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White Man Falling
White Man Falling is a tale of domestic catastrophe, deluded match-making and mystical absurdity set in a small town in South India. Police sub-inspector Swami has lost his job after suffering a stroke while beating up a Very Guilty Suspect. He can no longer talk properly, command the respect of his community, or give his six daughters the bankrupting dowries they deserve--and his wife is obsessed with securing the Most Expensive Husbands in India. No wonder Swami has lost his pride and wants to kill himself using only a puncture repair kit. Surely a man in these circumstances has good reason to feel cursed when a white man falls out of the sky and lands on him in a busy street, dying in front of his eyes and making him a laughing stock. But as further strange incidents occur, Swami's hometown starts to believe he is walking with God, and life becomes easier...
281 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
September 4, 2016
An odd comedy about an Indian policeman who following a stroke and a near death experience is attributed holiness by those around him. The book is funny and touching in parts but throughout I could not stop questioning how an author born and raised outside could be so very sure of himself in writing about what would appear to me to be fundamental cores of Tamil culture. At times the book sails perilously close to the arent foreigners awfully comic. So then I got lost in the whole well its obviously silly to constrain authors to only writing about their own culture - an ethnic straitjacket of write what you know.
That then turned into trying to come up with authors who can write about cultures other than their own convincingly. Ishiguro was raised in Surrey so that one went out the window, and after further thought I could only think of historical novelists Like Hilary Mantel who write so convincingly on different cultures seperated not by space but by time. In the end the only conclusion I came to is that this book underwhelmed to the extent that it allowed the brain to focus on more interesting questions. The dreadful reading run of 2014 continues.
That then turned into trying to come up with authors who can write about cultures other than their own convincingly. Ishiguro was raised in Surrey so that one went out the window, and after further thought I could only think of historical novelists Like Hilary Mantel who write so convincingly on different cultures seperated not by space but by time. In the end the only conclusion I came to is that this book underwhelmed to the extent that it allowed the brain to focus on more interesting questions. The dreadful reading run of 2014 continues.
March 28, 2020
Excellent family drama with added insight into "guru culture" mentality, packed with larger-than-life characters, with liberal seasoning of humour, and enjoyed the matter-of-fact "voice" of the author. All good.
March 16, 2017
A comical farce which genuinely made me laugh out loud although, there was a deeper message intertwined in this story about life and where it can take you.
August 27, 2011
Don't ever go anywhere near this thing! Some way-off-the-mark blurbs and reviews made me buy this terrible thing a.k.a book and induced me to read it too. Am still wondering why i didn't drop it half-way! A classic case of curiosity killing me. This is an ameturish & failed attempt to marry Wodehousian style and Narayananesque aura!
October 27, 2011
I think this is a well written book........for a NRI.
He captures the rythmn and atmosphere of Indian life well.
He captures the rythmn and atmosphere of Indian life well.
July 21, 2017
Quite funny at times but not often enough to compensate for the condescending depiction of the characters and of South Indian society and culture. Strange book.
September 14, 2025
White Man Falling by Mike Stocks
Ten out of 10
White Man Falling is a splendid, wondrous, extremely amusing and yet so profound masterpiece that has been included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list compiled by The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
The hero of this stupendous novel that has not attracted the attention, acclaim that it deserves is a former police sub inspector, Swami, affected by an attack he had suffered as he used violence against a suspect who becomes a guru, a godhead or godsend for a good number of people after a White Man Falls in front of him.
As he is transported on the streets of his small town, near the hotel of the rich, corrupt man of the region, DD Rajendran known as DDR, this white man comes down to earth and lives for another few seconds, after which he expires.
Angry mothers come with their babies and kick the corpse of the “white demon” that had endangered their progenitor, the gossip of the town having it that the flying demon has actually landed on the hero, which is such a bad omen.
Furthermore, aggravating the situation, this fall from the sky – actually from the seventh floor of the hotel – has occurred just as the family of the protagonist is involved in the complicated negotiations, pre-marriage arrangements that are the custom in India and are meant to bring to fruition a union between the eldest daughter, Jodhi, and the middle son of the P family, Mohan.
After this awful event takes place, the marriage is threatened and it was anyway a long shot away, given the fact that the family has no means to pay for a good scooter, which would make for a good dowry according to rules and traditions.
