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La vengeance du carnivore
Please Read Brand New, International Softcover Edition, Printed in black and white pages, minor self wear on the cover or pages, Sale restriction may be printed on the book, but Book name, contents, and author are exactly same as Hardcover Edition. Fast delivery through DHL/FedEx express.
128 pages, Paperback
Published March 12, 2020
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About the author
Upamanyu Chatterjee
18 books207 followersUpamanyu Chatterjee is an Indian author and administrator, noted for his works set in the Indian Administrative Service. He has been named Officier des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters), by the French Government.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 31, 2018
See this is why I avoid Indian authors. Not sure if it was intentional but its like these guys just wanna sit alongside dictionary and thesaurus and write every other synonym of the words and make it complicated. I am in no way going to search for the words at all and so I didnt.
Story was okay...it was done nicely but the breaks in between sucked.
Story was okay...it was done nicely but the breaks in between sucked.
August 2, 2018
So, if you’re thinking of how intense the tale in the book is, then hold on! It’s not the tale but surely the crime is! And the way the slayer has done it, is gruesome and horrid.
A family of six and their dog were burnt to death. Hitting of the skull with a hard instrument or with the back of an axe was revealed to be the real cause of death in the post-mortem report. Madhusudan Sen, ICS, the Magistrate of Batia, whose subordinate mamlatdar was the head of the slaughtered family, Nadeem Dalvi, took a vow to turn vegetarian until the justice is being done.
The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian is more of a storytelling than a whodunnit. The reader will meet the slayer in the middle of the book and what follows is a mordacious view. While one non-vegetarian vow to be vegetarian till the justice is done whilst another non-vegetarian was the cause of such swear.
The short and crisp book telling a story set in 1949, but somehow do relate to the existing times. The substantiality of meat diplomacy and violence in the name of choice of food has been presented in the book in an effortless yet intricated way.
With around one twenty-four pages, the book could be finished in one sitting. Besides, the twisted mystery in the book will not let you put down until you’re done.
The appeal of both the cover and title is enough to entice the reader to pick this one up. However, the story has its sufficient impact.
I will definitely recommend this work of Upamanyu Chatterjee for its potency and a persuasive narrative.
A family of six and their dog were burnt to death. Hitting of the skull with a hard instrument or with the back of an axe was revealed to be the real cause of death in the post-mortem report. Madhusudan Sen, ICS, the Magistrate of Batia, whose subordinate mamlatdar was the head of the slaughtered family, Nadeem Dalvi, took a vow to turn vegetarian until the justice is being done.
The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian is more of a storytelling than a whodunnit. The reader will meet the slayer in the middle of the book and what follows is a mordacious view. While one non-vegetarian vow to be vegetarian till the justice is done whilst another non-vegetarian was the cause of such swear.
The short and crisp book telling a story set in 1949, but somehow do relate to the existing times. The substantiality of meat diplomacy and violence in the name of choice of food has been presented in the book in an effortless yet intricated way.
With around one twenty-four pages, the book could be finished in one sitting. Besides, the twisted mystery in the book will not let you put down until you’re done.
The appeal of both the cover and title is enough to entice the reader to pick this one up. However, the story has its sufficient impact.
I will definitely recommend this work of Upamanyu Chatterjee for its potency and a persuasive narrative.
October 27, 2020
Kind of sinister. Coldblooded. And not justified. But that is what the human world is. 4star for the engrossing narrative and lucidity.
October 19, 2018
More a longish short story than a novel or novella, The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian is a succinct but biting commentary on the very unique ills of modern Indian society, be it class differences or police and judicial inefficiency. Fans of English, August will enjoy the fascinating glimpses the author provides of the creaking Indian bureaucratic machinery, as well as Chatterjee's characteristic dry wit and wry narrative voice.
June 16, 2021
3.75.
January 21, 2019
In what is essentially a longish short-story, Upamanyu Chatterjee manages to with dry wit, acerbic observations and staccato chapters provide a commentary on India's creaking civil and judicial structures as well as social hierarchies and norms spread across a period of three decades. We get a peek within the courts, the jails, the police and the minds of the servants, their masters, and their masters as well in subaltern India.
