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Black River
In the village of Teetarpur, a few hours from the capital city of Delhi, Chand’s peaceful life is shattered as he is forced into a dangerous quest for justice.
At the station house, the jurisdiction of which extends to Teetarpur and the neighbouring villages, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh, who has known Chand’s daughter Munia since she was born, wrestles with his conscience and the vagaries of his personal life as the increasingly murky case unfolds under the watchful eyes of the ‘Delhi boy’, SSP Pilania.
Meanwhile, in the rough bylanes of Bright Dairy Colony, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their right to home and country as the politics of religion threaten to overwhelm their lives.
Framed as a police procedural, Black River is fast-paced and relentless, yet tender and reflective, in its exploration of friendship, love and grief.
‘A riveting murder mystery. A psychological thriller. A magnificent work of literary fiction. Roy brings her formidable experience as a journalist to this story of crime in modern India. Black River addresses a society unravelling in the midst of change, a brutal class divide, the terror of religious strife, relentless violence against women—but it is also suffused with tenderness for the ordinary, heroic decency of those who persist in abiding by different rules. Reading this novel is like holding a prayer in one’s hands.’
— Kiran Desai
At the station house, the jurisdiction of which extends to Teetarpur and the neighbouring villages, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh, who has known Chand’s daughter Munia since she was born, wrestles with his conscience and the vagaries of his personal life as the increasingly murky case unfolds under the watchful eyes of the ‘Delhi boy’, SSP Pilania.
Meanwhile, in the rough bylanes of Bright Dairy Colony, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their right to home and country as the politics of religion threaten to overwhelm their lives.
Framed as a police procedural, Black River is fast-paced and relentless, yet tender and reflective, in its exploration of friendship, love and grief.
‘A riveting murder mystery. A psychological thriller. A magnificent work of literary fiction. Roy brings her formidable experience as a journalist to this story of crime in modern India. Black River addresses a society unravelling in the midst of change, a brutal class divide, the terror of religious strife, relentless violence against women—but it is also suffused with tenderness for the ordinary, heroic decency of those who persist in abiding by different rules. Reading this novel is like holding a prayer in one’s hands.’
— Kiran Desai
368 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2022
227 people are currently reading
3603 people want to read
About the author
Nilanjana Roy
12 books129 followersNilanjana Roy is the author of The Wildings, published by Aleph Book Company in 2012. This is her first novel and stars a clan of cats in Nizamuddin. A collection of literary journalism, How To Read In Indian, will be published by HarperCollins in 2013.
Her column on the reading life for the Business Standard has run for over 15 years; she has also written columns for the International Herald Tribune and the Kolkata Telegraph on gender issues in India. Over a decade-and-a-half in media and publishing, Nilanjana has been chief editor at Westland/ Tranquebar, edited and contributed to the Outlook Books page, Biblio and several other literary magazines/ periodicals, served on the jury for the Crossword Prize and the DSC Prize among others, and started India’s first literary blog–Kitabkhana, which ran for several years under the pseudonym of Hurree Babu. She has worked extensively on free speech and censorship issues in India.
Her fiction and journalism have appeared in several journals and anthologies, including Caravan, Civil Lines 6, the New York Times’ India blog, The Hindu and Biblio. Some of her stories for children have been published in Scholastic’s Spooky Stories, Science Fiction Stories and BeWitched. She is a champion eater, which much to her surprise, qualified her to be the editor of a 2005 anthology, A Matter of Taste: The Penguin Book of Indian Food Writing. Nilanjana lives in Delhi with two cats and her husband. She can be found at http://nilanjanaroy.com, or @twitter.com/nilanjanaroy, (and would very much like to be found @Belize, @Bhutan or @Barcelona one of these days, not that she’s hinting or anything).
Her column on the reading life for the Business Standard has run for over 15 years; she has also written columns for the International Herald Tribune and the Kolkata Telegraph on gender issues in India. Over a decade-and-a-half in media and publishing, Nilanjana has been chief editor at Westland/ Tranquebar, edited and contributed to the Outlook Books page, Biblio and several other literary magazines/ periodicals, served on the jury for the Crossword Prize and the DSC Prize among others, and started India’s first literary blog–Kitabkhana, which ran for several years under the pseudonym of Hurree Babu. She has worked extensively on free speech and censorship issues in India.
Her fiction and journalism have appeared in several journals and anthologies, including Caravan, Civil Lines 6, the New York Times’ India blog, The Hindu and Biblio. Some of her stories for children have been published in Scholastic’s Spooky Stories, Science Fiction Stories and BeWitched. She is a champion eater, which much to her surprise, qualified her to be the editor of a 2005 anthology, A Matter of Taste: The Penguin Book of Indian Food Writing. Nilanjana lives in Delhi with two cats and her husband. She can be found at http://nilanjanaroy.com, or @twitter.com/nilanjanaroy, (and would very much like to be found @Belize, @Bhutan or @Barcelona one of these days, not that she’s hinting or anything).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
June 9, 2023
In a Nutshell: #OwnVoices Indian noir covering some tough topics. Beautifully written prose, well-developed plot, predictable as a mystery, somewhat over the top in social commentary. Not to be read as a thriller. Check out the content warnings!
Story Synopsis:
Note: The book is marketed as a literary thriller, which is 50% accurate. The ‘literary’ tag is justified in how the author focusses on the individual characters and helps us know their personality through the detailed character build-up. The poetic writing also merits this tag. But a thriller this is not, in any sense of the word. It has elements of police procedural, but the overall feel is more like a noir.
Bookish Yays:
😍 The setting – gritty, raw, real! Never have I seen an Indian village come so alive in fictional pages. The prose infuses the locations with a dark beauty.
😍 The initial few chapters – Oh my God! I was left speechless at how soon the scene turned from routine to horrifying without resorting to overt brutality.
😍 So many impressive morally grey characters! While some characters still fit within the conventional stereotypes, most of the main characters have enough depth to leave us wondering whether to root for them or shun them. Munia’s father Chand, Chand’s friend Rabia, butcher Badshah Miyan, Ombir Singh, his assistant Bhim Sain and the Delhi police guy (forgot his name!) stand out for their vividity and complexity.
😍 Through Badshah Miyan’s track, the story covers the life of the butcher community in Delhi. While tough to read because of the brutality involved, the stark realism of these scenes will stay with me for long. I was impressed by how the author handled this delicate topic without any bias towards or against any community.
😍 While Munia barely has a role in the book courtesy her early death, I still loved her portrayal, especially her closeness with her father Chand. To see such a caring father-daughter relationship in a rural setting was refreshing.
😍 Despite being a journalist herself, the author doesn’t shy away from highlighting the callousness of TV journalists while covering “breaking news”.
😍 There are some brilliant quotes in the book.
Bookish Mixed-Bags:
😐 The structure of the novel is somewhat atypical. While the dominant plot is that of Munia’s murder and its aftermath, the narrative baton sometimes passes over to a character, and suddenly, we are shifted into the past, where we learn the character’s backstory until the present day. This abrupt jump detracts from the continuity of the current timeline. Moreover, each backstory involved some element of social commentary. This works in case of Chand’s and Ombir’s narratives, but Rabia’s, with such a detailed account of the communal tensions at Bright Dairy, doesn’t blend in well with the rest of the story. Don’t get me wrong, the social content is still somewhat accurate. But when the core plotline is about a crime, anything not contributing to this idea directly feels like a distraction.
😐 The books covers a wide range of themes: vigilante justice, religious discrimination, migrant problems, political manipulations, corruption, misogyny, class barriers, and a few more. While many of these are written well, a few felt shoved in, especially in the backstories.
😐 Guessing the identity of the killer isn’t that challenging. So this is not really a whodunit. Luckily, the noir elements were strong enough for me to be happy. But if you read this as a murder mystery or crime thriller, you might be dissatisfied.
😐 The ending, while satisfying, is somewhat “filmy”.
😐 No glossary for the Hindi words, at least not in my ARC. For me, it was still okay as I know Hindi. But some of the subtleties will be lost to those who don’t understand the language. Like, would they understand the charm of the word ‘Laadli’, the name Bhim Sain gives his pet rabbit?
