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The City of Good Death
Winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing
Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
Priyanka Champaneri’s transcendent, prize-winning debut novel brings us inside India’s holy city of Banaras, where the manager of a death hostel shepherds the dying who seek the release of a good death, while his own past refuses to let him go.
As the dutiful manager of a death hostel in Banaras on the banks of the Ganges, Pramesh Prasad administers to dying Hindu pilgrims who hope to be released from earthly reincarnation. He lives and works contentedly with his wife, Shobha, their young daughter, Rani, the hostel priests, his hapless but winning assistant Mohan, and the constant flow of families with their dying kin. But one day the past arrives in the form of a body pulled from the river—a man with an uncanny resemblance to Pramesh.
Called “twins” in their childhood village, he and his cousin Sagar are inseparable until Pramesh leaves to see the outside world and Sagar stays to tend the land. After Pramesh marries Shobha, defying his family’s wishes, a rift opens between the cousins that he has willed himself to forget. Yet for Shobha, Sagar’s reemergence casts a shadow over the life she’s built for her family. Soon, an unwelcome guest takes up residence in the death hostel, the dying mysteriously continue to live, and Pramesh is forced to confront his own ideas about death, rebirth, and redemption.
Told in lush, vivid detail and with an unforgettable cast of characters, The City of Good Death is a remarkable debut novel of family and love, memory and ritual, and the ways in which we honor the living and the dead.
Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
Priyanka Champaneri’s transcendent, prize-winning debut novel brings us inside India’s holy city of Banaras, where the manager of a death hostel shepherds the dying who seek the release of a good death, while his own past refuses to let him go.
As the dutiful manager of a death hostel in Banaras on the banks of the Ganges, Pramesh Prasad administers to dying Hindu pilgrims who hope to be released from earthly reincarnation. He lives and works contentedly with his wife, Shobha, their young daughter, Rani, the hostel priests, his hapless but winning assistant Mohan, and the constant flow of families with their dying kin. But one day the past arrives in the form of a body pulled from the river—a man with an uncanny resemblance to Pramesh.
Called “twins” in their childhood village, he and his cousin Sagar are inseparable until Pramesh leaves to see the outside world and Sagar stays to tend the land. After Pramesh marries Shobha, defying his family’s wishes, a rift opens between the cousins that he has willed himself to forget. Yet for Shobha, Sagar’s reemergence casts a shadow over the life she’s built for her family. Soon, an unwelcome guest takes up residence in the death hostel, the dying mysteriously continue to live, and Pramesh is forced to confront his own ideas about death, rebirth, and redemption.
Told in lush, vivid detail and with an unforgettable cast of characters, The City of Good Death is a remarkable debut novel of family and love, memory and ritual, and the ways in which we honor the living and the dead.
464 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2021
23 people are currently reading
1769 people want to read
About the author
Priyanka Champaneri
1 book22 followersPriyanka Champaneri's debut novel, THE CITY OF GOOD DEATH, won the 2018 Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, was a finalist for the 2021 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and was named one of NPR's 2021 Books We Love. She received her MFA in creative writing from George Mason University and has been a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts numerous times. In 2024 she received a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
December 30, 2020
This is one of those books that carves a rich aesthetic niche into your mind as you read it - exposing you to Indian custom and ritual, to culture and language and food, to Hindu religiosity as well as to superstition. It introduces you to an indelible belief system that supersedes the mere corporeal to embed itself in places, in people, in stories that are passed down generation after generation through word of mouth. However, it is also one that is constructed out of ubiquitous themes and emotion. The characters confront life and death, guilt and forgiveness, detachment and attachment, with a universal ust that many will undoubtedly come to feel as all too familiar.
For me, it made traversing the concepts behind "Good Death" a vicarious experience in addition to it being a novel one.
The truth is I enjoyed walking around a death hostel in Kashi. I liked the cracked skulls and "don't look back" funeral rites, trembled during the otherworldly banging of pots in the middle of the night. I felt Pramesh's desperation to make things right with Sagar, his cousin, his "twin" save the scar that split the latter's right eyebrow. I understood his desire to escape the Elders, to not look back even though he couldn't help it because he had guilt, regrets, with one more prominent than all the rest. He was a haunted man in more ways than you'd expect yet that's what made his plight all the more pitiable and memorable.
The multiple revolving POV's only added to the tapestry. For instance, I was able to sense Shobha's unasked questions as they churned in her gut like knives to tear away at her personal and familial serenity; and spoken or not, I could see Rani's undeniable intelligence in her mannerisms, in her movements around other people. I also could trust in Mrs. Mistry's compassion, could muse long over the significance of that empty liquor bottle, and could admire Kamna's patience and perseverance despite the unjust rumors that trailed her like a specter.
More than anything, though, I was moved by the welling of desperation, hope, faith, and fear that crept into every crevice of the plot. Something about how this welling affected the characters, and when, gave the story cultural body as well as impalpable human spirit - causing the combined essence to drift around and above and within me all at once as I read. I thought that was lovely. Distinctive and beautiful to boot, I might add.
If I could pick only one word to describe this book, then I'd call it transcendent. I say that because it transcends far above the bonds of family, of culture, and of spirituality to show what's at the heart of the human experience: love.
"The heart can always expand. It has an infinite number of rooms."
Thank you to Restless Books and Edelweiss for the ARC!
For me, it made traversing the concepts behind "Good Death" a vicarious experience in addition to it being a novel one.
The truth is I enjoyed walking around a death hostel in Kashi. I liked the cracked skulls and "don't look back" funeral rites, trembled during the otherworldly banging of pots in the middle of the night. I felt Pramesh's desperation to make things right with Sagar, his cousin, his "twin" save the scar that split the latter's right eyebrow. I understood his desire to escape the Elders, to not look back even though he couldn't help it because he had guilt, regrets, with one more prominent than all the rest. He was a haunted man in more ways than you'd expect yet that's what made his plight all the more pitiable and memorable.
The multiple revolving POV's only added to the tapestry. For instance, I was able to sense Shobha's unasked questions as they churned in her gut like knives to tear away at her personal and familial serenity; and spoken or not, I could see Rani's undeniable intelligence in her mannerisms, in her movements around other people. I also could trust in Mrs. Mistry's compassion, could muse long over the significance of that empty liquor bottle, and could admire Kamna's patience and perseverance despite the unjust rumors that trailed her like a specter.
More than anything, though, I was moved by the welling of desperation, hope, faith, and fear that crept into every crevice of the plot. Something about how this welling affected the characters, and when, gave the story cultural body as well as impalpable human spirit - causing the combined essence to drift around and above and within me all at once as I read. I thought that was lovely. Distinctive and beautiful to boot, I might add.
If I could pick only one word to describe this book, then I'd call it transcendent. I say that because it transcends far above the bonds of family, of culture, and of spirituality to show what's at the heart of the human experience: love.
"The heart can always expand. It has an infinite number of rooms."
Thank you to Restless Books and Edelweiss for the ARC!
June 23, 2021
With beautiful prose and haunting imagery, Priyanka Champaneri recounts a compelling story of Pramesh, the manager of a death hostel in the holy city of Kashi, where the faithful come for a "good death," released from the cycle of reincarnation. Surrounded by compelling characters, Pramesh is forced to confront his past choices when a man identical to him is pulled, dead, from the waters of the Ganges. This event sets in motion Pramesh's journey to find meaning in family, truth, and the process of looking back.
