White Man Falling
Mike Stocks Alma, 285pp, £12.99
ISBN 1846880092
When a white man falls from the sky and dies at the feet of the retired police sub-inspector R M Swaminathan, Swami (as he's known to his friends) has every reason to believe it is another piece of bad luck. Having suffered a stroke, Swami can no longer talk properly, command the respect of his community, or foot the crippling bill for his six daughters' dowries. He is even unsuccessful at orchestrating his own suicide.
But after a brush with death, the townspeople of Mullaipuram think Swami is walking with God, and he is transformed from has-been to mystic guru: feared, loved and respected by devotees all over India. The incident of the white man falling becomes known as the "descent of the snow-faced sky demon", and Swami is believed to have spiritual access to the "divine entity" that landed in front of him.
The writing is witty and engaging, but Mike Stock's use of rhetorical questions is contrived, and he is guilty of stereotyping: the townspeople are gullible, superstitious and unsophisticated. That said, this is an entertaining read, with all the ingredients of a comedy of errors - confusion, deluded matchmaking, mystical absurdity. There are underlying metaphors, but the book is essentially a satire of the search for meaning in the meaningless.
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