It is also strangely (incidentally?) contemporary given the lynchings we hear of over the last few years (but not quite, this isn't about the 'religious intolerance' we associate) and left me wondering who the is the Non-Vegetarian whose revenge the title refers to - Madhusudan Sen (ICS) or Basant Kumar ? :)
PS : the author and the editor both need a crash course in the use of commas which are more liberally sprinkled throughout a sentence than the delays in Basant Kumar's court case.
PPS : the price point for a book this size is quite atrocious - even the Kindle price. Should dock another star for this TBH. This is why people resort to piracy -_-
PPPS Edit : Recommended Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar's enlightening review in The Hindu which made me think about some parts of the book in a completely different manner.
https://www.thehindu.com/books/beef-o...
It is also strangely (incidentally?) contemporary given the lynchings we hear of over the last few years (but not quite, this isn't about the 'religious intolerance' we associate) and left me wondering who the is the Non-Vegetarian whose revenge the title refers to - Madhusudan Sen (ICS) or Basant Kumar ? :)
PS : the author and the editor both need a crash course in the use of commas which are more liberally sprinkled throughout a sentence than the delays in Basant Kumar's court case.
PPS : the price point for a book this size is quite atrocious - even the Kindle price. Should dock another star for this TBH. This is why people resort to piracy -_-
PPPS Edit : Recommended Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar's enlightening review in The Hindu which made me think about some parts of the book in a completely different manner.
https://www.thehindu.com/books/beef-o...
December 8, 2019
The slowness of the judicial system is currently in news all over India because of the Hyderabad rape and murder case, and the subsequent killing of four accused by the police, who claim that the accused were trying to flee after snatching weapons from the police party. The incident has sparked a polarized debate - one side arguing that vigilantism is no substitute for due process of law; and the other citing the delay in punishing the accused in another high profile 'Nirbhaya' case as justification for summary 'justice'.
Upmanyu Chatterjee has spent his life in the administrative service of India and knows the system inside out. This very short and easy to read book is his take on death penalty and slowness of the justice system. He wrote and published this book well before the current controversy, but the content has an important bearing on the issues being discussed.
One of the two main characters of the story, Madhusudan Sen, is an administrator like Chatterjee. The story is told with a sense of detachment without passing any judgment.
Upmanyu Chatterjee's books are usually hard to read. This one is an exception. Most readers won't need to consult a dictionary for reading it - unlike his earlier books. The book succeeds if the intention is only to tell a story. It doesn't do too well if the intention is to make a meaningful contribution to the debate.
Upmanyu Chatterjee has spent his life in the administrative service of India and knows the system inside out. This very short and easy to read book is his take on death penalty and slowness of the justice system. He wrote and published this book well before the current controversy, but the content has an important bearing on the issues being discussed.
One of the two main characters of the story, Madhusudan Sen, is an administrator like Chatterjee. The story is told with a sense of detachment without passing any judgment.
Upmanyu Chatterjee's books are usually hard to read. This one is an exception. Most readers won't need to consult a dictionary for reading it - unlike his earlier books. The book succeeds if the intention is only to tell a story. It doesn't do too well if the intention is to make a meaningful contribution to the debate.
