ari76's review against another edition
2.0
A solid 2 stars, maybe even 2.5. Mad Country contains eight short stories that center the experiences of Nepali individuals grappling with culture, intersection of identity, and ultimately, themselves. The stories take place within and outside of the borders of Nepal though the country as a thematic undercurrent to each one. I enjoyed this book because it exposed me to a place I know very little about from different perspectives. Freak Street, America the Great Equalizer and elements of Beggar Boy were among the most riveting in this collection. In Freak Street, Upadhyay skillfully addresses a situation in which a Caucasian girl comes to Nepal to find herself, her truth and most notably, a physical and spiritual home. He presents situations in which she asks to be renamed and wants to simply "blend in" while continuously coming into contact with resistance, skepticism, and unfortunately sexual violence because of her social identities. As a person interested in the complexities behind the "Eat. Pray. Love." narrative where (typically white) individuals leave their homes, visit another country and come back whole, it was an intriguing read with more nuance than I expected. While the author mentions colorism in nearly every story, its pairing with anti-Blackness in America the Great Equalizer was striking. I feel that story was the strongest in exemplifying inner turmoil, the internal strife of "people of color" narratives and how oppression can make the oppressed suspicious of one another rather than their oppressor. Compared to Dreaming of Ghana, a story I only appreciated for its commentary on anti-Blackness, America the Great Equalizer was steeped in truth and complexity. In comparison, Dreaming of Ghana was rooted in a confusing plot line, a non-agentic female character and a conclusion that gets lost in the pages. Beggar Boy has a similar flawed, detached protagonist of the other stories in the collection, but the nebulous commentary on queerness combined with the outcome kept me engaged to the end.
astrangewind's review against another edition
5.0
Although fictional, these stories are devastatingly real. Despite larger events occurring during the time periods of these stories, such as Ferguson, the characters are not defined by them; they have their own lives and worries that are influenced, sure, but not overwhelmed by such events. Being arrested as a political prisoner for advocating for another or a general air of racism - life and heartbreak and suffering still go on. These stories are just a peek into the character's lives, as though the reader can only ever witness a glimpse of who they are, get to know them for only a few pages, watch them fail and learn and hurt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Racism, Confinement, and Abandonment
Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicide, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
rachel_reece's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a cultural experience! As a tourist, my experience was that Nepal and its people are so beautiful. These stories offered a different perspective, of a glimpse into social issues in Nepal and affecting Nepalis abroad. The stories give more life to things I learned while in Nepal, and to things I've been told by friends from that part of the world.
manugummi's review against another edition
3.0
“.... she was not restricted to her body or her mind. Even laughter (and she laughed often) came from a different, liberated place”
lauren_endnotes's review against another edition
4.0
Upadhyay's story collection incorporates larger themes of political unrest, class and race struggles, and personal and institutional freedoms (freedom of speech, free press, etc.) Through seven stories and one longer self-described novella, we see these notions in both Upadhyay's native Nepal, and his now-home, the US.
Many of the stories have a amorphous dream-like quality that made me question whether the events were truly happening. The novella "Dreaming of Ghana" was most notable for this. A Nepali man begins having vivid dreams of (what he believes is) Ghana. He soon meets a woman who he believes to be from Ghana and almost instantly falls in love with her. As readers, we question whether this woman is real, and wonder if the narrator is reliable. No definitive answers, but still a unique and compelling story.
Upadhyay's political stories ("Fast Forward", the eponymous "Mad Country", and "America the Great Equalizer") introduce a strong narrator and the events that surround them, unrest, struggle, and suppression. In "Fast Forward", we see a plot to suppress a reporter and a magazine from reporting on the government, "Mad Country" carries the weight of political dissidence and and imprisonment, and "America the Great Equalizer" follows a Nepali man living in Missori during the riots of Ferguson, Missouri after the murder of Michael Brown in 2014.
Mad Country is a strong collection, and I'd recommend it for short story lovers, and anyone wanting to learn more about Nepal.
**I talk about this one on Ep 123 of Reading Envy: Godlets and Forests. Check it out!
Many of the stories have a amorphous dream-like quality that made me question whether the events were truly happening. The novella "Dreaming of Ghana" was most notable for this. A Nepali man begins having vivid dreams of (what he believes is) Ghana. He soon meets a woman who he believes to be from Ghana and almost instantly falls in love with her. As readers, we question whether this woman is real, and wonder if the narrator is reliable. No definitive answers, but still a unique and compelling story.
