The BANGALORE DETECTIVE CLUB-Overlook the Mystery Clue into Social Norms

Harini Nagendra is an author of a series of mystery novels and a prolific writer on issues of nature and sustainability. In addition she is a prof. of ecology and speaker advocating for the environment. With her crime novels, Nagendra draws the reader into the epoch of India in the early 20th C under British rule. In "The Bangalore Detective Club," our heroine, Kaveri, is a modern woman living with her new husband. Ironically, Kaveri was accepting of her arranged marriage despite being a maverick for her time. She intends to work outside the home, pursue her education and abolish abhorrent caste restrictions. Her radical approach is far outside societal paradigms. "Her mother would have been furious at the thought of allowing a milk boy to eat off a banana leaf in the veranda of their house, and apoplectic at the idea of allowing him to touch the pail of water that went into the well, claims that this amounted to defiling the purity of the well itself.  Such nonsense, thought Kaveri." Kaveri's husband, Ramu, is a doctor in a British hospital reporting to British physicians. Fortunately for the newlyweds, they have more in common than they surmised. Ramu proves supportive of his wife's interests in her studies and sleuthing like her favorite fictitious detective, Sherlock Holmes. The case Kaveri is determined to solve begins with the murder of the local gangster/pimp, Ponnuswamy. Kaveri is an astute observer of people, places and incidents with a clever analytical mind. Luckily Ramu doesn't mind her investigative work and proves helpful in her pursuit of leads. The lead investigator, Ismail, is open-minded to Kaveri assisting the investigation which expands into additional murder attempts. The beautiful Mala becomes the prime suspect and charged with the crimes. Mala was one of Ponnuswamy prized prostitutes. Mala is befriended by Kaveri who believes her innocent of killing her pimp and the attempted murder of the wife whose husband was her client. The crime is more of a cozy mystery. It is being solved with the aid of women companions who have gravitated to the unabashed, unapologetic Kaveri for disregarding societal constraints. The solution for why this "detective" novel works are in the underlying clues identifying India's women's way of life in this era under British rule and prevalent caste system in place. Kaveri's logical mind and obdurate mentality are characteristics that are admirable as well as her refusal to adhere to societal pressures to regard anyone as less than or more than someone else. "Bangalore was a strange city, Large, bustling, seemingly full of opportunity, but caste, job and family status kept people from advancement on merits alone." "The Bangalore Detective Club" is worth reading to garner the historic footprints of life in India during a time which laid evidence to a major upheaval to accepting British rule and suppression of its own citizens. "Bangalore was a strange city, Large, bustling, seemingly full of opportunity, but caste, job and family status kept people from progressing on merits alone." 

George Saunders' Short Stories PASTORALIA Do NOT Pass on Reading

George Saunders is an American writer and Booker Prize winning novelist for "Lincoln at the Bardot " (2017).  His short stories, "Tenth of December" earned the Folio Prize (2013). He's also a journalist and a prof. of creative writing at Syracuse Univ.  In Saunders' latest short story collection, PASTORALIA, his imaginative skills capture the inner workings of the psyche delve. He takes us into the not too distant future where people perform as early cavemen for amusement and into the home where a woman returns from the graver to claim her share of living. In a more subdued tale, a middle-aged bachelor living at home with his overbearing mother wants to find happiness.  If there's any unifying theme, it may be the desire for wanting a better lot than the hand that's been dealt.  The heavy-set, balding man who caters to his complaining mother and her demanding friends wishes to meet a nice lady to date. His ego and insecurities are both battling incessantly inside his head at full throttle. Sadly, his opportunities for meeting women between being at home or at his barber shop are nil until he goes to traffic school where he's smitten by a woman in the class, or at least so it seems at first glance. But, he'd probably mess things up given the chance. "Other people were simpler and looked at the world with clearer eyes, but he was self-absorbed and insincere and mucked everything up." The title story "Pastorali" depicts an unnamed man and woman who must enact being in a life-size diorama as early cave dwellers scrounging for food, making fires and taking fleas off each other. The man has been protecting his co-worker, cave-dweller by not reporting her flagrant dereliction of duties as he's required to by the corporate conglomeration that employs them.  The satirical communications via faxes are darkly humorous depicting the cover your own ass strategies that serve to protect one's livelihood. The most macabre and morose story is about an extended family who live under one roof and are mainly supported by the tedious hourly cashiering job of the matriarchal aunt. The aunt dies unexpectedly leaving the family at loose ends which only becomes worse when the aunt returns from the grave with loosely attached body parts to inform the family how things are going to run going forward. She tells them what they need to support each other and more importantly, her.  Because now that she's back from the dead she has plans to make up for her lost time. Reading anything by Saunders is assuredly going to be original, satirical and unpredictable.  Predictably, PASTORALIA by George Saunders is writing at its wittiest as reading anything by him will be worthwhile.