July 4, 2019
Through this story, Chatterjee manages to draw a parallel between killing of animals for food, and killing of humans as a penal consequence, while retaining meat-eating as the common thread between extremities of characters that populate the story. The traditional Chatterjee was absent in these pages, as a more evocative one emerged, not at first brush, when the story appeared to merely harp on the 'beef bandwagon' to gain relevance. The philosophy, a tad bit cliched, stayed aloof with it hovering over acceptability of death penalty, when Sen, the SDM, of Batia district, ponders over vegetarians deeming death penalty as a fit penal consequence. But when you unspool Sen's actions, which you will be, if you keep revisiting how the whole thing unfurls, the story starts becoming open-ended and sets up slightly disturbing themes and questions. For one thing, Sen, a beef eater, defies vox populi of the nearby deity's no-meat zone, in which his government allocated bungalow is situated, by setting up a clandestine method of having beef dishes delivered to him. But when the beef supplier's family is killed in a brutal murder, in what is narrated as a deprived and famished servant's reaction to his master's denial of sustenance (meat including beef) to him, Sen adopts vegetarianism. Soon thereafter, he uses the letter of the law to close an illegal slaughterhouse, the existence of which he never questioned otherwise before the tragedy occurred, or equally possibly, the existence of which was unknown to him, until he chanced upon the foul stench emanating from there on one of his road trips. Would his actions have been any different had he chanced upon the illegal slaughterhouse, before the family's extermination, knowing fully well that his clandestine beef supply could possibly be disrupted? Though later, the court refuses to buy the 'revenge of the non-vegetarian' theory and brands the servant as a common thief lusting for family jewels. Sen's cover-up actions that may have led to the servant's execution leaves you playing with multiple possibilities. Did Sen want to justify his non-vegetarianism in not having qualms for the servant's execution, or was Sen's idea of justice only 'death penalty', as the then vegetarian? Can the idea of justice shift according to the brutality of crime, much in line with our judicial understanding of 'rarest of rare cases'? If death penalty is acceptable, then why isn't killing of animals for food acceptable to vegetarians, and vice-versa, if death penalty is not acceptable, then why is killing of animals acceptable for non-vegetarians. Finally, the story also draws a parallel between animals subjected to cruelty while awaiting their eventual slaughter with that of the death row convict who waits for often a decade or two until the eventuality finally dawns upon him. Does such a long wait in penal confines create enough reason for condonement of death penalty; not for Sen, when it's a matter of a brutal extermination of an entire family, and definitely not for the hapless animals who grow up in closed confines, never having seen the world outside, and never knowing what it is to be like in the open, much like the death row convict in the story, who is not bothered about what happens in the outside world as he is written as "not that kind of a person". Whether you treat him as a psychopath for thinking so, or as someone who has lost hope, knowing the eventual slaughter at the altar of a vengeful justice system, is as per your taste and requirement. Finally, who exactly was the non-vegetarian that had his revenge, whether Sen or Bal is an open ended question.
August 29, 2020
(3/5, I liked it)
Le destin d’une poignée d’individus bascule au moment où l’un d’eux (le domestique) décide de tuer les autres —son employeur ainsi que sa famille, à coups de bâton, puis en mettant le feu à la maison— dans l’unique but de pouvoir manger leur repas, un repas de viande, alors que lui, l’assassin, est contraint au végétarisme par sa religion … et surtout par sa caste inférieure . Nous sommes en Inde en 1949.
Ce qu’apprend à ce lecteur dans LA VENGEANCE DU CARNIVORE d’Upamanyu Chatterjee, c’est que, malgré ce végétarisme imposé par leur religion, les gens appartenant à la caste supérieure peuvent déroger de la règle. Ainsi, la famille Dalvi se régale sans vergogne, jour après jour, de mets à base de viande (chèvre, bœuf ou autre), alors que lui, Basant Kumar Bal, le domestique, doit se contenter, lui aussi jour après jour, du reste des restes. « Tu veux dire que tu avais toujours faim dans cette maison? »
Autre personnage important de cette novella, Madhusudan Sen, magistrat sous-divisionnaire, responsable de l’enquête puis de la mise en accusation. Lui aussi appartient à la caste supérieure. Lui aussi déroge du végétarisme. Par contre, à un moment donné des procédures, Sen se jure de s’abstenir de manger de la viande tant que le coupable n’aura pas payé de sa vie pour le crime commis. Sans dévoilé la chute, on pourrait dire de l’auteur qu’il maîtrise l’ellipse et que l’histoire s’étire sur quelques décennies.
On pourrait dire de LA VANGEANCE DU CARNIVORE qu’il s’agit d’une violente fable où s’opposent les castes par le biais de ce qui se retrouve dans leurs assiettes.
Sans être un livre extraordinaire, j’ai eu du plaisir à le lire; l’écriture (du moins la traduction qui en découle) y est simple, l’énoncé du récit glisse clairement et la construction par brefs chapitres favorise l’intérêt. J’y ai appris des choses intéressantes sur le système de castes en Inde et cela me conduira certainement vers d’autres lectures portant sur le sujet. N’est-ce pas là une force de la lecture : éveiller la curiosité?
Avis aux cœurs sensibles, le chapitre 17 se déroule dans un abattoir et est plutôt graphique. En sauter la lecture ne nuira pas à la compréhension du récit.
