Tag: Jerry Pinto

  • Murder in Mahim

    Jerry Pinto

    “Em and the Big Hoom” is a favourite book largely thanks to how sensitively Jerry Pinto deals with the issue of a person’s mental health and its impact on their near and dear. Murder in Mahim, in terms of premise, is vastly different and as the title would suggest, a murder mystery. But once again, it is the sensitivity that the author displays in treating both the subject and the subjects that takes it beyond other fare in the genre.

    It would be unfair to compare this to his previous work simply because of the massive genre shift. I also feel that it might not have worked simply as a murder mystery because once the plot progresses, second guessing becomes rather easy. Two things worked in its favour. The pace of the narrative is tight. The author doesn’t stretch any suspenseful plot points beyond its worth, and in that sense, respects the reader’s smarts. The other part is the nuanced detailing. A subculture of Bombay truly comes to life in the book. (yes, I recognise the irony here) The author makes the effort to get the reader to empathise with the characters and their complexities. That goes for the city too – as represented by its people and places, and even the time of the day when it is seen.  (more…)

  • Em & The Big Hoom

    Jerry Pinto

    “Home is not an address, home is family” pretty much defines what the story is all about. Jerry Pinto’s debut novel is the story of one woman, her madness, and how her family lives through it in a 1 BHK flat in Mahim. There is no large canvas, no spectacular events, it’s a simple story about complex lives, narrated in the most disarming and sensitive manner.

    Em holds the story together, as she does her family too, despite (or because of) her manic and wild self that writes, embarrasses her kids, smokes beedis, attempts suicides, and in flashes, also reveals an understanding of raw human nature. In contrast is The Big Hoom, standing like a breakwater that calms the storms lashing through their lives. He is an enigma to me, and it would seem, to the narrator too! The nameless narrator and ‘Lao Tsu’ complete the family. The back stories and idiosyncrasies of the other characters give them an identity that does not get lost in the narrative. A good time to note that Bombay exists too, peeping out once in a while, though thankfully it doesn’t take itself seriously and is content being a backdrop. Goa probably gets a better role! (more…)

  • Mumbai Noir

    edited by Altaf Tyrewala

    14 stories, divided into 3 sections, edited by Altaf Tyrewala, that’s Mumbai Noir. A completely different version of the city from the usual grandiose, glamorous ones that most fictional works create, it definitely lives up to the title.

    For some reason, I saw more of Bombay in this than the current Mumbai – in terms of the city’s character and how the actions of various people across different stations in life helped create it. Altaf’s introduction sets up the overall tone and feel of the book pretty well, and sensitises us to the stories ahead.

    In the first section – Bomb-ay – Riaz Mulla’s take on how ordinary hard working people become pawns in the machinations of global terrorism is an excellent start. Paromita Vohra’s mix of internet and real life ‘romance’ and trust makes ‘The Romantic Customer’ a neat read. Devashish Makhija’s ‘By Two’ is quite surreal and tragic, and Abbas Tyrewala’s “Chachu at Dusk” has to be a contender for my favourite among the stories. It captures the transition from Bombay to Mumbai the best.

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