However, there is a second chance for a successful arrangement, with fewer guests and curious people – the first time countless relatives, friends and onlookers descended upon the Swami house, a village from a small Marutti minivan, as the author stupendously puts it.
Alas, Swami is at the center of a new commotion, as some thugs arrive at the house, just as the family of the groom-to-be is in attendance and force the retired sub-inspector to get into a car and face DDR, the wealthy, strong man who is upset with the affair of the White Man Falling.
Rumor has it that the ex-man of the law is investigating the mysterious death on his own, although he went to identify the body only because he was requested to do so by his former colleague, inspector Murugesan and when the nabob is humiliating and threatening the poor hero and his family, Swami starts crying.
The protagonist of this narrative has come to the point where he cannot cope with adversity and trauma anymore, he is disabled, a burden for his family, unable to provide for his six daughters who appear to have no chance to marry “good good boys „and he wants to commit suicide.
This is when a lowly policeman, Apu, enters the stage – well, we learn a little later that he has done heinous acts before this moment, for he is the one who, with another corrupt official has tried to use extortion, then torture, burning the White Man who would Fall with cigarettes and making him jump to his death from the room of his hotel.
Apu is unhappy, worried that Swami might uncover his deadly role in the death of the foreigner pushes the man who had wanted to commit suicide on the street, causing him to have a heart attack and enter a coma that lasts for a few days.
What seems at first to be a calamity, for the bill runs to over ten thousand rupees for each day in intensive care, the family would never be able to pay for it, and the dreams of decent marriages are forever destroyed, turns out to be a miracle.
Swami returns to life after death – as his disciples would see it – after he has said Rama three times in his near or after death experience, thus confirming that he has walked with God and becoming a guru, named Swamiji now.
This is a dramatic change on all levels, for DDR, who was in the first place determined to press, perhaps squash this danger if necessary, becomes the protector of the godsend and suffers a transformation that would make him admit to terrible mistakes and eventually the effort to cover up the drama of the White Man Falling.
The family of Mohan is now willing to marry their son to Jodhi, albeit the prospects are changing constantly, especially after rumors that the girl is dressing in jeans – what a horror – and she does not want to unite her destiny with that of the successful, excellent boy – the last is true fro she actually likes the lazy, sleep loving, writer of bad poetry Anand.
There are numerous hilarious scenes, like the one when the poor family of the hero is invited – well, some of them, others arrive uninvited – to the expensive Friends café, where the air conditioning is so effective, or excessive that they all get a cold and suffer in the horrible temperature.
Swamiji does not want the attention he gets, in fact he keeps thinking to inform his thousands of followers and disciples that he had not walked with God, and tries hard to be ordinary, taking the bus from the mountains, when DDR had intended to organize an impressive motorcade with Mercedes limousines, Toyota SUVs and a whole procession.
With Swamiji on the bus, nobody is boarding it anymore, for they cannot aspire to get at the same level with a godsend and therefore the vehicle becomes the only one in Indian history to travel with two passengers on board, the guru and his daughter.
White Man Falling is a fantastic read and it is hard to understand why it is not better known- on goodreads, it has an incredible 214 ratings –one more with this note – and 27 reviews, whereas Dan Brown books have those in tens of thousands, perhaps even more…
Ten out of 10
White Man Falling is a splendid, wondrous, extremely amusing and yet so profound masterpiece that has been included on The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list compiled by The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/200...
The hero of this stupendous novel that has not attracted the attention, acclaim that it deserves is a former police sub inspector, Swami, affected by an attack he had suffered as he used violence against a suspect who becomes a guru, a godhead or godsend for a good number of people after a White Man Falls in front of him.
As he is transported on the streets of his small town, near the hotel of the rich, corrupt man of the region, DD Rajendran known as DDR, this white man comes down to earth and lives for another few seconds, after which he expires.
Angry mothers come with their babies and kick the corpse of the “white demon” that had endangered their progenitor, the gossip of the town having it that the flying demon has actually landed on the hero, which is such a bad omen.
Furthermore, aggravating the situation, this fall from the sky – actually from the seventh floor of the hotel – has occurred just as the family of the protagonist is involved in the complicated negotiations, pre-marriage arrangements that are the custom in India and are meant to bring to fruition a union between the eldest daughter, Jodhi, and the middle son of the P family, Mohan.
After this awful event takes place, the marriage is threatened and it was anyway a long shot away, given the fact that the family has no means to pay for a good scooter, which would make for a good dowry according to rules and traditions.