Le destin d’une poignée d’individus bascule au moment où l’un d’eux (le domestique) décide de tuer les autres —son employeur ainsi que sa famille, à coups de bâton, puis en mettant le feu à la maison— dans l’unique but de pouvoir manger leur repas, un repas de viande, alors que lui, l’assassin, est contraint au végétarisme par sa religion … et surtout par sa caste inférieure . Nous sommes en Inde en 1949.
Ce qu’apprend à ce lecteur dans LA VENGEANCE DU CARNIVORE d’Upamanyu Chatterjee, c’est que, malgré ce végétarisme imposé par leur religion, les gens appartenant à la caste supérieure peuvent déroger de la règle. Ainsi, la famille Dalvi se régale sans vergogne, jour après jour, de mets à base de viande (chèvre, bœuf ou autre), alors que lui, Basant Kumar Bal, le domestique, doit se contenter, lui aussi jour après jour, du reste des restes. « Tu veux dire que tu avais toujours faim dans cette maison? »
Autre personnage important de cette novella, Madhusudan Sen, magistrat sous-divisionnaire, responsable de l’enquête puis de la mise en accusation. Lui aussi appartient à la caste supérieure. Lui aussi déroge du végétarisme. Par contre, à un moment donné des procédures, Sen se jure de s’abstenir de manger de la viande tant que le coupable n’aura pas payé de sa vie pour le crime commis. Sans dévoilé la chute, on pourrait dire de l’auteur qu’il maîtrise l’ellipse et que l’histoire s’étire sur quelques décennies.
On pourrait dire de LA VANGEANCE DU CARNIVORE qu’il s’agit d’une violente fable où s’opposent les castes par le biais de ce qui se retrouve dans leurs assiettes.
Sans être un livre extraordinaire, j’ai eu du plaisir à le lire; l’écriture (du moins la traduction qui en découle) y est simple, l’énoncé du récit glisse clairement et la construction par brefs chapitres favorise l’intérêt. J’y ai appris des choses intéressantes sur le système de castes en Inde et cela me conduira certainement vers d’autres lectures portant sur le sujet. N’est-ce pas là une force de la lecture : éveiller la curiosité?
Avis aux cœurs sensibles, le chapitre 17 se déroule dans un abattoir et est plutôt graphique. En sauter la lecture ne nuira pas à la compréhension du récit.
November 18, 2018
With a crisp 125 page length and a linear narrative that ends with the irony of a short story, The Revenge.. is Upamanyu Chatterjee's most accessible book till date, in my opinion, as in I didn't have to consult dictionary five times every page and have a general idea of what each sentence meant and where the narrative is going . After the heady concoction that Fairy Tales at Fifty was, which I had to admit I had no idea how even to understand, it was as though Upamanyu Chatterjee himself had decided to do an Upamanyu Chatterjee Book for Lesser Mortals, and boy was it good.
The story appears almost incidental for the most part as UC is in fine form spinning this yarn around his usual long-winded staccato sentences, the trademark dry wit guaranteeing a wry smile and half-chuckle every page, the comedy as bleak and as black as he had ever served. A death row inmate, seeking presidential pardon addresses the letter to King George IV, instead of to the president. "That's the template, sir, used by several dozen prisoners ever since the forties." The subordinate informs the Inspector General. "But it will serve its purpose sir." he adds reassuringly. Elsewhere when the above said prisoner had to be given preference over the already occupied twelve-bedded hospital, "within minutes, a thirteenth bed was organised at the end of the corridor and to it was shifted an old woman with all the symptoms of both heatstroke and jaundice and no clout" as the prisoner takes her place.
Along with the kind of pithy observations and wry remarks, it is the story of two revenges, that resonates with us even after we finish the book. The period of events, the fictitious names of places notwithstanding, we know the people, we know the places, it was all too real to what's happening around us. The question, however, to be asked, was the timing of this book's release a naughty wink or a more serious admonishment of the government.
The story appears almost incidental for the most part as UC is in fine form spinning this yarn around his usual long-winded staccato sentences, the trademark dry wit guaranteeing a wry smile and half-chuckle every page, the comedy as bleak and as black as he had ever served. A death row inmate, seeking presidential pardon addresses the letter to King George IV, instead of to the president. "That's the template, sir, used by several dozen prisoners ever since the forties." The subordinate informs the Inspector General. "But it will serve its purpose sir." he adds reassuringly. Elsewhere when the above said prisoner had to be given preference over the already occupied twelve-bedded hospital, "within minutes, a thirteenth bed was organised at the end of the corridor and to it was shifted an old woman with all the symptoms of both heatstroke and jaundice and no clout" as the prisoner takes her place.
