Book description
In his compelling new work of fiction, Aravind Adiga has imagined
the small Indian city of Kittur, an everytown nestling on the coast
south of Goa and north of Calicut. Through the myriad and distinctive
voices of its inhabitants, an entire Indian world comes vividly and
unforgettably to life. From a middle-aged Communist to an Islamic
terrorist; from the young children of a Tamil building-site worker to
a privileged and alienated schoolboy; from an idealistic journalist to
a Brahmin housemaid, Adiga has produced a microcosm of Indian life in
the 80s, the years between the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and her
son Rajiv. Muslim, Christian and Hindu, high-caste and low-caste, rich
and poor: all of Indian life - the 'sorrowful parade of humanity' - is
here. Journeying through Kittur's streets and schoolyards, bedrooms
and businesses, its inner workings and outer limits, Adiga conjures a
remarkable fictional landscape. Sizzling with acid observations, and
textured with wicked humour and gentle humanity, Between the
Assassinations is a triumph of voice and imagination.
