Thursday, July 09, 2009

On "The Middleman"

The Middleman is a book written in the 70's by a renowned Bangla writer, Sankar (Mani Sankar Mukherji). It was made into the movie Jana Aranya by no less than Satyajit Ray himself. The English edition was published this year. The book has been translated by Arunava Sinha.

If you recollect, we had picked up the book on Chandrahas's recommendation. Here is what I thought of it.

4 comments:

dipali said...

I have read and liked the author's book "Chowringhee." I will certainly try and read this one. Yes, his books reflect their times, oten disturbingly so.

Unmana said...

Dipali: Yes, indeed. I wasn't sure how much the author was complicit in the view.

I should pick up "Chowringhee" too. I wish I knew the language enough to pick up the original, though the translation is quite good.

dipali said...

I recently read The Middleman, and found it most disturbing, and powerful. Those were difficult times to live in. Reading a book set in Kolkata while living in the city somehow intensifies everything.

Unmana said...

Dipali: You know, while reading the book I felt some of it was melodramatic. Then I read the Afterword in which the author describes how some of the most melodramatic incidents were actually derived from the truth. That is pretty powerful.

It must have been a more impactful experience for you as you live in that city, while I know little about it.