The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers

by Banerjee Sarnath

Set in the eighteenth-century calcutta, the second city of the empire is teeming with scandalous gossip and rumour abravanel ben obadiah ben aharon kabariti, sephardic jew from syria and trader in novelties such as corsets, aphrodisiacs and zebras, befriends the british officers and the local elite by day and records their escapades by night in a leather-bound journal 1950s paris a battered copy of the journal surfaces in a hole-in-the-wall antique shop in montmartre london, 2002 a phone rings in the east end, late at night, announcing a death and an a silver lighter, a vintage motorcycle, an ancient radio and the barn owls wondrous capers what follows is a bizarre chain of events involving eccentric zamindars, a decadent aristocrat with a passion for lady footballers, a psychic cartographer, a haunted office building and, at the centre of it all, digital dutta, neighbourhood historian and keeper of secrets

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Indian Literature, India, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

263 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Ritika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea what I think of this graphic novel. The narrative device is tired but some of the vignettes are interesting. Sadly, the book as a whole does not reach the heights some of the individual tales do. When the book ended, more or less at a point it had definitely no business ending at, I admit feeling let down.

But boy, this book does make a Kolkatan feel homesick. Ah, those North Calcutta bylanes, they never can fade from your memory.

[Battameez · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This book fucks with my head, every time. This is my third time reading the book and that feeling hasn't gone away.

I really like Banerjee's narrative voice, as well as his unique art style. I've loved Corridor: A Graphic Novel, so the style is what drew me to this book. Definitely unlike any graphic novel I've read. I did enjoy the nostalgic moments of Calcutta in the late 80's, Digital Dutta is a treat wherever he shows up. The actual plot leaves me unmoved, but there is so much meandering into history and fabricated cartographies of both London and Calcutta, that it's hard to not love it.

[P · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear Calcutta peeps,

please get over yourselves. If you can. And if that is not possible for you, do stop boring the rest of us with your predictable bhadralok onanism (or, as we might call it, b.o or even bu, the bad smell of a stale self-regard).

There are other stories in the world. Sometimes those stories are even in your city--but you would have to be less insular and less elitist to notice them.

Also, maybe take a look at a map some time to remind yourselves you are not a city-state in Europe but just another place in this brown country stuck over here among the rest of us Asians.

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,
an Uncharmed Reader

[Bookchica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarnath Banerjee has found an unlikely source of inspiration in Indian publishing. Both his books have been very high in kitsch content from a couple of decades back.

Graphic novels, the genre in itself seems a bit rebellious in nature to traditional novels, so criticizing him of not sticking to the usual style seems to detract from the defiant spirit of the genre. But though his mixing of different print forms like old adverts, photos,naked women drawn on ruled notebook paper, history book illustrations is mildly interesting, its no different from a comic book attempt in TimeOut or a MTV collage.

Sarnath Banerjee's habit to use kitsch as a tool seems passe. This worked fairly well for his first book, mainly because of the nostalgic 'Ha Ha!' that looking at old movie posters or calendars propagating hygiene, evokes. Carrying the style through to his next book in a similar fashion takes away from the story telling.

He definitely has a story to tell, going by the oddball Calcutta characters and their eccentricities that he has threaded together using his comeback character, Digital Dutta. The decadent British and just plain crazy Babu's of old Calcutta would surely fill up a lot of pages with their antics.
But when the best illustration is actually a photo with black marker outlines on it, it doesn't say much for the illustrator.

In a graphic novel, you can say so much more with just a few well placed swirls. I would really like to see him do just that, be more brave with the illustrations.

I would say, go back to the drafting table and draw... just draw.

Visit Encounter With Sarnath Banerjee for an entertaining interview with the author.

[Uday Bhaskar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one. The sketches are well made. If you have a good imagination, you can see and hear the sights and sounds of Calcutta and London in every page.

[Moushumi Ghosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been meaning to read this book for ages. So I was hugely excited to come across it in the British Council Library. While it starts off with much promise, I find the ending very unsatisfactory. An afternoon read if you have nothing else to read.

[Sreya Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second graphic novel of Sarnath Banerjee that I read, the first being Corridor, and I liked the second one better. The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers is a profoundly self-reflexive graphic novel. It incorporates the Biblical myth of the Wandering Jew into the colonial history of British India. The narrative is structured around two parallel timelines, one being the latter half of the 18th-century colonial Calcutta, and the second timeline presents the first decade of the 21st century, which is construed as the present. The narrative revolves around a book hunt initiated by the protagonist for an 18th-century eponymously titled book, which he inherited from his grandfather. The 18th-century book by the mythic Wandering Jew records the shenanigans of the British colonial officers as well the antics of the indigenous rich, i.e., the native Bengali Babu. In recording the urban history of 18th-century Calcutta, the eponymously titled book recalls Kaliprasanna Singha's Hootum Pyanchar Naksha, which similarly records the urban history of 19th-century Calcutta. Even the title of the 18th-century book seems to be an echo of Kaliprasanna Singha's, as the Bengali title literally means the map of the Barn Owl. In Banerjee's graphic novel, the city of Kolkata itself evolves into a character, and thus it is unsurprising to note that the French edition is simply titled 'Calcutta.'
This graphic novel incorporates elements of historiographic metafiction and magic realism into its narrative framework. The panels of the graphic novel are extremely detailed. I thoroughly enjoyed Banerjee's style of story-telling as he infuses fact with fiction, and the resulting concoction is an intellectual and visual treat.
My Rating: 5 Stars

[Tara Bhatnagar · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a point in Banerjee’s graphic novel, ‘The Barn Owl’s Wondrous Capers’ where he mentions Walter Benjamin’s essay on the three categories of storytellers: the restless travellers, the grounded realists and the foreigners who travel around the world, only to settle down in one place far, far away. Banerjee then tells you about the fourth kind: the travellers of the mind who “seldom travel in space and almost never in time”. The novel hops from 18th century Calcutta to London and France and back to modern Kolkata through the accounts of the Wandering Jew and Digital Dutta, Banerjee’s chosen story-tellers.

