Night of Happiness

by Tabish Khair

BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.

Genres: India, Fiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Tabish Khair was born and educated in Bihar, India. He worked in Delhi as a Staff Reporter until his late twenties and is now a professor at Aarhus University, Denmark. Winner of the All India Poetry Prize, his novels have been shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize (Hong Kong), the Hindu Best Fiction Prize and the Crossword Vodafone Literature Awards (India), the Encore Award (UK) and for translation prizes in Denmark and France.

Reviews

[Helly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night of Happiness commences with the introduction of a successful man whose business has reached peaks for an employee who he has been grateful to - Ahmed. However, he is visibly shocked one night, when Ahmed shows signs of being demented. Torn between his gratitude to Ahmed and his responsibility to protect his work from a man who might be crazy - the boss employs a man to dig into Ahmed's past. What follows, is a discovery of a pathetic history that indeed made me shed some tears in grief.


With a simple writing style, and several failed attempts at creating memorable quotation lines that only felt repetitive, Tabish Khair's novel shines only because of the heart-wrenching plot that makes you question humanity and the position of women in the society.


3.5*/5 * , could have been a 4 only if the writing was more polished. A depressing read that I will remember for, well, quite some time now.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is narrated from the viewpoint of Anil Malhotra who is a very successful entrepreneur of his time.
What makes his life complete and functioning is his work partner/assistant cum his employee, Ahmed.
Life is crazy everyday with insane work demands yet Ahmed makes everything so possible and achievable for Anil that he depends on Ahmed for almost everything.
There's the perfect work place relationship that can ever be. However, everything starts crumbling down when Ahmed invites Anil at his home for to taste the heavenly 'perfect' halwa made by his wife.
Things go very wrong at that moment that led Anil to question everything about Ahmed, his life and upbringing, his marriage and his credentials.
So many years of perfect working relationship with such a trusted partner seems like a threat all of a sudden.
The life of Ahmed narrated, so many hushed up issues gets digged.
But the real mystery comes to knowing about the wife of Ahmed.
Is she real?
Does she exist?
*However as much interesting as the plot sounds with a good writing style, I find some things really unacceptable.
Referring to the Tibetans casually as 'chinky' is one; though it is high time that the author know that such terms are illegal to use.
As for that matter, to refer to any person of mongoloid origin.
When issues of faith are brought up in a book, as is mentioned and compared in the book regarding Hindus and Muslims, it would have been better if it was represented in a tactful manner instead of using strong terms and swear words.
Overall, the book served what it supposed to:
Mysterious, creepy yet entertaining.
The blurb goes along with the content. So a meek thumbs up to that.

I want to rate this book lower than this.

But as for now, I am letting it be.

[Gayatri Saikia | per_fictionist · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Review : Thank you PanMacmillan India for sending a review copy of this wonderful book.

Consisting of just around 100 pages, this book definitely makes you yearn for more of Tabish’s writing.

Set around the 1990-2000’s the book centers around Mr. Mehrotra,a business royale and the mystery and suspense surrounding hia long term aid Ahmed, who is his right hand in business.

The plot is so intriguing till the very end that you will not want to put the book down. The story is exceptionally well developed and the suspense build-up is commendable. The story is quite different from the ones that we come across nowadays.

I was personally very impressed and attracted by the character of Ahmed,which is rather a complicated one according to my perception. I re-read every other major scenes that included him because the character was made to feel so real.

Anil Mehrotra’s character could’ve been better organized with a bit of trivia of his family. I felt that his back story lacked a little and the author could’ve done justice to him,being the protagonist.

The “gazaar ka halwa” scene and the “graveyard” scene will be my most favorite scenes ever written in a book and for these I gave the book and extra star.

[Mridu aka Storypals · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars out of 5 stars!

It’s the simplicity of the characters and the story that will draw you in. It will make you want to keep reading, empathize and also maybe will make you hope for a better world. A better world with people like Ahmed in it or maybe will make you want to be an Ahmed if nothing else.

The writing is simple, poetic, easy to read with a lot of profound quotes in between.

I felt like highlighting them throughout the book however I only and only ruined the book by dog-earring the pages. :D

One of my favorite quotes:

“One need not search for happiness; one needs to stop for it.”

However, I wish the main protagonist was a little more developed and had more depth to him.

You know what they say?
The great stories are living amongst us, within the simple lines and ordinary lives.

Get this one.

[Annie Zaidi]

Reviewed this book:

There is nothing solid or pragmatic about happiness, grief, love. A successful business, however, has to be run along sensible lines, and a businessman must be able to count on his employees just as he can count on the food on his plate actually being there. It is at this junction of reason, driven by the evidence of one’s physical senses, and the other, intangible, unbelievable world that Tabish Khair places his new novel.

A slender, brisk narrative, it takes its title, Night Of Happiness, from “Shab-e-baraat”, a festival when some Muslim sects visit graveyards, light incense and consecrate halva in memory of ancestors and other departed family members. Naturally, a reference to the dead suggests a paranormal setting. This is, however, not so much a paranormal tale as it is a story about the struggle to retain one’s sense of reality, to remain centred, and about trust.

