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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I quite enjoyed this, although I didn't find myself as engrossed in it as mich as I had hoped for. But it's a solid novel set in Kalkutta in 1919, and that alone made it worth reading. It's part historical novel, part mystery - the mystery is somewhat weak and you can spot the killer from miles away, but it was a very enjoyable read.
I discovered Abir Mukherjee, a British-born author of Indian parents, serendipitously whilst browsing the Indian section at the wonderful Daunt Bookshop in Marylebone, London. Chatting to a young Indian Lady, I recommended Neel Mukherjee to her and she pointed me to Abir Mukherjee.
A Rising Man is a crime novel set in Calcutta in 1919, during the Raj. Detective Captain Sam Wyndham, recently arrived from Britain with an opium addiction following his experience on the western front in WWI, is assigned to resolve the murder of a high ranking British official. He sets out to do so with his assistant, the native but Cambridge University educated Sergeant Banerjee.
It was an easy but thoroughly enjoyable read, difficult to put down. I am not usually drawn to crime fiction, but I am unashamedly tempted to read the rest of the books in the Captain Wyndham series.
A Rising Man is a crime novel set in Calcutta in 1919, during the Raj. Detective Captain Sam Wyndham, recently arrived from Britain with an opium addiction following his experience on the western front in WWI, is assigned to resolve the murder of a high ranking British official. He sets out to do so with his assistant, the native but Cambridge University educated Sergeant Banerjee.
It was an easy but thoroughly enjoyable read, difficult to put down. I am not usually drawn to crime fiction, but I am unashamedly tempted to read the rest of the books in the Captain Wyndham series.
I fond this a very enjoyable way of getting a view of India just after the First World War. It balances fairly standard detective story themes (Sam Wyndham is recently bereaved and has a jaundiced view of authority following 1st World War experiences) with political and historical content such as the rise of calls for Indian independence and the tension between violent and non-violent resistance. I found the interplay between the English Chief Inspector and his Bengali assistant worked well. It is in the well-worked tradition of buddy movies, as unlikely allies get to appreciate each other, but made a little deeper by the historical context.
After starting this series with book 3 I decided to go back and read the first two mainly because I love this character the is something so likeable about him even when he seems so damaged from the war, death of his wife and his blossoming addiction. When we meet him in this first murder mystery he is only 2 weeks in country and already rattling cages with his relentless pursuit of the truth.
What doesn't change is the dry wit of this author I love his style and observations. He has obviously nailed the period and the culture of his surroundings.
'Are Buchan's parties a common occurrence?'
'Oh yes,' she said, picking up the pencil once again from the desk. 'Once or twice a month, generally. I think it's got much to do with the climate and the Scottish temperament. If the mercury so much as touches eighty-five, they all go half-mad, resort to drink and raise hell.'
It didn't sound like such a bad life to me.
It is these characteristics of characters that are so enjoyable. He knows who he is writing about and that is so good. I had commented how much I liked how he wrote about the Scotsmen in this story only to find out that he grew up in Scotland, plus his knowledge and choices of malt whisky are spot on.
What doesn't change is the dry wit of this author I love his style and observations. He has obviously nailed the period and the culture of his surroundings.
'Are Buchan's parties a common occurrence?'
'Oh yes,' she said, picking up the pencil once again from the desk. 'Once or twice a month, generally. I think it's got much to do with the climate and the Scottish temperament. If the mercury so much as touches eighty-five, they all go half-mad, resort to drink and raise hell.'
It didn't sound like such a bad life to me.
It is these characteristics of characters that are so enjoyable. He knows who he is writing about and that is so good. I had commented how much I liked how he wrote about the Scotsmen in this story only to find out that he grew up in Scotland, plus his knowledge and choices of malt whisky are spot on.
Very slow progression up to this point in the book, wanted to like it but just wasn't curious enough to continue
An excellent mystorical set in 1919 Calcutta. Sam Wyndham is a WWI vet, ex-Scotland Yard detective, opium addict, and recent arrival who gets to investigate the murder of a pillar of the British Raj. The author is first generation English, of Indian descent, and it's a bit surprising that his detective is English.
‘We’d paid our price in blood and now, we proclaimed, Calcutta was a British city. Five minutes here would tell you it was no such thing. But that didn’t mean it was Indian. The truth was, Calcutta was unique.’ P29
Calcutta, 1919… the British Raj. A melting pot of colonialism, nationalistic culture and subjugation and the backdrop to Gandhi’s non-violent revolution that ultimately saw the end of British rule in the mid-20th century.
Such is the setting for Abir Mukherjee’s excellent novel, ‘A Rising Man’, first in the Captain Sam Wyndham series. And what an awesome read it is. Mukherjee delves deeply into the reality of the oppression, racism, segregation, and cultural divide that characterised much of British India. There are so many layers to everything that Mukherjee pivots this story around .. the layers of colonialism and the effects of the Empire are blatant and the value of hindsight in 2024 cannot be underestimated. However, I was left in a very reflective state, wondering how far we have really come. And while it’s easy to see the log in the eye, it’s much less easy to see the similarities or legacies of colonial attitudes that are subtle, damaging and deeply entrenched today. Sure there are the obvious discriminations and abuse of privileged power, but the subtle biases and behaviours that divide and separate are much more sinister and subversive.
“It was seductively easy to fall into the casual racism upon which the whole place was built”… p257.. ain’t that still the truth today?
