The Bureau of Second Chances: By the Women's Prize longlisted author

by Sheena Kalayil

After more than thirty years in London, recently widowed Thomas Imbalil returns to India.  He spends his first months in uncluttered isolation in his house overlooking the Arabian Sea, in a small village in Kerala.  But when he agrees to look after his friend's optical store, he meets and befriends Rani, the young assistant.  Before long he discovers that Rani is using the store to run an intriguing side-business.  He agrees to turn a blind eye, but the discovery has made him restless, and reminds him of the lonliness he is feeling and which lies ahead of him.  Rani also reveals herself as a much more complex individual than he had first imagined, and while he had envisaged a quiet reacquaintance with his homeland, Thomas finds himself becoming more and more entangled with the lives of those around him. 

Genres: Fiction

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2017

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was not what I expected at all. Thought it was going to be a gentle 'finding love the second time around' story and I LOVED the author's style but it almost turned into a psychological horror. HATED Rani - where Thomas found her 'fragile' and 'vulnerable' I thought she was calculating, manipulative, bossy and all round unpleasant. And yet I was still unprepared for her to say what she did at the end. And what an awful ending. And what happened to his real love who was clearly unhappy in her marriage. Couldn't wait to finish it, it made me quite miserable.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visit India as in the novel


This book deals with some interesting topics - returning back to your home after years of being away. 30 in this case which makes this a highly emotional novel and a story that many of us could find ourselves in. The title was interesting and at first I didn’t get the reference but as it becomes clear it makes the novel even more of a journey.

Tell you something, the sense of place is indeed very strong - as are the colours and vibrancy of a city which is seen through the eyes of someone who was there when young but who returns later on and sees the place he knew so well through adult eyes. You discover with the author what this city means to her.

The story is bittersweet, and painfully personal at times. The characters all have something to offer the novel and it’s a story where you finish and then stand by to really appreciate what you’ve just read. There were times when I felt a little lost in the narrative like the man in the story but it was a read where I felt informed after the event. It read more as a linear narrative than a story as such - a documented account of the man’s life - but the scene setting kept my attention.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

There seems, in recent years, to be a theme of 'lost men', widowed, moving on, finding adventure, coping with their new lives. This is another one of those, with the added exoticism of Kerala thrown into the mix. This sort of chugged along inoffensively, then all of a sudden speeded up towards the end, and I admit to being somewhat baffled by the ending, and the acceptance of, what amounted to *spoiler alert* emotional blackmail.

[Sree Radhakrishnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was easy to read but I found it a bit flowery and indulgent at times. I really disliked the ending, it made me frustrated with the whole book. While I liked the references to Kerala and being able to understand the Malayalam and little Easter eggs, I just kept imagining the character in this book as the 50 year old malayalee men I know which are my father and uncles which just made me uncomfortable to read a lot of the story. I thought this would be more of a homecoming, reminiscing, nostalgic kind of story than what it turned out to be.

[Trudie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book made me so angry. Thomas came so far during this narrative, learning how to process his emotions and to shore up a new sense of identity... only for it all to come crashing down in the final pages when he fails - on multiple occasions - to stop a manipulative woman from taking away his freedom and his new life. It baffles me that he is so complicit in her outrageous selfishness - this is at odds with the narrative we were set up for. I can't help feeling angry at him for being a total doormat, and it feels like the author was implying there was some sort of honour in that (truly, there isn't). One of the very books I regret reading.

[Cormac Healy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is always pleasant to read a book set in a place you have been or lived, and my main motivation for reading this is that it is set in Kerala.

To be quite frank, it is nothing to write home about, the story of a man returning to Kerala after the death of his wife. I'm not sure if you would describe it as a love story or a 'voyage of discovery' but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone without an interest in the area.

[SueLucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review copy courtesy of www.nudge.com - my review on that site in due course.

[LindyLouMac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow soon.

[Gibin Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nice Read !

The story is about a man (Thomas-Non Resident Indian) who came back to his native (Cherai) after 33 year in London, to settle down after his retirement. He is a widower and had a daughter settled abroad. In this boring retired life,he agree to work in his friends optical store,where he met charming and young 'Rani' . He was impressed with her and liked her. This relation with her dragged him to serious of events which jeopardize his reputation and alter his life for ever.

The characters in the story are live and will stuck a strong emotional chord. The character of 'Rani' is woven wonderfully and will draw all kind of feelings (sad,sympathy,hate),and in some sense her story is the main driver. Thomas is a typical villager in Kerala,unchanged by the long stay abroad. There are many other characters like Mariamma,Chechiyamma,Murugan(police) which will remind you of the village, if you are a typical Keralite.

Being a Keralite,I felt nostalgic while reading through the pages. I will rate this 4/5

[Judi Mckay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a reading group book; not something I would usually pick up for myself. The first two thirds of the book were a delight. I liked being in Thomas' world, seeing his country through his westernised eyes.
When Thomas Meets V, I was hoping that it wasn't going to turn into a love story, and at least there, my hopes were realised, but the end of the book nevertheless was a huge let down. Thomas has only just started building bridges with his daughter and then he is going to put it all in jeopardy by marrying Rani? they guy clearly is still grief-stricken. And getting mugged in the cemetery? How is that a way to end a book? (Unless there is a follow up book in the offing)
It will be a good book to discuss at a reading group, as it raises all sorts of issues about cultural differences between the west and India, but as a novel in its own right, it only gets three stars because the end was so unsatisfying.

