All And Nothing by Raksha Bharadia

  All And Nothing, Posted on: December 28, 2011

Reviewed by: Raamesh Gr

All And Nothing is the kind of novel you want to read if you want a complete shake-up of your soul. The kind of novel that will change the way you look at the world, once and forever. Make you want to peer behind oversize sunglasses, doubt the smiles on faces, and wonder whether the sweet-talker in front of you is actually a demonic manipulator. All And Nothing is not for the rosy-eyed. After Hermann Hesse, it's the first novel I have read that does not rely strongly on a contrived plot. If plots is what you want, I happily recommend Dan Brown, or that old master, PG Wodehouse. The plot is so simple I can lay it bare here without acting the spoiler. Indeed it's on the cover, anyway. Five individuals meet at a Mahabaleshwar bungalow, to tell stories, foremost to themselves. The writing isn't clever; I recommend Terry Pratchett for that. It does not make grand political or social commentary of the kind that gets the writer the Booker Prize. But if you want a novel entirely about human beings, Raksha Bharadia is good at human beings. Like a surgeon she can lay them open, cutting right through to the raw, insecure soul. And you can see yourself in the mirror she holds. Not just shades of grey; but like you, a complete tapestry of every colour imaginable. Pastel shades go hand in hand with the darker, brooding colours, sometimes melding harmoniously, sometimes jarring. Yet an art critique might spend happy hours unravelling them layer by layer. The author's skill isn't so much in painting the pictures of the main characters – the all-suffering-until-she-can-take-it-no-more Tina, the tormented-by-guilt-and-doubt Kriya, the smiling-in-spite-of-pain-for-the-sake-of-family-honour Upasna, the Bohemian-but-frustrated-in-love Manas and the has-everything-and-yet-nothing Poorvi. Hmm, you might say; characters you've seen elsewhere. The kind of characters that K. Balachander and Ritwik Ghatak would revel in. But this is a novel that you need to read a second time. At first l

Did this review help your purchase decision? Yes | No 

 

  All And Nothing, Posted on: December 28, 2011

Reviewed by: Raamesh

All And Nothing is the kind of novel you want to read if you want a complete shake-up of your soul. The kind of novel that will change the way you look at the world, once and forever. Make you want to peer behind oversize sunglasses, doubt the smiles on faces, and wonder whether the sweet-talker in front of you is actually a demonic manipulator. All And Nothing is not for the rosy-eyed. After Hermann Hesse, it's the first novel I have read that does not rely strongly on a contrived plot. If plots is what you want, I happily recommend Dan Brown, or that old master, PG Wodehouse. The plot is so simple I can lay it bare here without acting the spoiler. Indeed it's on the cover, anyway. Five individuals meet at a Mahabaleshwar bungalow, to tell stories, foremost to themselves. The writing isn't clever; I recommend Terry Pratchett for that. It does not make grand political or social commentary of the kind that gets the writer the Booker Prize. But if you want a novel entirely about human beings, Raksha Bharadia is good at human beings. Like a surgeon she can lay them open, cutting right through to the raw, insecure soul. And you can see yourself in the mirror she holds. Not just shades of grey; but like you, a complete tapestry of every colour imaginable. Pastel shades go hand in hand with the darker, brooding colours, sometimes melding harmoniously, sometimes jarring. Yet an art critique might spend happy hours unravelling them layer by layer. The author's skill isn't so much in painting the pictures of the main characters – the all-suffering-until-she-can-take-it-no-more Tina, the tormented-by-guilt-and-doubt Kriya, the smiling-in-spite-of-pain-for-the-sake-of-family-honour Upasna, the Bohemian-but-frustrated-in-love Manas and the has-everything-and-yet-nothing Poorvi. Hmm, you might say; characters you've seen elsewhere. The kind of characters that K. Balachander and Ritwik Ghatak would revel in. But this is a novel that you need to read a second time. At first l

Did this review help your purchase decision? Yes | No