(That said, knowing Hindi didn’t necessarily make my reading experience comfortable because there were some truly vulgar words included. Of course, they suited the characters mouthing the words, but the language sure made me squirm. I am used to hopping over English cuss words, but am not attuned to seeing such colourful Hindi cuss words in English fiction, so my senses were somewhat scandalised. 😄)
Bookish Nays:
😓 The present timeline was written in the past tense, but the past backstories were written in the present tense! Aiyyo - why? Why couldn’t both be in the past tense? The present tense was jarring.
Despite the issues I had with some of the writing decisions, this is still a story that will stay with me. It portrays the dirty underbelly of rural India in a compelling and genuine manner. The author’s experience as a journalist is clearly visible, and I'll keep her future works on my radar.
Recommended to those wanting to try a powerful literary crime story set in rural Indian hinterlands.
3.75 stars. (Which would easily have been 4.25 had the book only focussed on the crime-related events in the contemporary timeline and cut out those extensive backstories or reduced their length and social agenda.)
My thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Black River”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Content warnings: Death, murder, physical assault, sexual abuse, paedophilia, animal abuse.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Story Synopsis:
2017. On the outskirts of Delhi lies a nondescript (fictional) village named Teetarpur, known for nothing until one of its children, an eight-year-old named Munia, is found dead, hanging from the branch of a jamun tree. The suspicion falls upon Mansoor, a half-crazed nomad who wanders through the village. Munia’s father, the widowed Chand, wants revenge and doesn’t trust the law to deliver justice.
Local inspector Ombir Singh is left with the task of doing justice to Munia and Chand, but with pressure from the wealthy in the village and his own bosses in Delhi, will he be able to settle the case to everyone’s happiness?
The story comes to us in limited third person perspective of various characters.
Note: The book is marketed as a literary thriller, which is 50% accurate. The ‘literary’ tag is justified in how the author focusses on the individual characters and helps us know their personality through the detailed character build-up. The poetic writing also merits this tag. But a thriller this is not, in any sense of the word. It has elements of police procedural, but the overall feel is more like a noir.
Bookish Yays:
😍 The setting – gritty, raw, real! Never have I seen an Indian village come so alive in fictional pages. The prose infuses the locations with a dark beauty.
😍 The initial few chapters – Oh my God! I was left speechless at how soon the scene turned from routine to horrifying without resorting to overt brutality.
😍 So many impressive morally grey characters! While some characters still fit within the conventional stereotypes, most of the main characters have enough depth to leave us wondering whether to root for them or shun them. Munia’s father Chand, Chand’s friend Rabia, butcher Badshah Miyan, Ombir Singh, his assistant Bhim Sain and the Delhi police guy (forgot his name!) stand out for their vividity and complexity.
😍 Through Badshah Miyan’s track, the story covers the life of the butcher community in Delhi. While tough to read because of the brutality involved, the stark realism of these scenes will stay with me for long. I was impressed by how the author handled this delicate topic without any bias towards or against any community.
😍 While Munia barely has a role in the book courtesy her early death, I still loved her portrayal, especially her closeness with her father Chand. To see such a caring father-daughter relationship in a rural setting was refreshing.
😍 Despite being a journalist herself, the author doesn’t shy away from highlighting the callousness of TV journalists while covering “breaking news”.
😍 There are some brilliant quotes in the book.
Bookish Mixed-Bags:
😐 The structure of the novel is somewhat atypical. While the dominant plot is that of Munia’s murder and its aftermath, the narrative baton sometimes passes over to a character, and suddenly, we are shifted into the past, where we learn the character’s backstory until the present day. This abrupt jump detracts from the continuity of the current timeline. Moreover, each backstory involved some element of social commentary. This works in case of Chand’s and Ombir’s narratives, but Rabia’s, with such a detailed account of the communal tensions at Bright Dairy, doesn’t blend in well with the rest of the story. Don’t get me wrong, the social content is still somewhat accurate. But when the core plotline is about a crime, anything not contributing to this idea directly feels like a distraction.
😐 The books covers a wide range of themes: vigilante justice, religious discrimination, migrant problems, political manipulations, corruption, misogyny, class barriers, and a few more. While many of these are written well, a few felt shoved in, especially in the backstories.
😐 Guessing the identity of the killer isn’t that challenging. So this is not really a whodunit. Luckily, the noir elements were strong enough for me to be happy. But if you read this as a murder mystery or crime thriller, you might be dissatisfied.
😐 The ending, while satisfying, is somewhat “filmy”.
😐 No glossary for the Hindi words, at least not in my ARC. For me, it was still okay as I know Hindi. But some of the subtleties will be lost to those who don’t understand the language. Like, would they understand the charm of the word ‘Laadli’, the name Bhim Sain gives his pet rabbit?
(That said, knowing Hindi didn’t necessarily make my reading experience comfortable because there were some truly vulgar words included. Of course, they suited the characters mouthing the words, but the language sure made me squirm. I am used to hopping over English cuss words, but am not attuned to seeing such colourful Hindi cuss words in English fiction, so my senses were somewhat scandalised. 😄)
Bookish Nays:
😓 The present timeline was written in the past tense, but the past backstories were written in the present tense! Aiyyo - why? Why couldn’t both be in the past tense? The present tense was jarring.
Despite the issues I had with some of the writing decisions, this is still a story that will stay with me. It portrays the dirty underbelly of rural India in a compelling and genuine manner. The author’s experience as a journalist is clearly visible, and I'll keep her future works on my radar.
Recommended to those wanting to try a powerful literary crime story set in rural Indian hinterlands.
3.75 stars. (Which would easily have been 4.25 had the book only focussed on the crime-related events in the contemporary timeline and cut out those extensive backstories or reduced their length and social agenda.)
My thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Black River”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
Content warnings: Death, murder, physical assault, sexual abuse, paedophilia, animal abuse.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
December 26, 2024
Teetarpur ,a sleepy village close to Delhi, seems to have been ignored by time and progress.
“ There is nothing Teetarpur is famous for. The older residents say proudly that their village is not known to have a line in a film song or even a mithai,has never produced so much as a celebrity or a famous politician.They cherish its anonymity, though the younger generation would have preferred a more rousing history.”
The unrelenting summer heat brings rot to the landscape, destroying crops of sugarcane, emitting a stench that hangs like a miasma over the village.The physical rot hovering above is reflective of the societal malaise that infects the village.These elements form the framework of a novel that combines a crime with an exploration of societal greed and avarice.
The torpor settling over Teetarpur is suddenly shattered by the murder of eight year old Munia, the daughter of the unassuming farmer Chand.The brutality of the event triggers a frantic investigation seeking to identify the culprit.Ombir Singh, the local policeman,is tasked with bringing justice to Chand and his daughter.However, his efforts intersect with the agenda of the wealthy local landowner and the dictates of his superiors in Delhi.The subsequent investigation is neither suspenseful nor mysterious.Instead, the ensuing events reveal the dynamics of power in a small village that is impacted by the nation’s rifts and prejudices.
Nilanjana Roy is a journalist who has a story to tell about the challenges existing within her nation.She takes her time developing the story, characters and themes. The quest for justice for Munia transforms into a portrait of moral imbalance based on unequal distribution of capital and resources.The novel’s structure and content revolve around Chand’s previous and current life.The narrative moves back and forth in time between Teetarpur and Delhi, presenting a world of displacement and marginalization.The Black River of the title is the Yamuna river, which serves as a metaphor for both the venality of the political system and the resourcefulness the dispossessed who seek shelter along its shores.
The spare incisive prose creates a physical and cultural tour of large swaths of India’s society.The descriptions of life in a small village contrast with the bustle and energy in Delhi, highlighting themes of ethics, class, misogyny and religious intolerance. “Black River” is steady and restrained, revealing the fabric of a nation, while challenging that nation to find a more equitable balance of economics, ethics, religion and justice.
“ There is nothing Teetarpur is famous for. The older residents say proudly that their village is not known to have a line in a film song or even a mithai,has never produced so much as a celebrity or a famous politician.They cherish its anonymity, though the younger generation would have preferred a more rousing history.”