May 29, 2021
An extraordinary, beautifully-knitted novel, part mystery and part ghost story and part love story and part big-hearted family drama. This is one of those novels where you come to know the characters and care about them deeply. At the same time, there are more nice touches than I can adequately detail here—the upstairs rooms, the peepal tree, the food!, the one question that remains deliciously ambiguous—that keep you anchored. Read this novel!
August 9, 2022
This book is different the writing was amazing I love learning about different countries and customs it follows a young man and his family they run a death hostel in this city that is suppose to give you a good death different things happen from there its really interesting and character driven.
February 23, 2021
Priyanka Champaneri’s debut novel The City of Good Death is a canvas that holds different strands with a gentle harmony that will lead readers to be lulled into the spell of the narrative that unfolds.Set in the city of Kashi,which in the Hindu belief system is considered the most sacred place for one to attain death and salvation,this novel brings to readers the core value of what rites for passage that are conducted for the dead are often more for those left behind shattered and affected by the one who has died.
The author sets her main characters in a death hostel in Kashi where the faithful gather to wait for the final journey to salvation but there are additional places that lead to and from here.There is the larger business eco-system around death: the buying of materials for the rites, the negotiations with priests and doms but the larger picture is how one’s faith enters the picture when someone dies and whether it helps the dead or those who have to continue living.
But it is also about the ties that bind us all to one another, ties that are caustic and toxic, ties that unspool a bit giving a semblance of freedom but doesn't in reality.Eventually, it is about the need to be aware of ties and then let go of.The writing reflects the spiritual fervour in Kashi, it makes one feel the ambience at the ghats as seen and perceived by different characters, through different time frames that changes and throws new light. The sights and sounds and even the most carefully held back stories that may or may not be true unravel in a way that you end up being a part of the story.The author skilfully weaves her narrative in a way that does not exoticize a culture to make her story and characters come alive, neither does she lay it down for scrutiny and judgment and therein lies the beauty of the book.
Full review here: https://bookandconversations.wordpres...
The author sets her main characters in a death hostel in Kashi where the faithful gather to wait for the final journey to salvation but there are additional places that lead to and from here.There is the larger business eco-system around death: the buying of materials for the rites, the negotiations with priests and doms but the larger picture is how one’s faith enters the picture when someone dies and whether it helps the dead or those who have to continue living.
But it is also about the ties that bind us all to one another, ties that are caustic and toxic, ties that unspool a bit giving a semblance of freedom but doesn't in reality.Eventually, it is about the need to be aware of ties and then let go of.The writing reflects the spiritual fervour in Kashi, it makes one feel the ambience at the ghats as seen and perceived by different characters, through different time frames that changes and throws new light. The sights and sounds and even the most carefully held back stories that may or may not be true unravel in a way that you end up being a part of the story.The author skilfully weaves her narrative in a way that does not exoticize a culture to make her story and characters come alive, neither does she lay it down for scrutiny and judgment and therein lies the beauty of the book.
Full review here: https://bookandconversations.wordpres...
December 12, 2021
This is the story of a death hostel -Shankarbhaven- in the city of Kashi believed to be a place so holy that if you die there you become free of the cycle of rebirth in the Hindu tradition. It is about Pramesh, his wife Shoba and their daughter Rani and the servants and priests who help them run the hostel and the day that Bhut, a police officer, comes to the door with an unknown body that has died in mysterious circumstances. This is the catalyst for not only further unexplained events that occur in the hostel but also for Pramesh to reflect back on his childhood, growing up with his cousin who could be mistaken for a brother, a childhood that was characterized by brutal fathers and mothers who died too young.
It is not a particularly pacy novel although the sense of mystery is there to keep you intrigued but it is one of those big satisfying family centered novels that is enhanced by the fact that it is set in India with descriptions of the river Ganges and the ghats where bodies are burned, the rituals and traditions that go into that and much more. Characterization is important in a novel like this, and Priyanka Champaneri really makes us empathetic towards hers, wanting them to realize what they need to do, what is going on and how they can fix things. As someone who lives to read Indian lit, diasporic or otherwise, this was a very satisfying read for me.
It is not a particularly pacy novel although the sense of mystery is there to keep you intrigued but it is one of those big satisfying family centered novels that is enhanced by the fact that it is set in India with descriptions of the river Ganges and the ghats where bodies are burned, the rituals and traditions that go into that and much more. Characterization is important in a novel like this, and Priyanka Champaneri really makes us empathetic towards hers, wanting them to realize what they need to do, what is going on and how they can fix things. As someone who lives to read Indian lit, diasporic or otherwise, this was a very satisfying read for me.
July 22, 2022
Really good novel about something I know very little about. It’s a little long and the pacing is sometimes a little uneven, but the characters and the mystery make for a really satisfying journey.
March 16, 2021
Priyanka Champaneri’s city of good death is the city where I have spent better part of my life—Varanasi—without an inkling that it is home to death hostels, where those nearing their end come to reside. The reason for the existence of these bizzare establishments is that it’s believed in Hinduism that dying in Kashi sets the soul free from the doom of endless cycles of rebirth.
The book opens morbidly, with a dead body being found by boatmen in the river. With nobody coming forward to claim the corpse, stories quickly start making the rounds. Aspersions are cast, judgements are made about the cause of death and Truth, relenting, recedes to the background. But there’s someone in the city who knows more about this body than he lets on.
Pramesh, the owner of Shankarbhavan, a reputed death hostel in Kashi, has led a life of relative comfort and quiet in the city, having left his village against his elders’ wishes a decade ago. His life has fallen into a rhythm, with relatives of the dying trickling in and out of the hostel at a steady pace. It almost seems like he has emerged out of his traumatic past unscathed, when he discovers that the dead body which turned up at the ghats is his cousin’s, whom he had left behind in the village. From then on, a different narrative unfolds at the bhavan. There are no more deaths in the hostel, an ear-deafening clattering sound surfaces from the building’s washroom every night and an air of unease settles over every resident. Yet, the culprit for this disruption is nowhere in sight.
If there’s one thing that Champaneri makes perspicuous from the get-go, it’s that that the dead exert as much influence on the real world as the living. From painting a vibrant cast of characters to writing about death with an uncanny ease, from bringing a city’s sounds, smells and sights alive on the page to juxtaposing parallel plot lines with finesse, Champaneri indubitably proves that she is a force to reckon with.
The book opens morbidly, with a dead body being found by boatmen in the river. With nobody coming forward to claim the corpse, stories quickly start making the rounds. Aspersions are cast, judgements are made about the cause of death and Truth, relenting, recedes to the background. But there’s someone in the city who knows more about this body than he lets on.
Pramesh, the owner of Shankarbhavan, a reputed death hostel in Kashi, has led a life of relative comfort and quiet in the city, having left his village against his elders’ wishes a decade ago. His life has fallen into a rhythm, with relatives of the dying trickling in and out of the hostel at a steady pace. It almost seems like he has emerged out of his traumatic past unscathed, when he discovers that the dead body which turned up at the ghats is his cousin’s, whom he had left behind in the village. From then on, a different narrative unfolds at the bhavan. There are no more deaths in the hostel, an ear-deafening clattering sound surfaces from the building’s washroom every night and an air of unease settles over every resident. Yet, the culprit for this disruption is nowhere in sight.
