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A review by rosemaryandrue
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Caught between demotion and disgrace, Indian police officer Akal Singh is instead posted to colonial Fiji, where an investigation into the vanishing of an indentured Indian woman from a sugarcane plantation is complicated by the political pressures within the British Empire.
I'm a sucker for an unusual setting in a book, and colonial Fiji, 1912, is certainly a place I've never visited. And I have only the vaguest knowledge of the system of Indian indenture during the British Empire - by which I mean I knew that it existed - so it was fascinating to get a look at that too in this book.
Rao brings this setting to life vividly - the green and remote place in which the great colonial machine grinds away, reigned over by the ex-pats while the native Fijians are best left alone and the Indians are merely imported bodies to serve as cogs in the machine. I also appreciated how detailed and accurate her depiction of the laborers' lives were - like Akal, I found the scenes of village life extremely familiar, having seen them plenty of times in the Indian countryside.
I found the author's choice of Akal as the protagonist an interesting choice. He has worked in and benefited by the colonial system, and does not want to be drawn into caring about the case, but cannot help it, and I expect his deepening disillusionment will be explored further in the series.
The mystery was a little simple to solve, as we are given few choices as to the answer. The dialogue also felt a little stilted on occasion, more informational than lifelike. Neither of these things significantly impacted my enjoyment of the book though.
I listened to the audiobook of this book, which is narrated by Sid Sagar. I found myself rather unimpressed by his pronunciation of the laborers' names, which were to my native Telugu ear recognizably Telugu and sadly flattened out by his tongue, but I expect most readers wouldn't know the difference. His Hindi on the other hand was excellent.
I'm a sucker for an unusual setting in a book, and colonial Fiji, 1912, is certainly a place I've never visited. And I have only the vaguest knowledge of the system of Indian indenture during the British Empire - by which I mean I knew that it existed - so it was fascinating to get a look at that too in this book.
Rao brings this setting to life vividly - the green and remote place in which the great colonial machine grinds away, reigned over by the ex-pats while the native Fijians are best left alone and the Indians are merely imported bodies to serve as cogs in the machine. I also appreciated how detailed and accurate her depiction of the laborers' lives were - like Akal, I found the scenes of village life extremely familiar, having seen them plenty of times in the Indian countryside.
I found the author's choice of Akal as the protagonist an interesting choice. He has worked in and benefited by the colonial system, and does not want to be drawn into caring about the case, but cannot help it, and I expect his deepening disillusionment will be explored further in the series.
The mystery was a little simple to solve, as we are given few choices as to the answer. The dialogue also felt a little stilted on occasion, more informational than lifelike. Neither of these things significantly impacted my enjoyment of the book though.
I listened to the audiobook of this book, which is narrated by Sid Sagar. I found myself rather unimpressed by his pronunciation of the laborers' names, which were to my native Telugu ear recognizably Telugu and sadly flattened out by his tongue, but I expect most readers wouldn't know the difference. His Hindi on the other hand was excellent.