Along with the kind of pithy observations and wry remarks, it is the story of two revenges, that resonates with us even after we finish the book. The period of events, the fictitious names of places notwithstanding, we know the people, we know the places, it was all too real to what's happening around us. The question, however, to be asked, was the timing of this book's release a naughty wink or a more serious admonishment of the government.
January 15, 2021
🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆 - The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian by Upamanyu Chatterjee
#Dreads ⭐ Rating: 4/5
The short novella is a fictional account of a crime scene that begins with an abrupt death of an entire family, along with their dog, in a fire accident.
The story revolves around a character named Madhusudan Sen (an IAS officer) who decided to stay vegetarian unless justice be served in the most gruesome case of that time.
About the timeframe, the novella is dated 1949, and includes a lot of references of abstinence towards flesh-eating and cow slaughter - which though evident in that time, points an intentional pun at the current political situation of India. That's obviously very smart of Upmanyu. It portrays the strength and the excellence of his ideation, and I just can't believe that someone can be so dextrous in envisaging and speaking about such a sensitive political/religious topic in a manner that he did.
The narrative is pretty straight-forward, yet complex in all its subtlety. It's not his best work. Obviously, nothing could compare the success (writing and marketing, both) of his long-time best seller 'English, August'. But, while he did not outdo his best, he did bring something worth hitting a mark at a time when it's much needed. It's fast-paced, thrilling and a must must.
.
#Dreads ⭐ Rating: 4/5
The short novella is a fictional account of a crime scene that begins with an abrupt death of an entire family, along with their dog, in a fire accident.
The story revolves around a character named Madhusudan Sen (an IAS officer) who decided to stay vegetarian unless justice be served in the most gruesome case of that time.
About the timeframe, the novella is dated 1949, and includes a lot of references of abstinence towards flesh-eating and cow slaughter - which though evident in that time, points an intentional pun at the current political situation of India. That's obviously very smart of Upmanyu. It portrays the strength and the excellence of his ideation, and I just can't believe that someone can be so dextrous in envisaging and speaking about such a sensitive political/religious topic in a manner that he did.
The narrative is pretty straight-forward, yet complex in all its subtlety. It's not his best work. Obviously, nothing could compare the success (writing and marketing, both) of his long-time best seller 'English, August'. But, while he did not outdo his best, he did bring something worth hitting a mark at a time when it's much needed. It's fast-paced, thrilling and a must must.
.
January 7, 2019
I do not realize why I was under the impression that Upmanyu Chatterjee was a young author, full of wisdom to share and wit beyond measure - but I was wrong only on one of those three points. The Revenge of the Non-Vegetarian doesn't make light of serious moments, though the dialogue sometimes feels a little less serious than what the situation demands. This, however, I felt, only happened once or twice. It's negligible but at the same time something that bothered me occasionally while reading the book.
The meat of the matter, no pun intended, lies in the chapter where That particular chapter reads so smoothly that it has become one of the best chapters I have read from any book this year.
Despite that, the novella entertained me as much as Ghachar Ghochar did, and that's saying something. The last chapter consisted of a well-written few minutes that entertained me to no end, and deserved a reread.
The meat of the matter, no pun intended, lies in the chapter where That particular chapter reads so smoothly that it has become one of the best chapters I have read from any book this year.
Despite that, the novella entertained me as much as Ghachar Ghochar did, and that's saying something. The last chapter consisted of a well-written few minutes that entertained me to no end, and deserved a reread.
August 13, 2020
" Le lien entre les carnivores et le goût de tuer ne me paraît pas évident. Il suffit de penser aux abominations qu'a fait subir un végétarien à l'Europe et au monde. " Un roman sanglant qui donne à voir l'intolérance dans une société où l'animal est vénéré... et l'homme méprisé.
