The Last Jet-Engine Laugh - Hardcover

Joshi, Ruchir

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0002570890 ISBN 13: 9780002570893

Publisher: Flamingo, 2003

Synopsis

It is the not-so-distant future, and in the belligerent wannabe superpower that is India, Para, a tomboyish fighter pilot, flies sorties against the Pak-Saudi alliance. She has been trained to kill, to be a deadly instrument for the military ambitions of an ultra-modern, ultra-competitive state. And yet it is less than a hundred years since her smart, sarcastic, principled grandparents met on a non-violent demonstration against British rule in Ahmedabad, falling in love as they were trampled by the mounted police. Their only son, Paresh, grows up to drift through life, torn in different directions all at once, though he does produce an entirely spirited daughter - Para.
How did India get to Para from her grandparents? And what happened to the generation in between, of Paresh and his peers? Moving between crowd scenes and midair battles, between sexual farce and social embarrassment, Joshi maps the arcs made by these four striking characters, by the family they make up, and by their country across a complex and confused century.

About this title

About the Author

ruchir joshi is a trained and practising filmmaker in India. Born and raised in Calcutta, he now lives in Delhi. This is his first book.

Review

`The brand new experience after Rushdie: a megashow, Russian in size, Indian in soul.' India Today`Written in the joyous tradition of Tristram Shandy, Joshi has Sterne's gift for digressions [and] the master's eye for his surroundings. This is surely a great moment for Indian literature. "The Last Jet-Engine Laugh" debates whether the story of a nation can be the story of a self.' Tom Payne, Daily Telegraph`Exhilarating...Joshi's narrative jump-cuts with a surreal invention reminiscent of the work of Vonnegut.' The Times`Proof positive that it's possible for Indian writers to be wickedly cynical, funny and bitter without the scathing edge blunting the Indianness or vice versa...Put simply, "The Last Jet-Engine Laugh" is a family saga across three generations. It's also (as most really good books are) a love story. But before you yawn and reach for the remote saying, "Yaar, saala, it's been done before," it ain't quite been done like this. Joshi is a most unsuitable boy, and if there were a glass palace about, he'd be the one throwing stones.' Anita Roy, Biblio`Stylish, suggestive, musical...a great moment for Indian literature.' Daily Telegraph

Edition details

• Publisher: Flamingo
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0002570890
• ISBN 13: 9780002570893
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400