsettling reality.
Simon’s dilemma is ours: How can, or how should, the well-off help the poor?
Coming from one of the finest chroniclers of modern Indian life, The Story That Must Not be Told holds up a mirror to a moving, unseen, and deeply unsettling reality.
- GenresIndia
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Kavery Nambisan
13 books20 followersKavery Nambisan is a novelist from India. She is also a surgeon who practices in rural India. Her career in medicine has been a strong influence in her fiction.
She spent her early years in Madikeri. She studied medicine in St. John's Medical College, Bangalore from 1965 and then studied surgery at the University of Liverpool, England, where she obtained the FRCS qualification. She worked as a surgeon in various parts of rural India before moving to Lonavala to start a free medical centre for migrant labourers.
Nambisan works as surgeon and medical advisor at the Tata Coffee Hospital in Kodagu, Karnataka, and is the Chief Medical Officer for Tata Coffee.
Kavery Nambisan began by writing under her first married name Kavery Bhatt for children's magazines. She wrote stories for the now defunct children's magazine Target. She also contributed to Femina and Eve's Weekly.
She spent her early years in Madikeri. She studied medicine in St. John's Medical College, Bangalore from 1965 and then studied surgery at the University of Liverpool, England, where she obtained the FRCS qualification. She worked as a surgeon in various parts of rural India before moving to Lonavala to start a free medical centre for migrant labourers.
Nambisan works as surgeon and medical advisor at the Tata Coffee Hospital in Kodagu, Karnataka, and is the Chief Medical Officer for Tata Coffee.
Kavery Nambisan began by writing under her first married name Kavery Bhatt for children's magazines. She wrote stories for the now defunct children's magazine Target. She also contributed to Femina and Eve's Weekly.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 11, 2018
Complex, layered narrative of the material and emotional connections people in an apartment with those who live in a neighbouring slum.
I found it meandering at the beginning and the selection of certain adjectives quite odd . (I prefer a glossary to weaving contrived attempts at fitting the meanings of non-English words in the prose.) It attempts to challenge stereotypes of slum-dwellers and their perspectives on charity work, but ends up nauseatingly reinforcing them. There are so many people and so things happening in this novel, that would be easy to dismiss as a metaphor for urban chaos, just for how crowded it feels.
The more I think about it, the more problematic it appears, mainly because it is not clear who the intended audience for this book is.
I found it meandering at the beginning and the selection of certain adjectives quite odd . (I prefer a glossary to weaving contrived attempts at fitting the meanings of non-English words in the prose.) It attempts to challenge stereotypes of slum-dwellers and their perspectives on charity work, but ends up nauseatingly reinforcing them. There are so many people and so things happening in this novel, that would be easy to dismiss as a metaphor for urban chaos, just for how crowded it feels.
The more I think about it, the more problematic it appears, mainly because it is not clear who the intended audience for this book is.
January 26, 2013
To Read more : http://thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com/...
The Story That Must Not Be Told ....the title itself urges one to grab the book, i did grab it because of that and once i started i culdn't put it down. The reason was simple a very real story, one can relate to it, characters well defined and flow is smooth.
It is a story of a slum in Mumbai adjacent to a rich locality. The story revolves around lives of characters and how the two totally different worlds are co-dependent and influence the lives of each other. The pleasantness gets disrupted as always but some who being too rich want the slum removed. It shows a blend of human categories as there are people who support the existence of the same , realizing how their lives were interdependent and thus the conflict drives the story on....
On the other side the life of people in slum with its own characteristics is portrayed. Read it to get a feel of India that lives in slums. The end is portrayed beautifully with a little flavour of disappointment but at the same time emphasizing a spirit "No matter what life goes on."
The Story That Must Not Be Told ....the title itself urges one to grab the book, i did grab it because of that and once i started i culdn't put it down. The reason was simple a very real story, one can relate to it, characters well defined and flow is smooth.
It is a story of a slum in Mumbai adjacent to a rich locality. The story revolves around lives of characters and how the two totally different worlds are co-dependent and influence the lives of each other. The pleasantness gets disrupted as always but some who being too rich want the slum removed. It shows a blend of human categories as there are people who support the existence of the same , realizing how their lives were interdependent and thus the conflict drives the story on....
On the other side the life of people in slum with its own characteristics is portrayed. Read it to get a feel of India that lives in slums. The end is portrayed beautifully with a little flavour of disappointment but at the same time emphasizing a spirit "No matter what life goes on."
June 28, 2014
This is the author's sixth novel. I've read all her previous five novels. Except for the masters, I've seldom found it worthwhile to read beyond five of an author's works. But I was curious about this novel set in Chennai (nor her first in this category, though). So, I borrowed it from a friend earlier this month.
It's hard to write across economic classes, especially in India. Kavery has done a decent job of it. Except that her book is tightly plotted, like a Nagesh Kukunoor script. KN believes in making her characters _readable_ no matter how complex they might be. In terms of craft, this could pall on the reader, even if the story itself is gripping,
I liked The Story... even though I had reservations about subjectivities and also about language. But the book itself comes from an honest and intelligent mind, that is good enough for me.
It's hard to write across economic classes, especially in India. Kavery has done a decent job of it. Except that her book is tightly plotted, like a Nagesh Kukunoor script. KN believes in making her characters _readable_ no matter how complex they might be. In terms of craft, this could pall on the reader, even if the story itself is gripping,
I liked The Story... even though I had reservations about subjectivities and also about language. But the book itself comes from an honest and intelligent mind, that is good enough for me.
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April 18, 2015Need to reread--rushed this one because my ILL copy from Northeastern Illinois University was overdue. But ample evidence that Nambisan is still my favorite contemporary Indian writer. Too bad she hasn't found an American publisher!
February 22, 2021
This was a very moving and gripping tale. I won't go through the plot as that's already been covered by other reviewers. What makes a good read a great one is that ultimate ability of the writer to draw the reader into the protagonist's mind. Kavery does that with consummate skill.
We can all relate to Simon’s condition: the burning desire to alleviate the lot of the desperately poor. With her sympathetic telling of this poignant Story, with its well-crafted characters, Kavery connects us to Simon’s ultimate impotence and makes us face our own.
We can all relate to Simon’s condition: the burning desire to alleviate the lot of the desperately poor. With her sympathetic telling of this poignant Story, with its well-crafted characters, Kavery connects us to Simon’s ultimate impotence and makes us face our own.
November 3, 2020
it is a continuation of good writing by kavery
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews