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The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar, Ashok Mathur's second novel, is one of those books that is almost too contemporary for its own good. A mystery story of sorts, it makes for a decidedly postmodern thriller (a post-thriller, even), for there is no corpse, no danger, and no sense of menace, just semantic puzzles and a weaving narrative, enigmas that sometimes bewilder both the titular hero and the novel's readers.
Harry Kumar is a 35-year-old Vancouverite, half-Indian, half-white, a bank teller without ambition or, it seems, desire. He has two friends of note: a woman named Sita and the preternaturally charismatic Athnic Long. The greatest companionship in Harry's life comes from his ill-tempered dog, Hanuman, a strange canine who shares more than a few attributes with his monkey-god namesake. One day, Sita mysteriously disappears, and Harry and Hanuman set off in search of her, aided only by a few mysterious inscriptions. Their adventures take them on a series of increasingly bizarre prison tours and bring them into confrontation with a secretive revolutionary society fronted by an insane CSIS agent.
This is a strange and intriguing novel, but it suffers from its own narrative hyper-awareness. Mathur's narrators get so caught up in the process of narration that the story itself often flags--this is, presumably, the point, but it will frustrate general readers. Quirkier sorts, however, who grin with anticipation at the prospect of humorous postcolonial mythopolitical language sports, will love this one. --Jack Illingworth
Review
The narrative has an exuberance and breadth . . . Mathur possesses a comic touch that is deft, light, and dry.
—Quill & Quire (
Quill & Quire )
