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Globocop
Posted July 21, 2011
Affected by the Western rationalism and science of his school books, the poor but brilliant Vijay rejects the rigid code of South Indian Catholicism, giving up God, religion, and his dream of becoming a saint. Vijay's search for meaning in a godless material world becomes an exuberant "Catcher In The Rye," a South Indian "Confederacy of Dunces," spiced with the author's indefatigable love of hilarious word play. Unlike Catcher and COD, though, Kama is auto-biographical (if not, my apologies to the author!). So far, so good. You might want to read it. But if I add it's a story about obsession with sex (not that Vijay gets much), will you change your mind? Can't be helped. It's the gut-busting hilarity of Vijay's quest to lose his virginity that keeps the story moving. We are all obsessed. The difference between most of us and Vijay is that we hide away our obsessions or sublimate them under something more suitable for public viewing. So there it is. That's what the book's about. But good stories usually have something more. A Western reader learns: what Pax Brittania and Pax Americana look like from the other side; about grinding third world poverty seen not through the eyes of Western pity but as a normal everyday reality; how traditional power structures dominate traditional societies despite a veneer of outside Western values (ie, not much chance we're going to make any real societal changes in Afghanistan and Iraq with an army); the way the English language permeates everything, is pursued by everyone, and becomes something new in the process (this last, fascinating to me as a linguist). Revised Kama Sutra is not your standard novel by a long shot. For those who want to avoid such things, there are sections in which it is x-rated in content and vocabulary. But, ultimately and thankfully, this story is uplifting and powerful at the end when the author realizes, in spite of himself, there must be something more.
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Posted July 9, 2011
The most funny and hilarious book in contemprary indian literature which makes you laugh and at the same time, know about the issues which run deeper in a country like India. I found most of my friends shirking the book because of the Title (with the word Kamasutra in it) and thats an irony. Well, the title is only 4 words and the book has more than thousands of word and each of those thousands of words is a powerful potent canon.
Very tightly packed, the book is very concise and will test you ability to restrain your laughters/giggles - so beware, you might look a fool if you will try to read it in a public place :). It is heartening to find such a book which dares to be candid on so many issues - be it a small town lad, sexual repression prevailing in the indian society and fantasies of an aspiring and talented common man. It is a daring piece of work by an author who knows his way with words that make a straight way directly into your heart. Enjoy Reading when Thanks to the ebook era, the nook edition is available at such an unbelievably low price..
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Overview
When a boy survives a dog bite, a threatened end of the universe, and cane-wielding nuns and priests in Catholic schools, what lies in store for him? Puberty and inexplicable erections. In the Land of the Kama Sutra, millions of boys are ignorant of the elementary facts about human biology.The Revised Kama Sutra, the story of an Indian boy growing into manhood with an American Dream planted in him by assorted Hollywood movies and comic books, has been described as an Indian classic, as "a South Indian Catcher in the Rye," and one of the funniest and most uninhibited novels about India. It is on the short list of recommended books in "The Lonely Planet ...