Scan barcode
itsgs's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
nishantsingh's review
4.0
The graphic novel is a humorous take on the water woes of urban India and how it affects lives far and beyond the water sources. It's a political satire on Delhi's local communities and the futuristic water wars that they will be engulfed in because of the inequity created by tanker mafias and the powers to be in the public organizations handling the distribution of water. The story traces the life of a plumber who lost his job when a flourishing PSU company was privatized in the name of ushering in efficiency and better work ethics in the company's operations. With subtle illustrations and astute political commentary, Sarnath Banerjee narrates how plumber Girish moves in search of job and lands up amidst the Delhi water mafias, the political observations he makes in this journey, and the allegorical tunnels he digs in search of the perennial Saraswati river that would end all wars and establish a dystopian peaceful, coexistence of water-struck communities in Delhi.
sisyphus07's review
1.0
An utterly disappointing and vain project. A brain fart of vague generalities and poor stereotypes that had the good fortune to be published. Follow link for (a slightly more) detailed review:
http://theinsomniacsleepwalker.tumblr.com/post/138666262375/sarnath-banerjees-all-quiet-in-vikaspuri
http://theinsomniacsleepwalker.tumblr.com/post/138666262375/sarnath-banerjees-all-quiet-in-vikaspuri
maylingkuo's review
2.0
in this case, i judged a book by its cover and expected the contents to contain more illustrations like the one on the cover. sadly, the crown jewel is revealed on the outside and the inside pages mostly include black and white with scrawled handwriting. banerjee seeks to tell an interesting story - something about water wars through a dantesque approach, but for me there were too many references and unknowns that left me confused instead of riled up about the issue.
khepiari's review
3.0
Journey of the psychic plumber who has been given the task to find the mythical river Saraswati. Set in dystopic India, pitted against a background of development, corruption, political instability and opportunism, gang wars. A political satire that critically mocks self induced amnesia of ignorance of middle-class India, and Delhi is an example of that amnesia.
Uses lot of tropes from Bollywood, has some exceptionally well put funny scenes. The characters I felt were under developed, through everything is happening through Girish's eyes, he was lost somewhere in the great shoot out of themes. It's an ambitious book, talks about the water crisis of Delhi is facing and how soon water wars will erupt.
Girish is set on the task by evil boss, is also the voice of the thousands of migrants workers who float to capital for jobs. The issues of class, caste, power, capitalistic greed are all well drawn. I loved story of Jagat Ram and his ever demoting floors.
The art is much more coherent than the previous book I read by Sarnath. The panels were strict so were the speech bubbles. There was some colour play and the lettering was bare of style and looked handwritten, if so it is a daring task. I loved the use of rare dashes of red like on the bow tie and of murder panel. The one blue panel did a good work of drawing attention.
Overall it is a socially apt book for our times when development is fading from our political narrative, a good criticism on culture of how we we middle class Indians think the rich people are on our side for good.
I would have loved if there was more involvement in the character development, characters failed to capture my attention, the moment I moved to next page they were gone from my had. Narrative like this needs more investment in its character than focusing on the obvious elephant in the room.
Uses lot of tropes from Bollywood, has some exceptionally well put funny scenes. The characters I felt were under developed, through everything is happening through Girish's eyes, he was lost somewhere in the great shoot out of themes. It's an ambitious book, talks about the water crisis of Delhi is facing and how soon water wars will erupt.
Girish is set on the task by evil boss, is also the voice of the thousands of migrants workers who float to capital for jobs. The issues of class, caste, power, capitalistic greed are all well drawn. I loved story of Jagat Ram and his ever demoting floors.
The art is much more coherent than the previous book I read by Sarnath. The panels were strict so were the speech bubbles. There was some colour play and the lettering was bare of style and looked handwritten, if so it is a daring task. I loved the use of rare dashes of red like on the bow tie and of murder panel. The one blue panel did a good work of drawing attention.
Overall it is a socially apt book for our times when development is fading from our political narrative, a good criticism on culture of how we we middle class Indians think the rich people are on our side for good.
I would have loved if there was more involvement in the character development, characters failed to capture my attention, the moment I moved to next page they were gone from my had. Narrative like this needs more investment in its character than focusing on the obvious elephant in the room.
More...