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wallflower_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I’m back after two months!
It is not to say that I was off books all this while, but I was in the middle of a rather ginormous read...when I ended up becoming somewhat saturated, and left it midway.
(Here's hoping that I finish the book sometime soon!)
In the last two months, I didn’t read much. An occasional Bangla short story, some graphic novels...and when I caught sight of this title, perched unassumingly on the ‘New Arrivals’ section of the next-door bookshop, I didn’t think much of it. Then a few days back, I was made aware that Champaca had the author signed copies of this book and possibly for that reason alone, I decided to buy it (yes, I’m aware of how shallow that sounds).
But that is the thing with certain unassuming books – sometimes, they make the loudest noise and leave the deepest impact when you least expect them to. After it arrived on post, I merely sat with it, thinking of reading one or two chapters. After a while, when I looked down, I was on page 52.
The story revolves around the protagonist, Shubhankar Trivedi, or Shabby, as he rechristens himself later. Born in the mid-Eighties in Lucknow, his life initially seems to follow the average middle-class rigmarole – with getting an admission in an English medium school and parents who dream of their kids making it big in life with a seat in the IITs and an overseas job. But that quickly comes crashing down in 1992, when at the age of ten while attending a wedding, Shabby witnesses a terrible act of mob violence – an aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. Unable to share the trauma with his parents and realising the silent complicity of those around him, Shabby begins to blame himself for the incident – one that slowly seeps into his life and takes control of it through nightmares and more.
Eventually,when Shabby grows up and leaves for Mumbai, he tries to charter his own path. Outwardly,he seems to have a freer life than his parents. He works for an American company, shares accommodation with his Muslim friend, Syed and hangs around with the free-spirited Shruti. We also get a glimpse of his equation with their cook, Shakku-bai and her son, Mangesh, and for a while, Shabby feels like he has escaped his claustrophobic life in Lucknow. However, this “freedom” still comes with its limitations, governed mostly by the darkening political landscape.
Throughout the novel, several political upheavals in modern India find mention – whether it be through the 1992 riots post the Babri Masjid demolition, or the Gujarat riots in 2002 or even the 2008 attacks on migrant workers in Mumbai. However, this book does not focus on any one of those incidents alone. As we turn the pages, it gives us a glimpse of the weight of parental pressure, the unrecognised mental health issues, the growing nationalism in an ever-changing modern India and how that dictates the way a person eats, prays or socialises.
While in a lot of novels dealing with similar topics, we often come across protagonists from maginalised backgrounds and as such, the violence meted out to them seems rather predictable; in ‘One Small Voice’, the protagonist is an upper caste,upper class Hindu – the kind who think they are miles away from the raging fire. From the beginning, Shabby is made to believe how no matter what happens around him, his privilege will stand as a shield between him and the menaces around. But right before the ‘incident’ happens, Shabby remembers the words of his grandmother from ages ago – “We will pay the price for the sins of our forefathers”.
The book jumps back and forth between two timelines – one that leads up to the night of the wedding and the other that leads up to the ‘incident’, which brings to mind the very famous quote by Martin Niemöller: “…Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
As a millennial, the references in the book – of daily life,family, school and growing up – resonated deeply with me as it is from a time period that I have lived through.
I could resonate with Shabby and his brother Chintoo when they spoke of their wish to leave their small hometown and never return again.
I could resonate with “Home is an oversold concept”, as a generation “coached to leave”.
Santanu Bhattacharya’s debut novel, ‘One Small Voice’, albeit set against the backdrop of intermittent flashes of violence, is ultimately the coming-of-age story of a man who overcomes his trauma and tries to stand tall in an embittered world. It is also a beautiful story of friendship, of dreams and of resilience.
It is not to say that I was off books all this while, but I was in the middle of a rather ginormous read...when I ended up becoming somewhat saturated, and left it midway.
(Here's hoping that I finish the book sometime soon!)
In the last two months, I didn’t read much. An occasional Bangla short story, some graphic novels...and when I caught sight of this title, perched unassumingly on the ‘New Arrivals’ section of the next-door bookshop, I didn’t think much of it. Then a few days back, I was made aware that Champaca had the author signed copies of this book and possibly for that reason alone, I decided to buy it (yes, I’m aware of how shallow that sounds).
But that is the thing with certain unassuming books – sometimes, they make the loudest noise and leave the deepest impact when you least expect them to. After it arrived on post, I merely sat with it, thinking of reading one or two chapters. After a while, when I looked down, I was on page 52.