However, there is a second chance for a successful arrangement, with fewer guests and curious people – the first time countless relatives, friends and onlookers descended upon the Swami house, a village from a small Marutti minivan, as the author stupendously puts it.
Alas, Swami is at the center of a new commotion, as some thugs arrive at the house, just as the family of the groom-to-be is in attendance and force the retired sub-inspector to get into a car and face DDR, the wealthy, strong man who is upset with the affair of the White Man Falling.
Rumor has it that the ex-man of the law is investigating the mysterious death on his own, although he went to identify the body only because he was requested to do so by his former colleague, inspector Murugesan and when the nabob is humiliating and threatening the poor hero and his family, Swami starts crying.
The protagonist of this narrative has come to the point where he cannot cope with adversity and trauma anymore, he is disabled, a burden for his family, unable to provide for his six daughters who appear to have no chance to marry “good good boys „and he wants to commit suicide.
This is when a lowly policeman, Apu, enters the stage – well, we learn a little later that he has done heinous acts before this moment, for he is the one who, with another corrupt official has tried to use extortion, then torture, burning the White Man who would Fall with cigarettes and making him jump to his death from the room of his hotel.
Apu is unhappy, worried that Swami might uncover his deadly role in the death of the foreigner pushes the man who had wanted to commit suicide on the street, causing him to have a heart attack and enter a coma that lasts for a few days.
What seems at first to be a calamity, for the bill runs to over ten thousand rupees for each day in intensive care, the family would never be able to pay for it, and the dreams of decent marriages are forever destroyed, turns out to be a miracle.
Swami returns to life after death – as his disciples would see it – after he has said Rama three times in his near or after death experience, thus confirming that he has walked with God and becoming a guru, named Swamiji now.
This is a dramatic change on all levels, for DDR, who was in the first place determined to press, perhaps squash this danger if necessary, becomes the protector of the godsend and suffers a transformation that would make him admit to terrible mistakes and eventually the effort to cover up the drama of the White Man Falling.
The family of Mohan is now willing to marry their son to Jodhi, albeit the prospects are changing constantly, especially after rumors that the girl is dressing in jeans – what a horror – and she does not want to unite her destiny with that of the successful, excellent boy – the last is true fro she actually likes the lazy, sleep loving, writer of bad poetry Anand.
There are numerous hilarious scenes, like the one when the poor family of the hero is invited – well, some of them, others arrive uninvited – to the expensive Friends café, where the air conditioning is so effective, or excessive that they all get a cold and suffer in the horrible temperature.
Swamiji does not want the attention he gets, in fact he keeps thinking to inform his thousands of followers and disciples that he had not walked with God, and tries hard to be ordinary, taking the bus from the mountains, when DDR had intended to organize an impressive motorcade with Mercedes limousines, Toyota SUVs and a whole procession.
With Swamiji on the bus, nobody is boarding it anymore, for they cannot aspire to get at the same level with a godsend and therefore the vehicle becomes the only one in Indian history to travel with two passengers on board, the guru and his daughter.
White Man Falling is a fantastic read and it is hard to understand why it is not better known- on goodreads, it has an incredible 214 ratings –one more with this note – and 27 reviews, whereas Dan Brown books have those in tens of thousands, perhaps even more…
December 8, 2019
I read this book while visiting Tamil Nadu and so much of it was very familiar, including Idli and chutney, which is a typical breakfast food we ate every morning. I have no idea how the author knows so much about Tamil culture, or how accurate it even is, but I didn‘t really care in the end. I enjoyed this absurd and very funny book
October 4, 2018
Didn't finish
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 9, 2020
Funny, tragic and refreshing
August 3, 2023
Entertaining, both in story and storytelling, and easy to read. This is the tale of an ordinary, mediocre man who accidentally becomes a revered religious figure by doing absolutely nothing at all.
March 18, 2017
Brilliant!
January 7, 2017
This debut comic novel won the 2006 Goss First Novel Award. Set in Tamil Nadu and featuring Police Sub-Inspector (Retd) R.M. Swaminathan’s unexpected journey into sainthood and also the tricky negotiations to marry off eldest daughter Jodhi. A pressing matter in a family of 6 daughters! A lively account of Indian family life, and a vivid picture of small-town life in modern India. Also it's a satire on the meaninglessness of life & religion. The book is deeper than might appear at first glance.
