Monday, May 26, 2008

Animal's People by Indra Sinha .

I have just finished reading Animal's People by Indra Sinha. I enjoyed this book very much and I can understand why it was shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize . It states in the front of this book that it is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. That is a legal statement written to avoid any legal claims because there was an industrial disaster that happened in Bhopal, India on the 3rd December 1984. This story is similar to the Bhopal disaster and is set in an actual city called Khaufpur . It concerns a character who has been nicknamed Animal because he was crippled when he inhaled a poisonous gas and now walks on all fours. This is his story about his experiences and the people he meets and shares his life amongst.

His tale is told very well and Indra tells it totally in the character of Animal. This novel raises disability awareness in the reader but Animal's tale is not one of self-pity. This is a tale of contemporary India, involving real life with all it's scams and politics. This book is full of local character and the reader can read this book on a daily basis and you feel as though you are living in Khaufpur, bumping into Animal each day. There is a good range of characters to support Animal's tale and the story has a good pace. There are no dull chapters to wade through.

This is a very human book and should appeal to both genders. It also has a happy ending and at the end I feel "Ah, bless him".
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