The unrelenting summer heat brings rot to the landscape, destroying crops of sugarcane, emitting a stench that hangs like a miasma over the village.The physical rot hovering above is reflective of the societal malaise that infects the village.These elements form the framework of a novel that combines a crime with an exploration of societal greed and avarice.
The torpor settling over Teetarpur is suddenly shattered by the murder of eight year old Munia, the daughter of the unassuming farmer Chand.The brutality of the event triggers a frantic investigation seeking to identify the culprit.Ombir Singh, the local policeman,is tasked with bringing justice to Chand and his daughter.However, his efforts intersect with the agenda of the wealthy local landowner and the dictates of his superiors in Delhi.The subsequent investigation is neither suspenseful nor mysterious.Instead, the ensuing events reveal the dynamics of power in a small village that is impacted by the nation’s rifts and prejudices.
Nilanjana Roy is a journalist who has a story to tell about the challenges existing within her nation.She takes her time developing the story, characters and themes. The quest for justice for Munia transforms into a portrait of moral imbalance based on unequal distribution of capital and resources.The novel’s structure and content revolve around Chand’s previous and current life.The narrative moves back and forth in time between Teetarpur and Delhi, presenting a world of displacement and marginalization.The Black River of the title is the Yamuna river, which serves as a metaphor for both the venality of the political system and the resourcefulness the dispossessed who seek shelter along its shores.
The spare incisive prose creates a physical and cultural tour of large swaths of India’s society.The descriptions of life in a small village contrast with the bustle and energy in Delhi, highlighting themes of ethics, class, misogyny and religious intolerance. “Black River” is steady and restrained, revealing the fabric of a nation, while challenging that nation to find a more equitable balance of economics, ethics, religion and justice.
May 22, 2023
As the temperature soars, the red rot spreads across Chand's land. The blight races from field to field, no matter how diligently the farmers of Teetarpur uproot the infected clumps of sugarcane. The stench - fermenting, gangrenous - rides along the fields along with the smell of burning crops. Bugs fatten on the spoils and white grubs scuttle out of the way of the flames, fastening onto new strands. The rot takes hold easily, the land smoulders.
This opener brilliantly sets the scene, atmosphere and themes of the book: corruption, rottenness that cannot wholly be eradicated, the tension that can break into conflagration at any moment. Set in a small village outside Delhi, there is a murder in the foreground but it feels more like a structuring device in order to explore the social landscape.
That said, when so many novels centred on a crime are not necessarily emotive, I was so devastated by the opening killing after seeing Chand and Munia together that I almost didn't want to read on. However, the initial police investigation gets sidelined for some time as Chand thinks back over his life, essentially a long flashback that, at times, made me think of A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, of people struggling to find a life when the odds are stacked against them.
We do return to the police and there's not much mystery about the killer but I think the intention was always wider than that. Which may mean that readers coming to this looking for a thriller may be disappointed - which would be a shame.
What I especially like is the intimate glimpses of life: the everyday misogyny always teetering on the edge of violence, the harassment of Muslims, what life is like in a small Indian village away from the big cities.
Roy's writing is generally low key and evenly paced without the racing excitement of the thriller genre. The deeper emotional mood worked for me but I'm not convinced that marketing this as a 'thriller' is attentive to where the interests of the book really lie.
Thanks to Pushkin for an ARC via NetGalley
January 15, 2023
Black River is a riveting read, one that captures the very essence of noir. Set in a rural village called Teetarpur, the story follows a man who leads an honest life of a farmer. But soon he is hit by a tragedy that knocks him out. In this quiet village where everyone knows everyone, chances of this type of crime happening is something unthinkable. So understandably the people are shook when this gentle man’s daughter is snatched away so brutally. Chand is now alone and has to mourn his beloved daughter’s death. But behind his calm facade he also keeps fanning the embers of revenge.
Nilanjana Roy is also a journalist and perhaps this is why her book captures a detailed story of how crimes are reported and dealt with in rural areas. She describes the nature of policemen who waver between washing off the cases of their hands to having a moral conscious, the rich who utilise their power to hide their dark secrets and the description of common folk who melt and become one with big cities. The mystery of the small girl’s death is at the very centre of the book but she seamlessly introduces an array of characters and shines an ample amount of light on their past. Several stories come together, like rivulets before finally flowing as a river.
Black River in question is Yamuna and the book revolves in and around it for the most part. In this dark tale of power, dirt and lies, who will win?
The story gets a bit slow in the middle, which made me wonder if all that detailing is necessary. But overall this was a gripping read.
Thanks for the copy @context_books @westland_books ✨
Nilanjana Roy is also a journalist and perhaps this is why her book captures a detailed story of how crimes are reported and dealt with in rural areas. She describes the nature of policemen who waver between washing off the cases of their hands to having a moral conscious, the rich who utilise their power to hide their dark secrets and the description of common folk who melt and become one with big cities. The mystery of the small girl’s death is at the very centre of the book but she seamlessly introduces an array of characters and shines an ample amount of light on their past. Several stories come together, like rivulets before finally flowing as a river.
Black River in question is Yamuna and the book revolves in and around it for the most part. In this dark tale of power, dirt and lies, who will win?
The story gets a bit slow in the middle, which made me wonder if all that detailing is necessary. But overall this was a gripping read.
Thanks for the copy @context_books @westland_books ✨
October 2, 2024
BLACK RIVER is a book set in India, written by Nilanjana Roy. It is being marketed as a ”psychological thriller” and “riveting murder mystery”, but in truth it is neither. It is a fascinating look at the lives of ordinary people in an Indian village. But the narrative is marred by awkward changes in POVs and timelines.
The novel begins with the murder of Munia, an eight-year-old girl. We begin with Munia’s POV and know why she was killed; she saw someone she knew—not identified at this point—kill a woman. The narrative is a little muddled just after her murder, describing events from an omniscient POV, before it focuses on the investigation by a police officer, Ombir Singh. From the beginning, a suspect, Mansoor Khan, has been identified—strictly on the basis that he discovered the body and the fact that he is a feeble-minded drifter. Most in the small village believe he is guilty but to his credit, Ombir feels there are questions about his culpability.
Then what appears to be a police procedural, changes direction, and there is a long digression into the background of Munia’s father, Chand, using Chand’s POV. A reader who was expecting a murder mystery is suddenly transported into a story of how Chand and his friends struggled to survive in Delhi for almost two decades. This section has nothing to do with the murder of Chand’s daughter almost three decades later. The only positive about it is that for someone like me, who is interested in reading about different cultures, this is a thought-provoking look at Indian society. But readers who were expecting to read a thriller are likely to dnf at this point.
Eventually we return to the current timeline, Ombir Singh, and the murder mystery. From the beginning, shortly after Munia’s childlike ruminations of what she saw, I had one person in mind as the possible murderer, and by the 60% point I was certain he was the killer. So as a mystery, it fails.
What makes this novel worth reading is the description of: (1) life in a small Indian village; (2) difficulties that can arise as a result of arranged marriages between virtual strangers; and (3) the religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims now taking place throughout India.
It is not a literary masterpiece, given that the author changes POV style too often. It is definitely not a gripping mystery/thriller. So its (English-language) audience will be those who enjoy travelling to different parts of the world through books. I am one of those, so yes, overall I liked it. I debated between giving it a final 3 and 4-star final rating.
I wish it had been a true police procedural, with Ombir Singh as the central character, and the others (especially Chand) adding support where needed. With more emphasis on Ombir, this could have an intriguing thriller with a colourful background setting. As it is, we have a story that alternates between impressive scenes and unimportant filler. The ending chapter is extremely weak and definitely off-putting as it goes on and on, describing in detail what should have been a short epilogue. Its extensive length was the reason I ended up giving this 3.5 star novel a final 3-star rating.
Thanks to Pushkin Press for providing this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.