March 21, 2015
Book Review – White Man Falling by Mike Stocks
Alma Books – ISBN – 978 1 84688 0360
£7.99 – 281 Pages
Mike Stocks’s critically acclaimed and award winning debut novel ‘White Man Falling’ looks at how the fortunes of many can be changed by random events, and how other people view those events.
RM Swaminathan (Swami) is a retired police-man, coming to terms with life following a stroke. He cannot talk properly, he no longer commands the respect of his community, and he cannot afford the dowries that his beloved six daughters deserve.
When a white man falls from a hotel window, and dies on the crowded streets, it is Swami who is the last man he sees when he lies dying. It is Swami who becomes a laughing stock, but when he tries to commit suicide under a bus, and he is warned to stay away from the Police Investigation, it is the heart attack that sees him in hospital, and it is whilst he is in a coma that people start believing he is blessed, and is spending his time walking with God.
Swami becomes something a guru, offering hope to the many who visit him, and become convinced that his hours of silence are him meditating with a high force.
The book also considers Swami’s six daughters, and the courtship between his eldest daughter Jodhi, and Mohan, the outwardly successful, but dull and charmless son of a local family, when it is Mohan’s brother, Anand, a hopeless poet, who spends more of his days sleeping than is absolutely necessary that Jodhi loves.
The book is very good at describing family live, with the lives of Swami, his wife Amma, and their six daughters being well drawn, but the interference of Swami’s new standing within the community invades the once private life of the eight family members.
The Police cover-up of the falling White Man is shown to be corrupt, with money from the Hotel’s owner being used to change the facts, but in spending time with Swami, the three police men involved in the case soon see the errors of the ways.
The book ends with the lives of Swami and his family being completely changed. They live in an estate that is provided by the Chief of Police, which is many time bigger than the small apartment that the eight of them shared at the beginning of the novel. Swami goes for months between words, but it is silence that the community believes confers some wisdom to him.
Alma Books – ISBN – 978 1 84688 0360
£7.99 – 281 Pages
Mike Stocks’s critically acclaimed and award winning debut novel ‘White Man Falling’ looks at how the fortunes of many can be changed by random events, and how other people view those events.
RM Swaminathan (Swami) is a retired police-man, coming to terms with life following a stroke. He cannot talk properly, he no longer commands the respect of his community, and he cannot afford the dowries that his beloved six daughters deserve.
When a white man falls from a hotel window, and dies on the crowded streets, it is Swami who is the last man he sees when he lies dying. It is Swami who becomes a laughing stock, but when he tries to commit suicide under a bus, and he is warned to stay away from the Police Investigation, it is the heart attack that sees him in hospital, and it is whilst he is in a coma that people start believing he is blessed, and is spending his time walking with God.
Swami becomes something a guru, offering hope to the many who visit him, and become convinced that his hours of silence are him meditating with a high force.
The book also considers Swami’s six daughters, and the courtship between his eldest daughter Jodhi, and Mohan, the outwardly successful, but dull and charmless son of a local family, when it is Mohan’s brother, Anand, a hopeless poet, who spends more of his days sleeping than is absolutely necessary that Jodhi loves.
The book is very good at describing family live, with the lives of Swami, his wife Amma, and their six daughters being well drawn, but the interference of Swami’s new standing within the community invades the once private life of the eight family members.
The Police cover-up of the falling White Man is shown to be corrupt, with money from the Hotel’s owner being used to change the facts, but in spending time with Swami, the three police men involved in the case soon see the errors of the ways.
The book ends with the lives of Swami and his family being completely changed. They live in an estate that is provided by the Chief of Police, which is many time bigger than the small apartment that the eight of them shared at the beginning of the novel. Swami goes for months between words, but it is silence that the community believes confers some wisdom to him.
August 25, 2011
White Man Falling was quite funny. It made me wonder what the difference between brain damage and enlightenment actually is.
It opens with the daily life of south Indian, small town, Police Sub-Inspector (retired) R.M. Swaminathan, Swami to his friends, who is unable to walk or talk normally after suffering a stroke while doing his police duty and beating a Very Guilty Suspect. After that he wants to kill himself because he has little income and six daughters who need dowries.
He's late for his family's meeting with a prospective groom's family for his oldest daughter because on his way back from his weekly visit to the police station a white man falls from the sky in front of his wheelchair and causes chaos on the streets.
