Literary fiction. Follows a blue-skinned boy being raised as a god in an ashram run by his father outside a small village in Tamil Nadu, India. The promotional copy on the book jacket does not make this clear, but because it becomes evident to the reader pretty early on (though not to the protagonist) I think it is not a spoiler to say that this book is actually a story about growing up in an abusive patriarchal household. It’s a very distinctive kind of abusive upbringing in some ways – though not, as the book makes clear, a unique one – but abusive it is. Which, you know, means it isn’t the easiest thing in the world to read. That said, while it took a few chapters to hook me, it did manage to do so. I had moments of mixed feeling about the story, but it compelled my attention. And it was quite cleverly done, too, particularly in how it actively works against some of the simplistic readings that I’d imagine it could be subjected to. I did think the later portions of the book set in the United States felt a bit flatter, and I was disappointed that the book ends after…well, it’s after a very fitting moment of emotional catharsis, but I would have been interested in seeing more of the work of self-transformation that no doubt would’ve had to take place before the main character ended up as the Toronto-based grad student we see in a handful of flash-forwards early in the book. Anyway, not an unambivalent thumbs up, but it is pretty good, so if the premise sounds interesting, by all means read it.
Originally posted by Scott on Goodreads.