[Helen Bussell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Thomas finding a new life in India takes him from a solitary time in the house he purchased with his late wife to a new job and new relationships. I thought that this was going to be a standard “back to his roots “ book but there were sufficient twists in the plot to keep me reading. The characters were quite convincing so I really cared about what happened to them. The relationships between them developed well throughout the book as did Thomas’s reflections on the bonds he had with his family ( living and deceased). The contact between Thomas and his daughter, Nina, were very moving. Rani turned out to be much more interesting than I had expected. The background heat and social issues of contemporary India seeped into the storyline providing an excellent setting. I enjoyed this book much more than I had anticipated.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a recently widowed man in his early 50s, living in London,who decides to return to his native India to retire. He is an optician and takes on the temporary running of an opticians for a friend. It soon becomes clear that the receptionist has a side line based in the office. What is it? The story progresses slowly with an ending that I still can't decide whether I approve of or not. Not a gripping book but an interesting view of present day India .

[Amme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed (sorry!) - it is a fun read but repetitive; I kept waiting for something to happen which eventually did with less than a third left of the book . The premise of the book was fine but the author 'padded' the introductory stages of the book for 200+ pages without embellishing it. I kept myself reading because it had been well reviewed but that was a struggle.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a wonderful book. I was not sure what I expected - my goal is to try a new author on every library visit - but this was delightful and unexpectedly held my interest so that I finished it practically in one go.

[Kat Ashworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

How quickly one can become embroiled in the drama and consequence of others decisions and actions. This book begins quite mildly, unfolding into life changing repurcautipns for the antagonist.

[Rebecca Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written but the progression of the story left me feeling a dull disappointment by the end of it all.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that I did not know where the story was going.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reflective and melancholic

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the story was lame because the characters were dull and stuck and dull of fatefull circumstances.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved most of it. Great sense of place. Found the ending a bit odd.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Fiona Bureau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, good storyline,though some unlikely plot twists.not great art, but a good page turner. Irritating habit of including foreign language words without translation or explanation.

[Jane Blumsom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Middle aged widower returns to India. I loved the sense of place and time, and fondly followed the main character’s change of direction. Gentle, compassionate and a feeling of times passed.

[Rosie Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complex, surprising little book with much to discuss with my reading group about identity, family, loss, home and hope.

[Katlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow read, was bored for most of it but didn’t have the guts to DNF. A small part of the last 100pgs had me hooked but then it went back to being a bit boring and dragging on a bit.
(bookclub)

[Libby Wight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the writing and the premise of this book. I did not love the twisty plot point.

[Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved everything about this. It reminded me of Kent Haruf's 'Our Souls at Night' with similar themes about loneliness, yet maybe finding happiness at a stage in life where new beginnings might not be expected any more. Gentle, yet steely, I just rode with the flow for this, and I came out the richer for it.



My rating strategy:
5 stars = An all time favourite, I could tell you about this 10 years later.

4 stars = Loved this, really gripping/fun/exciting, will remember long term.

3 stars = Definitely enjoyed, might forget quickly though, but happy to read more by the author.

2 stars = Likely to have some good points, but it didn't properly captivate me.

1 star = Not my cup of tea at all, wouldn't return to the author.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.
I felt bad giving this book one star... Its writing is so easy to read and nicely descriptive. But the story... dull, slow, dry. A man moves back to his hometown in India. He temporarily takes over an opticians, and the assistant seems suspicious... there's extra visitors showing up, lots of mysterious phone calls with heavy breathers who hang up, a starey man who work in the restaurant across the road. I'm thinking, yes! Soliciting? A cult? Drug dealing? Gangs? Human trafficking?

... it's a dating service for divorcees and widowers. Absolute snore.

The writing is lovely. And I'm sure the story is just lovely. But braindead. I imagine this is what people want when they want a 'holiday book'. Just not my cup of tea at all, I wish the blurb was more descriptive because I was enticed by that.

[Ellie T · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with how to review this. I enjoyed the writing style, though did think when I had been reading for a while that it must have been written by man because of how the character came across. This may mean that Sheena got into the mindset of a middle-aged widower excellently?
After his wife of thirty years dies from cancer, Thomas decides to leave the UK, where they lived since their marriage, and live in the house that he and his wife had had built in recent years in India. He doesn't seem to be doing much grieving for his wife and indeed becomes enamoured (slightly creepily at first) with a beautiful woman visiting from America.
When Thomas is asked to cover his friend's opticians practice for 6 months while the friend goes to America to visit his first grandchild, he meets Rani. Rani is the young assistant and seems friendly. She has a secret sideline: not drugs as I thought it might be, but matchmaking.
The story bumbles along and then... Police arrive at work, Rani disappears, Thomas finds Rani and discovers she's pregnant so asks nuns to help her. Rani tells nuns he is baby father, Thomas says he isn't but they don't believe him and tell him he should marry Rani who will be disgraced otherwise. Thomas agrees to do so.
I hated the ending and it felt very sordid and dirty. Plus it didn't seem that it would help with the fragile steps being made towards a better relationship between him and his daughter in Paris.
Almost wish I hadn't read to the end.