ENGLISH AUGUST - UPMANYU CHATERJEE Review

It starts off at an interesting note with the central character Agastya and his conversation with his cousin (His cousin is called Dhrubo? Note all the characters here have interesting and amazingly real

names?

So you can well imagine the writer’s detailing before writing the book to make it acceptable? Also, people call him AUGUST, those who have a difficulty understanding his name; and to some extent, Agastya himself prefers to be called so just because he’ll have to tell them it has been take from Mahabharata!

So you see, Agastya himself, more so, avoids it! So its better as AUGUST or OGU, his pet name.)

Agastya is an IAS into an utterly under-developed area called Madna. Being extremely hot with strange climatic conditions, Madna is where Agastya will be under training as an IAS.

The characters have been etched out with élan. Agastya’s interests include reading Marcus Aurelius and listening to old English artistes? His conversation with his cousin gives you a feel of an actual dialogue happening in front of you. And that’s the beauty of this book?

Everything is just so realistic; you actually feel you’re a part of Agastya’s life. There’s nothing conventional about the book, its just the simplicity of the book and the fact that its remarkably written.

He reaches Madna and his servant there shows his room. The description of the room actually makes you feel pity for Agastya. The detailing of the surroundings and the set-up of the room is worked out with small examples like excessive furniture (which he eventually throws out!), lizards on the wall, that strange painting on the wall?. It all adds up to your imagining how terrible it must be for Agastya being there, that too, all alone.

The book continues with his experiences under his training. How he passes time at Madna, what he thinks about the people over there, (and minute expressions of his getting irritated; and his silent
remarks on his bosses actually add up to the wit of the situation!)

Small examples like how he ultimately starts exercising, walking and listening to radio (and he wonders throughout the book-- why the hell the news on the radio is read sooooooooo slow!!!!)

The magic of English, August lies not in the story, but as I mentioned, it’s the narrative, whether it’s about the weather of Madna, his room, his eating habits, the people around, everything is just perfect.
All this makes it an interesting read. I can assure you, you’d not put it down once you’ve picked it up? atleast I did not!

Probably because the writer himself was an IAS after he quit as a lecturer of English at St. Stephen’s, Delhi. I think that has made English, August all the more captivating. That’s why I’ve said, its not merely a story, it’ll be an experience. A book that’s as amazing as you can think. I say, GO FOR IT GUYS!! GO AND BUY IT RIGHT NOW!!