Em and the big hoom
Reviewed by:
Krishna Chaitanya M
Updated on:
Author:
Published Year:
Pages:
Category:
Genre:
Narration:
Jerry Pinto
2012
240
Fiction
Drama
1st Person, Non-Linear
Jerry Pinto
Jerry Pinto
Review:
This book is a debut novel of Jerry Pinto. The story revolves around a couple - Em (Imelda), who suffers from bipolar disorder, and the Big Hoom (Augustine) who loves and respect his wife (and their children) and is narrated from the couple’s son perspective.
I was confused about the writing in the beginning, but then when the context is set up, you’ll know why the characters behave the way they behave. For me, this book also provided insights into life of Bipolar disordered patients and how it might affect the lives of their loved ones.
The writing was fresh and is filled with dark-humour. And narration seemed raw and genuine.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wouldn’t shy away from fresh writing and can bear little tragedy.
What I like about this book:
Simple and fresh writing, genuine narration and emotions revealed along the story.
Quotes from the book:
“A well-told lie can heal. Otherwise, what’s fiction?”
“Love is never enough. Madness is enough. It is complete, sufficient unto itself. You can only stand outside it as a woman might stand outside a prison in which her lover is locked up. From time to time, a well-loved face will peer out and love floods back. A scrap of cloth flutters and it becomes a sign and a code and a message and all that you want it to be. Then it vanishes and you are outside the dark tower again.”
“I went to bookshops to smell that lovely aroma of a new book. I would pick up a copy and run the pages across the ball of my thumb and let the fresh-baked smell flow up my nose. Then I would lick my thumb. It didn’t taste of anything, but it was like finding a chocolate wrapper inside a book and remembering the taste of the chocolate.”
.
My Ratings (of 5):
Plot:
3
Narrative:
4