Shortlisted
for Man Booker Prize 2015
He describes the experiences
of 3 Punjabi men who move to the UK from their home area of India.
Two
are illegal immigrants and the third has entered legally having
married a British born Sikh. As the book unfolds we follow the back
stories of each of the men.
Tochi
– Tarlochan Kumar
is an ‘untouchable’. Living in extreme poverty, he managed to
save enough to get a rickshaw taxi and was beginning to build up a
clientele when his family were killed in a massacre and he was badly
burned.
P15
- He was dark, much darker than Randeep, and shorter but he looked
strong. The tendons in his neck stood out.
A
number of Biharis try to hide their caste identity either by not
mentioning the surname or by using the surname "Kumar",.
The surname "Kumar" hardly denotes any caste in Bihar.
He
flees the memories of his life in India
Randeep
came from a well
off family.. His father had suffered depression which caused him to
lose his job and pension and then committed suicide leaving the
family in straitened circumstances. Randeep had tried to support them
having abandoned his studies at an expensive private school. He had
met a girl whom he loved – Jaytha – but following an incident of
near rape he had to leave the college.
He
eventually marries Narinder whom he has met whilst she visited the
Punjab for religious charitable reasons. (She too is a runaway from
the oppressive rules that govern her life with her strictly religious
father and brother following the death of her mother) It is agreed
that they will divorce after 12 months once he is in UK.
Avtar
came to England on
a student visa and although he enrolled in a course he had no means
of financial support and was not legally allowed to work so like
the other two ended up working on slave time conditions below the
radar of the English system.
They
work for some ‘employers who are relatively kind and fair and
for others who are exploitative. Mainly they are with other Punjabis
and look out for each other but each is alert to chances for
himself alone and this leads to some disharmony and violence. In
addition Ranjeep and his wife are is subject to periodic
immigration checks.
We
found this a very complex book – made difficult by the frequent
use of unexplained Punjabi words and phrases. As well as many
references to aspects of Sikhism. A glossary would have been
welcomed. Added to this was the constant movement between the
present and the past of the 4 main characters. There is added
complexity in that Ranjeep’s former girlfriend turns out to be
Avtar’s sister.
Nevertheless
the characters are well drawn and there are clear stories running
through once you disentangle them. The situations too, though outside
our own experiences and sometimes understanding also seem to be
realistic and much of the book is beautifully written ( aside from
the Punjabi vocab!)
There
were some very shocking and emotive scenes – the massacre of
Tochi’s family; and Randeep finding his father hanging. We also
found the oppressive treatment of Narinder especially by her
brother contrary to our own cultural norms.
Some
of the scenes relating to their working conditions in UK were also
shocking – virtual slavery. And certainly little better than the
dire poverty which Tochi has run away from.
We
also found the epilogue to be something of a dislocated add on.
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