"Un soir de septembre 1949, une maison prend feu dans la ville de Batia, en Inde. Elle est réduite en cendres avec ses six habitants et un chien. Le chef de famille était un fonctionnaire chargé de la collecte des impôts sous la responsabilité de Madhusudan Sen, le magistrat de la ville. C'était aussi et surtout son très apprécié fournisseur en oeufs frais, poisson et viande rouge depuis que le cuisinier hindou de Sen a refusé de satisfaire ses plaisirs carnivores. Car ce dernier est un hindou de haute caste, mais non végétarien. Lorsqu'on découvre que l'incendie n'avait rien d'accidentel, et même que les disparus ne sont pas morts par les flammes, Sense jure de devenir végétarien jusqu'à ce que justice soit faite."
"Un soir de septembre 1949, une maison prend feu dans la ville de Batia, en Inde. Elle est réduite en cendres avec ses six habitants et un chien. Le chef de famille était un fonctionnaire chargé de la collecte des impôts sous la responsabilité de Madhusudan Sen, le magistrat de la ville. C'était aussi et surtout son très apprécié fournisseur en oeufs frais, poisson et viande rouge depuis que le cuisinier hindou de Sen a refusé de satisfaire ses plaisirs carnivores. Car ce dernier est un hindou de haute caste, mais non végétarien. Lorsqu'on découvre que l'incendie n'avait rien d'accidentel, et même que les disparus ne sont pas morts par les flammes, Sense jure de devenir végétarien jusqu'à ce que justice soit faite."
March 12, 2022
Around a year ago, I had picked up Chatterjee's English, August at a book box sale. I tries reading it back then, but eventually dropped it, as the story felt banal and uneventful, the rambling of an addict who goes on with his boring day and gets high at night. I completely forgot about the author after that.
A year later, I found this book in my college library and brought it home. Having completely forgotten that the author was someone that hadn't worked for me, I started it out without any inherent biases. Needless to say, I haven't seen an idea this brilliant executed so poorly.
The book had tremendous potential to explore class struggles and brahminical orthodoxy and hypocrisy, but fails miserably to address these very obvious implications, making it into some senseless story of revenge and a critique of our justice system. While those perspectives are well appreciated, I wish the book could have done more. I was bored to death even though the book is merely 120 pages.
A year later, I found this book in my college library and brought it home. Having completely forgotten that the author was someone that hadn't worked for me, I started it out without any inherent biases. Needless to say, I haven't seen an idea this brilliant executed so poorly.
The book had tremendous potential to explore class struggles and brahminical orthodoxy and hypocrisy, but fails miserably to address these very obvious implications, making it into some senseless story of revenge and a critique of our justice system. While those perspectives are well appreciated, I wish the book could have done more. I was bored to death even though the book is merely 120 pages.
May 17, 2021
Not a #whodunnit story. But a cleverly written gruesome tale of complex notions: social justice, prejudiced moralities over meat, class disparity, and the sluggish judiciary.
A clever, clever satire. Short and sharp. Packed a solid punch.
4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 only because I needed to know why #whodunnit did what he did which the story does not reveal.
Otherwise, what an outstanding style of writing. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Of course the story is not about the criminal's mental process but the society's process in bringing him to the gallows.
[Warning: Do not eat while reading this.]
#TheRevengeOfTheNonVegetarian #upamanyuchatterjee #speakingtiger #speakingtigerbooks #igreads #bookstagrammers #booksofinstagram #Bookstagram #book #read #indianliterature #indianwriters #indianauthors #asianwriters #asianauthors #indianbooks #novella #fiction #crimefiction #satire #readingnationsg #kochibooks
A clever, clever satire. Short and sharp. Packed a solid punch.
4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 only because I needed to know why #whodunnit did what he did which the story does not reveal.
Otherwise, what an outstanding style of writing. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Of course the story is not about the criminal's mental process but the society's process in bringing him to the gallows.
[Warning: Do not eat while reading this.]
#TheRevengeOfTheNonVegetarian #upamanyuchatterjee #speakingtiger #speakingtigerbooks #igreads #bookstagrammers #booksofinstagram #Bookstagram #book #read #indianliterature #indianwriters #indianauthors #asianwriters #asianauthors #indianbooks #novella #fiction #crimefiction #satire #readingnationsg #kochibooks
August 9, 2018
Upamanyu Chatterjee is one of my favourite Indian authors. He is best known for the fabulous "English August". He has written five more novels " when no one was looking" as the backflap of his new novel says. The Revenge of the Non - Vegetarian, at a 127 pages, is a quick read but the subject is such that it will stay in your mind long after finishing the slim book. The novel is set in a period after independence, much before beef politics and cow vigilantism became mainstream and a means to get political mileage. This is a layered story about revenge and the prejudices of class.