After that there's a few mix-ups as the police ask him to identify the body in the morgue, but the owner of the hotel the white man flew out of thinks he's investigating and wants that stopped before it ruins the reputation of his fine hotel. And the police officer who was trying to shake down the white man for money wants the investigation stopped to protect himself.
Eventually he suffers a near fatal heart attack while barely missing the bus he intended to throw himself under so his family can get his life insurance, has a near death experience in which Yama sends him back to life, and murmurs "Rama Rama Rama" in a coma while a nurse rearranges his legs and she starts everyone believing that Swami is walking with God.
Once he wakes up his brain is damaged and he can barely pay attention to anything and only speaks a word or two once every few weeks. While he's practically a vegetable, everyone takes it for enlightenment and Swami becomes the guru, Swamiji.
Stone wonderfully captured all the Indian style English in the characters' speech, so they feel like they're really talking. Although he fell flat with phonetic misspellings in the writing of a character who doesn't speak English at all.
But overall, very funny...
It opens with the daily life of south Indian, small town, Police Sub-Inspector (retired) R.M. Swaminathan, Swami to his friends, who is unable to walk or talk normally after suffering a stroke while doing his police duty and beating a Very Guilty Suspect. After that he wants to kill himself because he has little income and six daughters who need dowries.
He's late for his family's meeting with a prospective groom's family for his oldest daughter because on his way back from his weekly visit to the police station a white man falls from the sky in front of his wheelchair and causes chaos on the streets.
After that there's a few mix-ups as the police ask him to identify the body in the morgue, but the owner of the hotel the white man flew out of thinks he's investigating and wants that stopped before it ruins the reputation of his fine hotel. And the police officer who was trying to shake down the white man for money wants the investigation stopped to protect himself.
Eventually he suffers a near fatal heart attack while barely missing the bus he intended to throw himself under so his family can get his life insurance, has a near death experience in which Yama sends him back to life, and murmurs "Rama Rama Rama" in a coma while a nurse rearranges his legs and she starts everyone believing that Swami is walking with God.
Once he wakes up his brain is damaged and he can barely pay attention to anything and only speaks a word or two once every few weeks. While he's practically a vegetable, everyone takes it for enlightenment and Swami becomes the guru, Swamiji.
Stone wonderfully captured all the Indian style English in the characters' speech, so they feel like they're really talking. Although he fell flat with phonetic misspellings in the writing of a character who doesn't speak English at all.
But overall, very funny...
September 3, 2019
I thought this was quite a sweet and amusing though not exceptional little story but I obviously didn’t get it at all as after finishing the book I was surprised to learn that “White Man Falling” is actually on The Guardian’s definitive “The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read” list.
I enjoyed the scenes of Indian life and the quintessential Indian characters and situations and there are some very funny bits (the bus driver and conductor episode) but the plot is not all that original and after a while the story begins to wear a bit thin (especially the matchmaking part).
I thought the point was that people will believe anything and that there are always those who will exploit that belief, but some reviewers obviously found a deeper message and this book has been called thought-provoking, poignant, a gem, splendid, wondrous, stupendous, extremely amusing and yet profound. Then again, somebody thought it an amateurish & failed attempt to marry Wodehousian style and Narayananesque aura!
I might just have to read it again.
I enjoyed the scenes of Indian life and the quintessential Indian characters and situations and there are some very funny bits (the bus driver and conductor episode) but the plot is not all that original and after a while the story begins to wear a bit thin (especially the matchmaking part).
I thought the point was that people will believe anything and that there are always those who will exploit that belief, but some reviewers obviously found a deeper message and this book has been called thought-provoking, poignant, a gem, splendid, wondrous, stupendous, extremely amusing and yet profound. Then again, somebody thought it an amateurish & failed attempt to marry Wodehousian style and Narayananesque aura!
I might just have to read it again.
