Reviews

Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan

safiaisreading's review against another edition

3.0

Temporary People is the 2016 winner of Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing. The book is a collection of short stories about the migrant workers of the UAE with hints of magical realism. (Majority of the stories take place in Abu Dhabi, where the author, himself, grew up).

My favorite stories:
Gulf Return
Pravasis
Tongue
Glossary
Nalinakshi
Veed
Kada
Ivday. Avday

Verdict: I liked some of the stories, hated others but overall Temporary People is an important and captivating collection.

florismeertens's review against another edition

De premisse van dit boek is geweldig boeiend; verhalen over arbeidsmigranten in de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten, een land wat bekend staat om de uitzonderlijke welvaart en decadentie, maar waarvan het merendeel van de bevolking echter arbeidsmigrant is, en in erbarmelijke omstandigheden moet werken.

Maar ging het daar echt over? Een paar verhalen wel, maar Unnikrishnan lijkt gewoon over van alles te willen schrijven zonder al te veel vastgepind te worden door een thema. Het tweede verhaal is geweldig, maar voor de rest bestaat dit boek met name uit vulgariteit, (meestal niet zo'n plezierige) seks en kakkerlakken die zich verkleden als mensen (die waren wel geinig).

ratthew86's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-paced

3.5

tonythep's review against another edition

5.0

This amazing debut is called a novel, but it's really a sprawling, wonderful mess of linked stories exploring the world of migrant guest workers in the United Arab Emirates. Foreign nationals make up over 80% of the population there, but have few rights and no hope of citizenship. Deepak Unnikrishnan was raised in this world, and he immerses us in it with playful surrealism and linguistic invention. The author cites Salman Rushdie and George Saunders as influences, and I think it safe to add Kafka to that list.

7anooch's review against another edition

4.0

This book is important. The UAE is the embodiment of parallel universes, that rarely, if ever, intermingle. The result is much tension and confusion, and a rigid social hierarchy. The novel makes an effort to convey these feeling, along with a bunch of various perspectives of what it’s like to live here (primarily as a malayalee man).

kaileycool's review against another edition

4.0

Read this for In-Brief book club at City Lit. I was not immediately grabbed by the style, and in fact found it a bit of a chore to get through. After discussion, however, I have a great deal more appreciation for the way the author captures the immigrant experience.

paulap's review

medium-paced

3.25

This was a very imaginative collection of short stories interspersed with magical realism to tell the story of immigrant workers in the gulf, and more specifically Malayalam immigrants in UAE. It was poininiengt and experimental. I liked it.

scottishben's review against another edition

2.0

This is a book I would not have finished were I not trying to read a book from a writer from every country. It is not that this has nothing to recommend it. The idea of writing a book about temporary workers is a great one and there are moments of greatness here.

I am not usually a fan of the sort of George Saunders esque magical realism and this is full of it. About a quarter of the time it works really well for me but the rest I bounced off. Weaknesses in charactorisation and just general writing also got in the way.

Some parts were really memorably good. But there were a lot of times I winced.

oviedorose's review against another edition

lighthearted

2.0

tuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0