mishu_v's review
5.0
By the second half of the book I really couldn’t put it down. So simply told, the story of a boy growing up in tough conditions, it is a beautiful read which brought me to tears again and again. I cant wait for the next Anees Salim boom.
raji_c's review
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I remember reading somewhere that the stones in the stream are what makes its song so sweet or something to that effect, suggesting that sorrow is a catalyst for great art. A succession of recent books seems to indicate that this could be true.
M Mukundan, Easterine Kire, and now Anees Salim have all made me shed tears, but I am compelled at the same time to admire their skill.
For my Kerala read on my self-assigned #ReadingIndia challenge, I chose Anees Salim’s The Small Town Sea. Again, I was lazy and instead of researching a book for the state, I picked one off my TBR shelf.
Salim has a way with words that makes the book a visual experience. For instance, very early on, the unnamed protagonist, also the narrator, observes: ‘Little pressed her palms against Aunt Yasmin’s chest and leaned backwards to touch the rain that fell into the courtyard.’ And you can picture the scene: raindrops falling from the eaves, a little girl’s body arching backwards, face upturned to the rain and maybe an indulgent sad smile on the aunt’s face or a tug to get her properly balanced again. For me, the whole book unfurled like a movie. And somewhere in the back of my mind was the soundtrack of Malgudi Days although there is very little similarity besides the small-town aesthetics and the young male protagonist and his friend/s. This is a much sadder tale.
That said, this is not heavy like Mukundan’s Delhi: A Soliloquy. Its lightness probably has to do with the tone and the language. There is a mockery in the structure itself, addressed as it is to a literary agent who rejected the young boy’s father’s literary efforts, a foreigner who deemed the production not good enough although in his state, the novelist did eventually merit a front-page obituary. And the boy’s imagination which is both rich and leads to some hilarious scenes as well as some really sad ones. The unremitting succession of deaths is alleviated by the writing, which is lovely and kept me hooked till the end. I was reminded of Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. I cannot make a conscious comparison but some passages just brought Kingsolver’s writing to mind.
There is also the fact that the book offers us a glimpse into the life of some Indian Muslims, of daily customs, of the mundane and the smile-inducing, all of which we need desperately to counter the narrative that a few violent terrorists sum up all the people who practise a particular faith.
All in all, not a happy story but a beautifully narrated one.
M Mukundan, Easterine Kire, and now Anees Salim have all made me shed tears, but I am compelled at the same time to admire their skill.
For my Kerala read on my self-assigned #ReadingIndia challenge, I chose Anees Salim’s The Small Town Sea. Again, I was lazy and instead of researching a book for the state, I picked one off my TBR shelf.
Salim has a way with words that makes the book a visual experience. For instance, very early on, the unnamed protagonist, also the narrator, observes: ‘Little pressed her palms against Aunt Yasmin’s chest and leaned backwards to touch the rain that fell into the courtyard.’ And you can picture the scene: raindrops falling from the eaves, a little girl’s body arching backwards, face upturned to the rain and maybe an indulgent sad smile on the aunt’s face or a tug to get her properly balanced again. For me, the whole book unfurled like a movie. And somewhere in the back of my mind was the soundtrack of Malgudi Days although there is very little similarity besides the small-town aesthetics and the young male protagonist and his friend/s. This is a much sadder tale.
That said, this is not heavy like Mukundan’s Delhi: A Soliloquy. Its lightness probably has to do with the tone and the language. There is a mockery in the structure itself, addressed as it is to a literary agent who rejected the young boy’s father’s literary efforts, a foreigner who deemed the production not good enough although in his state, the novelist did eventually merit a front-page obituary. And the boy’s imagination which is both rich and leads to some hilarious scenes as well as some really sad ones. The unremitting succession of deaths is alleviated by the writing, which is lovely and kept me hooked till the end. I was reminded of Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. I cannot make a conscious comparison but some passages just brought Kingsolver’s writing to mind.
There is also the fact that the book offers us a glimpse into the life of some Indian Muslims, of daily customs, of the mundane and the smile-inducing, all of which we need desperately to counter the narrative that a few violent terrorists sum up all the people who practise a particular faith.
All in all, not a happy story but a beautifully narrated one.
premxs's review
3.0
A heartbreaking book that speaks of death as normal, even mundane, and is even more profoundly devastating for it. The aspecific temporality of the writing makes the writing a little hard to follow at times, but it connects with the idea of repetition of life's overarching narratives.
em_beddedinbooks's review
5.0
A melancholic, beautiful story ..
How my heart bled for the young narrator who faced many a calamity with stoicism. Here I am , who has the habit of making mountain out of molehill , and there he was ..who traversed the rough terrain of life matter of factly .
I don't know the name of the boy, his father , mother or paternal grandmother ...only his friends and little sister Little, have names . I don't know the names of the city he initially lived in, and the small seaside town he was compelled to shift to. I just imagine the city as Kochi as he talks of a newly developing metro rail and am quite sure that the story takes place in kerala due to the colloquial terms used to address his parents and grandmother .
Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this left amd right , but be warned it is not a happy book.
How my heart bled for the young narrator who faced many a calamity with stoicism. Here I am , who has the habit of making mountain out of molehill , and there he was ..who traversed the rough terrain of life matter of factly .
I don't know the name of the boy, his father , mother or paternal grandmother ...only his friends and little sister Little, have names . I don't know the names of the city he initially lived in, and the small seaside town he was compelled to shift to. I just imagine the city as Kochi as he talks of a newly developing metro rail and am quite sure that the story takes place in kerala due to the colloquial terms used to address his parents and grandmother .
Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this left amd right , but be warned it is not a happy book.
oviyacherian's review against another edition
3.0
i really dont know what to think
anees salim is a brilliant writer
the narrative voice was intriguing and gripping, unique and confusing. his writing and the narrator's voice are what stuck out to me the most
reading the theme of loss and change so vividly from a child's perspective was really interesting and done super well
the story as a whole left me at a loss tho, i don't know what to take away at the end other than societal expectations suck, and i hate aunt miriam and im mad at his mom.
i don't think im intellectual enough for it i don't know
it upset me. a lot of the events when put together just really upset me. but the way they were written was fascinating, gripping and visceral
i cant word my thoughts at all about this book tbh, i feel muddled up
worth reading
anees salim is a brilliant writer
the narrative voice was intriguing and gripping, unique and confusing. his writing and the narrator's voice are what stuck out to me the most
reading the theme of loss and change so vividly from a child's perspective was really interesting and done super well
the story as a whole left me at a loss tho, i don't know what to take away at the end other than societal expectations suck, and i hate aunt miriam and im mad at his mom.
i don't think im intellectual enough for it i don't know
it upset me. a lot of the events when put together just really upset me. but the way they were written was fascinating, gripping and visceral
i cant word my thoughts at all about this book tbh, i feel muddled up
worth reading
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