It is great to see Upamanyu Chatterjee in top form, he is a criminally underrated author.
P.S : For fans of English August, this novel features Madhusudan Sen, Agastya's father :)
It is great to see Upamanyu Chatterjee in top form, he is a criminally underrated author.
P.S : For fans of English August, this novel features Madhusudan Sen, Agastya's father :)
January 12, 2019
Madhusudan Sen, ICS is an astute, pedantic at that, man of the law and, also a hard core non vegetarian. The latter may, at first, seem totally incoherent with the former. What could possibly be reflective about a virtuous non-vegetarian?
However, as the story develops, the author fascinatingly weaves a conflict that arises amongst Sen’s traits. Which trait would he be predisposed to eventually, is what the book is all about.
On a philosophical note, the selection of the two traits and the conflict, should we ponder, even figuratively, is quite interesting and ubiquitous.
P.S. Upamanyu somehow manages to elicit comic, no matter how grave the theme is, and never missing out on subtle satire!
A fascinating novella.
However, as the story develops, the author fascinatingly weaves a conflict that arises amongst Sen’s traits. Which trait would he be predisposed to eventually, is what the book is all about.
On a philosophical note, the selection of the two traits and the conflict, should we ponder, even figuratively, is quite interesting and ubiquitous.
P.S. Upamanyu somehow manages to elicit comic, no matter how grave the theme is, and never missing out on subtle satire!
A fascinating novella.
January 25, 2019
Well is it some sort of coincidence that I started the book in Gaya and finished reading it in Patna given the fact that the author Upamanyu Chatterjee was born in Patna.
A short novel and the name aroused my curiosity.. The revenge of the Non-Vegetarian?
A compelling read about how a servant of the house murders 6 inmates of a house for some meat. And sometimes comical too, especially when the protagonist of the book is transferred in a town and given a huge bungalow in a vegetarian locality and how he manages to get in his non veg food in. Also draws your attention to the fact how non veg food is so important to people. And as Sen says in the book, 70% of the population in India is Non vegetarian!
A short novel and the name aroused my curiosity.. The revenge of the Non-Vegetarian?
A compelling read about how a servant of the house murders 6 inmates of a house for some meat. And sometimes comical too, especially when the protagonist of the book is transferred in a town and given a huge bungalow in a vegetarian locality and how he manages to get in his non veg food in. Also draws your attention to the fact how non veg food is so important to people. And as Sen says in the book, 70% of the population in India is Non vegetarian!
April 18, 2022
Upmanyu Chatterjee is a cult figure who authored of the celebrated "English August". Oh! How I love the book that spoke in a lingo that we used always used in the hostel and never at home. That is when aliens too read the book, saw the movie, and love Chatterjee so much that they kidnapped his soul and took him to nowhere land. Now he is there making his nowhere plans for nobody. But we didn't know. So, we were left to wonder how the same author could produce a trash like "The Mammaries of the Welfare State". Now the retired IAS officer has time on hand to produce more trash, lovingly. And he took "Revenge...".
Or, may be I've just grown over Chatterjee who, in any case, appeared to be non-serious writer. So, bye-bye Upmanyu.
Or, may be I've just grown over Chatterjee who, in any case, appeared to be non-serious writer. So, bye-bye Upmanyu.
March 23, 2024
This is my first from the author. The writing style is great and Chatterjee, having served as an IAS himself, has an in-depth knowledge of the administrative machinery- its hierarchy and procedure.
This should not be read as a whodunit. The mystery unravels quite at the beginning. Its an open and shut case. What interests more are the characters. The accused, for instance, who does not know anything beyond his unattended resounding starvation. His character does justice to the rigmarole of human hunger, its desires and wantonness.
Similarly, Madhusudhan Sen, a product of an objective bureaucracy himself, has his own biases which reek of his position and privileges .
Can be read once.
