The Mammaries of the Welfare State

by Upamanyu Chatterjee

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Genres: India, Fiction, Humor, Satire, Novels, Indian Literature, Comedy

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Upamanyu Chatterjee is an Indian author and administrator, noted for his works set in the Indian Administrative Service. He has been named Officier des Arts et des Lettres (Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters), by the French Government.

Reviews

[Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The identity of the book lies in its growth; Eight years in the service, beloved August, has grown into a well rounded Sri Augustya Sen saab; the confusion has given way to charming cynicism which helps him to keep his nose just above the waters and take one day at a time , literally. Unlike English, August, the narrative voice isn’t primarily singular, but fragmented making Augustya an obscure cog in a massive juggernaut of a fleet that is the Indian bureaucracy.

It is easy to see why the book has been unpopular, or rather, not as popular as its prequel; it lacks a centre, the narration is diffuse while the characters conveniently drift in and out. But still, the book is absolutely brilliant for Chatterjee remains faithful to one of the most complicated subjects that can ever hoped to be captured in any language, let alone English ie the behemoth of governance in India. If English, August was a delicate outside-in peep into the Indian bureaucracy through the august eyes of English , Mammaries is a vast chronicle of the functioning of Indian bureaucracy and its hilarious yet inevitable association with the Indian politics. All of course captured in Chatterjee’s brilliant prose alternating between slapstick and satire.

Had I read this book a bit earlier or even later, I would have missed the grand joke that runs through page after page in the book. Clearly one should have a useless drain for a mind to appreciate the beauty of this book, well, thankfully I have.

[Sourabh Biswas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depressingly humorous, the entire story goes on like a multitude of sequences, events, incidents in succession one after the other as in a marijuana fueled haze. Quite different from English, August particularly in terms of the non-linearity of the narrative. Somewhere someone has compared Upamanyu Chatterjee to Joseph Heller, and I would not disagree with him.

[Swathi Manchili · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected this book to be as interesting as English, August. Not as engaging as the prequel but is a decent read. It took me sometime to finish this book.

[Shaz S · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this sequel to "English, August" - which I enjoyed immensely - August is no longer the naive, optimistic, pot-smoking wannabe beaurocrat. He is no longer called August either. Agastya is older, more bitter but still resistant to change into the monster that the system called "The Welfare State" forces its employees to become. He is the good guy in a realm where being good implies being lazy and indifferent. He wishes to change the system from the inside but then he comes across the universal problem of being a speck in the ocean of the corruption and vile. With characters nuttier, strange and more real than any other in Indian fiction, Chatterjee manages to paint a true picture of the bizarre universe called the Indian society. The book was published in 2000 and some of the events and government decisions that Chatterjee envisions in the book, more for comic relief, absurdity and overdramatisation, are a reality today. I wish that this book was as popular as its prequel.

Rating: 4/5

[Devashish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good sequel to english august

[Amitava Das · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hopelessly puerile. Specially after the brilliance of English August.

[Prateek Gupte · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the rare books that I abandon, The mammaries of the welfare state lacked the core ingredient of what made its predecessor great. Augustya Sen has aged a decade or so and is now well versed to the intricacies of the welfare state. But the narrative lacks the central theme and depth of English, August. The earlier story was about August's search for meaning. It was honest, soulful and relatable - even today. It's follow up lacks of all that. It seems to be just a frustrated rant about the corrupt, bureaucratic workings of India. This gets old after a few hundred pages. The unending list of government positions, departments, schemes and titles is meant to overwhelm, but it does so without wit and charm. The new characters are not likeable enough to stick with them through their journey. They seem to be shallow caricatures, drawn in great detail but without any layers.
After forcing myself about a 3rd of the way through I decided I wasn't enjoying the journey and there wasn't any point in pushing myself to the finish line.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 2 out of 5]

After an amazingly well written "English August", this one is disappointing. This book yet again demonstrates author's command over the English language as well as the Hindi slang that has been used profusely right through the narration. However, this narration becomes monotonous and, on occasions repetitive and boring. The author exaggerates time and again (perhaps based on his personal experiences)to "drive" home the humour. No one has been spared in the book that takes a dig primarily at the bureaucracy (almost everyone does these days) and the "state" of affairs. There are indeed fascinating references to the politicians as well, including their sartorial details :"Our politicians wear khadi. The Prime Minister wears it. The clip of his Cartier gold fountain pen looks splendid against it". Upamanyu has a unique sense of humour that served him well in the first offering. However, he carries it a bit too far in this one.

[Kushal Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly brilliant and humorous. Upmanyu Chatterjee is the Joseph Heller of India. Sometimes it can look tedious and took me a long time to read but it's totally worth the time and effort.

The book begins 8 years after English, August and elaborates in much details the workings of the welfare state. Chatterjee is a cynic par excellence and the proximity of his prose to reality terrifying.

[Rajat Bansal · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://arbitbansal-bookreview.blogspo...

[Muthu Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Later.

[Saikat Chakrabarty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agastya and Madna, always has its own flavour. But, unlike the book “English, August”, “The Mammarries of the welfare state”, is different. Though, not as different like chalk and cheese. It is supposed to be a sequel, but might crush expectations, if any, of the former’s distinct vibe.