If there’s one thing that Champaneri makes perspicuous from the get-go, it’s that that the dead exert as much influence on the real world as the living. From painting a vibrant cast of characters to writing about death with an uncanny ease, from bringing a city’s sounds, smells and sights alive on the page to juxtaposing parallel plot lines with finesse, Champaneri indubitably proves that she is a force to reckon with.
February 26, 2022
What narrative arc does the story of Benares follow?
Is Life the general arc of this city?
Or Death?
Or perhaps that fatal space between life and death?
But what lies between life and death?
Wars?
Battles?
Defeats?
The sheer possibilities of the list!
And those possibilities only extend to aislings, whoever tries to capture this city in verses.
On an auspicious day, one dies, another dies on the next day, then another, then another.
The circle only continues, and with such rapidity won’t the city slouch towards nothingness?
In Benares, that resembling fate lingers in the sky, forms a broad circle however, disturbs no one.
Back in ground, a youth detects its presence through amusing natures of individual plot twists and points.
His job is to live in this city, among deads, among ghosts and spirits, among vacillating feedbacks of Karma, which does not unjust.
The city could have followed numerous paths but was absolutely forbidden to do that.
Another day, another youth wonders: how could someone living between corpses and mortality make poems of body and immortality?
And what tempted the great god of Death to dwell here?
Perhaps in understanding blurs, our writers, poets and priests mistook what was clear and loud and its delicate complexities got lost in translation.
Today, another youth wonders: how does the city hold the issues of other religions?
Meanwhile, in Benares, bells can be heard emanating from thousands of temples, but a child notices something else, asks his mother:
'What is this cranky sound Ma? Why is there no bell in this temple?'
Mother makes sure to pause till the Adhan is complete:
‘Beta, don’t you see it’s a prayer? A different kind of prayer.’
‘From next time, when you hear the prayer you’ll join your hands and bow down to Maa Ganga, okay?’
In Benares, every possible boundary dissolves in the Ganges. Into that divine waterway, she is music, a harmonic raag in the overall beautiful composition that is Benares.
This way, the city achieves a peaceful life. A life of terror as well as of tenderness.
Is Life the general arc of this city?
Or Death?
Or perhaps that fatal space between life and death?
But what lies between life and death?
Wars?
Battles?
Defeats?
The sheer possibilities of the list!
And those possibilities only extend to aislings, whoever tries to capture this city in verses.
On an auspicious day, one dies, another dies on the next day, then another, then another.
The circle only continues, and with such rapidity won’t the city slouch towards nothingness?
In Benares, that resembling fate lingers in the sky, forms a broad circle however, disturbs no one.
Back in ground, a youth detects its presence through amusing natures of individual plot twists and points.
His job is to live in this city, among deads, among ghosts and spirits, among vacillating feedbacks of Karma, which does not unjust.
The city could have followed numerous paths but was absolutely forbidden to do that.
Another day, another youth wonders: how could someone living between corpses and mortality make poems of body and immortality?
And what tempted the great god of Death to dwell here?
Perhaps in understanding blurs, our writers, poets and priests mistook what was clear and loud and its delicate complexities got lost in translation.
Today, another youth wonders: how does the city hold the issues of other religions?
Meanwhile, in Benares, bells can be heard emanating from thousands of temples, but a child notices something else, asks his mother:
'What is this cranky sound Ma? Why is there no bell in this temple?'
Mother makes sure to pause till the Adhan is complete:
‘Beta, don’t you see it’s a prayer? A different kind of prayer.’
‘From next time, when you hear the prayer you’ll join your hands and bow down to Maa Ganga, okay?’
In Benares, every possible boundary dissolves in the Ganges. Into that divine waterway, she is music, a harmonic raag in the overall beautiful composition that is Benares.
This way, the city achieves a peaceful life. A life of terror as well as of tenderness.
December 21, 2020
"The CIty of Good Death" is extraordinary. Every page is wonderful and I did not want it to end.
Kashi is the city of good death. Dying there, and having the proper death rituals on the banks of the Ganges spares the dead from the relentless cycle of reincarnation. Pramesh runs a death hostel, a place where people bring their dying to make that good death. There's little indication when the story takes place--the timelessness of the place and traditions offers us few clues, and what does it matter?
Pramesh's life is disrupted by the discovery of his dear cousin's body in the Ganges, right on the line that separates a holy death and a damned one. Pramesh does his best to do the death ritual correctly to free his cousin from endless reincarnation but something goes wrong and suddenly Pramesh's hostel is haunted. Like peeling away the layers of an onion, Pramesh. his wife Shobha and others begin to open their hearts and minds to why this would happen.
I knew nothing about death houses and the traditions of a good death and this novel is a fascinating introduction. This novel is such a treat and I am a now dedicated fan of Priyanka Champaneri. She has set a high bar for her next novel and I can't wait to see her meet it.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. I loved it.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
Kashi is the city of good death. Dying there, and having the proper death rituals on the banks of the Ganges spares the dead from the relentless cycle of reincarnation. Pramesh runs a death hostel, a place where people bring their dying to make that good death. There's little indication when the story takes place--the timelessness of the place and traditions offers us few clues, and what does it matter?
Pramesh's life is disrupted by the discovery of his dear cousin's body in the Ganges, right on the line that separates a holy death and a damned one. Pramesh does his best to do the death ritual correctly to free his cousin from endless reincarnation but something goes wrong and suddenly Pramesh's hostel is haunted. Like peeling away the layers of an onion, Pramesh. his wife Shobha and others begin to open their hearts and minds to why this would happen.
I knew nothing about death houses and the traditions of a good death and this novel is a fascinating introduction. This novel is such a treat and I am a now dedicated fan of Priyanka Champaneri. She has set a high bar for her next novel and I can't wait to see her meet it.
Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. I loved it.
~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader
March 10, 2021
I couldn't possibly love this any more, and I'm already worried that my notes will be embarrassingly superlative-heavy.
Having heard about it on a podcast, I hadn't retained anything about the novel but the concept, neatly summarised in the title: Pramesh, the protagonist, manages a 'death hostel' in the holiest city in India, where people come hoping to die the best possible death. I'm glad I didn't know anything about the plot before I began, so I won't put any plot points here. Suffice to say it's about spirituality and family and duty and love - and, of course, death.
There is a lot of death in this book. It's easy to forget how hidden death is in my culture, because the hiddenness is so normalised. Reading about a culture where death is more openly a part of life feels strangely relaxing, and that's probably my favourite thing about this book.
There are so many interwoven strands, so many beautifully drawn characters, and so many subtle and moving emotional journeys, that the novel feels nourishing, like a generous meal. The language isn't particularly noticeable, but the world building is exquisite, and although it's over 400 pages long, I'd have wallowed in the world for many more pages than that.
My thanks to Edelweiss and Penguin for the ARC.
Having heard about it on a podcast, I hadn't retained anything about the novel but the concept, neatly summarised in the title: Pramesh, the protagonist, manages a 'death hostel' in the holiest city in India, where people come hoping to die the best possible death. I'm glad I didn't know anything about the plot before I began, so I won't put any plot points here. Suffice to say it's about spirituality and family and duty and love - and, of course, death.
There is a lot of death in this book. It's easy to forget how hidden death is in my culture, because the hiddenness is so normalised. Reading about a culture where death is more openly a part of life feels strangely relaxing, and that's probably my favourite thing about this book.
There are so many interwoven strands, so many beautifully drawn characters, and so many subtle and moving emotional journeys, that the novel feels nourishing, like a generous meal. The language isn't particularly noticeable, but the world building is exquisite, and although it's over 400 pages long, I'd have wallowed in the world for many more pages than that.
