Once Again, By The River.

(From Indian Express)

The Tiger by the River By Ravi Shankar Etteth Viking India Price: Rs 395Swati Varma is heading back to Panayur, Kerala, with his beloved wife's ashes in an urn. Heartsick over her sudden loss, he isn't prepared for the rush of memories he has to deal with on his return. A direct descendent of its last king, he has to confront the ghosts of his past. As well as the fact that his home is no longer the paradise he remembered it to be. The present had caught up with it and brought into it religious differences and tensions. Also waiting for him at home is his childhood friend Antara, custodian to his home and history. Family legends and mysteries are evoked. Explanations are sought and the book is liberally peppered with a heady mix of myth and lore. This is the intriguing story of the Varma dynasty. The myth of the tiger. Murder, love, kingdoms and kings. The detailing of tradition - "The Spell Of Blood" - are all particularly evocative. And none of the detailing is lost in the translation. In fact Etteth makes the transition with ease - with a huge degree of comfort. And yet this is a difficult book to read. Simply put, it is too wordy. At many places several sentences are used when just the one would suffice. At other times the descriptions are so dense it is almost imperative that one gets fatigued. And at no point can you get away from the writer's complete glee: "Look at me, I am brilliant." It trips you up every time you start to enjoy the book. It is also due to this self-congratulatory quality that the second half of The Tiger by the ...