3 reviews for The Man Who Wouldn’t Be God
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The Man Who Wouldn’t Be God
by Shashi Warrier
Description:
Bala Kamath is a burnt-out alcoholic investigative journalist on the verge of losing his job with the media house for which he works. As a last chance to save his career, he is sent on an assignment to a small town near Mangalore, to investigate a godman, one Swami Sarvananda, who, it is alleged, had stolen money, sheltered criminals and tried to rape a devotee. He visits the godman’s ashram the next day and finds a bond building between the Swami and himself. By the time the Swami is arrested on charge of attempted rape, Bala is sure that there’s more to the case than meets the eye, a feeling confirmed by the emergence of a dubious politician and his strongman, the murder of the Swami’s second-in-command, and by a series of jailhouse chats with the Swami. When the Swami refuses to meet him any more, Bala returns to Bangalore to face his own failing marriage, resurrect his relationship with his teenaged daughter and retrieve his career. Meanwhile, the Swami is released on bail and disappears. In tracing the Swami’s story and discovering the murderer, Bala discovers more about himself than he had bargained for
About The Author
Shashi Warrier was born in 1959 and studied economics at BITS, Pilani. He then drifted through several occupations, including consulting, journalism, computing, management and teaching, before he began to write seriously. His output since has included fairy tales, thrillers and literary fiction. He finds writing for children the hardest and hopes to return to it one day. He was invited to the International Writing Program, University of Iowa, in 2001 and is an honorary Fellow of that university. He likes beaches, motorcycles and cooking. He lives in Mangalore with his artist-writer wife Prita and two dogs and a cat.
Skryf Review
“Good Reading”
Shrawan
Godmen have a nasty reputation in India, mostly for good reason. Even as followers throng opulent ashrams and write away their wealth for a chance to serve swamis, nary a month goes by without allegations against these gurus, of cheating, sexual harassment or even murder, hitting the headlines. Shashi Warrier’s new book,The Man Who Wouldn’t Be God, published by Speaking Tiger, explores the enigma surrounding a godman who doesn’t believe in god and the crimes he has been accused of. Balaram Kamath, a Bengaluru-based alcoholic journalist, has been given an ultimatum by his old friend and boss: Write a good investigative feature on the Swami’s case or be prepared to leave the magazine he has co-founded. A talented reporter who was once described as a “bloodhound” by an adversary, Bala, has watched his career and marriage go steadily down the drain with each drink he pours. With much at stake, he decides to give himself one more chance and packs his bags for Mangalore. The tale gets complicated when Bala discovers a fascination for the Swami, the person he has come to investigate, and finds himself unable to believe in the godman’s guilt. When the Swami is arrested, Bala decides to stay on in Mangalore for some time to find out what’s really going on at and around the ashram. What works best in this book is Bala’s voice. The reader shares in his quiet excitement as he revisits old contacts and brushes off long-forgotten skills to try and find the truth and save his job. Bala’s addiction to alcohol, too, is depicted honestly, and when he discovers that he “can’t drink and be a bloodhound at the same time”, the reader roots for him to find the strength to say ‘no’ to this potent mix that has been ruling his life for years. Warrier takes his time to set the tone, with descriptions of Bala’s day-to-day activities, thoughts, conversations and drinking episodes. This doesn’t weigh down the book too much, as the reader is also invested in the journalist’s personal and professional crises. The long, philosophical conversations between Bala and the Swami, however, begin to drag, impeding the pace at which the story moves along. The Swami is a compelling figure for Bala, but not so much for the reader who only sees him through Bala’s eyes. Also, the main plot, which involves the murder of a not-very-interesting side character, becomes too convoluted in places. The story picks up again once the action moves back to Bengaluru, where Bala tries to reconnect with his daughter and figure out what he wants to do about his marriage. His wife Mohini is made to look like a shrew, mainly because she is never given a chance to speak for herself in this book. Though there are a couple of twists which save the main plot at the end, what this reader enjoyed were the little nuggets of truth, mostly about familial relationships, that Warrier sprinkles throughout Bala’s narrative. Though the book provides a resolution for Bala’s story, this is one
Krushali
This novel came as a surprise, I wasn’t expecting it to be so good. This novel is a story of Bala Kamath, an alcoholic journalist, who both personal and professional life is suffering due to his addiction.His boss and colleague gave him a last chance and ask him to investigate a certain swami (Prakash)who was accused of several crimes. During the investigation Bala came face himself and started to see his life and surrounding with different perspective and his life changed, he found redemption. This novel is less about crime investigation and more about real life human drama.Its interesting, gripping page turner.Prakash is an enigmatic character, his insights about life is marvellous . Four stars from me.