The full review is up here:

https://scroll.in/article/880258/this...

[Sonali Shetty · Rating 5 out of 5]

You cant put this book down without finishing it. What an amazing writer. The way this book has been written makes me want to read more from the same author. I don’t want to reveal anything as I hate spoilers. Just go for this one ! Enjoy the art of storytelling !

[Sk Badiruddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of identity, culture, religion and history wrapped in a fiction genre. Khair's novel isn't just penned by an Indian author who lives in Denmark, it talks about Gaya to Gujarat, conflicts of middle class and business persons of a society. Page no 122 is my favourite for so many reasons. You can highlight some phases with safron ink. You can call it Zaffran, Kesar whatever you want in your language, localised in regional identity but it will remain saffron in a true colour what people call it mostly in nationalistic way.

[Bettie]

A story about Hindu privilege as much as it is about the ‘invisibilisation’ of Muslims in India, The Night of Happiness is a nuanced and taut work @tabish_khair

[Tulika Chikker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A 150 pages of sheer intrigue.

[Sumith Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I'm not religious or irreligious, but ceremonies are necessary to live in a fuller world than this one.'

To seal a space is to shut out a soul.

Beginning of wife, end of life.

'I know you, but I do not hold anything against you.'

'Rain is the relationship of the earth to the sky.'

'All distances are infinite, except those of the heart.'

'Who can stand for the security for the future? One either has debt, or one has time. Debt is a slap in the face of time. I don't have debts; I've all time.'

Violence is like a virus; it spreads by contaminating others.

'What has knowledge got to do with trust? There's no need for trust is one has knowledge.'

What transpires in the small spaces between people covers such vast distances that it's often impossible to measure.

'One needn't search for happiness; one needs to stop for it.'

How can the strange be narrated except to a stranger?

Night of Happiness begins with the protagonists Anil Malhotra, a successful businessman whose business has reached the pinnacle of lofty heights. It's been possible with the help of a loyal employee Ahmed. For which he's quite grateful to him - making Ahmed his right-hand man. A perfect ideal & crucial healthy workplace relationship between a boss & an employee. However, everything turns upside down when on one stormy night Ahmed invites Anil at his home to taste the heavenly 'perfect' halwa made by his wife, which actually turned out it an imaginary debacle. Series of events followed, which leads Anil visibly shocked, when he realised that Ahmed showed signs of being demented. Torn between his gratitude to Ahmed to his successful business & easy life, & his responsibility to protect his work & other fellow colleagues; Anil hires a spy agency to dig into Ahmed's past. What follows thereafter, is a shocking revelation of a sad history which solves all the unanswered questions as presented in the blurb.

Writing style is really good. However, entire story has been structured & stretched beyond comprehension. It often became monotonous. I felt restless while reading it & wanted it to come to an end quickly. Use of colloquial & inappropriate names to irrelevant references & people isn't acceptable which has been done in the book.
I liked the book regarding the comparison done between Hindus & Muslims, especially the unjust behaviour & practices followed in Islamic religion which often doesn't make any sense pertaining to any beliefs!

My favourite scenes from the are - the imaginary 'gazaar ka halwa' scene which baffled Anil to the core ending him into sleepless nights. Also, the 'graveyard' visit scene where Ahmed fought against his fellow Muslim community people for his mother to wanted to pay her last visit to her late husband but wasn't allowed to enter because she was a woman, & women are considered weakhearted in Islamic law/rights/religion.

Language is good. Narration is also good. The novel highlights using it's heart-wrenching plot which makes us question the very definition of humanity & the position of women in the society & the lack of respect which they deserve.

[varsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim book is a micro-level, deeply moving dissection of a man's life torn by Gujarat pogrom and the ease with which the cushy life of his employer can remain completely blind to it.

What is it like for a liberal majoritarian floating in a sea of privileges he is unaware of? What is it to be a Muslim guy, God-fearing, hard-working, honest, competent; all of whose sterling qualities will always be weighed against his religious identity in today's India?
Khair captures the stark, ugly enormity of the sickness of genteel communalism practiced by upper-class Indians—the pushing of people into cracks and pretending not to see them, the blindness to enormous hate-crimes. He brings this through the ease and entitlement with which Anil Mehrotra, the businessman narrator, can push out Ahmed, his right-hand man, just because the invisibility of the halwa which he eats on Shab-e-baraat riles him.
Acknowledging things that cannot be seen whether ordinary moments of happiness or a love for a lost wife and her halwa—count as lunacy in Mehrotra's world. And yet the real madness that enables rampaging mobs to maim, kill and burn because of the imaginary crime of being born in another religion is absolutely normal. Just something tucked in page 7 of the newspaper, not even a blip in the even calm of Mehrotra's cushy life.
This is a deeply moving, book that opens the mystery of Ahmed's personality and in the process shakes the reader and the privileged narrator up. Night Of Happiness is an absolute read for anyone who wants to understand how hatred warps the soul of not just the victims but those who stay indifferent, those who think it does not matter.

