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The Line of Mercy
In the country of the damned do the birds sing? Does laughter ring? Do creepers of lush stories decorate crumbling ruins? Does the rain fall? How deep run the caverns of justice and injustice? How dark? Does any fire burn there, of warmth and of illumination? What is the flotsam of humanity that finds itself swept into this murky slipstream? Is there an unacknowledged symphony in sin? Can the sinner be beautiful? Are redemption and mercy the two greatest impulses known to humankind?
In the thick air of a coastal town, inside the iron bars manufactured by the laws of men, life explodes with tropical ferocity. Inferno, purgatorio, paradiso, and limbo – always limbo – come together in a frantic soup of sadness and madness. More truths and revelations are laid bare than can be claimed by any courtroom or church.
In his new novel, Tarun J Tejpal takes the darkest of human material and unearths in it the unstoppable surge of the human spirit. Writing in his inimitable tragicomic style he creates a spellbinding world of extraordinary characters and stories never encountered before.
The Line of Mercy is an epic – and utterly original – addition to the universal literature of crime and punishment.
In the thick air of a coastal town, inside the iron bars manufactured by the laws of men, life explodes with tropical ferocity. Inferno, purgatorio, paradiso, and limbo – always limbo – come together in a frantic soup of sadness and madness. More truths and revelations are laid bare than can be claimed by any courtroom or church.
In his new novel, Tarun J Tejpal takes the darkest of human material and unearths in it the unstoppable surge of the human spirit. Writing in his inimitable tragicomic style he creates a spellbinding world of extraordinary characters and stories never encountered before.
The Line of Mercy is an epic – and utterly original – addition to the universal literature of crime and punishment.
- GenresFiction
768 pages, Hardcover
Published March 22, 2022
4 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 20, 2022
"The line of mercy” books which one those magnificent books found in a life of reader's only once or twice in a lifetime. I cannot able to describe the cast off cast of the characters illustrated in the hardback. Every character has a protagonist and antagonist indulge in themselves. Theme of scenes in book are wholly established on labyrinth of the iron realm. Iron realm is hell and heaven for the public that is behind bars. The iron realm is explained in a way that cannot be described by any other writer in point of view, every character has a different story and tales describing how these people found their respective way to the way of labyrinth. Every character defines in what circumstances a human become a criminal. This volume tells us about the feeling of happiness, love, relief, contentment, amusement, joy, pride, excitement, peace, satisfaction, compassion, lonely, heartbroken, gloomy, disappointed, hopeless, grieved, unhappy, lost, troubled, resigned, miserable, worried, nervous, anxious, terrified, panicked, horrified, desperate, confused, stressed, annoyed, frustrated, peeved, contrary, bitter, infuriated, irritated, mad, cheated, vengeful, insulted, dislike, revulsion, loathing, disapproving, offended, uncomfortable, nauseated, disturbed, withdrawal and aversion. Almost every emotion is written in this book. The beginning of story is very gripping even it is not a thriller. The characters found in this book cannot be found in any other book. characters found their way to iron realm when they were trying abduct their boss's son, killing his own father when he tried to stop his son, pimps who sold underage girls, Doctor who killed babies, man who raped girls, committed murders and more and more stories of crimes that are brutal truth of modern society but still call themselves innocent. “When a person falls in love he do everything to get it” the perfect example for this statement can only be Asambhav Kumar, In any altar to love Asambhav Kumar would be god. Asambhav is my favorite in this book. Asambhav, a boy of courage, fearlessness, strong intelligence, compassion filled, lover of literature, falls in love with the girl of his ancestral enemy of his family. Asambhav’s and Aranya’s love story is far better than today's clichéd tales. To get his love he voyage through numerous emotions, obstacles and years and his this love leads to him to found him, his final destination in the corridors of Labyrinth of iron realm. I found Asambhav very unique and different from other people, this book contain not only stories of people, it also contain what does laws, judge, the system and lawyer signifies and valuable in the life of prisoners and common people. Book also has all the valuable concepts of philosophes of prison which are not only easy but a remarkable too. The whole concept and terms of the book are & amazing. This book is not for beginner or moderate readers. The language of this one is incredibly difficult and full of priceless quotes and dialogues. This review is very short and can convince you to read this but this review is nothing in front of the book.