A Rising Man centres around Captain Sam Wyndham, newly arrived in Calcutta following his own fair share of tragedy and suffering during World War 1. With very little left to live for, he finds himself in a post in the British Raj in the Indian Civil Service as a captain in the police force. Within two weeks, he is embroiled in a murder case that has its tentacles everywhere in an increasingly volatile political landscape.
His sidekick, Sergeant Banerjee is actually a powerful supporting actor and I can see this duo teaming up in future instalments in a powerful way. Banerjee, softly spoken, respectful and one who ‘knows his place’ is quietly resistant, offering up carefully chosen words to challenge the British ‘moral superiority’ and mindset.
I loved the way Mukherjee brings to light some of the historical elements of the time including the unbelievable massacre in Amritsar which I honestly had no idea about…
This was an excellent book. I can’t wait to read more. 5 stars.
Calcutta, 1919… the British Raj. A melting pot of colonialism, nationalistic culture and subjugation and the backdrop to Gandhi’s non-violent revolution that ultimately saw the end of British rule in the mid-20th century.
Such is the setting for Abir Mukherjee’s excellent novel, ‘A Rising Man’, first in the Captain Sam Wyndham series. And what an awesome read it is. Mukherjee delves deeply into the reality of the oppression, racism, segregation, and cultural divide that characterised much of British India. There are so many layers to everything that Mukherjee pivots this story around .. the layers of colonialism and the effects of the Empire are blatant and the value of hindsight in 2024 cannot be underestimated. However, I was left in a very reflective state, wondering how far we have really come. And while it’s easy to see the log in the eye, it’s much less easy to see the similarities or legacies of colonial attitudes that are subtle, damaging and deeply entrenched today. Sure there are the obvious discriminations and abuse of privileged power, but the subtle biases and behaviours that divide and separate are much more sinister and subversive.
“It was seductively easy to fall into the casual racism upon which the whole place was built”… p257.. ain’t that still the truth today?
A Rising Man centres around Captain Sam Wyndham, newly arrived in Calcutta following his own fair share of tragedy and suffering during World War 1. With very little left to live for, he finds himself in a post in the British Raj in the Indian Civil Service as a captain in the police force. Within two weeks, he is embroiled in a murder case that has its tentacles everywhere in an increasingly volatile political landscape.
His sidekick, Sergeant Banerjee is actually a powerful supporting actor and I can see this duo teaming up in future instalments in a powerful way. Banerjee, softly spoken, respectful and one who ‘knows his place’ is quietly resistant, offering up carefully chosen words to challenge the British ‘moral superiority’ and mindset.
I loved the way Mukherjee brings to light some of the historical elements of the time including the unbelievable massacre in Amritsar which I honestly had no idea about…
This was an excellent book. I can’t wait to read more. 5 stars.
I'm a little late to Abir Mukherjee but I'm glad I got here. 'A Rising Man' is set in 1919 Raj India, a period I know little about but which Mukherjee brings to life - the intense colours, the oppressive heat, the simmering violence; the racism, both institutional and casual, of the last decades of the British Empire.
Sam Wyndham, a policeman two weeks into his career in the colonial force in Calcutta, investigates the murder of a high ranking British official, a man apparently killed by terrorists seeking the end of British rule. But when the secret police seem a little eager to close the case, Sam, along with the pompous, racist Inspector Digby and Sgt. 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee, Indian-born and educated at Cambridge, suspects that there is more to the crime than initially appears. Mukherjee's dialogue is excellent and the characters all have distinct voices. He describes the locations, from dusty back streets to opulent colonial mansions to temples surrounded by lush jungle, with a deft touch. And along the way, he drops phrases worthy of Chandler - a carpet is "thick enough to suffocate a small dog", Wyndham "tried not to stare at her legs, which was difficult because they were fine legs and I appreciate these things" - and takes a few humorous pokes at his native Scotland, a country whose climate "is rather unpleasant for ten months of the year and downright inhospitable for the other two."
I enjoyed 'A Rising Man' thoroughly. It is a satisfying and entertaining detective story but also a commentary on British Colonial attitudes to, and treatment of, 'foreign' subjects; food for thought when those same attitudes and nostalgia for the days of Empire seem to be driving the Brexit movement in England. Second in the series already purchased and high on the TBR list.
Sam Wyndham, a policeman two weeks into his career in the colonial force in Calcutta, investigates the murder of a high ranking British official, a man apparently killed by terrorists seeking the end of British rule. But when the secret police seem a little eager to close the case, Sam, along with the pompous, racist Inspector Digby and Sgt. 'Surrender-Not' Banerjee, Indian-born and educated at Cambridge, suspects that there is more to the crime than initially appears. Mukherjee's dialogue is excellent and the characters all have distinct voices. He describes the locations, from dusty back streets to opulent colonial mansions to temples surrounded by lush jungle, with a deft touch. And along the way, he drops phrases worthy of Chandler - a carpet is "thick enough to suffocate a small dog", Wyndham "tried not to stare at her legs, which was difficult because they were fine legs and I appreciate these things" - and takes a few humorous pokes at his native Scotland, a country whose climate "is rather unpleasant for ten months of the year and downright inhospitable for the other two."
I enjoyed 'A Rising Man' thoroughly. It is a satisfying and entertaining detective story but also a commentary on British Colonial attitudes to, and treatment of, 'foreign' subjects; food for thought when those same attitudes and nostalgia for the days of Empire seem to be driving the Brexit movement in England. Second in the series already purchased and high on the TBR list.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced