Okay, another confession by me - I am just a mere male
impressed by feminine pulchritude (that means beauty, for those who claim they
loathe 'big words').The first time I read this book many years ago I was very
much impressed with the hardcover copy, especially the photo of the then young
lovely author at the back. And the blurb praised the book and the attractive
Indian author to high heavens. I just had to read the book! I soon realised
that the author wrote very well, sarcastically and jauntily to boot. Well the
book was stated to be a satire of sorts. But as I read on I felt in the mould
of the west African that I was (am!) that this was a very "cheeky"
woman indeed - well, the narrator at least! What else can one call a woman who
mocks others especially her husband, referring to his stinking breath, and even
his flatulence when he is making love to her (but back to the hubbie a bit
later on). The narrator, patently well read, even mocks classical literature
(eg 'And dear reader I married him')....It is interesting that this work
portrays middle class, privileged life a few decades ago - yet such is the
world we live in right now, that it appears odd that there were no smartphones
then, never mind the tantalising world of social media that enthralls our
existence now. There is a lot of melodrama, not only on the part of the 'celebrated'
Paro - even her demise is quite melodramatic- but the same is ubiquitous.
Strange how all this could unfold in a society quite sedate and serene. Yes, I
certainly felt a lot of sympathy for Priya's husband, Suresh. He is entitled to
expect more from his wife; after all, he liked, admired, loved her...otherwise
why else would he marry her, take care of her, work hard, make sacrifices etc?
But our narrator hardly even likes him and keeps on making fun of him in her
write-ups or diaries, whilst admiring the shameless, wily Paro. And Priya even
admits to her husband, who is shocked at the contents of her writings, that he
means little to her. One can imagine the pain and agony the poor lawyer would
endure, which is of course glossed over. The winner takes it all?
- Eric Bolaji