May 14, 2022
• “Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth”.
• The 877 pages long book revolves around getting deeper insights into the truer and vicious instincts of humanity which have materialized in the form of literature.
• Delving further, the book has been divided into 34 chapters with the first chapter titled “Iron in the Soul” which features the story of the dark side of city life where the readers are introduced to the character of Asambhav Kumar who inflicted cruelty on two young boys by calling them insects and not worthy of human dignity.
• Further, this chapter explores the truer instincts of humans which sometimes become nefarious as can be seen from the character of Padekar in the first chapter itself.
• The next chapter of the book from the title itself speaks a lot about the inhumane side of Indian jails which have been characterized as sewer, however, they feature a gutter inside it in the form of Cell Number 16.
• As the chapters progress further, each of them tends to feature an independent storyline that to a great extent depicts the existing reality of the situation at hand summed with greater attention to detail.
• The writing style of the book has been kept a little complex and very descriptive, however, they do not take away the underlying essence of the theme and context but rather complement the same in various ways as can be perused by the readers themselves.
• Additionally, the book is one of contemporary relevance as it verily portrays the societal side of things as well and speaks of mercy on those who have endured torment.
• The whole of the stated elements makes this book a must-read for anyone willing to go deeper into an awakening read.
August 6, 2022
“Hell is truth seen too late – Thomas Hobbes
The plot of the story is thought-provoking, evoked profundity in every single chapter, and yet so interesting as it goes on. It was my first Tarun Tejpal book and I was expecting a good book would be so it was.
The story evolved around a fictional jailhouse stated somewhere in India. Every prisoner and authority of this Jail and their life story is depicted here. The prose author created to unfurl the stories is almost like magical realism. Through these stories, the author explores the human mind and its filthiness, its desires, its thoughts, weakness, love, lust, greed and its also became sometimes thoughtless. The exploration of this filthy human mindset would make our innards cramped. Throughout the jail author also describes the outside world.
” Terror has no meaning if it is not advertised.”
“The most successful entertainment in the history of mankind is not the movies. It is public execution. Hanged burnt beheaded quartered guillotined.”
The author has presented an embodiment of today’s Indian society with various characters that lived in jail or worked around it. From high to the low, the author here dissected everyone and everything with his cutthroat words. No ornamental eloquence, no sugar coat, no hiding in long provocative life stories but rather it gave a mirrored reflection of today’s India, churning out from daily life and with the raw simple word its brutality created a deep gash from ear to ear in the face of humanity.
All the beautiful things that mankind thinking about themselves are shattered here, all that beautiful novels and prose, all the significance that was created and deployed to make a camouflage was ripped apart now.. That sanctuary of mankind proved a Mirage.
The narration of the book is fiery. Bold, strong narrative with trickling profundity and it was engaging. The pace of the story is a bit slow. The author tells every story from the third person’s point of view. Every story is well crafted even though I found here some resemblance of real-life characters, oh why not, when the author is himself a former journalist then this kind of resembles is well expected.
The title is apt and the cover also matches the context of this huge novel. Though I think there’s an overdose of filthiness depicted here which may feel disturbing to some readers. The book could have been more easily read if it would have less foulness but it never felt overboard because we read that daily in newspapers, which is the actual reality of the human world. The author has woven the stories seamlessly but it felt exhausting to read sometimes because it has768 pages but all these pages were well utilized to describe the vast landscape of humanity from various races, and various economical and educational statuses, and the author didn’t leave any part of society untouched.
All in all, it was a witty and lucid novel that mirrored today’s Indian with bold language.
The plot of the story is thought-provoking, evoked profundity in every single chapter, and yet so interesting as it goes on. It was my first Tarun Tejpal book and I was expecting a good book would be so it was.