My thanks to Edelweiss and Penguin for the ARC.
September 14, 2023
This book has been taking up my thoughts since I started it. It’s a story of love, loss, family, and ghosts, all set on the backdrop of Banaras, a holy city in India.
It took me a few chapters to get a feel for the wide cast of characters, but not a single character is wasted in the story. They are all fully realized, with complex, intersecting histories, and it’s honestly an impressive feat to have so many memorable and compelling figures in one book.
The story is a familiar one of family and loss, made unique by the concept of a “good death” and what that means for the loved ones left behind, and the people who weren’t ready to die themselves.
Although the book is fictional, Champaneri took care to honor the real life culture of the city; that said, the result is both realistic and fantastical in the best way.
I would give it 6 stars if I could, I can’t recommend it enough.
It took me a few chapters to get a feel for the wide cast of characters, but not a single character is wasted in the story. They are all fully realized, with complex, intersecting histories, and it’s honestly an impressive feat to have so many memorable and compelling figures in one book.
The story is a familiar one of family and loss, made unique by the concept of a “good death” and what that means for the loved ones left behind, and the people who weren’t ready to die themselves.
Although the book is fictional, Champaneri took care to honor the real life culture of the city; that said, the result is both realistic and fantastical in the best way.
I would give it 6 stars if I could, I can’t recommend it enough.
September 8, 2021
Beautiful, expansive novel that takes you in deep into the world of Kashi, India, a fictional place based on the holy city of Banaras. Stunning lyrical lines sprinkled liberally throughout; vivid, well-drawn characters; engrossing plot, where the past continually presses up against the present and future, and unfolds for the reader at just the right time. Multiple story lines expertly weaved within and along side the main story of Pramesh's journey. It is refreshing to see death openly and frankly regarded as a part of life in this novel and it is soul-nurturing to witness the depth of healing that can be possible between the living and the dead.
April 9, 2021
The City of Good Death, a fictional novel based on the holy city of Benaras also known as Kashi. A City where Hindus bathe in Gange's Sacred Water and perform funeral rites.
The story commences with a dead body found in the Gange's tied with a rope to a boat with an empty bottle. A suspected drunkard accident. Bhut, the Circle officer finds a small slip of sodden paper on the dead man with only a single letter on it twice underlined 'Shankarbhavan'.
Shankarbhavan , a death hostel where people bring their dying ones in search of Moksh /Mukti.
Pramesh, the manager of the bhavan was called in the station to identify the body by the Station officer who thinks the dead man has the exact face of Pramesh.The exact copy of him.
In a corner of the police station , a man was stretched on a white shroud in a dingy cell. Pramesh enters in and pulling down the cloth from the dead man's face he sees the same face he had last seen ten years before. His Cousin Brother ,his partner in childhood, his inseperable Sagar.
Pramesh , left his family a decade ago and came to Kashi to learn in a university. Despite studying in university ,he roamed the city and with the help of one Ghaatiyaa Kishore found a job at the death hostel 'Shankarbhavan'. The death hostel was then run by 'Dharma' and within a year of Pramesh there he was married to the death hostels manager's daughter 'Shobha'.
Marrying Shobha has some where left a fracture in their relationship.
The day of Sagar's funeral Parmesh writes a letter addressed to his childhood home.
"There is nothing that I want from you . I will complete all the rites; everything will be done properly. I am writing only to let you know"
At Sagar's funeral something amiss happened which led to a series of events to take place in the death hostel . The trembling sounds of the pots in the washroom exactly after 2 hours past midnight. The dead coming back to life and no death came there after to 'Shankarbhavan'.
There was something the living Sagar's has longed for, something which has not let him cross the Vaitarni Waters. Something which needs to be done for him find Moksh.
Read the novel to go on a journey to the streets of kashi and to the city of life and death.
A Soulful, literary debut novel which will keep you captive in itself. A story of love , family and memories.
The story commences with a dead body found in the Gange's tied with a rope to a boat with an empty bottle. A suspected drunkard accident. Bhut, the Circle officer finds a small slip of sodden paper on the dead man with only a single letter on it twice underlined 'Shankarbhavan'.
Shankarbhavan , a death hostel where people bring their dying ones in search of Moksh /Mukti.
Pramesh, the manager of the bhavan was called in the station to identify the body by the Station officer who thinks the dead man has the exact face of Pramesh.The exact copy of him.
In a corner of the police station , a man was stretched on a white shroud in a dingy cell. Pramesh enters in and pulling down the cloth from the dead man's face he sees the same face he had last seen ten years before. His Cousin Brother ,his partner in childhood, his inseperable Sagar.
Pramesh , left his family a decade ago and came to Kashi to learn in a university. Despite studying in university ,he roamed the city and with the help of one Ghaatiyaa Kishore found a job at the death hostel 'Shankarbhavan'. The death hostel was then run by 'Dharma' and within a year of Pramesh there he was married to the death hostels manager's daughter 'Shobha'.
Marrying Shobha has some where left a fracture in their relationship.
The day of Sagar's funeral Parmesh writes a letter addressed to his childhood home.
"There is nothing that I want from you . I will complete all the rites; everything will be done properly. I am writing only to let you know"
At Sagar's funeral something amiss happened which led to a series of events to take place in the death hostel . The trembling sounds of the pots in the washroom exactly after 2 hours past midnight. The dead coming back to life and no death came there after to 'Shankarbhavan'.
There was something the living Sagar's has longed for, something which has not let him cross the Vaitarni Waters. Something which needs to be done for him find Moksh.
Read the novel to go on a journey to the streets of kashi and to the city of life and death.
A Soulful, literary debut novel which will keep you captive in itself. A story of love , family and memories.
August 21, 2022
2.5 stars
It's about this city in uttar Pradesh that's got the Ganges going through it, so there's this house called the Bhavan where people go to die. Then they bring the body down to the ghat where they build a pyre with wood and put spices on it and put the body on top and set it on fire, and at a certain time the priest tells the next of kin to crack the skull so the soul can fly out and be free. Then the next of kin goes to get Ganges water in a pot and walks up the steps of the ghat and when the priest tells him he throws The Clay pot behind his shoulder so it cracks and water goes on to the cremains. Then they throw that whole thing in the water. And that's supposed to be a good death, one where you did not get reincarnated anymore.
So the protagonist is the manager of the bhavan. His family he left behind in the North is a mess, his father and his uncle are alcoholics who beat him and his cousin for every little thing when they were young. So the protagonist took his cousin's chance to go to college and instead of going to college he met the daughter of the manager of the Bhavan and married her. So one week after, he took his wife back to the farm to present her, and his father and his uncle were extremely pissed off, because they had arranged for him to marry kamna. But he never got that letter where they told him about it, so they were really pissed off at him. Anyway 10 years later, and the cousin dies, trying to get a hold of the protagonist, so he haunts the bhaVan, banging the pots in the washroom every night at 2 hours past midnight.
I don't understand how Pramesh and his wife made their money, but In the Bhavan:
"... Lodging was free; guests were to provide for their own needs. Meals were to be simple with little or no spice that might awaken the senses, the goal being to nourish rather than entice. And stays were limited to two weeks.
The last rule ensured all pilgrims had the same fair chance at ending their days in the Holy city, lest the hostel become host to folk who lingered for months on end while others languished, waiting for a vacated place. But this was also the rule that the guests argued over the most. For the old man in no. five, returning to home meant he would miss this chance to die a death that was the best one could Hope for on this earth: the city promised it would be the last - the death to end all rebirths and miseries. But now he would suffer another birth, hopefully once again as a man, but if he had been imprudent in this life he might return as an insect, a monkey, a bullock Destined to draw a wooden plow until exhaustion brought upon death and triggered the cycle anew, pulling the soul into the misery of yet another life. Who knew what path a person's karma could put them on? Who could be sure they had not committed a sin that would set them backward by fives births?...."
When Sagar dies, and his ghost begins haunting the washroom, Pramesh signs all the lands from his family over to the widow, hoping this will appease the ghost, and allow those guests in the hostel and his family to have peace. But it didn't work. So Pramesh goes on a journey to follow his cousin's footsteps in the few days before his death, in the hopes of finding why his ghost won't rest. He finds out that, contrary to others' beliefs, his cousin was not drunk. He had gotten a bottle from the moonshiner to get some of the river water. And Pramesh finds out from a boatman, a clue to what Sagar may have been doing:
"...'the man has to go alone, no matter how weak he is, and then he must walk as far as he can, until he feels he will collapse and die right there on the sand. And then, when he is at the immediate point of dying - only then will the Bearer of Death come."
The boatman goes on to say that on this side of the Ganges, you find the Good Death, but on the other side, the side called Magadha, the Bearer is welcome.
"... 'It's not an easy thing. The man must really be dying - only those so close to the edge of two Worlds can see the Bearer of Death. And he must be alone as well. If a healthy man whose time has not yet come hovers nearby, then neither of them will be able to see Yamraj. but if the dying man does everything correctly, if he sees the Bearer, then he has his chance to plead with YamRaj to put down the noose and snatch his soul on another day. Perhaps the Bearer will listen. But there is no way to be certain unless that man actually tries.' " thus, it must have been that Sagar, as he knelt at the side of the boat to dip The jug into the Ganges River water, because of his illness, he fell into the water and drowned.
Shobha, Pramesh's wife, lives a life subservient to her husband, something that is worse (in India) than wives' subservience to their husbands in the United States. I couldn't help feeling resentful when I read the following episode, where their daughter Rani is playing around in the kitchen:
"... Rani had pried open the lid of the rice tin and upended the contents onto the floor, leaving nothing for the evening meal.
'Rascal child!' Rani grabbed fistfuls of rice, smiling at the stream of grains falling between her fingers. Shobha stepped over the mess and grabbed the girl, hoping to salvage some of the rice, but when she brushed Rani's arm, the child shrieked and burst into tears. Before she could comfort the girl, Rani ran to Pramesh, who came up behind her and scooped the girl up.
'Careful,' he said, his tone sharp. 'It was an accident. Leave her.' He walked out of the kitchen with Rani, leaving Shobha amid the mess.
She cleaned up the rice grains, her heart pumping, shame sending a Rush of blood to her ears. The feeling remained all afternoon and evening as she cleaned the vegetables and sweated over the fire, especially when Rani ran into her arms, the earlier incident already forgotten. but after everyone had eaten, after the priests, Mohan, and Sheetal had thanked her for the meal, after she had cleaned the dishes and the kitchen and after she'd had a moment to think, her shame turned into something else. Anger Rose at the back of her throat and radiated down her stomach. Ever since the day Rani was cut at the Mistry house, Shobha had felt that the mantle of guilt was hers to wear. Pramesh certainly had not tried to make her feel otherwise. For days, his every action and look seemed to imply that she was a neglectful mother. She, who had to be everything to everyone, who reserved every worry, every prayer, every thought for her daughter and husband. Who dealt with her husband's moods and infuriating silences, his secrets that drove her to go seeking for answers herself."
🤬
Pramesh and Sagar had to suffer the tempers and beatings of their alcoholic fathers as they were growing up. After Pramesh went to the city, where he was supposed to attend university, but instead wasted his chance and married Shobha and took over as manager of the Bhavan, he came back to introduce his wife to his father and his uncle a week after the wedding. His father was furious with him and abuses Pramesh's father in law:
"...'better for me to meet this father of hers. Clever fucker. Getting to keep both the daughter and the son in his home.' He replenished his drink, missed the table when he set the bottle down, and glass shattered, Pramesh flinching at the sound. 'What of the dowry?' That man continued, as liquid pooled at his feet. 'Did you think to tell them, or were you so besotted that you went into it thinking only of what you'd get to do to her in the night? Is your father-in-law both a fucker and a thief?' "
Pramesh tells his father that his father-in-law had given money in his name to the Mothers' temple.
" 'so he decides how to use my money - I should thank him for that? thank you, thank you, dearest fucker father-in-law, thank you for showing Rama what a thief you are at my expense,' He said mockingly.
Had he always been this cruel? Had he talked to the Mothers this way? Or had that ugliness festered in this man, lying dormant while Pramesh was in his home, under his control, becoming inflamed once his son showed he was capable of defying him?
'you have disobeyed me this second time,' his father said, draining his glass. 'Did you think about how we would look, what people would say? Only a wretch Marries without his father's blessing. You have dragged us down into the mud - and here is the most surprising thing - you returned! Why? Did you think we would welcome you and that thief's daughter with marigolds, with sweets?' "
From this book, I learned much about how Hindu's rituals for death are performed. I enjoyed the parts where certain ghats were referenced, which I looked up on Google maps, and admired the gorgeous architecture on buildings of the city of Benares.
It's about this city in uttar Pradesh that's got the Ganges going through it, so there's this house called the Bhavan where people go to die. Then they bring the body down to the ghat where they build a pyre with wood and put spices on it and put the body on top and set it on fire, and at a certain time the priest tells the next of kin to crack the skull so the soul can fly out and be free. Then the next of kin goes to get Ganges water in a pot and walks up the steps of the ghat and when the priest tells him he throws The Clay pot behind his shoulder so it cracks and water goes on to the cremains. Then they throw that whole thing in the water. And that's supposed to be a good death, one where you did not get reincarnated anymore.
So the protagonist is the manager of the bhavan. His family he left behind in the North is a mess, his father and his uncle are alcoholics who beat him and his cousin for every little thing when they were young. So the protagonist took his cousin's chance to go to college and instead of going to college he met the daughter of the manager of the Bhavan and married her. So one week after, he took his wife back to the farm to present her, and his father and his uncle were extremely pissed off, because they had arranged for him to marry kamna. But he never got that letter where they told him about it, so they were really pissed off at him. Anyway 10 years later, and the cousin dies, trying to get a hold of the protagonist, so he haunts the bhaVan, banging the pots in the washroom every night at 2 hours past midnight.
I don't understand how Pramesh and his wife made their money, but In the Bhavan:
"... Lodging was free; guests were to provide for their own needs. Meals were to be simple with little or no spice that might awaken the senses, the goal being to nourish rather than entice. And stays were limited to two weeks.
The last rule ensured all pilgrims had the same fair chance at ending their days in the Holy city, lest the hostel become host to folk who lingered for months on end while others languished, waiting for a vacated place. But this was also the rule that the guests argued over the most. For the old man in no. five, returning to home meant he would miss this chance to die a death that was the best one could Hope for on this earth: the city promised it would be the last - the death to end all rebirths and miseries. But now he would suffer another birth, hopefully once again as a man, but if he had been imprudent in this life he might return as an insect, a monkey, a bullock Destined to draw a wooden plow until exhaustion brought upon death and triggered the cycle anew, pulling the soul into the misery of yet another life. Who knew what path a person's karma could put them on? Who could be sure they had not committed a sin that would set them backward by fives births?...."
When Sagar dies, and his ghost begins haunting the washroom, Pramesh signs all the lands from his family over to the widow, hoping this will appease the ghost, and allow those guests in the hostel and his family to have peace. But it didn't work. So Pramesh goes on a journey to follow his cousin's footsteps in the few days before his death, in the hopes of finding why his ghost won't rest. He finds out that, contrary to others' beliefs, his cousin was not drunk. He had gotten a bottle from the moonshiner to get some of the river water. And Pramesh finds out from a boatman, a clue to what Sagar may have been doing:
"...'the man has to go alone, no matter how weak he is, and then he must walk as far as he can, until he feels he will collapse and die right there on the sand. And then, when he is at the immediate point of dying - only then will the Bearer of Death come."
The boatman goes on to say that on this side of the Ganges, you find the Good Death, but on the other side, the side called Magadha, the Bearer is welcome.
"... 'It's not an easy thing. The man must really be dying - only those so close to the edge of two Worlds can see the Bearer of Death. And he must be alone as well. If a healthy man whose time has not yet come hovers nearby, then neither of them will be able to see Yamraj. but if the dying man does everything correctly, if he sees the Bearer, then he has his chance to plead with YamRaj to put down the noose and snatch his soul on another day. Perhaps the Bearer will listen. But there is no way to be certain unless that man actually tries.' " thus, it must have been that Sagar, as he knelt at the side of the boat to dip The jug into the Ganges River water, because of his illness, he fell into the water and drowned.
Shobha, Pramesh's wife, lives a life subservient to her husband, something that is worse (in India) than wives' subservience to their husbands in the United States. I couldn't help feeling resentful when I read the following episode, where their daughter Rani is playing around in the kitchen:
"... Rani had pried open the lid of the rice tin and upended the contents onto the floor, leaving nothing for the evening meal.
'Rascal child!' Rani grabbed fistfuls of rice, smiling at the stream of grains falling between her fingers. Shobha stepped over the mess and grabbed the girl, hoping to salvage some of the rice, but when she brushed Rani's arm, the child shrieked and burst into tears. Before she could comfort the girl, Rani ran to Pramesh, who came up behind her and scooped the girl up.
'Careful,' he said, his tone sharp. 'It was an accident. Leave her.' He walked out of the kitchen with Rani, leaving Shobha amid the mess.
She cleaned up the rice grains, her heart pumping, shame sending a Rush of blood to her ears. The feeling remained all afternoon and evening as she cleaned the vegetables and sweated over the fire, especially when Rani ran into her arms, the earlier incident already forgotten. but after everyone had eaten, after the priests, Mohan, and Sheetal had thanked her for the meal, after she had cleaned the dishes and the kitchen and after she'd had a moment to think, her shame turned into something else. Anger Rose at the back of her throat and radiated down her stomach. Ever since the day Rani was cut at the Mistry house, Shobha had felt that the mantle of guilt was hers to wear. Pramesh certainly had not tried to make her feel otherwise. For days, his every action and look seemed to imply that she was a neglectful mother. She, who had to be everything to everyone, who reserved every worry, every prayer, every thought for her daughter and husband. Who dealt with her husband's moods and infuriating silences, his secrets that drove her to go seeking for answers herself."
🤬
Pramesh and Sagar had to suffer the tempers and beatings of their alcoholic fathers as they were growing up. After Pramesh went to the city, where he was supposed to attend university, but instead wasted his chance and married Shobha and took over as manager of the Bhavan, he came back to introduce his wife to his father and his uncle a week after the wedding. His father was furious with him and abuses Pramesh's father in law:
"...'better for me to meet this father of hers. Clever fucker. Getting to keep both the daughter and the son in his home.' He replenished his drink, missed the table when he set the bottle down, and glass shattered, Pramesh flinching at the sound. 'What of the dowry?' That man continued, as liquid pooled at his feet. 'Did you think to tell them, or were you so besotted that you went into it thinking only of what you'd get to do to her in the night? Is your father-in-law both a fucker and a thief?' "
Pramesh tells his father that his father-in-law had given money in his name to the Mothers' temple.
" 'so he decides how to use my money - I should thank him for that? thank you, thank you, dearest fucker father-in-law, thank you for showing Rama what a thief you are at my expense,' He said mockingly.
Had he always been this cruel? Had he talked to the Mothers this way? Or had that ugliness festered in this man, lying dormant while Pramesh was in his home, under his control, becoming inflamed once his son showed he was capable of defying him?
'you have disobeyed me this second time,' his father said, draining his glass. 'Did you think about how we would look, what people would say? Only a wretch Marries without his father's blessing. You have dragged us down into the mud - and here is the most surprising thing - you returned! Why? Did you think we would welcome you and that thief's daughter with marigolds, with sweets?' "
From this book, I learned much about how Hindu's rituals for death are performed. I enjoyed the parts where certain ghats were referenced, which I looked up on Google maps, and admired the gorgeous architecture on buildings of the city of Benares.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2021
"The soul is gone, the body is burnt, the time is past"
There is something about books that amalgates old world charm of crumbling buildings, forgotten lanes, religion, people and spins a tale around it all.
The city of Good Death is set in Banaras/Varanasi/Kashi, with the holy Ganges as the backdrop for the narration. We all know the significance of this place, a place where they say you get a "good death". The belief that you get "moksha" and you can break the cycle of reincarnation if the ghats are your final resting place, there are places and people who solely run death hotels. The story is mainly based on Parmesh, a manager of one such hotel who does it all- giving proper send of to the dead in the never ending pyre on the ghats. His seemingly monotonous and somewhat unending cycle of doing this with his family faces a rude shock when an unexpected body washes up. There can never be any family that doesn't have skeletons in their closet and here things take for a sharp turn. As a reader you get absorbed in the spooky atmosphere that envelopes the death hotel as well as the narration when an unexpected guest tries to seep into the harmonious humdrum of the place.
This kind of plays with our beliefs of death, reincarnation, rebirth and how much one can actually hold onto them. What makes you a believer in the supernatural? What makes you feel the need to validate your beliefs?
Though at times I wish we had lesser details about death, maybe it's a topic I am not very comfortable to read in detail, but still the book kept me engrossed. So atmospheric, so vivid and so charming, even with all the seemingly possible and impossible narrative, this was an interesting read. For a debut, so powerful, peppered with great characters, visuals and occasional humor, the writing keeps you engaged.
There is something about books that amalgates old world charm of crumbling buildings, forgotten lanes, religion, people and spins a tale around it all.
The city of Good Death is set in Banaras/Varanasi/Kashi, with the holy Ganges as the backdrop for the narration. We all know the significance of this place, a place where they say you get a "good death". The belief that you get "moksha" and you can break the cycle of reincarnation if the ghats are your final resting place, there are places and people who solely run death hotels. The story is mainly based on Parmesh, a manager of one such hotel who does it all- giving proper send of to the dead in the never ending pyre on the ghats. His seemingly monotonous and somewhat unending cycle of doing this with his family faces a rude shock when an unexpected body washes up. There can never be any family that doesn't have skeletons in their closet and here things take for a sharp turn. As a reader you get absorbed in the spooky atmosphere that envelopes the death hotel as well as the narration when an unexpected guest tries to seep into the harmonious humdrum of the place.