The novel begins with the murder of Munia, an eight-year-old girl. We begin with Munia’s POV and know why she was killed; she saw someone she knew—not identified at this point—kill a woman. The narrative is a little muddled just after her murder, describing events from an omniscient POV, before it focuses on the investigation by a police officer, Ombir Singh. From the beginning, a suspect, Mansoor Khan, has been identified—strictly on the basis that he discovered the body and the fact that he is a feeble-minded drifter. Most in the small village believe he is guilty but to his credit, Ombir feels there are questions about his culpability.
Then what appears to be a police procedural, changes direction, and there is a long digression into the background of Munia’s father, Chand, using Chand’s POV. A reader who was expecting a murder mystery is suddenly transported into a story of how Chand and his friends struggled to survive in Delhi for almost two decades. This section has nothing to do with the murder of Chand’s daughter almost three decades later. The only positive about it is that for someone like me, who is interested in reading about different cultures, this is a thought-provoking look at Indian society. But readers who were expecting to read a thriller are likely to dnf at this point.
Eventually we return to the current timeline, Ombir Singh, and the murder mystery. From the beginning, shortly after Munia’s childlike ruminations of what she saw, I had one person in mind as the possible murderer, and by the 60% point I was certain he was the killer. So as a mystery, it fails.
What makes this novel worth reading is the description of: (1) life in a small Indian village; (2) difficulties that can arise as a result of arranged marriages between virtual strangers; and (3) the religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims now taking place throughout India.
It is not a literary masterpiece, given that the author changes POV style too often. It is definitely not a gripping mystery/thriller. So its (English-language) audience will be those who enjoy travelling to different parts of the world through books. I am one of those, so yes, overall I liked it. I debated between giving it a final 3 and 4-star final rating.
I wish it had been a true police procedural, with Ombir Singh as the central character, and the others (especially Chand) adding support where needed. With more emphasis on Ombir, this could have an intriguing thriller with a colourful background setting. As it is, we have a story that alternates between impressive scenes and unimportant filler. The ending chapter is extremely weak and definitely off-putting as it goes on and on, describing in detail what should have been a short epilogue. Its extensive length was the reason I ended up giving this 3.5 star novel a final 3-star rating.
Thanks to Pushkin Press for providing this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.
April 23, 2023
YESSSS! now THIS is how you write a slow moving mystery thriller that also includes a bunch of social commentary! well done Nilanjana S Roy, well done.
i spoke about my thoughts on this book a bit more in this video : https://youtu.be/8q783xpEsuM (Sant Reads on Youtube)
i spoke about my thoughts on this book a bit more in this video : https://youtu.be/8q783xpEsuM (Sant Reads on Youtube)
November 22, 2022
The black river of this book is the Yamuna, and it is along the banks of the river (or not too far from it) that most of the action happens. The story begins in a Haryana village named Teetarpur, where an eight-year old girl, Munia, gathering jaamuns while her widowed father Chand works in his sugarcane fields, ends up strangled and strung up from a tree.
Who killed Munia and why? Chand, heartbroken, seeks answers, but so too do the local cops, Ombir and Bhim Sain.
I'll admit that I prefer a standard whodunit to the sort of sleazy noir-thriller style that's so popular nowadays. Black River, while being solidly noir - there's lots of that grime here, from corrupt policemen to crooked and money-grubbing businessmen, from dancers without a shred of humanity left in them, to the bigoted ultra-'religious' - has a sophistication which elevates it. Nilanjana Roy writes beautifully (and realistically, when that beauty needs to be set aside!), and her characters are very vivid. Plus, the way she evokes all her settings - the river some decades back; the slaughterhouses; Bright Dairy colony; Teetarpur; Jolly-Ji's party... every single space comes palpably alive. The way, too, in which she builds the back story of Chand, is wonderful, helping define his character - as also the characters of his two dearest friends, Rabia and Baadshah, not to mention the characters of Delhi as well as the Yamuna. Because the city and the river have, in this story, very powerful characters too.
The crime and how the cops go about solving it was interesting, weaving as it did into the story some thought-provoking insights into law and justice, corruption, communalism, and so on. I did think that the final solution, of how the culprit was unearthed, the why and wherefore of it - was a bit weak, but given the otherwise deeply engrossing, satisfying story, this was forgivable.
Who killed Munia and why? Chand, heartbroken, seeks answers, but so too do the local cops, Ombir and Bhim Sain.
I'll admit that I prefer a standard whodunit to the sort of sleazy noir-thriller style that's so popular nowadays. Black River, while being solidly noir - there's lots of that grime here, from corrupt policemen to crooked and money-grubbing businessmen, from dancers without a shred of humanity left in them, to the bigoted ultra-'religious' - has a sophistication which elevates it. Nilanjana Roy writes beautifully (and realistically, when that beauty needs to be set aside!), and her characters are very vivid. Plus, the way she evokes all her settings - the river some decades back; the slaughterhouses; Bright Dairy colony; Teetarpur; Jolly-Ji's party... every single space comes palpably alive. The way, too, in which she builds the back story of Chand, is wonderful, helping define his character - as also the characters of his two dearest friends, Rabia and Baadshah, not to mention the characters of Delhi as well as the Yamuna. Because the city and the river have, in this story, very powerful characters too.
The crime and how the cops go about solving it was interesting, weaving as it did into the story some thought-provoking insights into law and justice, corruption, communalism, and so on. I did think that the final solution, of how the culprit was unearthed, the why and wherefore of it - was a bit weak, but given the otherwise deeply engrossing, satisfying story, this was forgivable.
March 8, 2023
Reading this book felt like I was actually watching a movie. Though the story is set in a village near Delhi, the politics, the police investigations, the sentiments and life struggles are very relatable to Indians anywhere. Excellent narrative by Nilanjana. Each page is compelling and I just couldn't put the book down.
July 7, 2023
~ Tale of Justice, Friendships and Societal Realities ~
All hell breaks loose in a quaint village of Teetarpur when 8 year old Munia is found hanging on a Jamun tree. Chand, Munia's father and the other villagers find an easy target in a Muslim madman, Mansoor - an imperfect pot as Roy writes. Black River is a police procedural in its foundation done on the fault lines of class and communal disparity. Ombir, an exhausted local policeman is on a quest to find justice for Chand and Munia with whatever menial facilities he has from the department. Whether he manages or not, tells the rest of the book rather skillfully.
In the second section of the book - The Yamuna Years, it takes a little detour from the central murder mystery. With Yamuna, the river, assuming the role of a character in its own right, readers are transported into the lives of migrant laborers existing on the fringes of the bustling capital city. Within this captivating backdrop, Chand, Rabia, and Khalid - three friends who arrived with dreams in their eyes - gradually confront the harsh realities of urban life. Undoubtedly, this section emerges as the pinnacle of the novel, showcasing the author's exceptional character building.
As the story later realigns with the present day, narrative picks up pace with investigation in full swing, fueled by vigilante justice attempts and culminating in a riveting, bollywood-esque chase to apprehend the murderer. While the mystery aspect of the book may unfold in a somewhat predictable manner, it is the author's impeccable writing that truly shines. Through skillful prose, readers are not only compelled to empathize deeply with the characters but also gain profound insights into critical issues plaguing our society today - be it child abuse, gender violence, ecological ruination, or religious tensions. These themes resonate powerfully, firmly anchoring the novel in the contemporary landscape.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a noir set in Indian space! It transports you into a world where justice fights to prevail amidst the shadows of darkness and hope emerges as a flickering beacon in the face of adversity.
All hell breaks loose in a quaint village of Teetarpur when 8 year old Munia is found hanging on a Jamun tree. Chand, Munia's father and the other villagers find an easy target in a Muslim madman, Mansoor - an imperfect pot as Roy writes. Black River is a police procedural in its foundation done on the fault lines of class and communal disparity. Ombir, an exhausted local policeman is on a quest to find justice for Chand and Munia with whatever menial facilities he has from the department. Whether he manages or not, tells the rest of the book rather skillfully.
In the second section of the book - The Yamuna Years, it takes a little detour from the central murder mystery. With Yamuna, the river, assuming the role of a character in its own right, readers are transported into the lives of migrant laborers existing on the fringes of the bustling capital city. Within this captivating backdrop, Chand, Rabia, and Khalid - three friends who arrived with dreams in their eyes - gradually confront the harsh realities of urban life. Undoubtedly, this section emerges as the pinnacle of the novel, showcasing the author's exceptional character building.
