The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee

 



"The lives of others" is a family saga depicting the fall of a prominent family in Calcutta over the generations. Multidimensional with a host of characters who live together, the book paints a surprisingly accurate picture of joint families residing in Calcutta. There are evil wives, the discriminated widow, the privileged son, the black sheep and the Naxalite-- everything needed to spice up a family drama. The family tree in the beginning can be of some help in understanding the relationship between the host of characters in the book. 


When a book is about your city, you can't help loving it. But I felt the book could have been made shorter by leaving out some of the side plots like Priyo's perversion which went nowhere and had little relation to the story. I also didn't develop any attachment with any of the characters. Its like watching a drama unfold before your eyes which doesn't include you. The author didn't attempt to hide his skepticism about Supratik's radical ideas and the Naxalbari movement in general. He doesn't attempt to whitewash the characters-- each of them has their shortcomings which they try to hide under a mask of goodwill. 


The book is a good attempt to show the shallowness that existed in the renowed families of Calcutta. At parts entertaining and at times dragging, I liked this book overall. But then being a Bengali, my judgement may have been clouded by  partiality.






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