The last jet-engine laugh - Hardcover

Joshi, Ruchir

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 8172234309 ISBN 13: 9788172234300

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India, 2001

Synopsis

This is a debut novel from India of an utterly original kind. Joshi has found a style and a form in which to say new things about the Indian experience in a new manner. Like Roy, Joshi is doing something entirely fresh. The novel takes three generations of a Gujarati family and uses them to track the course of Indian history back to 1930 and forward into the first decades of the next century. The grandparents are disciples of Gandhi, smart, sarcastic and principled; they meet on a non-violent demonstration against British rule in Calcutta in the 1930s, fall in love while falling under the army's baton. Their only son, Paresh, our principal narrator, grows up to drift through life, torn in different directions all at once. In turn, he produces a daughter, Para, who is tomboyish, aggressive, martial, and, in her sequences in the book, a squadron leader in the Indian Air Force when, in the near future, India is at war with a Muslim Pakistani-Iranian alliance. She therefore kills people for a living and is the antithesis of her grandparents' principles of Gandhiesque non-violence, civil disobedience and passive resistance. This trajectory of Indian history from non-violence to belligerent jingoism is reflected in key episodes in the lives of this family. All four key characters are fascinating, and each of the setpieces in which they figure is stunningly handled by Joshi. The writing is sharp, modern, fluent and varied. Joshi is equally adept at handling crowd scenes, midair battles, sexual farce and embarrassing encounters. It is a book that is jaded and yet principled, ribald and yet serious, laddish and yet sensitive. It feels authentic, considered and moving at all times. It's a winner.

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

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 8172234309
• ISBN 13: 9788172234300
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384