As the story later realigns with the present day, narrative picks up pace with investigation in full swing, fueled by vigilante justice attempts and culminating in a riveting, bollywood-esque chase to apprehend the murderer. While the mystery aspect of the book may unfold in a somewhat predictable manner, it is the author's impeccable writing that truly shines. Through skillful prose, readers are not only compelled to empathize deeply with the characters but also gain profound insights into critical issues plaguing our society today - be it child abuse, gender violence, ecological ruination, or religious tensions. These themes resonate powerfully, firmly anchoring the novel in the contemporary landscape.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a noir set in Indian space! It transports you into a world where justice fights to prevail amidst the shadows of darkness and hope emerges as a flickering beacon in the face of adversity.
October 12, 2024
This is a mix of police procedural, murder mystery, and social commentary. The book is set in a village in India. 8-year-old Munia is murdered and her father and the village will not stop until justice is served. The village police want to follow the law and procedures but face increasing demand for vigilante justice. Alongside the main story, the book explores wider themes such as violence against women and children, religious bigotry, grief and loss, class divides, cultural practices, and societal change.
The story follows multiple POV and is set over different timelines. It is beautifully written, and Roy brings the characters and the setting to life. This was not my idea of a fast-paced book. The story takes a meandering journey across the decades and is arguably a look at Indian culture rather than being a tense thriller. But it has its harsh and brutal moments. The story is engaging and thought-provoking.
With thanks to the author and Netgalley for providing a copy of the book. This is my honest review, which I'm leaving voluntarily.
The story follows multiple POV and is set over different timelines. It is beautifully written, and Roy brings the characters and the setting to life. This was not my idea of a fast-paced book. The story takes a meandering journey across the decades and is arguably a look at Indian culture rather than being a tense thriller. But it has its harsh and brutal moments. The story is engaging and thought-provoking.
With thanks to the author and Netgalley for providing a copy of the book. This is my honest review, which I'm leaving voluntarily.
June 22, 2024
A beautifully written noir! I love to read novels with a political undertone, and the social commentary in this about the Hindu-Muslim divide, the Caste system, pollution, wealth disparities and so on in India was very well done in my opinion - it fit well with the narrative and didn’t disrupt it. A perfect ending too, bittersweet just like many other aspects of this wonderfully told story.
Many thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for this ARC!
Many thanks to Pushkin Press and NetGalley for this ARC!
November 25, 2023
4.5 stars
I thought this was an excellent read! Very poignant and nuanced, with very realistic and vivid portrayals of the setting. The mystery was fairly predictable but the literary fiction elements were what shone through. I really felt for the characters, and parts of the book were truly heartbreaking.
Content warning for child murder + trafficking.
I thought this was an excellent read! Very poignant and nuanced, with very realistic and vivid portrayals of the setting. The mystery was fairly predictable but the literary fiction elements were what shone through. I really felt for the characters, and parts of the book were truly heartbreaking.
Content warning for child murder + trafficking.
March 30, 2023
In the small village of Teetarpur, Chand plunges into a battle for justice for his daughter Munia. In the nearby station house, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh struggles with the intricacies of his personal life and the increasingly murky case. Back in Delhi, Chand's friends Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their right to their home and country, threatened by the politics of religion.
Roy frames this book as a police procedural, which balances the delicate ties of friendship, love, individual perceptions of justice, and the blackness of loss. The one thing I loved about the book was her ability to balance complexities of behaviour and atmosphere in the most beautiful of phrases and words ('her head a tired smudge against his checked kurta', 'placid somnolence', 'Bhim Sain's jowls twitch mournfully').
There's so much to like about this well-written, fast-paced, and tightly woven book, but the effusion of poetry without it being pretense in a noir is the highlight for me.
Should you pick it up? Absolutely, absolutely yes.
Roy frames this book as a police procedural, which balances the delicate ties of friendship, love, individual perceptions of justice, and the blackness of loss. The one thing I loved about the book was her ability to balance complexities of behaviour and atmosphere in the most beautiful of phrases and words ('her head a tired smudge against his checked kurta', 'placid somnolence', 'Bhim Sain's jowls twitch mournfully').
There's so much to like about this well-written, fast-paced, and tightly woven book, but the effusion of poetry without it being pretense in a noir is the highlight for me.
Should you pick it up? Absolutely, absolutely yes.
February 6, 2025
I enjoyed that one more than I expected. It's supposed to be a mere psychological thriller, but that's just the outer shell. Throughout the narrative, you get to witness other conflicts, cultural, social, and religious bits that rumble much deeper under that surface and reveal a lot about the geographic theme of the novel.
August 8, 2025
Wow. Amazing literary fiction, a low grade psychological intensity maintained throughout mixed with so many fascinating themes and details about a culture I know very little about. I found this book propulsive and excellently written. It’s not a “easy” read or a generic thriller. Highly recommend!
January 12, 2025
This is a sharply observed and very well written police procedural/social commentary.
July 2, 2024
Thank you to Pushkin Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Black River is billed as a thriller about a provincial Indian village rocked by the murder of a young girl and a wrongly accused man.
In some sense this is true, but it’s really more of the framing for the story on which the rest of the narrative plays out. I think that the publisher did this book a great disservice by billing it as a thriller/mystery. While the true identity of the killer isn’t revealed until the last chapters, it’s not a traditional whodunnit and it’s very low suspense. This book would slot much better into contemporary adult fiction. Readers looking for a traditional mass market thriller will not find what they’re looking for.
This book is much more a book about the corruption and apathy of rural India. The way class and religion create artificial challenges and create systems that make justice and equality very difficult. I think that the book was roughly 1/3 the murder case and 2/3 the relationships between the characters and the way the cultural and social systems have impacted them.
I think the thing that I enjoyed the most about this book was the play between the two police officer characters. They had a very pleasant dynamic and liked to see how they interacted with each other. I also liked seeing that even though they were likable, generally positive characters, they weren’t immune to the violence and corruption of the status quo.
Something that kept me from really enjoying this book was inconsistent verb tensing. At points the tense changes from chapter to chapter and it’s not always consistent with whether it’s following the scenes set in the past or the scenes in the present.
Black River is billed as a thriller about a provincial Indian village rocked by the murder of a young girl and a wrongly accused man.
In some sense this is true, but it’s really more of the framing for the story on which the rest of the narrative plays out. I think that the publisher did this book a great disservice by billing it as a thriller/mystery. While the true identity of the killer isn’t revealed until the last chapters, it’s not a traditional whodunnit and it’s very low suspense. This book would slot much better into contemporary adult fiction. Readers looking for a traditional mass market thriller will not find what they’re looking for.
This book is much more a book about the corruption and apathy of rural India. The way class and religion create artificial challenges and create systems that make justice and equality very difficult. I think that the book was roughly 1/3 the murder case and 2/3 the relationships between the characters and the way the cultural and social systems have impacted them.
I think the thing that I enjoyed the most about this book was the play between the two police officer characters. They had a very pleasant dynamic and liked to see how they interacted with each other. I also liked seeing that even though they were likable, generally positive characters, they weren’t immune to the violence and corruption of the status quo.
Something that kept me from really enjoying this book was inconsistent verb tensing. At points the tense changes from chapter to chapter and it’s not always consistent with whether it’s following the scenes set in the past or the scenes in the present.
February 6, 2023
What makes for a riveting thriller? Fresh plot, developed characters with mysterious traits and a fast pace. This book tocks all the boxes proving itself to be a mind blowing murder mystery read.
Munia in the sunlight, smiling up at the man.’
In the village of Teetarpur, a few hours from the capital city of Delhi, Chand’s peaceful life is shattered as he is forced into a dangerous quest for justice.
At the station house, the jurisdiction of which extends to Teetarpur and the neighbouring villages, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh, who has known Chand’s daughter Munia since she was born, wrestles with his conscience and the vagaries of his personal life as the increasingly murky case unfolds under the watchful eyes of the ‘Delhi boy’, SSP Pilania.
