Results for "Upamanyu Chatterjee"

If you're intrigued by the intricacies of life as an Indian civil servant, 'English, August' could be a wonderful dive into that world. Upamanyu Chatterjee deftly weaves humor and existential angst through the story of Agastya, a young man finding his way. It's a journey filled with wit and a poignant take on the clash between urban and rural India that's often not explored in literature.

Agastya Sen, known to friends by the English name August, is a child of the Indian elite. His friends go to Yale and Harvard. August himself has just landed a prize government job. The job takes him to Madna, "the hottest town in India," deep in the sticks. There he finds himself surrounded by incompetents and cranks, time wasters, bureaucrats, and crazies. What to do? Get stoned, shirk work, collapse in the heat, stare at the ceiling. Dealing with the locals turns out to be a lot easier for August than living with himself. English, August is a comic masterpiece from contemporary India. Like A Confederacy of Dunces and The Catcher in the Rye, it is both an inspired and hilarious satire and a timeless story of self-discovery.

Author: Upamanyu Chatterjee
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 336
Publisher: The New York Review of Books, Inc
Publication Date: 04 Apr 2006