Waiting For Jonathan Koshy读书介绍
| 类别 | 页数 | 译者 | 网友评分 | 年代 | 出版社 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 书籍 | 186页 | 2020 | Independent Thinkers |
| 定价 | 出版日期 | 最近访问 | 访问指数 |
|---|---|---|---|
| INR295 | 2020-02-20 … | 2020-07-21 … | 92 |
The novel, before publication and in manuscript form, was a finalist for the Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize and received glowing reviews from writers Madison Smartt Bell and Robert Olen Butler, which are attached.
In a plush bungalow in Pali Hill (the Beverley Hills of Mumbai), four friends await the arrival of Jonathan, a dreamer, a thinker, an ideator, who has been unceremoniously exiled from his home state, Kerala. While they await the arrival of their friend, to whom they must offer asylum and comfort, the four friends recollect in flashback the tumultuous life of Jonathan. In chapter after chapter that draws on an episodic format, we learn how Jonathan has inevitably made a difference to the lives of his friends, extricating them from problematic situations. He has broken up a gambling den, taken on eve-teasing louts, settled scores with a defaulting conman, charmed a recovery agent and would-be hit man, dispersed a rioting mob intent on murder, and rescued sex workers and their children from a life of doom.
Ironically, Jonathan has a solution for every crisis that strikes others, but not for his own dysfunctional family life. On one level, these interlinked flashbacks work to build Jonathan’s character; on another, they hold a mirror to the potpourri that is India. When Jonathan finally arrives, larger than life, we learn that it is life that has redeemed him. Not only has he found his roots as a family man, but has gained validation for an idea that will serve the larger interests of society.
Drawing on the terse intensity of a play, the sparkling wit of a stand-up comedy, and the insights of a thought-provoking novel, WAITING FOR JONATHAN KOSHY reflects the triumph of a spirit that refuses to let up on humor and quick thinking in the face of intense personal adversity. It is a book about friendship, perseverance, family obligations, and duty. Most importantly, about life’s late but redeeming powers.
The following is from the author as to why he wrote the book: “The greatest characters in literary fiction are not superheroes. They are people who have lost, and, through their losses, have vindicated others. Take Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby or Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mocking Bird or Charlie Citrine in Humboldt’s Gift or Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye or Ignatius Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces, or even Hamlet. These are men who have lost to life’s machinations, and in losing, have left us – readers – better equipped to deal with uncertainties. This is what I wanted to do with WAITING FOR JONATHAN KOSHY. To travel with a character who was deeply flawed, deeply complex, and yet concerned about his family, friends, and country. A character who was boyish and vulnerable, audacious and outrageous. A character as multidimensional as life itself.”
作者简介Murzban F. Shroff is a Mumbai-based writer and recipient of the John Gilgun Fiction Award and he has garnered six Pushcart Prize nominations, the highest award for the short story in the U.S. His fiction has appeared in over fifty literary journals in the U.S. and UK. In the U.S. he has published his stories in The Gettysburg Review, Triquarterly, The Minnesota Review, The Sout...
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