The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan

Abstract

is ellipsis, a subtracting technique that even time-honored writers could use more often. He is adept at plunging straight into the heart of a conversation and blurring our bearings before things snap into focus. His use of off-page action makes you sit straight in your seat. All in all, it’s a delightful read that keeps you gripped by Teir’s narrative and intellectual wherewithal. The novel contains thought-provoking ideas on modern art, sociology, sexuality, marriage in the twentyfirst century, aging, the Finnish inferiority complex, and the hamster as metaphor. The sheer book-traveling pleasure of encountering Finnish names like the poetically umlauted waters of Töölö Bay is in itself enough to keep you turning the pages. Erik Martiny Paris Sciences et Lettres Padma Viswanathan. The Ever After of Ashwin Rao. Toronto / Berkeley, California. Random House Canada / Soft Skull Press. 2014. isbn 9780307356345 / 9781593766139 In her second novel, Padma Viswanathan takes on a difficult subject—the 1985 bombing of an Air India plane on its way from Montreal to Delhi—and approaches it from the vantage point of 2004, during the trial of the two main suspects. The narrator , Ashwin Rao, is a psychologist who has lost his sister and her children in the crash. His aim when the novel opens is to write a book, “a study of comparative grief,” setting the record straight about how those who lost loved ones are faring twenty years after the event. It quickly becomes apparent that Rao is a difficult man—unmarried, prickly, and prone to second-guessing everyone and everything. Educated in Canada, he went back to India and has returned to Canada for the trial and to interview those touched by the bombing. He is scornful of other books about the tragedy, citing and quoting from Clark Blaise and Bharati Mukherjee ’s 1987 work The Sorrow and the Terror. But he is not completely without humor— as he says, “I am not a misanthrope even if I don’t like most people.” The one person he truly values, aside from his lost and maybe-to-be-recovered love Rosslyn, is Professor Sethuratnam (known as Seth), the closest friend of Dr. Venkataraman (known as Venkat), who lost his son and wife in the bombing. At times Seth shares the narrative, but in a third-person limited-perspective voice. The relationship between these three men, one very lonely, another surrounded by family but still seeking spiritual solace, and one completely unhinged, is beautifully rendered and is, in fact, the essence of the novel, which is more characterfocused than plot-driven. The domestic scenes of Seth’s interactions with his wife and daughters are filled with such excellent dialogue and description that the reader comes to long for even more of these characters. But Viswanathan has more on her mind than domestic matters. Interwoven in the narrative are large issues such as racism in Canada, the justice system, terrorism and its causes, and the joys and pitfalls of guru-driven spirituality. She often observes these large ideas through small and specific interactions and, for the most part, handles these matters well. But in those instances where she strives to make large statements, the novel can become preachy, and we lose the narrative ease that often works so well. These moments, along with Rao’s frequent allusions to literary quotes that seem pasted on to his character rather than intrinsic to it, can be seen as signs of insecurity, of a writer’s overreaching to make an intellectual literary splash. There is no doubt that Viswanathan can write, and write well; the flaws are minor annoyances in a rich and absorbing novel. Urmila Pawar Motherwit Veena Deo, tr. Zubaan Through short stories infiltrating quotidian life, Pawar employs dexterous language to investigate social injustices, familial relationships, and the realm of morality. By interweaving feminist, Buddhist, and Dalit perspectives, Pawar invites the reader to dive into tales that center on women who are courageous in the face of adversity. Race, gender, and religion are explored through lighthearted yet substantial scenarios and language. Florence Noiville Attachment Teresa Lavender Fagan, tr. Seagull Books / University of Chicago Press Attachment examines the dynamic relationship between writing...