Meanwhile, in the rough bylanes of Bright Dairy Colony, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their right to home and country as the politics of religion threaten to overwhelm their lives.
Framed as a police procedural, Black River is fast-paced and relentless, yet tender and reflective, in its exploration of friendship, love and grief.
I am reading it and its really able to capture all my attention.
Readers who are into thrillers, definitely don't miss out on this one. Go for it.
Munia in the sunlight, smiling up at the man.’
In the village of Teetarpur, a few hours from the capital city of Delhi, Chand’s peaceful life is shattered as he is forced into a dangerous quest for justice.
At the station house, the jurisdiction of which extends to Teetarpur and the neighbouring villages, Sub-inspector Ombir Singh, who has known Chand’s daughter Munia since she was born, wrestles with his conscience and the vagaries of his personal life as the increasingly murky case unfolds under the watchful eyes of the ‘Delhi boy’, SSP Pilania.
Meanwhile, in the rough bylanes of Bright Dairy Colony, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their right to home and country as the politics of religion threaten to overwhelm their lives.
Framed as a police procedural, Black River is fast-paced and relentless, yet tender and reflective, in its exploration of friendship, love and grief.
I am reading it and its really able to capture all my attention.
Readers who are into thrillers, definitely don't miss out on this one. Go for it.
February 13, 2025
The quality of the writer shines throughout this sad rather bleak book which is much more than a murder procedural. Roys credentials as a journalist provide insight and implicit knowledge of contemporary India post Modi. The tragic murder of a young girl is the backdrop for an examination of culture, poverty , injustice and the disparity between privilege and existence. Ombi the police investigator is well drawn struggling between a moral compass and pragmatism. Roy shines a light on corruption and separatism - the growing tension between Hindu and Moslem communities through a skillful placing of Rania who is ultimately forced out of her home by Hindu nationalism. I was transported to the river where her husband spent his last hours with its birds and heat and colour. Her use of sex workers to drive the plot is plausible and provides insight into choices women have to make however perilous that choice becomes. The book ends far away in the Himalayas where some sense of peace breathes into the final chapter
July 30, 2025
One of those novels that makes you glad you weren’t born in rural India. The author is a journalist and unfortunately has seen a lot if terrible crimes. The novel successfully blends social commentary and a crime novel.
The plot was gripping - a young girl is. found dead by hanging in a tree near her small farm. The novel is about the police investigation of the crime.
It was easy to read and interesting to see what are current problems in rural India including poverty, gender discrimination, religious intolerance, corruption and incompetence of local authorities, and the problems associated with encroaching modernity.
The plot was gripping - a young girl is. found dead by hanging in a tree near her small farm. The novel is about the police investigation of the crime.
It was easy to read and interesting to see what are current problems in rural India including poverty, gender discrimination, religious intolerance, corruption and incompetence of local authorities, and the problems associated with encroaching modernity.
August 29, 2023
Dark murder mystery with clever pacing and lyrical interludes - it's a typical tale of seedy underbelly of crime and how it invades the lives of those who are under privileged and gives benefits to the privileged set of the society.
What I loved the most is how it's a cleverly written paen to the landscape of Delhi from the POV of land development and migration and the effects of it all on Yamuna - the supposed lifeline of the city.
Only a true blue Delhiphile will be able to connect with it and appreciate the beauty of it w.r.t the story. The entire tale is tinged with a journalistic timbre of the writer
Please do yourselves a favor and pick this one up for the fast paced and beautiful writing in a thriller tale
What I loved the most is how it's a cleverly written paen to the landscape of Delhi from the POV of land development and migration and the effects of it all on Yamuna - the supposed lifeline of the city.
Only a true blue Delhiphile will be able to connect with it and appreciate the beauty of it w.r.t the story. The entire tale is tinged with a journalistic timbre of the writer
Please do yourselves a favor and pick this one up for the fast paced and beautiful writing in a thriller tale
Read
December 5, 2024Dnf, couldn't connect with this at all.
dnf
March 23, 2025it was way too intense and real for me to actually enjoy it.
April 20, 2025
2.5 stars, interesting in parts but the plot came across confused and fragmented and I struggled to keep track of the characters.
December 8, 2024
Um noir com bastante contexto religioso, social e político, Black River captura pela construção dos personagens e pela trama. O final é um pouco óbvio, embora não decepcione.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 7, 2025
A CHILD'S MURDER IN RURAL INDIA SEIZES NATIONWIDE ATTENTION
Ever since Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist BJP party took the reins of India’s central government in 2014, the country has grabbed headlines everywhere. For emerging as the world’s most populous nation. For claiming the fifth spot among the world’s largest economies. And for a dramatic upsurge in violence directed by Hindus toward Muslims. All three trends rumble in the background in Nilanjana Roy’s riveting murder mystery, Black River. Set in a small village in India’s rural north and in the slums crowding the center of teeming Delhi, Black River comes across at first as the straightforward story of a young village girl’s murder in rural Uttar Pradesh state. But it gradually becomes clear that the scope and depth of Roy’s story are much greater. In this fascinating book, Roy exposes the gaping cracks in Indian society today. If there is a Great Indian novel, Black River might be a contender.
A YOUNG GIRL, A KILLER, AND A HOMELESS MAN
Munia has just turned eight. She is playing in one of her father’s fields when a man she recognizes meets a woman nearby. They embrace, and he proceeds to have intercourse her while Munia, puzzled, observes them from hiding. Then the man approaches her and asks whether she saw the two of them together. She innocently says she did. He then volunteers to show her how to make a swing by tying a rope to a branch in a sturdy tree.
However, it’s not a swing the man makes. It’s a noose, and he leaves Munia, dangling, dead, from the tree. Not long afterward, a mentally ill homeless man named Mansoor Khan sees the girl and runs to her in hopes of saving her life. He grabs at her feet. But, seeing there is no hope, he collapses, crying. And when her father and others discover Munia, with Mansoor Khan at her feet, they jump to the conclusion that he has killed her. This is the tragic murder, and the misidentification of the killer, that sets off a chain of events in the village of Teetarpur that will forever change the trajectory of the entire region.
A MUSLIM SUSPECT, THE THREAT OF A LYNCHING, AND THE DESPERATE SEARCH FOR OTHER SUSPECTS
Munia’s murder brings the local police to the village. Ombir Singh has known the girl’s father, Chand, for many years, and his subordinate, Bhim Sain, is familiar with the family. But they are unable to carry out a thorough investigation because the neighbors have gathered around the site of the killing, where Munia’s body still hangs and Mansoor Khan sprawls on the ground nearby, And prominent among them is Balle Ram, Chand’s brother. He leads the demand, shared by everyone in the crowd, for rough justice.
Because the villagers have trampled the ground, Ombir Singh expects to find no clues in the immediate vicinity, But he does notice a footprint close by, the imprint of an expensive shoe that none of the villagers could have made. And when he glances down into the river, which borders the land, he sees a woman’s body floating by. However, when the time comes for him to write a preliminary report on the case, he neglects to mention either fact. And his failure to do so troubles him throughout the days that follow. Because shortly a very senior police official from Delhi, Senior Superintendent of Police Ashwini Pilania, arrives to take charge of the case. And he is joined by Jolly Singh, the wealthiest man in the village, whose gated mansion borders Chand’s land.
IF MANSOOR KHAN ISN’T GUILTY, WHO IS?
Neither Pilania nor Ombir Singh believes Mansoor Khan murdered Munia. They don’t believe he’s either physically or morally capable of doing so. But the villagers demand the Muslim man’s immediate execution. And they will barely tolerate Ombir Singh’s desperate search for other suspects. One—the manager of a local factory—stands out. But several of his friends give him an alibi. Meanwhile, the villagers threaten to break Mansoor Khan out of the local jail and execute him on their own. It looks as though the poor wretch is doomed.