This kind of plays with our beliefs of death, reincarnation, rebirth and how much one can actually hold onto them. What makes you a believer in the supernatural? What makes you feel the need to validate your beliefs?
Though at times I wish we had lesser details about death, maybe it's a topic I am not very comfortable to read in detail, but still the book kept me engrossed. So atmospheric, so vivid and so charming, even with all the seemingly possible and impossible narrative, this was an interesting read. For a debut, so powerful, peppered with great characters, visuals and occasional humor, the writing keeps you engaged.
February 1, 2022
What I loved most about this novel was the extraordinary setting and the care the author takes with the use of language.
Each time I opened the book, I stepped into a completely different world and culture. And yet, despite how different the lives and beliefs of these characters seemed from mine, the universal themes of love, hope, faith, and family are very relatable. The biggest theme here of course is that of life and death and I can actually say that this book changed my outlook on both. Another theme that the author explored beautifully was that of rumors and word-of-mouth and how that can have lasting impacts on lives.
Every single sentence is also so beautifully constructed, something I truly appreciate as a reader. You can truly marvel at the use of language here. It is what attributes to such vivid scenes and intriguing characters.
It’s a long, satisfying journey and I envy those who are yet to embark on it.
Each time I opened the book, I stepped into a completely different world and culture. And yet, despite how different the lives and beliefs of these characters seemed from mine, the universal themes of love, hope, faith, and family are very relatable. The biggest theme here of course is that of life and death and I can actually say that this book changed my outlook on both. Another theme that the author explored beautifully was that of rumors and word-of-mouth and how that can have lasting impacts on lives.
Every single sentence is also so beautifully constructed, something I truly appreciate as a reader. You can truly marvel at the use of language here. It is what attributes to such vivid scenes and intriguing characters.
It’s a long, satisfying journey and I envy those who are yet to embark on it.
April 19, 2022
While the main story was very compelling...I wish we knew more about Narinder, Govind, Maharaj and Mohan...but is that a mark of a great writer where she leaves us wanting to know more? Shobha too seemed like she had a lot of potential but did not seem to grow as fully as she could. I also wish the daydreaming girl/ghost story was not included though a number of characters were tied to it. The author's nod to the Gods in the end with Maharaj's vision was kinda half hearted...almost unnecessary and unbelievable as Mrs. Chalwah's death. And Sagar...his death while it fustrated me as it seemed so unlike him, the author did a good job of illustrating that sometimes truly we will never know why people do what they do. There were many positives though...the ghats, the windy lanes, the hotel would be writer boy, Kamna's story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2020
Pramesh runs the most desirable death hostel in Kashi, India, the holiest of cities alongside the Ganges River. He calmly oversees a revolving door of families with their dying loved ones as well as an assortment of priests and others needed to carry out the rituals of death. However, his respected position in the community is challenged when his estranged cousin, Sagar, dies nearby without the proper rituals and begins haunting the hostel, interfering with the peaceful deaths of others. How and why Sagar came to be near Pramesh, and how to restore the equilibrium of the hostel, forces Pramesh to face his complicated past. This character-rich, atmospheric novel, winner of the 2018 Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, is a delightful mix of humor, heartbreak, and insight.
October 20, 2020
I can see why this debut won! Amazing read. Priyanka will go far.
March 17, 2024
I chose this because of a reading challenge (Read something from an independent publisher) and am so glad I did. This books wanders a bit and the middle was a bit tough for me to get through. I so wanted to know what happened to Sagar and why he wouldn't let go. Pramesh and Shobha are earnest and rich characters. I enjoyed their journey and meeting the other characters along the way. It was a heartfelt ending for their family, knowing why Sagar traveled to see Pramesh, knowing how their lives turned out ... worth reading this long, winding tale.
Some quotes I want to keep:
Great imagery from Ch 12 - That evening, he blinked in the flickering light of the kerosene lamp as Shobha puttered about, hair loose in a dark waterfall down her back. Bangles and anklets jingling, she eventually settled on the bed next to him, sitting cross-legged, and uncapped a bottle of coconut oil.
This one made me laugh from Ch 21 - (picking up her daughter from Mrs. Mistry, telling Shobha the story of Rani scraping her knee) The older woman tweaked the girl's cheek and then launched into a story of some funny thing her grandson had just done. Shobha was almost in AGONY as she waited for the end of this interminable tale, which Mrs. Mistry at last concluded.
From the second part of Ch 23, telling of Menaka -
This one stopped me -- "Must a ghost be as extraordinary in life as it becomes in death? Many folk simply float through life unnoticed, until one day they are gone, and the hole they create with their absence is like a pinprick in fabric: hard to see, and easy to pull the fibers back into place. They live, they die, and one day they are forgotten."
And this one was the ending of her story -- "They were so certain that, before long, what they believed became what they said. What they said became what they remembered. And what they remembered became the truth."
Beautiful language and rich characters.
Some quotes I want to keep:
Great imagery from Ch 12 - That evening, he blinked in the flickering light of the kerosene lamp as Shobha puttered about, hair loose in a dark waterfall down her back. Bangles and anklets jingling, she eventually settled on the bed next to him, sitting cross-legged, and uncapped a bottle of coconut oil.
This one made me laugh from Ch 21 - (picking up her daughter from Mrs. Mistry, telling Shobha the story of Rani scraping her knee) The older woman tweaked the girl's cheek and then launched into a story of some funny thing her grandson had just done. Shobha was almost in AGONY as she waited for the end of this interminable tale, which Mrs. Mistry at last concluded.
From the second part of Ch 23, telling of Menaka -
This one stopped me -- "Must a ghost be as extraordinary in life as it becomes in death? Many folk simply float through life unnoticed, until one day they are gone, and the hole they create with their absence is like a pinprick in fabric: hard to see, and easy to pull the fibers back into place. They live, they die, and one day they are forgotten."
And this one was the ending of her story -- "They were so certain that, before long, what they believed became what they said. What they said became what they remembered. And what they remembered became the truth."
Beautiful language and rich characters.
December 24, 2022
I picked this book up at my local Barnes and Noble because it was signed, and the author lives near my hometown. I can safely say it is unlike anything else I have read, and for that, I have learned a lot from it and been exposed to an interesting culture I know little about.
In terms of the actual story, I think the book’s biggest downfall is its size. While the setting is evocative and transformative, creating the world of Kashi so fully and with such beautiful language, the pacing issues tie down the plot. At times, the story really dragged, and some of the prose left me skimming to see what was actually happening. I think some trimming could really tighten it and help the narrative flow a bit better. Although I grew close to the characters, it did take a while for me to get really invested in them.
There are a few unanswered questions that leave me a bit unsatisfied by the arc. I wonder why the elders are so cruel, I wonder about Shoba and the women in this story, and there is a bit of distance between the characters and the reader because there are so many perspectives.
Overall, I enjoyed this unique story about a city of death, which involves many themes: family, mourning, grief, rumors, oral legends, sexual violence, community, what it means to be “good,” forgiveness, gender dynamics in marriage, legacies, and the importance of appreciating life. The Shakarbhavan is such a fascinating place to center a story, and it made me think a lot about death and family and mostly sibling relationships.
In terms of the actual story, I think the book’s biggest downfall is its size. While the setting is evocative and transformative, creating the world of Kashi so fully and with such beautiful language, the pacing issues tie down the plot. At times, the story really dragged, and some of the prose left me skimming to see what was actually happening. I think some trimming could really tighten it and help the narrative flow a bit better. Although I grew close to the characters, it did take a while for me to get really invested in them.
