The short path is three books: The Bollywood Breakup Agency, A Presumption of Death, and The Accidental Tourist.
I finished The Bollywood Breakup Agency, by Naina Gupta and it can in fairness be called a silly story, but since the setting of the novel is interesting, I prefer to call it a fluffy book. Many of the plot developments are telegraphed many many pages in advance, but there are a couple of twists that keep things fresh enough. The story follows Neela Solanki, who is basically a spoiled brat, as she tries to help other young Indians in her UK social circle escape undesirable arranged marriages, and keep herself out of an arranged marriage too. By the end of the book, all the young people in unhappy arranged engagements had, as expected, been extricated and recombined into contented couples. The fun is in who ended up with who(m). I actually found myself thinking ’Jack shall have his Jill, nought shall go ill’, a little Midsummer Night’s Dream action in Indian traditional costumes and High Street fashion. I especially enjoyed the book’s yummy descriptions of the outfits Neela and her friends and family wore to various social occasions. There is supposed to be a sequel, The Bollywood Wife, looking forward to it.
I thought A Presumption of Death, by Jill Paton Walsh, would be farther from silly and closer to serious, but I was disappointed. This is supposed to be a “new” Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane novel, and I think Dorothy L. Sayers is the greatest, most serious writer of the Golden Age of mysteries, so Jill Paton Walsh should be a serious writer to take on such a potent legacy. Well, the result is pretty pedestrian and poor Peter and Harriet would have been better left alone. I did a little research on Jill Paton Walsh, and she is an award-winning author of children’s and Young Adult fiction, but very few of her books have been published here. Although many characters had the same names that Dorothy Sayers had given them, they had very little depth, and the mystery plot had so many holes that it was, in a word, silly. Not quite sure why this book got such enthusiastic reviews when it was published, people must miss Wimsey a lot to get so excited.
The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler, is a bona fide serious novel by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and it is wise, funny, tragic and deeply satisfying. In a previous post, I was worrying that it was too dated because there were no cellphones and Internet in Macon Leary’s life. Wrong, I was just being silly. But the most serious thing about reading this book in Charleston SC in June 2012 is how the brutal, senseless murder of Marley Lion here is so similar to the terrible murder of Ethan Leary in the book.
The Accidental Tourist is about Macon Leary’s constant efforts to be protective, be in control, be responsible, and avoid risk and uncertainty. When his cherished 12 year old son Ethan dies because just one dumb prank puts him in the wrong place at the wrong time, Macon falls apart and only gets his equilibrium back by making inappropriate friends and getting into unconventional situations. What makes the book great is that Macon keeps the best elements of his responsible nature, and discovers new strengths by going well outside his comfort zone. I thought he honored his son’s memory by overcoming the tragedy to become a more open, less frightened version of himself.
Marley Lion was an exemplary 17 year old boy who did one dumb thing, drink at a party. On his way home, he realized he was too drunk to drive, and parked in a deserted mall parking lot, where a thief trying to break into the car shot him five times. The murderer still hasn’t been caught.