Six suspects by Vikas Swarup

The second of Swarup's books, this one is following on from the radical success of Q&A. Funnily enough I had reviewed Q&A for my local journal, and it was an interesting read. The film I thought was a good adaptation, with the necessary twists and turns that the big screen requires.

Six Suspects makes for a fast read. The ending isn't too great though, so I warn you in advance. You'll get caught up in the characters, but I thought that towards the middle it became a bit too dragging. I read this book standing in the queue while boarding my Indigo flight to Kolkata, so you can imagine how much concentration the book really requires. I think that it's one of those books you can read on the trainride/metro ride to work.

It's a sad commentary though on our times. Here politicians run rampant, a murderer goes free for lack of evidence and the world of tinsel town gets exposed for its murky worst. There is a Onge tribesperson who comes up from the Andamans only to have a glimpse of the sad state of affairs on the mainland, which the author calls "India". Made me think, what is the Andamans all about then?

Not too much is made of the life of the Onge on the island though. It seemed like all the new generation did was drink and make merry, with the old customs slowly disappearing. The corrupt nature of the welfare people was also brought out.

All in all, an interesting read. I recommend it to one and all. On a scale of one to five, I'd give it a three.

I think I'll stick to my Salman Rushdie. Though in the interim I'll finish a few more novels first. I find that Rushdie takes me a long time to finish.