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Shom Biswas's Reviews > দশটি উপন্যা�
দশটি উপন্যা�
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Baobab (বাওবাব )
Author � Mati Nandi
Genre � Fiction, Bengali
Source - Print
Rating - 4
Read - December 2015
Mati Nandi gave me sports. And I will be eternally grateful to him for that.
But even beyond his sports-writing, he was an exceptional writer of novels and novellas. And here in Baobab is a master of the written word, at near his peak. Suneet, the chief protagonist of the story, is probably quite the most heinous, morally destitute main protagonist you will ever encounter in a story, and yet somehow, Nandi is able to humanize him. Not by glorifying him, that would be gangster simple and it is easy to love pure evil; but by etching out this disgusting, disgusting human being with a level of finesse that you eventually get him - this is nonetheless a human being. With human thoughts, human urges and human passions. You cannot look away.
This book is the work of an utterly skillful artisan.
I have a theory why Mati Nandi is not as famous as say Shirshendu or Bani Basu as a writer. The minor, and oft-stated answer is that the snobbish literary circle cannot and could not take a former writer of mere sports books seriously. The major answer, I think is that the Bengali reader is an emotional reader, and most, nay all of her favorites are stylistically emotional - Nandi's staccato, journalistic style of prose is not her natural habitat.
Nayaker Prabesh o Prasthan
নায়কে� প্রবেশ � প্রস্থান
Author � Mati Nandi
Genre � Fiction, Bengali
Source - Print
Rating - 5
Read - December 2015
This is an extraordinary piece of work. Remember that piece in 'Interpreter of Maladies', the first one? A Temporary Matter? Of how a quasi-estranged couple speak with each other in the middle of a week-long power-failure? This story, by Mati Nandi, reminded me of that. This is a story of how an entire small lane in Kolkata changes, or just comes to terms with itself, while a celebrity steps in, and then steps out of a building in that lane. This is quite extraordinary storytelling. Needs translation.
Dwitiyo Innings - er Por
দ্বিতীয় ইনিংসে� পর
Author � Mati Nandi
Genre � Fiction, Bengali
Source - Print
Rating - 4
Read - December 2015
A fine novella; based on test cricket what's more, which doesn't diminish at all on re-reading. Not a classic, not among his greatest, but still a fine piece. Mati Nandi is an expert novelist. I am glad to have re-discovered him.
Author � Mati Nandi
Genre � Fiction, Bengali
Source - Print
Rating - 4
Read - December 2015
Mati Nandi gave me sports. And I will be eternally grateful to him for that.
But even beyond his sports-writing, he was an exceptional writer of novels and novellas. And here in Baobab is a master of the written word, at near his peak. Suneet, the chief protagonist of the story, is probably quite the most heinous, morally destitute main protagonist you will ever encounter in a story, and yet somehow, Nandi is able to humanize him. Not by glorifying him, that would be gangster simple and it is easy to love pure evil; but by etching out this disgusting, disgusting human being with a level of finesse that you eventually get him - this is nonetheless a human being. With human thoughts, human urges and human passions. You cannot look away.
This book is the work of an utterly skillful artisan.
I have a theory why Mati Nandi is not as famous as say Shirshendu or Bani Basu as a writer. The minor, and oft-stated answer is that the snobbish literary circle cannot and could not take a former writer of mere sports books seriously. The major answer, I think is that the Bengali reader is an emotional reader, and most, nay all of her favorites are stylistically emotional - Nandi's staccato, journalistic style of prose is not her natural habitat.
Nayaker Prabesh o Prasthan
নায়কে� প্রবেশ � প্রস্থান
Author � Mati Nandi
Genre � Fiction, Bengali
Source - Print
Rating - 5
Read - December 2015
This is an extraordinary piece of work. Remember that piece in 'Interpreter of Maladies', the first one? A Temporary Matter? Of how a quasi-estranged couple speak with each other in the middle of a week-long power-failure? This story, by Mati Nandi, reminded me of that. This is a story of how an entire small lane in Kolkata changes, or just comes to terms with itself, while a celebrity steps in, and then steps out of a building in that lane. This is quite extraordinary storytelling. Needs translation.
Dwitiyo Innings - er Por
দ্বিতীয় ইনিংসে� পর
Author � Mati Nandi
Genre � Fiction, Bengali
Source - Print
Rating - 4
Read - December 2015
A fine novella; based on test cricket what's more, which doesn't diminish at all on re-reading. Not a classic, not among his greatest, but still a fine piece. Mati Nandi is an expert novelist. I am glad to have re-discovered him.
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দশটি উপন্যা�.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
December 9, 2015
–
Finished Reading
December 10, 2015
– Shelved
December 10, 2015
– Shelved as:
read-in-2015