The story revolves around the protagonist, Shubhankar Trivedi, or Shabby, as he rechristens himself later. Born in the mid-Eighties in Lucknow, his life initially seems to follow the average middle-class rigmarole – with getting an admission in an English medium school and parents who dream of their kids making it big in life with a seat in the IITs and an overseas job. But that quickly comes crashing down in 1992, when at the age of ten while attending a wedding, Shabby witnesses a terrible act of mob violence – an aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. Unable to share the trauma with his parents and realising the silent complicity of those around him, Shabby begins to blame himself for the incident – one that slowly seeps into his life and takes control of it through nightmares and more.
Eventually,when Shabby grows up and leaves for Mumbai, he tries to charter his own path. Outwardly,he seems to have a freer life than his parents. He works for an American company, shares accommodation with his Muslim friend, Syed and hangs around with the free-spirited Shruti. We also get a glimpse of his equation with their cook, Shakku-bai and her son, Mangesh, and for a while, Shabby feels like he has escaped his claustrophobic life in Lucknow. However, this “freedom” still comes with its limitations, governed mostly by the darkening political landscape.
Throughout the novel, several political upheavals in modern India find mention – whether it be through the 1992 riots post the Babri Masjid demolition, or the Gujarat riots in 2002 or even the 2008 attacks on migrant workers in Mumbai. However, this book does not focus on any one of those incidents alone. As we turn the pages, it gives us a glimpse of the weight of parental pressure, the unrecognised mental health issues, the growing nationalism in an ever-changing modern India and how that dictates the way a person eats, prays or socialises.
While in a lot of novels dealing with similar topics, we often come across protagonists from maginalised backgrounds and as such, the violence meted out to them seems rather predictable; in ‘One Small Voice’, the protagonist is an upper caste,upper class Hindu – the kind who think they are miles away from the raging fire. From the beginning, Shabby is made to believe how no matter what happens around him, his privilege will stand as a shield between him and the menaces around. But right before the ‘incident’ happens, Shabby remembers the words of his grandmother from ages ago – “We will pay the price for the sins of our forefathers”.
The book jumps back and forth between two timelines – one that leads up to the night of the wedding and the other that leads up to the ‘incident’, which brings to mind the very famous quote by Martin Niemöller: “…Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
As a millennial, the references in the book – of daily life,family, school and growing up – resonated deeply with me as it is from a time period that I have lived through.
I could resonate with Shabby and his brother Chintoo when they spoke of their wish to leave their small hometown and never return again.
I could resonate with “Home is an oversold concept”, as a generation “coached to leave”.
Santanu Bhattacharya’s debut novel, ‘One Small Voice’, albeit set against the backdrop of intermittent flashes of violence, is ultimately the coming-of-age story of a man who overcomes his trauma and tries to stand tall in an embittered world. It is also a beautiful story of friendship, of dreams and of resilience.
stevemozza's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fureverlove's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
charan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bobthebookerer's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this engaging and thoughtful family drama, which uses the perspectives of various generations to discuss the politics of India. I found the story propulsive and compelling, and it signals an exciting new author.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
One Small Voice relates the story of Shubhankar Trivedi, from his childhood in Lucknow in northern India to his young adult years in Mumbai. It’s a story that centres around two key events. As a child he witnessed an act of horrific violence. Memories haunt him and he is desperate to remember or uncover the name of the victim. He is directly impacted by physical violence in the second incident. It is referred to as the incident throughout and readers don’t learn its details until quite late in the book, yet it is pivotal to the story’s structure. The book is told in two alternating timelines, one preceding the incident and one picking up 4-5 years later. This structure does provide challenges for the reader, yet it also helps propel the curious reader. I found the story to be a powerful exploration of trauma, especially the impact of repressed childhood trauma. It also offers many insights into the realities of life in fairly contemporary India, a place where there has been a lot of modernisation and westernisation in some areas but where divisions by class, caste, region and religion still hold huge sway and where everybody struggles to get ahead, often at cost to themselves or someone else. While I enjoyed the sections centred on Shubhankar’s childhood there wasn’t necessarily anything new there, at least not for me. The latter part of the book which more directly connected his life to recent social and political issues felt fresher and held my attention more. Overall I found this to be an excellent debut and look forward to reading further work by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Violence
pertiwi6's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lewiscain's review against another edition
3.0
3.5* rounded down. This isn’t usually my thing but I got a proof through work and wanted to support. I’m very glad I read it as it really taught me a lot about India and the history of the country within the last 30 years. Some of the teachings within this book are also so important that I would encourage people to give this a read for this alone! I found the first third and last third very very good but was slightly lost in the middle. Overall a really important story, just not my typical kind of read.
whimsybookworm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5