Read
August 11, 2011Mike Stocks does an incredible job of capturing the rhythms of life in South India.A Caucasian man falling from a hotel window triggers an unlikely chain of events that lead to a retired police officer being venerated like a minor deity. Everything rings true, from the descriptions of home life,political chicanery and traffic madness to the painful and awkward machinations that Indian mothers undertake to marry off their children. The speech patterns and colloquialisms seem spot on. The story itself is smart and funny,even if it does meander a bit. If you enjoyed this you might enjoy these other books set in India. "Holy Cow" by Sarah McDonald,"In Custody",by Anita Desai,and "The God of Small Things",by Arundhati Roy.R K Narayan's "Malgudi Days" also. The confident use of natural sounding dialogue recalls Roddy Doyle's work,especially the Barrytown trilogy( The Commitments,The Van,The Snapper).You may also enjoy Ha Jin's description of everyday Chinese life,especially " In the Pond"
January 10, 2016
I just stumbled across this gem while on the way to the billing counter at Blossoms in Bangalore. I was fascinated by the first line in the blurb -
"When it happens, it happens as these things ought to happen, in a manner appropriate to the cliches that witnesses will later attach to it - 'suddenly', 'in a flash', 'out of nowhere'.
Suddenly, in a flash, out of nowhere, a white man falls out of the sky."
Combine that with the sleepy south Indian town setting and I was sold. And this one didn't disappoint. Mike Stock brings the characters, their mannerisms, and entire scenes to life in a way difficult even for a native. All the while still bringing the humor in it all. If one cares to reflect about it, it's a pretty good social commentary as well but I'd pick it up just for the humorous story told brilliantly.
2016 is just starting but I'm sure this is going to be one of the best surprise finds of the year.
"When it happens, it happens as these things ought to happen, in a manner appropriate to the cliches that witnesses will later attach to it - 'suddenly', 'in a flash', 'out of nowhere'.
Suddenly, in a flash, out of nowhere, a white man falls out of the sky."
Combine that with the sleepy south Indian town setting and I was sold. And this one didn't disappoint. Mike Stock brings the characters, their mannerisms, and entire scenes to life in a way difficult even for a native. All the while still bringing the humor in it all. If one cares to reflect about it, it's a pretty good social commentary as well but I'd pick it up just for the humorous story told brilliantly.
2016 is just starting but I'm sure this is going to be one of the best surprise finds of the year.
June 19, 2015
White Man Falling provides a humorous insight into the life of Swami, a retired and handicapped police officer. One event changes his life, and his family’s, drastically as described by Mike Stocks.
Initially, I doubted that Stocks could accurately depict a South Indian family – after all, he who has not grown up on idli and sambhar is unlikely to understand the nuances of South Indian culture. Obviously, I was wrong, since Stocks mostly does manage to do so.
The exception being…
Read the rest at https://akankshasworld.wordpress.com/...
Initially, I doubted that Stocks could accurately depict a South Indian family – after all, he who has not grown up on idli and sambhar is unlikely to understand the nuances of South Indian culture. Obviously, I was wrong, since Stocks mostly does manage to do so.
The exception being…
Read the rest at https://akankshasworld.wordpress.com/...
Want to read
July 13, 2016* 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list: Comedy
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.
Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the first time.
Currently reading
September 11, 2012I am reading this because I used to work with the author Mike Stocks on the Collins Cobuild dictionary project at the University of Birmingham and I heard him being interviewed about living and writing in India on R4's Excess Baggage ages ago. I bought the book on the strength of the radio interview and it's been lying around on the "to read" pile ever since, so here goes ...
November 6, 2013
Starts off rather slowly but picks up pace in the meat of the book, the ending is apt for what the author wants to convey but could have benefited from more dramatization. The absence of a happy or tragic ending ending is a welcome departure from the norm. Recommended for a good weekend reading.
November 2, 2013
This is a good fun book that made me chuckle several times. All with an underlying serious note, not lost on an alert audience. A man who attempts suicide with nothing but a puncture repair kit will always get my vote!
August 13, 2008
A funny comedy of manners set in modern India, this book is very easy to read and quite witty.
August 28, 2008
quite humerous
Read
March 25, 2009Humorous Story.. sets in Mullaiyapuram,TamilNadu,India.Author describe the typical middle class Indian mindset in humorous way.
May 15, 2012
good comical novel depicting a typical middle class family of a fictious Tamil town!
Enjoyable read.
Enjoyable read.
July 21, 2012
it's occasionally funny. the plot is okay.
April 3, 2015
An enjoyable yarn and homage to Narayan's Malgudi Days tales, The Guide in particular.
January 28, 2016
Good, quick read. Sort of White Tiger meets The Hundred Year Old Man Who Disappeared Out the Window meets Eat, Pray, Love. Fun summer or commute reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews