Witty dialogue saves story of freedom fighter A review by Ben Antao
Of Mangoes and Monsoons By Suresh Kanekar Publisher, Xlibris, 2009 Novel, softcover, pp 681, $24 Logical thinking and fine reasoning shine through this narrative of a young man's academic and sexual adventures lustily imagined by Suresh Kanekar in his first novel Of Mangoes and Monsoons. If you love to read about splitting hairs, exposing ironies in paradoxes, intellectual masturbation that perhaps only students of philosophy are good at, this is a novel for you. The dialogue crackles with energy and wit, showing the protagonist Ramesh Natekar, a freedom fighter, for what he is -- atheist, arrogant, opinionated, stubborn and self-centred. The Ponda, Goa-born author, 77, has skilfully divided the narrative into two parts: one part deals with Ramesh's foray in the freedom movement from the Portuguese rule; the other examines the growing up of the protagonist from childhood to university years. It's the latter part that grabs the reader's interest, loaded as it is with intimate scenes depicted with graphic detail that impressed this reviewer, no slouch himself in portraying sexual behaviour. Those of us who grew up in Goa during the last 20 years of the Portuguese rule would sympathise with Ramesh in his conflicts with the police and prison authorities; those born after 1961 would find this narrative enlightening. What I found most interesting about this novel is how the author has almost shaped the life of the main character along autobiographical lines as far as his academic education goes; to wit, Ramesh pursues a BA in philosophy and ends up enrolling for an MA in psychology, both degrees held by the author. The novel runs to 681 pages of double-spaced printing in 14 pt no less, which allows for reading at a quick pace; the other positive is that much of the story is fashioned by means of the 'show, don't tell' technique that easily engages the reader in the action involving the four intimate relationships with the female gender (one girl and three women), expertly executed by dialogue that compels curiosity. The freedom struggle part, mostly told, could have been abridged with judicious editing to produce a tighter narrative. However, for an autobiographical kind of novel, Kanekar has performed well, putting on display his considerable knowledge of English literature and philosophy, in impressive writing style. The author gives a clue to the title in the middle of the story when Ramesh talks with his younger sister Priyu about the naming of the seasons. Says Priyu: "The mangoes always come before the monsoons." Thus the title evokes the popular Goan fruit and the rainy season. Kanekar who teaches and lives in San Diego was a political prisoner in the Fort Aguada jail in the 50s. He writes in his Author Note: "This is a novel, not history; fiction, not fact; fantasy, not reality. That said, any resemblance to real persons and actual events will most likely be uncoincidental." (Ben Antao is a veteran journalist and novelist living in Toronto, Canada. He has published five novels and several short stories. His email: ben.an...@rogers.com ) Word count: 517