Upadhyay's political stories ("Fast Forward", the eponymous "Mad Country", and "America the Great Equalizer") introduce a strong narrator and the events that surround them, unrest, struggle, and suppression. In "Fast Forward", we see a plot to suppress a reporter and a magazine from reporting on the government, "Mad Country" carries the weight of political dissidence and and imprisonment, and "America the Great Equalizer" follows a Nepali man living in Missori during the riots of Ferguson, Missouri after the murder of Michael Brown in 2014.
Mad Country is a strong collection, and I'd recommend it for short story lovers, and anyone wanting to learn more about Nepal.
**I talk about this one on Ep 123 of Reading Envy: Godlets and Forests. Check it out!
gulshanbatra's review against another edition
3.0
Mad Country is a somewhat half-fulfilling read, about a country and people, and their problems - some of which are unique and some others not quite so. The collection of stories covers a fair gamut of society from the Himalayan country of Nepal, nestled between two of the most populous countries in the world - China and India.
I must admit I was a bit biased when I started reading this book - I thought I had some personal knowledge about that country, and that would give me a head start in understanding and empathizing with the stories and the characters. While that turned out to be somewhat true, the stories and the characters themselves left much to be desired.
Almost all the stories have a good premise, in fact at least one of the stories, the opener - Fast Forward - gets off to a flying start, with strong and colorful characters, with equally strong beliefs and ideas - setting you up to expect some strong fireworks.
Unfortunately, that’s where most stories fall flat - the conclusions. It seems like the author had some very good story starters, but when he sat down to writing he wasn’t able to conclude them - at least not impressively. The stories seem fairly realistic, and in fact are probably close to the truth. Not all stories can have an explosive or even a dramatic denouement, and not all authors can be a Henry or a Saki. That’s not a fair comparison, but when you get down to reading a book and decide to invest time and effort (and money!), the least you expect to find is something that you didn’t know before, if not be outright impressed.
That’s what I found consistently missing in most of the stories. I wish he was a little more adventurous with his characters, that he would let them do what I most certainly believe they could have done with their chances, and most importantly let them take chances to do something. Many of the characters are shown to be wasted away - and I guess that must have been his intent, to share the despair and lack of resolution in many situations, no neat bows here. But then one would have looked for a little more shock(!), at least.
I know I may be sounding (a little) despicable myself, but I believe as a reader I can compare this with at least what all I’ve read in the past. I too have to keep moving ahead.
Or else I too will get wasted.
I must admit I was a bit biased when I started reading this book - I thought I had some personal knowledge about that country, and that would give me a head start in understanding and empathizing with the stories and the characters. While that turned out to be somewhat true, the stories and the characters themselves left much to be desired.
Almost all the stories have a good premise, in fact at least one of the stories, the opener - Fast Forward - gets off to a flying start, with strong and colorful characters, with equally strong beliefs and ideas - setting you up to expect some strong fireworks.
Unfortunately, that’s where most stories fall flat - the conclusions. It seems like the author had some very good story starters, but when he sat down to writing he wasn’t able to conclude them - at least not impressively. The stories seem fairly realistic, and in fact are probably close to the truth. Not all stories can have an explosive or even a dramatic denouement, and not all authors can be a Henry or a Saki. That’s not a fair comparison, but when you get down to reading a book and decide to invest time and effort (and money!), the least you expect to find is something that you didn’t know before, if not be outright impressed.
That’s what I found consistently missing in most of the stories. I wish he was a little more adventurous with his characters, that he would let them do what I most certainly believe they could have done with their chances, and most importantly let them take chances to do something. Many of the characters are shown to be wasted away - and I guess that must have been his intent, to share the despair and lack of resolution in many situations, no neat bows here. But then one would have looked for a little more shock(!), at least.
I know I may be sounding (a little) despicable myself, but I believe as a reader I can compare this with at least what all I’ve read in the past. I too have to keep moving ahead.
Or else I too will get wasted.
nirooj56's review against another edition
3.0
I am gonna say its a nice read. It could be just me, but I found difference in Mr. Upadhyay writing style in Mad Country from his other stories/books. As a fan of his works i can say that the stories in Mad Country are really gems.
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