A PARALLEL TRACK IN THE SLUMS OF DELHI
Meanwhile, in flashbacks on a parallel track, we learn about Chand’s many years in Delhi. Initially, he was destitute and lived in makeshift shacks along the Yamuna River (the Black River of the title). He has teamed up with a happy-go-lucky Muslim man named Khalid. It’s Khalid who finds him a job in a halal butcher shop, where over the years he learns the trade. During that time, Khalid brings a woman named Rabia into their home, and soon she is pregnant with a boy child. And on occasional visits home to Teetarpur, Chand reluctantly enters into an arranged marriage—a union that leads to the birth of their daughter, Munia, and her mother’s death.
As the years go by, we witness Chand’s profound love for Munia, who grows into a happy child. Meanwhile, in Delhi, Khalid has died a violent death in a slum eradication sweep which destroyed his shack on the river, and Rabia’s life becomes precarious as waves of anti-Muslim violence grow ever more frequent.
As Rabia explains to Chand, there is “a vengeful spirit haunting the city, shorthand for all that is going wrong. People from their [Muslim] community pushed out of parks and told they can no longer pray in public areas: tension. Boys from nearby colonies rounded up and thrown into jail on suspicion of nameless crimes, never fully spelled out: tension. Small mobs of residents who let rumours ignite and flare into attacks on their own neighbours: tension. You never know when tension will show up” on your doorstep. In these brief passages, we see the human toll of the Hindu-nationalist policies of Narendra Modi’s government playing out before our eyes.
HOW TYPICAL IS THE VILLAGE OF TEETARPUR?
There are approximately 640,000 villages in India today. The overwhelming majority vary in size from 500 to 10,000 inhabitants. Some 2,000 to 5,000 people live in a mid-sized village. Although it’s not clear from reading Black River how many inhabitants Teetarpur includes, the author gives the impression that it’s on the smaller side. But size is only one aspect of any village’s character, and every village is unique. The people of Teetarpur are Hindu and they speak Hindi. Since, according to the most recent census, Hindus constituted a majority in 28 of India’s 35 states and union territories, it’s safe to say that it’s typical in that respect at least.
LIVELIHOOD
However, each village earns its keep in a distinctive way, depending on the available local resources. The people of Teetarpur are farmers who sell their surplus crops in the market at a nearby town. And in that respect, too, the place is typical of the majority in India’s sprawling countryside. In other villages, less typically, the men earn their living taking jobs in nearby cities. Elsewhere, the inhabitants might survive from their work in local mines.
REGIONAL CHARACTER
But India is a vast country, with the world’s largest population (1.4 billion) living in 1.3 million square miles, which is about one-third the size of the United States or China. India’s north is strikingly different from its south—different geographically, linguistically, and historically. In modern times, a nation resembling India today emerged only under British rule in the 19th century—and then it was sundered in the Partition in 1947, when the British calved off today’s Pakistan and Bangladesh from the Hindu-majority bulk of the subcontinent. For hundreds of years, the country’s north, south, northeast, and southwest each evolved its own unique character.
Geographic signposts in the novel make it clear that Teetarpur is located in the west of the huge state of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous. (The state has a population of 240 million, which amounts to some three percent of the world’s people, or about one in every 33. If it were a country, Uttar Pradesh, or “UP” as it is known, would be the sixth largest in the world after India itself, China, the US, Indonesia, and Pakistan.)
UP lies in the country’s north, bordering the National Capital Territory of Delhi to the northwest and the nation of Nepal to the northeast. The river Ganges bisects the state, running northwest to southeast. About 80 percent of the people are Hindu, 20 percent Muslim. No other religious community counts as much as one percent of the total. The cuisine reflects the demographics, with the Hindu (and Hindi-speaking) majority favoring vegetarian dishes and the Muslim minority hewing to a halal diet, which includes meat.
CASTE AND CLASS
In Teetarpur, one man owns much of the village and lives in a gated mansion there. Jolly Singh, or Jolly-ji—the suffix is a term of respect—lords it over the other villagers. Practically everywhere in India caste and class differences elevate some like him to wealth and power over others locally. (Jolly’s surname indicates he is Sikh, but his religion appears to be less important than his wealth.) But what is not typical of Jolly-ji is his willingness to involve himself directly in the murder investigation. Few such wealthy men would deign to dirty their hands in such a distasteful pursuit.
However, in other respects, the events Nilanjana Roy describes in Black River could take place in hundreds of thousands of other villages. It’s all too typical of the rough justice that prevails in India.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nilanjana Roy is the author of three novels as well as a collection of essays. She is a journalist, editor, and literary critic as well as an author. Roy was born in Kolkata in 1971 and educated at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. She earned a degree in literature there. Over a career spanning more than two decades, she was a columnist and wrote for many leading US and British publications, including the New York Times and the Guardian. She currently writes about books for the Financial Times. Roy lives with her husband in Delhi.
Ever since Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist BJP party took the reins of India’s central government in 2014, the country has grabbed headlines everywhere. For emerging as the world’s most populous nation. For claiming the fifth spot among the world’s largest economies. And for a dramatic upsurge in violence directed by Hindus toward Muslims. All three trends rumble in the background in Nilanjana Roy’s riveting murder mystery, Black River. Set in a small village in India’s rural north and in the slums crowding the center of teeming Delhi, Black River comes across at first as the straightforward story of a young village girl’s murder in rural Uttar Pradesh state. But it gradually becomes clear that the scope and depth of Roy’s story are much greater. In this fascinating book, Roy exposes the gaping cracks in Indian society today. If there is a Great Indian novel, Black River might be a contender.
A YOUNG GIRL, A KILLER, AND A HOMELESS MAN
Munia has just turned eight. She is playing in one of her father’s fields when a man she recognizes meets a woman nearby. They embrace, and he proceeds to have intercourse her while Munia, puzzled, observes them from hiding. Then the man approaches her and asks whether she saw the two of them together. She innocently says she did. He then volunteers to show her how to make a swing by tying a rope to a branch in a sturdy tree.
However, it’s not a swing the man makes. It’s a noose, and he leaves Munia, dangling, dead, from the tree. Not long afterward, a mentally ill homeless man named Mansoor Khan sees the girl and runs to her in hopes of saving her life. He grabs at her feet. But, seeing there is no hope, he collapses, crying. And when her father and others discover Munia, with Mansoor Khan at her feet, they jump to the conclusion that he has killed her. This is the tragic murder, and the misidentification of the killer, that sets off a chain of events in the village of Teetarpur that will forever change the trajectory of the entire region.
A MUSLIM SUSPECT, THE THREAT OF A LYNCHING, AND THE DESPERATE SEARCH FOR OTHER SUSPECTS
Munia’s murder brings the local police to the village. Ombir Singh has known the girl’s father, Chand, for many years, and his subordinate, Bhim Sain, is familiar with the family. But they are unable to carry out a thorough investigation because the neighbors have gathered around the site of the killing, where Munia’s body still hangs and Mansoor Khan sprawls on the ground nearby, And prominent among them is Balle Ram, Chand’s brother. He leads the demand, shared by everyone in the crowd, for rough justice.
Because the villagers have trampled the ground, Ombir Singh expects to find no clues in the immediate vicinity, But he does notice a footprint close by, the imprint of an expensive shoe that none of the villagers could have made. And when he glances down into the river, which borders the land, he sees a woman’s body floating by. However, when the time comes for him to write a preliminary report on the case, he neglects to mention either fact. And his failure to do so troubles him throughout the days that follow. Because shortly a very senior police official from Delhi, Senior Superintendent of Police Ashwini Pilania, arrives to take charge of the case. And he is joined by Jolly Singh, the wealthiest man in the village, whose gated mansion borders Chand’s land.
IF MANSOOR KHAN ISN’T GUILTY, WHO IS?
Neither Pilania nor Ombir Singh believes Mansoor Khan murdered Munia. They don’t believe he’s either physically or morally capable of doing so. But the villagers demand the Muslim man’s immediate execution. And they will barely tolerate Ombir Singh’s desperate search for other suspects. One—the manager of a local factory—stands out. But several of his friends give him an alibi. Meanwhile, the villagers threaten to break Mansoor Khan out of the local jail and execute him on their own. It looks as though the poor wretch is doomed.
