Book Review: River of Fire

 

River of Fire: Aag Ka Darya by Qurratulain Hyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The idea of the book was wonderful but was marred somewhat by the execution. Being a historical novel I expected something along the lines of To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer or even Cloud Atlas.
There are too many characters and, except for the core group of Kamal, Gautam, Hari, Amir, Nirmala, Champa and Talat, they appear very superficial.
Moreover, which “River” is being talked about – Saryu/Ghaghra or Ganga? The “Fire” of the heading appears to be allegorical, but I could not figure what was being symbolized. I also found the spatial distortion between Shravasti and Bahraich disconcerting.
The book begins briskly during the period of the Gupt Dyansty but then gets bogged down in the middle as a gossipy interlude. It is more of an expansion of the author’s Ship of Sorrows. But I loved the poignant ending – especially (spoiler alert) Kamal’s disenchantment with post-partition India. Probably reflects the author’s own yearning for India after her self-imposed exile. Of course, the secular tone of the book appears so incomprehensible in the present day.

Back home in Bahraich a fat old mouse used to play such difficult Wagner pieces, running up and down the chords! … “It sounds odd, playing Wagner in Bahraich,” she remarked ironically

Wagner in Bahraich?
Bahraich?
I remember it as a one-horse, somnambulant, dusty town in the Sixties near the border of Nepal. The only redeeming feature was the availability of smuggled goods from China. The other event of note was my Uncle tearing around on his Enfield.

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