A Rising Man - Abir Mukherjee

photo courtesy: amazon.co.uk

A crime story set in the fascinating Old Calcutta

This book created a lot of waves especially since it won a crime writing competition. An accountant by profession, the author explains how the inspiration for it all in an interesting interview on the Asian writer website (http://theasianwriter.co.uk/2016/06/abir-mukherjee/) Reading the interview along with the book was a great way of understanding the writer and his work. Thanks Farhana for posting an insightful interview.


Gist:

Sam Wyndham comes to India for a fresh start. However, within a week of his arrival, there is just the case of him: the murder of an Englishman outside a brothel with his throat slit and a note stuffed into his mouth. A potential loss of face if the word got out, Sam is asssigned the case along with his Sergeant "Surrender-not" (Surendranath) Banerjee to track the perpretrator.

What works:

• Abir shows off the old Calcutta incredibly well through Sam's eyes. He visualises a beautiful city under British Raj revealing a good grasp of setting. 

• Loved the word play with "Surrender-not" and how Mukherjee establishes the relationship between the two main characters - The oriental and the occidental (the idea behind using these words is to shed light on the subject of the rulers and the subjects) . the two main characters are well etched as are some other recurring characters such as Miss Grant.

• The plot is well thought out, detailed and Mukherjee is clearly comfortable with the setting. The idea of setting crime stories in British Raj Calcutta is novel, unexplored as yet. The story pans out very well and it is amazing how the characters fit in so well with the characters.

• It is very easy to visualises this as a TV series. Here's hoping it happens soon.

What doesn't:

• The book is how it should be. Entertaining with lots of action, as well as educating a colonial about the ways of Indian culture.  It is laid out commendably well and has the ingredients of a satisfying read.

I am on the lookout for the next book in the series.