There are a few unanswered questions that leave me a bit unsatisfied by the arc. I wonder why the elders are so cruel, I wonder about Shoba and the women in this story, and there is a bit of distance between the characters and the reader because there are so many perspectives.
Overall, I enjoyed this unique story about a city of death, which involves many themes: family, mourning, grief, rumors, oral legends, sexual violence, community, what it means to be “good,” forgiveness, gender dynamics in marriage, legacies, and the importance of appreciating life. The Shakarbhavan is such a fascinating place to center a story, and it made me think a lot about death and family and mostly sibling relationships.
May 25, 2021
I picked this book up from the 'newly released' shelf without knowing anything about it. So I went in a little blind, which is unusual for me. The first few chapters were horribly slow for me. I kept waiting for the book to "start moving". If you are looking for a book with a fast moving plot that has you on the edge of your seat, this is not the book for you. I finally realized about 100 pages in that this book is meant to be more of a reflective book on our relationships both in life and beyond. It is meant to stir your inner thoughts on life and death. It begs you to consider the destructive nature of gossip and the double standard between men and women in so many cultures. Could it have been edited down a bit more? Yes, but I did enjoy the richness-of-thought found in between the 'action' portions of the story. It was a very thought provoking novel. I feel I am a better person for reading it. If you enjoy deep, thought provoking books about diverse cultures than this book is for you!
August 4, 2022
This book is phenomenal. Many a night I was up way past my bedtime, just so I could read one more chapter - I couldn't put it down. And yet, it took me several days to finish the last few pages, as I didn't want to say goodbye to Pramesh, Shobha, Mohan, and the rest of Champaneri's characters.
In an interview, Champaneri said that this book was originally 650 pages long, and I would have read all of it. I found myself searching for images of Banaras online, and wanting to learn what ever I could about the death hostels - I felt like I was living among the ghats of the Ganges. Almost every sentence was worth a re-read or five (e.g. "Every Diwali she'd bought boxes of sweets from the shop that she now passed, and she brushed her fingers against the windows as if to conjure up that time, those smells, the happy crackle of butter paper, the sweets tucked into boxes like an array of sugar-soaked jewels.")
I can't wait to read whatever she writes next (maybe a novel about The Elders?)
In an interview, Champaneri said that this book was originally 650 pages long, and I would have read all of it. I found myself searching for images of Banaras online, and wanting to learn what ever I could about the death hostels - I felt like I was living among the ghats of the Ganges. Almost every sentence was worth a re-read or five (e.g. "Every Diwali she'd bought boxes of sweets from the shop that she now passed, and she brushed her fingers against the windows as if to conjure up that time, those smells, the happy crackle of butter paper, the sweets tucked into boxes like an array of sugar-soaked jewels.")
I can't wait to read whatever she writes next (maybe a novel about The Elders?)
October 3, 2022
Evocative and rich tale of the characters running a death hostel in Kashi (Varanasi) and the mystery surrounding the final days of the manager's estranged but beloved cousin who is found dead in the river and why his ghost has decided to haunt the hostel. However the novel could have done with some heavy editing to bring the story together. The resolution is long winded and the narrative has been rather heavily handedly formulated into a mystery rather than simply allowing the story to be told. The secondary tales of the woman with the green sari and the drunk is never satisfactorily explained nor the motivations of the cruel fathers. A big theme seems to be that gossip & assumptions can be deeply wrong. For all the shortcomings the characters and atmosphere of the residents of this unusual city is well created & makes for an engaging read. But a tighter, less ambitious text might have made for a greater novel.
April 17, 2021
The city of Good Death is a fascinating mystery that unfolds in the holy city of Banaras. Pramesh is confronted with the body of his cousin, who was like a twin to him. He knows what to do with his cousin's body because he is the manager of a hostel where people bring their loved ones to die in the holy city so they can end the cycle of reincarnation. The death of his cousin causes a huge problem at the hostel because a ghost makes noises in the wash room every night and Pramesh knows it is related to his cousin's death. Pramesh has a very smart and devoted wife who eventually solves the mystery and they are able to return to their normal lives and continue helping families move their loved ones on to god. This book is beautifully written and flows along like the river Ganges.
May 22, 2021
Soooooo good!!!
Loved this one immensely for the unusual topic and fresh setting! I know next to nothing about India, the exposure [in spite of the fantastical elements], was really refreshing! I love the character dynamics and the bonds forged between strangers.
Death and grief are so sadly ignored in tales, however important and prevalent it is in our daily lives. I read this one through until my eyeballs ached, a tragically rare occurrence for me! The mysteries weaved throughout were absurdly compelling, I was truly concerned for all parties involved within.
I was lucky I was off from work for a few days to finish this at my leisure, as a result of my second vaccine dose!
Loved this one immensely for the unusual topic and fresh setting! I know next to nothing about India, the exposure [in spite of the fantastical elements], was really refreshing! I love the character dynamics and the bonds forged between strangers.
Death and grief are so sadly ignored in tales, however important and prevalent it is in our daily lives. I read this one through until my eyeballs ached, a tragically rare occurrence for me! The mysteries weaved throughout were absurdly compelling, I was truly concerned for all parties involved within.
I was lucky I was off from work for a few days to finish this at my leisure, as a result of my second vaccine dose!
June 26, 2022
4.5 stars rounded up. I read this concurrently with another ghost story, The Sentence, by Louise Erdrich, and this one kept me immersed and pleased throughout. There were definitely times when I felt like things could have been cut, even though the writing was still gorgeous and these side stories beautiful, they didn't seem to propel the story along.
I watched an interview with the author on author's guild and they discussed how difficult it was to try to get the word count down! Always fun to hear as an author myself. There's just no way sometimes to get it perfect for everyone. I do hope to read more by Priyanka Champaneri in the future!
I watched an interview with the author on author's guild and they discussed how difficult it was to try to get the word count down! Always fun to hear as an author myself. There's just no way sometimes to get it perfect for everyone. I do hope to read more by Priyanka Champaneri in the future!
July 27, 2021
At first I thought I could have avoided reading this, but leaving a book half feels like insult to the writer so I decided to finish it.
I am glad I did, it is simple story of simple life of Pramesh, Shobha, Sagar, Kamna, Maharaj, Mohan and many people of Kashi, an ancient city of India.
We all seek meaning in life, some seek it in death. An end needs as much a meaning as life, story is simply told in illustrative descriptions and expansive narratives.
Read the book for the pleasure of reading not for the purpose of finding answers.
I am glad I did, it is simple story of simple life of Pramesh, Shobha, Sagar, Kamna, Maharaj, Mohan and many people of Kashi, an ancient city of India.
We all seek meaning in life, some seek it in death. An end needs as much a meaning as life, story is simply told in illustrative descriptions and expansive narratives.
Read the book for the pleasure of reading not for the purpose of finding answers.
May 5, 2022
A beautifully written yet gripping story - a family drama, a ghost story, an exploration of good life as much as death. The world of the book - the city, the death hostel, and especially the large cast of characters - all sparkle with life and specificity. Though a grounded story, I had that feeling you get when you are ten and you've just discovered a magical world hidden behind a book's cover. It is so richly imagined, reading it feels like visiting.
It is truly a wonderful read I couldn't recommend more highly.
It is truly a wonderful read I couldn't recommend more highly.
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