The plot follows the protagonist’s search for his inheritance: a rare book his, now deceased, grand-father purchased in an antique store in Paris, that his grandmother gives away out of grief before he gets home. It is this quest that brings the story full circle, from past to present.

The book is an observation on masculinity, both during the British Raj and in post-colonial Calcutta, replete with scandalous tales of sex, drunken debauchery and the manipulation of religion in society. Banerjee’s anecdotes are hilarious and his fictionalised accounts of history, especially those about Calcutta’s secret opium clubs, hilsa fish and bloody duels between British officers over women make this book very hard to put down.

I enjoyed reading this even though I haven’t read either ‘The Wandering Jew’ or ‘Hutom Penchar Nyaksha’ (Hutom the Owl), which were inspirations for this novel. The characters are an interesting bunch, the plot has twists and turns that make for a fun read and like Banerjee admits, “This book is inspired by history, but not limited by it.”

[Abhijeet Melkani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite entertaining. Nice drawings.

The plot is however very dispersed trying, perhaps too cleverly, to connect its main strand to subplots formed around historical milestones and key locations in Kolkata. These various departures however are what form the bulk of the book and provide much of the entertainment aided by the graphic which brings the story to life.

I really liked the minor theme of how rich colonized Indians tried to mimic their rulers and how they were always slighted.

Graphic novels are new to me. I like how sometimes narrative and graphic would depart for a few scenes to again unite.

[Abhishek Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book that I accidentally purchased owing to which I got involved in the world of Sarnath Banerjee. The graphic novel genre in India is something that needs to evolve and grow further. The period based storyline was wonderful and I finished the book at one go. The hints of comedy mixed with sarcasm made this one really memorable. I am not really fond of the ending though.
I purchased his other books Corridor and Harappa files after reading this one. However I firmly believe that this one is his absolute best.

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird genre-defying historical fiction (in graphic novel form) is full of sarcasm and nostalgia for a bygone Britsh era. The was a little abrupt and confusing. The artwork is interesting with pictures interspersed with drawing - sometimes drawings over photos themselves. The use of colour in some pages and photos in others with black and white drawing gives the book a look of a college slambook. This is a two-star book that gets an extra star just for the interesting and innovative style of artwork.

[Krishna Prabhakaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic narrative that takes you through so many time frames and places hopscotching through dimensions. With subtle sketches and reinvention of history intertwined with satire and "Golding like" tongue in cheek humor,
this book brings back a lot of memories and is a merry read.

[Chandrima Samanta · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plus point of this book is the illustrations which really attracted me.

[Aritra Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful graphic novels that aptly symbolises the true essence of Kolkata of times past and present and the reveries of urban Bengali culture..

[Savi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting bits scattered here and there but overall quite boring to me. I don't really enjoy this type of storytelling where there is no clear thread and nothing really makes sense in the end.

[Evert Rutgers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creative and ingenious by using The Wandering Jew narrative. Connections between historical events and the protagonist. Amusing. Drawing quite good and very varied.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a lot about India, its history and myths. Very weird book, and I honestly have no idea how it ended up on my shelves, which makes so much sense, if you read the book itself.

[ashok · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel is an interesting proposition. It uses the literary device of story-within-a-story to expand its narrative scope across geographies and across time and space - with the core of the plot centered upon the city of Calcutta.

However it didnt quite work for me - some of the digressions seem forced and appear to have a purpose only for the sake of the literary device. This could have perhaps been a good 50-60 pages shorter and made a better read.

The art work is interesting - making use of pop culture advertisements, posters, photographs etc.

[Pranay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A graphic novel by an Indian author with a unique topic is always something to look forward to. The first chapter starts with a build up to duel between two English men in 18th Century Calcutta. The build up is filled with innumerable digressions and fizzles out without any substance. The book is full of digressions and has a weak plot.
The saving grace of the book is the author's unique illustration style which captures the city and the people of Calcutta. A one time read.

[Nikhil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The line blurs between fiction and non fiction. The message could very well be that the wandering jew is present among us even today or it's just symbolism for the existence of evidence to prove every relationship. it's enjoyable. That's all that matters anyway.

[Tathagata Biswas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a must read for all Kolkata-ites. The sketches are much poor though. But the angle and compositions are really good. The author may be an artist, but surely not a product from any art college.

[Kabir Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed Sarnath's ability to seamlessly weave in and out of fiction and nonfiction. It's tactfully done to the point where reality appears just as silly as his imagination. It's a fun story but lacks a satisfying ending.

[Nitya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book pleasantly surprised me!!
Its a very light read and minus all the kitschy details...the book is decently placed.

[Jasdeep Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The importance of fish in the life of a Bengali is like the importance water in life of fish "

[Khalid Albaih · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting history and story telling but dragged on.

[Vidushi Kala · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a treat not only for the eye but also for the mind. Sarnath Banerjee's surreal humour gets you going. This graphic novel is a treat for the surrealists and a must have in your collection.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a big fan of graphic novels. This was a bunch of disjointed stories.

[Srayan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing history of Calcutta. I felt the ending was a little rushed.