The story evolved around a fictional jailhouse stated somewhere in India. Every prisoner and authority of this Jail and their life story is depicted here. The prose author created to unfurl the stories is almost like magical realism. Through these stories, the author explores the human mind and its filthiness, its desires, its thoughts, weakness, love, lust, greed and its also became sometimes thoughtless. The exploration of this filthy human mindset would make our innards cramped. Throughout the jail author also describes the outside world.
” Terror has no meaning if it is not advertised.”
“The most successful entertainment in the history of mankind is not the movies. It is public execution. Hanged burnt beheaded quartered guillotined.”
The author has presented an embodiment of today’s Indian society with various characters that lived in jail or worked around it. From high to the low, the author here dissected everyone and everything with his cutthroat words. No ornamental eloquence, no sugar coat, no hiding in long provocative life stories but rather it gave a mirrored reflection of today’s India, churning out from daily life and with the raw simple word its brutality created a deep gash from ear to ear in the face of humanity.
All the beautiful things that mankind thinking about themselves are shattered here, all that beautiful novels and prose, all the significance that was created and deployed to make a camouflage was ripped apart now.. That sanctuary of mankind proved a Mirage.
The narration of the book is fiery. Bold, strong narrative with trickling profundity and it was engaging. The pace of the story is a bit slow. The author tells every story from the third person’s point of view. Every story is well crafted even though I found here some resemblance of real-life characters, oh why not, when the author is himself a former journalist then this kind of resembles is well expected.
The title is apt and the cover also matches the context of this huge novel. Though I think there’s an overdose of filthiness depicted here which may feel disturbing to some readers. The book could have been more easily read if it would have less foulness but it never felt overboard because we read that daily in newspapers, which is the actual reality of the human world. The author has woven the stories seamlessly but it felt exhausting to read sometimes because it has768 pages but all these pages were well utilized to describe the vast landscape of humanity from various races, and various economical and educational statuses, and the author didn’t leave any part of society untouched.
All in all, it was a witty and lucid novel that mirrored today’s Indian with bold language.
October 13, 2022
In Art vs Artist, I am on the side of Art to be disassociated with the artist and the praise/criticism to be kept separated too in the same spirit. Tarun Tejpal's latest carries no less depth than a modern day classic, and should stand a chance to have a fair read, regardless of his personal life's notorious tales. It is the story of men waiting for justice/mercy & passage out of the tunnel of prison. The book uses the backstory of the colorful inmates of hell to paint a picture of human conundrums. The 750 page saga starts fast, loses pace in between and regains momentum half way to evolve into a beautifully written overall work of substance. It has prose of the highest order and several notable philosophical outbursts of the writer, most of which lands perfectly, both in rhyme and rhythm with the plot. Read it for the narrative quality and the honesty of character writing. Carries all the goodness of Tarun's writing from his earlier works and adds more intensity on top of it. It's a great read and perhaps one of the best books of the year, that would unfortunately remain unnoticed widely
September 8, 2023
It is unlikely that I will come across a book that covers almost every aspect of human emotions.
Truly astounding!
Going by the author's past..you might think this is a wash up..you kind of hope there is a flaw..but as the pages keep moving on...you realise this is already one of the best books you might have come across, and this is the first 100 pages..the next 600 something are some of the finest literature you will ever come across. It was a delight.
I wish there is a time when this book is widely read and the it recieves the justice it is so worthy of..but isn't it what the book is about? The fine irony between justice and injustice.
Truly astounding!
Going by the author's past..you might think this is a wash up..you kind of hope there is a flaw..but as the pages keep moving on...you realise this is already one of the best books you might have come across, and this is the first 100 pages..the next 600 something are some of the finest literature you will ever come across. It was a delight.
I wish there is a time when this book is widely read and the it recieves the justice it is so worthy of..but isn't it what the book is about? The fine irony between justice and injustice.
July 20, 2022
Fantastic!
November 8, 2023
Tarun Tejpal at his best - writing a complex inter-woven narrative that you will want to finish.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews