The debut novel, Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph promises an exciting read; the lush green cover with a lone young man standing beside a bicycle holds vows from The Observer and The Times, insisting that you are not going to be let down. The blurb promises the 250 page novel with rich family complications, coupled with a young lad pushed into the fray. But do the many rave reviews about Joseph’s book really carry across the strength of the novel?
The book opens to reveal three central characters in the busy metropolis, Mumbai; Mohan, an aging letter writer with great hopes and dreams, caught in his own world of fantasy and writing, Lakshmi, his good natured, typical Indian house-wife and his nephew, Ashish, a young lad in his final year of B.A in Literature, joining Mohan’s house-hold as his parents move away to Indore due to his father’s transfer there.
What truly makes this book worth reading is the SUBTLETY it possesses. The strains of marriage, the confusing life of a sexually uncertain young man in modern India, the almost untraceable jibes aimed at traditional societal norms and beliefs; all these add magic to the book, simply because of the ease through which the narrative flows.
The read wasn’t all a bed of roses, however. The plot unwinds slowly, meandering aimlessly, sometimes without meaning or purpose. Another problem is that the book is written with an easy, flowing grace but attention is drawn to unnecessary detail, which complements the plot not at all. Sub-characters are not defined in the least bit, leaving readers looking for more; and certain touching scenes are under-played and lack luster.
Humor is sparse; but shows that the author has the capacity to make the reader laugh. Another great part about it is that it strongly adds color and vibrancy to mundane everyday living and activities; hinting at Joseph’s skilled writing. The mix of vernacular dialogue and indigenous Indian tradition and belief systems are often highlighted.
However, a turn off is the lack of knitty gritty of daily living that the author seems to have skipped; certain scenes also jump occasionally, leaving the reader confused. There is rarely any sort of physical description of any of the characters. This in a way leaves the reader free to imagine them as they wish; but structure is important and in this case, found lacking. However, great pains are taken to explain character aspects and personalities.
A great plus point for Saraswati Park is that there is little or no sense of suspense to the book; it is a casual, laid-back narrative that describes norms and conditions generally avoided and shushed-up by society; and THAT is what keeps the novel going and adds the great sense of charm to it. The characters could easily be related to and understood.
The opening few pages are dull and life less, with not much to attract readers. As the narrative goes on however, the readers are left wanting more. The book always follows reality and day-to-day living. There is never any direct conflict between the characters, but a sense of loss and dismay at the breaking down of relationships and quiet withdrawal and towards the end, acceptance. None of the chapter endings seem to possess any kind of closure to them, however.
On the whole, Saraswati Park was a good and quick read. The issues focused on and the simple but intricate problems of Mohan, Lakshmi and Ashish and the manner in which all three find peace in the end is touching. For a debut novel, this shows promise and great potential for future books by Joseph; though this one, in itself, is not a wholly satisfying read.
Six and a half stars for Saraswati Park, a good read; but with great potential for better.
Alaric Moras.
Where Stories Are Born 