This should not be read as a whodunit. The mystery unravels quite at the beginning. Its an open and shut case. What interests more are the characters. The accused, for instance, who does not know anything beyond his unattended resounding starvation. His character does justice to the rigmarole of human hunger, its desires and wantonness.
Similarly, Madhusudhan Sen, a product of an objective bureaucracy himself, has his own biases which reek of his position and privileges .
Can be read once.
January 26, 2019
Looking forward to read more of Chatterjee's work. This book was magnificently well written with minimal of emotions that are potrayed yet the description was vivid. The story follows that of Basant Kumar who is found guilty of the murder of his master's family and the events that follow. The character of Basant, who commits a heinous crime just for the sake of some Non-Vegetarian food, isn't that easy to be deciphered. I at times felt he was innocent for his indifferent nature and definitely could sympathize with him.
A very well written book.
A very well written book.
May 13, 2024
Spoilers ahead ..
For me the end was little bit inhuman. Basant was mistreated as a servant which led to the killings, which is wrong. But he had already been to jail for more than 20 years in solitude confidenment. I think Mr. Sen didn't liked the life imprisonment decision made my the president. And Mr. Sen didn't follow it because he was also greedy like Basant to eat meat, so he didn't let the fax reach. So how Mr Sen and Basant are different? Maybe that's what Author is trying to say..
I'm just guessing here.. and I'm open for healthy discussion.
For me the end was little bit inhuman. Basant was mistreated as a servant which led to the killings, which is wrong. But he had already been to jail for more than 20 years in solitude confidenment. I think Mr. Sen didn't liked the life imprisonment decision made my the president. And Mr. Sen didn't follow it because he was also greedy like Basant to eat meat, so he didn't let the fax reach. So how Mr Sen and Basant are different? Maybe that's what Author is trying to say..
I'm just guessing here.. and I'm open for healthy discussion.
July 18, 2022
This is 3 stars because, I did not bloody UNDERSTAND.
The plot is a horror story, & the intent of the book, as perceived by me, is to make the reader ponder of both the concept & process of justice, including "social justice". It has unabashed references to religion & caste of people, which is a good thing.
I am a crazy person, & I like crazy books, but this was unhinged in a dark & frightening way.
The plot is a horror story, & the intent of the book, as perceived by me, is to make the reader ponder of both the concept & process of justice, including "social justice". It has unabashed references to religion & caste of people, which is a good thing.
I am a crazy person, & I like crazy books, but this was unhinged in a dark & frightening way.
November 5, 2023
Meat/10
There's something off putting about the way meat is brought up and spoken about in this book. There's layer to this, I mean, communalism, meat, police brutality, the terrible justice system, all that. The way it switches between timelines and spaces is a bit off putting at times but like an onion (which is not something that's eaten in this book) it has layers. Lots of layers...
Final thought: maybe I should read it again
There's something off putting about the way meat is brought up and spoken about in this book. There's layer to this, I mean, communalism, meat, police brutality, the terrible justice system, all that. The way it switches between timelines and spaces is a bit off putting at times but like an onion (which is not something that's eaten in this book) it has layers. Lots of layers...
Final thought: maybe I should read it again
September 2, 2019
It is a short read but, I would have preferred better writing.It is just a case of murder and there is no suspense. The revelation is in the middle of the book.At the end,it provokes thought about justice and Indian law which needs a polish as it can be certain that justice delayed in justice denied.The motive behind a murder can sometimes be outrageous and petty.
June 16, 2018
This novella takes barely a couple of hours to read despite spanning the pre-independence period to the Seventies. It is not as laid back as "English August"; rather it addresses the currently germane issue of 'cow-slaughter'. Must point out one anatomical inaccuracy - 'lumbar ribs'.
October 17, 2019
An important and timely meditation on issues that concern all of us- justice, killing, and inequality. A short but very subtle and powerful work. Would recommend to anyone who not only likes Chatterjee's effortless prose but also cares for literature that resonates with us for a long time.
June 11, 2021
L’histoire pourrait être bonne mais tellement mal racontée et difficile à suivre : des sauts dans le temps non indiqué, trop de personnages et de détails inutiles qui n’apportent rien à l’histoire. Et mauvaise traduction…pas une lecture agréable.
January 11, 2019
Not gripping, nor engaging.
July 3, 2019
Suck it and see. Pretty tiny book. Six-hour read at most.
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