Tuesday, May 24, 2005

The Inscrutable Americans by Anurag Mathur

The Inscrutable Americans by Anurag Mathur, is story about small town(jajau) indian boy(Gopal) visiting US for higher studies. Gopal lands on Eversville, where he is going to spend the next one full year of his life, he meets Randy - a thorough-bred American. As soon as Randy hears Gopal's views and ethics, he announces his mission for the next one year, convert Gopal into a sex-maniac. Gopal steps to wider-world to explore american lifestyle. Its very very hilarious exploring americans though Gopal's experience. also the other-way, exploring Indian aspects through the eyes of americans.

Anurag infuses an amazing sense of humour in this regard, he creates an almost maniacal environment in which Gopal finds himself.. and he describes how Gopal adjusts to this environment and how Gopal becomes more mature in this environment, in a very efficient manner.

Its very funny from very the beginning when Gopal start's off with letter to home - "Beloved Younger Brother" that uses an overabundance of process verbs to imitate the intonation, I believe, of Indian English: "I am arriving safely in America and finding good apartment near University." Mathur's detail, even in Gopal's embarrassingly stereotypical voice, is hilarious. Gopal reveals his fondness for cashews, which he filled himself with also on the plane, "because I am not knowing what is food and what is meat." another two hundred pages to go after Randy's stated intention might suggest the obstacles. Gopal experiences of american life - football, "which had very little to do with the foot and nothing at all to do with a ball,"(I always thought the same)), parties, topless bars, drive in movies, even love, sex shops, brothels and even a gang bang.

Read this book long time back thought this should be in my favourite book list (even as back dated post). Fitting comment..: The Inscrutable Americans is a pleasure to read and an insightful scrutiny of an inscrutable population.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

hi...have read this one many times over...i have a question, on page 14 there's mention of baskets hanging on houses...cannot for the life of me place this...u know what they are?
- rax