Narcopolis

NARCOPOLIS

by Jeet Thayil

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 2012, Dublin Longlist 2014

 

Date Read: October 11, 2020

 

Narcopolis is comprised of multiple vignettes that follow a set of characters through the underbelly of what once was Bombay. For me, this novel was more an exposition on the various ways to mentally escape poverty and to forget the one kernel of truth that eludes us all: that each of us is beloved and so much more precious than life would lead us to believe. This truth Dimple stumbled into at the end of her life. 

 

Instead, the slums of Bombay operate upon much darker truths - women are to be fucked, drugs are to be smoked and rupees are to be counted and hoarded. Yet, amidst all this grime are moments of beauty, which make them all the more precious considering their circumstances.

 

I was of mixed minds when Dimple went to rehab. On the one hand, I was rooting for her to get clean, but so she could be more aware of what? I’m not sure I would want to be sober if I was presented with the life she was living. In the end, her sobriety opened her eyes to a truth that may have made it all worthwhile.

 

I would argue that poverty is the underlying current here and the behaviors to adapt to it are almost universal, regardless of country. When you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. The scenes that Thayil presents could be found in China, the U.S., Africa. The one thing in common is poverty. As human beings with more than enough resources for everyone, there is just no excuse.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Gentleman In Moscow

Image
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW by Amor Towles   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2018, Goodreads Finalist 2016, Kirkus Finalist 2016   Date Read: February 24, 2017   From Kirkus Reviews:   “Sentenced to house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel by a Bolshevik tribunal for writing a poem deemed to encourage revolt, Count Alexander Rostov nonetheless lives the fullest of lives, discovering the depths of his humanity.   Inside the elegant Metropol, located near the Kremlin and the Bolshoi, the Count slowly adjusts to circumstances as a "Former Person." He makes do with the attic room, to which he is banished after residing for years in a posh third-floor suite. A man of refined taste in wine, food, and literature, he strives to maintain a daily routine, exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel, bonding with staff, accepting the advances of attractive women, and forming what proves to be a deeply meaningful relationship with a spirited young girl, Nina. "We are bound to find comfo
Read more

An Island

Image
AN ISLAND by Karen Jennings   Nomination: Booker Longlist 2021   Date Read: December 10, 2022   A short but mighty novel, An Island explores the concept of home, family, identity, the impact of political upheaval and the immigrant experience, when one’s suffering is so intense they move from one shitty country to the next. Samuel has finally found a peaceful home on an island somewhere off the coast of Africa. He was hired as a lighthouse keeper and after a tumultuous life, most of which was spent in prison as a political prisoner, he has carved out a life for himself on this island, enjoying a tranquil existence that basks in the quiet tasks of daily living.   Only after exploring Samuel’s life does the reader understand why such an isolated, spare and lonely existence satisfy him, with no desire to escape but only to grow deeper roots. His life witnessed the end of the British occupation, the installation of a brutal dictator and yet another dictator after the first was poisoned. Sam
Read more

The Changeling

Image
THE CHANGELING by Victor LaValle   Nominations: Dublin Longlist 2019, LA Times Finalist 2017, PEN/Jean Stein Finalist 2018   Date Read: July 21, 2024   From Kirkus Reviews: “A  tragedy thrusts a mourning father into peculiar, otherworldly corners of New York City. When Apollo and Emma have their baby, Brian, it feels like both reward and challenge for the new dad. Apollo, the son of a single mother, had been scraping by as a bookseller who hunts estate and garage sales for rare first editions, so even the unusual circumstance of Brian's birth (in a stalled subway train) seems like a blessing, as does the way Apollo stumbles across a first edition of  To Kill a Mockingbird  (inscribed by Harper Lee to Truman Capote, no less) shortly after. But after some young-parent squabbles and inexplicable images on their smartphones foreshadow trouble, the story turns nightmarish: Apollo finds himself tied up and beaten by Emma, then forced to listen to the sounds of Brian’s murder. LaValle has
Read more