[Anupama · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a quick read, that can be finished in a few hours. The story is it's strong point and manages to capture the reader, and the author does a good job of making the reader feel the emotions that the protagonist is going through. In this story, a sensitive subject has been dealt with, respectfully. In some places though, the writing is really choppy. It feels like the author created the skeleton of the story first, and then used a lot of sentences in between to join them together. Also, there are some really profound quotes in this book, but they seem out of place. It is very hard to determine his writing style, as it is not consistent at all. It alternates between being very mature and lacking depth in other parts.
But overall, it's a good short read, and a real page turner.

[Prem · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unsettling, sparse story that shows how much of a nation's story you can tell through the eyes of a few of its people; the violence that inflicts India's soul, shouted or whispered, and the cracks that this leaves in the souls of some.
The expository middle falters a little in pace and predictability when compared to the cutting beginning and end, but it pays off emotionally. The whole is tightly wound and lands with a sting that will linger for a while to come. Best read in a single sitting, to absorb Tabish Khair's incisive language and messaging.

[Smuttyttums · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW that’s the reaction this book invoked out of me. Brilliantly written with a complex storyline and equally complex characters, this book is a perfect example of the literature the Indian authors bring to the global stage.
If I could, I’d love to read this one for the first time all over again and cry and laugh and admire every aspect of the book. It’s a wonder how someone can catch a complex tale like this in 150 pages.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The prose is poetic and simple. The simplicity of it all makes it a powerful read. The focus is on the ordinary people who sometimes have to stop to look at the ugliness of violence and while humanising the other.

[Aman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got little slow in the middle..
But interesting read nevertheless

[Sayantan Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Days and Nights of Remembrance

The protagonist of Tabish Khair’s seventh novel Night of Happiness is Anil Mehrotra, an Ivy League graduate, and a self-proclaimed liberal Hindu businessman. But Mehrotra feels uncomfortable if he has to engage with Muslims too closely. Haven’t we met people like him too many times, especially in these last few years? Well-meaning men and women who won’t accept any charges of bigotry hurled at them because they have that one Muslim friend who feeds them biryani on Eid every year. He bears striking F numerous city-dwelling liberals whose hypocrisies can be spotted easily from even a mile away.

Mehrotra’s office has an accountant named Ahmed, a sincere and vulnerable man, who has been working with him for several years. One day, Ahmed invites him home during an Islamic festival named Shab-e-Baraat or the Night of Happiness, which commemorates the dead. The cloak of politeness Mehrotra has gotten used to wearing doesn’t allow him to refuse the invitation.

A storm rages outside, while Ahmad brings up his wife who apparently has been cooking for them but refuses to show her face. As the night progresses and Ahmed’s behaviour starts getting unpredictable, Khair’s book begins to unfold like a brisk mystery. Does Ahmed’s wife even exist or is a figment of his imagination? Is Ahmed an extremist or just clinically insane?

The truth that Ahmed has sealed inside his heart, however, is something far more sinister and heartrending. Khair’s slim, sparse novel will make you uneasy by the time you finish reading it, but for the right reasons. In a country where history is constantly being rewritten and state-sponsored pogroms hastily forgotten, Night of Happiness demands that you must remember all political victims of this land – those who are gone and those who are left behind to endure their absence.

[Roberta Isceri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che dire? Splendido. Una narrazione avvincente e ricca, che mette in luce molti aspetti dell'individuo e della società indiani (e non solo): l'insensibilità personale nei confronti di ciò che riteniamo erroneamente folle, la convivenza spesso difficile tra culture diverse (nella fattispecie: tra religione induista e musulmana), le vite che possono seguire la scia del dover fare/dover essere o quella (molto più rara) "del cuore".

Tabish Khair è, non a caso, uno scrittore pluripremiato. Il linguaggio è colloquiale, nonostante l'inserimento di parole arabe (a descrivere meglio il mondo dell'"antagonista"): è come se l'autore parlasse al lettore, raccontandogli in un flusso di coscienza quanto gli ha sconvolto la vita.

Il titolo può essere inteso in vari modi: si riferisce a una celebrazione musulmana, a una notte dove tutto è possibile o all'interruzione della felicità.

[Parvin Sultana]

The book shows the predicament of Indian Muslims – caught in between the growing influence of orthodoxy and at the same time struggling against stereotypes propagated by many in the mainstream. Ahmed was a model employee but a slight inconsistency in his behaviour led to many speculations. The book is an enquiry into the nature of loss and trauma and how people, survivors deal with such trauma. The short book is nonetheless thought provoking and tries to reflect upon the socio-political situation of present day India.

Read the entire review at:

https://parvinsultana.blogspot.com/20...

[Iqra Tasmiae]

https://scroll.in/article/880258/this...