The story line is not uniform. But each snippet, weaved together by a certain predilection, is dank, and perhaps more brutal. UC’s predilection, well.., the obvious, book-long harangues directed at the state of affair and all that. Yet still, the lyrical-satire, the narration i.e.., though demanding at times, nevertheless, is always a path to my delectation. ;D

A tad-bit awareness of Indian Politics- the state of affairs, starting somewhere around the last quarter of the previous century, I think, will add flavour to the read.

All in all, savage!

[Shubhra · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of the book one heaves a sigh - it is terrible nonsense, a self indulgent rant. The jokes are stale, the sex forced and ridiculous. I remembered loving English August but this read like a bore of a book. Absolutely soulless sanctimonious tripe. One settles in after that, as does the writing and it does get better and then it gets absolutely brilliant. The ability to distill the horror of the Indian state - India itself - into something one lives with and navigates, I haven’t read anything which does this as effectively and as well. Was reminded of David Foster Wallace. Brutal. We slump again towards the end and the takes make you squirm - so uncomfortably close to your younger life, and friends and so terribly superior. Overall though it was a great read - funny, satirical and razor sharp. I just wish it was kinder.

[Shraddha Upadhyay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is not a predictable sequel to English, August. August is in fact more Agastya and prefers Hinglish (which he refers to as the language of tomorrow) over English. He is also fluent in officialese, which he generously uses to communicate the absolute nothingness of his inert official life. He is also well-settled into the steel frame of the Welfare State despite his Englishness. The prose is irreverent, funny, witty and smart. It is replete with eloquent rants, which sometimes get a bit too indulgent. It is an interesting read but lacks the vigour of English August.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read "English, August" yet but perhaps I should have.

"The Mammaries of the Welfare State" (2000) doesn't seem to have the wit and narrative flow of Upamanyu Charterjee's most celebrated work. The sequel (parts of which I found quite tedious) continues its satirical exploration of Indian bureaucracy, partly from the point of view of Agastya Sen - the protagonist of the 1988 novel that is very much on my to-read list.

[Karnail Singh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totally wasteful. Is the author trying to narrate for some international (non-Indian) readers who are interested in India (I mean a welfare state) of this type.
Good effort but totally misleading. And further as book it is all messed up. Portrayal of characters is very poor, so is story. I went up to last page to find out if I can get at least one paragraph which can be consedered as "Well Written" by my standards.
I wonder if "English August" was his work.

[Mohammed Motiwala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a difficult read. Its hilarious but really a difficult read. I wish it was a bit more cohesive and wish the end would have been linear .

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminds me of Gary Shteyngart, but perhaps a few too many notes for my taste.

[Nikhil Singhal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just started this sequel book within month after completing English, August. But this is not at par level of English, August. ☹️

[Manasa · Rating 3 out of 5]

actually really funny, not as funny as its prequel though. i may have enjoyed it a little more if i read it as a standalone book

[Deepak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its a very Kafkasque book for sure - I didn't enjoy reading it..completed it for the sake of completing it.

[Abhijeet Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joke book, that’s how the author too describes it.

[Abhiraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is everything that the blurb says: Comic, Kafkaesque, and a masterwork of satire. What it is not is a sequel of any kind. I find both the main character as well as the writing style completely different, and not as captivating as its brilliant predecessor.

[Prakriti · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book written about the indian condition by an indian, undoubtedly. It will get you disgusted, it will churn your stomach, it will stun you into silence. Certainly not for the faint hearted or ones with a weak stomach.

Ah well, just read below

http://theevilp.blogspot.com/2009/06/...
http://theevilp.blogspot.com/2008/07/...


Wrote a short story in attempted tribute to Upamanyu Chatterjee and this book (have barely written 2-3 short stories in my life)

http://noputhyfooting.wordpress.com/2...

And just thinking about him
http://noputhyfooting.wordpress.com/2...

[Ashwini Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Twice I re-started reading this book, but would always get stuck around 140-170 page range. The levity that put the pre-quel on another pedestal is completely lost in this sequel. I am aware that the writing was mocking the Indian bureaucracy by mirroring its love for vacuous and long winded sentences, but this very thing, ironically put me off from further reading. The book turned me away, just the way the bureaucracy turns people away with its fibbings and fobbings and long winded vaguery.

Don't get me wrong. I am Upamanyu's fan.

[Anuj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, at times the style of writing just gets on you, and at other times it appears quite funny. The book gives an insight into the working of the 'system'. A must read for anyone who intends to join the Indian bearacracy, this book, I would say is still not better than its English, August which was funnier, more out of the box and more random.

[Dayanand Prabhu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine a Book like English August, but with all elements that made the original a fun read stripped out. That is what this book really is, a bad hangover without the alcohol. The author keeps ranting with inside references which most of the time will not make any connection to the reader. Better avoided.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Individual chapters could be interesting/funny, but the book as a whole seemed disjointed and somewhat incoherent. The book's sense of humor also began funny, but rapidly become stale and repetitive.

[Sarath Krishnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel is an attack on the imperfect beaurocraticy of India . The politicians as well as the govt officers plundering the state. This shocking novel is realistic in the sense that ordinary people might have experienced more than we can ever imagine.

[Nithya · Rating 3 out of 5]

disappointing sequel to the highly witty, funny and fascinating english, august. the book speaks more about the bureaucratic babu structures and less about english, who seems to have become less interesting in middle age.