A PARALLEL TRACK IN THE SLUMS OF DELHI
Meanwhile, in flashbacks on a parallel track, we learn about Chand’s many years in Delhi. Initially, he was destitute and lived in makeshift shacks along the Yamuna River (the Black River of the title). He has teamed up with a happy-go-lucky Muslim man named Khalid. It’s Khalid who finds him a job in a halal butcher shop, where over the years he learns the trade. During that time, Khalid brings a woman named Rabia into their home, and soon she is pregnant with a boy child. And on occasional visits home to Teetarpur, Chand reluctantly enters into an arranged marriage—a union that leads to the birth of their daughter, Munia, and her mother’s death.
As the years go by, we witness Chand’s profound love for Munia, who grows into a happy child. Meanwhile, in Delhi, Khalid has died a violent death in a slum eradication sweep which destroyed his shack on the river, and Rabia’s life becomes precarious as waves of anti-Muslim violence grow ever more frequent.
As Rabia explains to Chand, there is “a vengeful spirit haunting the city, shorthand for all that is going wrong. People from their [Muslim] community pushed out of parks and told they can no longer pray in public areas: tension. Boys from nearby colonies rounded up and thrown into jail on suspicion of nameless crimes, never fully spelled out: tension. Small mobs of residents who let rumours ignite and flare into attacks on their own neighbours: tension. You never know when tension will show up” on your doorstep. In these brief passages, we see the human toll of the Hindu-nationalist policies of Narendra Modi’s government playing out before our eyes.
HOW TYPICAL IS THE VILLAGE OF TEETARPUR?
There are approximately 640,000 villages in India today. The overwhelming majority vary in size from 500 to 10,000 inhabitants. Some 2,000 to 5,000 people live in a mid-sized village. Although it’s not clear from reading Black River how many inhabitants Teetarpur includes, the author gives the impression that it’s on the smaller side. But size is only one aspect of any village’s character, and every village is unique. The people of Teetarpur are Hindu and they speak Hindi. Since, according to the most recent census, Hindus constituted a majority in 28 of India’s 35 states and union territories, it’s safe to say that it’s typical in that respect at least.
LIVELIHOOD
However, each village earns its keep in a distinctive way, depending on the available local resources. The people of Teetarpur are farmers who sell their surplus crops in the market at a nearby town. And in that respect, too, the place is typical of the majority in India’s sprawling countryside. In other villages, less typically, the men earn their living taking jobs in nearby cities. Elsewhere, the inhabitants might survive from their work in local mines.
REGIONAL CHARACTER
But India is a vast country, with the world’s largest population (1.4 billion) living in 1.3 million square miles, which is about one-third the size of the United States or China. India’s north is strikingly different from its south—different geographically, linguistically, and historically. In modern times, a nation resembling India today emerged only under British rule in the 19th century—and then it was sundered in the Partition in 1947, when the British calved off today’s Pakistan and Bangladesh from the Hindu-majority bulk of the subcontinent. For hundreds of years, the country’s north, south, northeast, and southwest each evolved its own unique character.
Geographic signposts in the novel make it clear that Teetarpur is located in the west of the huge state of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous. (The state has a population of 240 million, which amounts to some three percent of the world’s people, or about one in every 33. If it were a country, Uttar Pradesh, or “UP” as it is known, would be the sixth largest in the world after India itself, China, the US, Indonesia, and Pakistan.)
UP lies in the country’s north, bordering the National Capital Territory of Delhi to the northwest and the nation of Nepal to the northeast. The river Ganges bisects the state, running northwest to southeast. About 80 percent of the people are Hindu, 20 percent Muslim. No other religious community counts as much as one percent of the total. The cuisine reflects the demographics, with the Hindu (and Hindi-speaking) majority favoring vegetarian dishes and the Muslim minority hewing to a halal diet, which includes meat.
CASTE AND CLASS
In Teetarpur, one man owns much of the village and lives in a gated mansion there. Jolly Singh, or Jolly-ji—the suffix is a term of respect—lords it over the other villagers. Practically everywhere in India caste and class differences elevate some like him to wealth and power over others locally. (Jolly’s surname indicates he is Sikh, but his religion appears to be less important than his wealth.) But what is not typical of Jolly-ji is his willingness to involve himself directly in the murder investigation. Few such wealthy men would deign to dirty their hands in such a distasteful pursuit.
However, in other respects, the events Nilanjana Roy describes in Black River could take place in hundreds of thousands of other villages. It’s all too typical of the rough justice that prevails in India.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nilanjana Roy is the author of three novels as well as a collection of essays. She is a journalist, editor, and literary critic as well as an author. Roy was born in Kolkata in 1971 and educated at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. She earned a degree in literature there. Over a career spanning more than two decades, she was a columnist and wrote for many leading US and British publications, including the New York Times and the Guardian. She currently writes about books for the Financial Times. Roy lives with her husband in Delhi.
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December 29, 20243.5/5
I can't believe it wasn't the other policeman
I can't believe it wasn't the other policeman
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2023
Spent my first few days of the year with Black River by Nilanjana S. Roy and was completely swept by this riveting murder mystery!
Set in Teetarpur, a fictional village a few hours from the national capital Delhi, India; Black River opens with an unsettling image, an eight year old girl’s body is found hanging from a tree, a man cluelessly lurking around is instantly decided as the murderer.
Munia’s father Chand, an ordinary farmer is devastated when he sees her lifeless body and is left with nothing but memories of the past and shattered dreams of a future she’d never have.
Why was Munia snatched from him?
The local police station takes over the case and what follows is the aftermath of a brutal murder, trying to unveil the gritty motive based on little proof available.
Meanwhile, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their home in Bright Dairy Colony in the midst of political changes and a rise in corruption, religious intolerance and bias.
Nilanjana’s writing is tender as it explores the character’s lives, their friendship that sustains years through thick and thin, loss and grief.
It’s crisp as she exposes the loopholes in our legal system that promises justice but also renders us helpless when it lets the real culprit slip through the cracks, the incapability to prove a crime (or someone’s innocence) for lack of evidence.
As a journalist herself, she doesn’t shy away from showing the sad reality of Indian media that feeds on grief, sidelining humanity in the name of “making headlines” and pushing cameras inside the homes, zooming in on victim’s misery.
It was all seamlessly fabricated but my only qualm with the book was with the lack of mystery or element of surprise that was although the center of the book but took a backseat with so much it had to offer.
But even in it’s predictability, the ending was hard hitting!
I was thoroughly invested in the story, may be less for the plot and more for the writing, the layers it uncovered and the beautiful descriptions of the mysterious yet fascinating Black River.
Set in Teetarpur, a fictional village a few hours from the national capital Delhi, India; Black River opens with an unsettling image, an eight year old girl’s body is found hanging from a tree, a man cluelessly lurking around is instantly decided as the murderer.
Munia’s father Chand, an ordinary farmer is devastated when he sees her lifeless body and is left with nothing but memories of the past and shattered dreams of a future she’d never have.
Why was Munia snatched from him?
The local police station takes over the case and what follows is the aftermath of a brutal murder, trying to unveil the gritty motive based on little proof available.
Meanwhile, Chand’s old companions Rabia and Badshah Miyan fight for their home in Bright Dairy Colony in the midst of political changes and a rise in corruption, religious intolerance and bias.
Nilanjana’s writing is tender as it explores the character’s lives, their friendship that sustains years through thick and thin, loss and grief.
It’s crisp as she exposes the loopholes in our legal system that promises justice but also renders us helpless when it lets the real culprit slip through the cracks, the incapability to prove a crime (or someone’s innocence) for lack of evidence.
As a journalist herself, she doesn’t shy away from showing the sad reality of Indian media that feeds on grief, sidelining humanity in the name of “making headlines” and pushing cameras inside the homes, zooming in on victim’s misery.
It was all seamlessly fabricated but my only qualm with the book was with the lack of mystery or element of surprise that was although the center of the book but took a backseat with so much it had to offer.
But even in it’s predictability, the ending was hard hitting!
I was thoroughly invested in the story, may be less for the plot and more for the writing, the layers it uncovered and the beautiful descriptions of the mysterious yet fascinating Black River.
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