Book Review of A cut like wound by Anita Nair

Name of Book: A Cut Like wound 

Author: Anita Nair 

ISBN: 978-1-908524-36-2

Publisher: Bitter lemon press

Part of a Series: Inspector Gowda 

Type of book: India, 2010s, mystery, transgender, cross dresser, male to female, police work, corruption, former loves, friendships, Bangalore 

Year it was published: 2014 (2012 original) 

Summary:

"Nair writes big, brave descriptions of one brutal murder after the next, relentlessly describing each death even as sub-inspector Santosh loses his breakfast over them."—Time Out

It's the first day of Ramadan in heat-soaked Bangalore. A young man begins to dress: makeup, a sari, and expensive pearl earrings. Before the mirror he is transformed into Bhuvana. She is a hijra, a transgender seeking love in the bazaars of the city.

What Bhuvana wants, she nearly gets: a passing man is attracted to this elusive young woman—but someone points out that Bhuvana is no woman. For that, the interloper's throat is cut. A case for Inspector Borei Gowda, going to seed, and at odds with those around him including his wife, his colleagues, even the informers he must deal with. More corpses and Urmila, Gowda's ex-flame, are added to this spicy concoction of a mystery novel.

Most intriguing is the grim world of Bhuvana. Her hijra fantasies, emotions, and hopes are etched in a way that is chilling yet oddly touching. Some mysteries remain till almost the end, for instance Bhuvana's connection with the wealthy, corrupt Corporator Ravikumar, who lives in a mansion as grand as the Mysore Palace and controls whole districts of Bangalore.

Anita Nair lives in Bangalore and is a prize-winning author. Her novel Ladies Coupe, published in the United States by St. Martin's Press, is a feminist classic which has been translated in thirty languages all over the world. This is her first crime novel.

Characters:

So there are plenty of characters, but main one is Inspector Borei Gowda, a police officer who is too good for his won good. ( he refuses bribed and does things by the book, often landing him in trouble and costing him promotions?) He is a solitary and simple man who cares for practicality more than intellectual pursuits. He is used to living alone and doing his job. Santosh is best described as a passionate younger version of Gowda who tries his best to fit, and who deeply admires Gowda. Primary secondary characters are Bhuvana, a male cross dressing as a female to have "fun" which involves a male. There is also corporator who has to hide shady things from cops and Urmilla, Boreis former crush and lover who is back from England. Yes, an exciting novel. 

Theme:

Things are not what they seem 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from many characters points of views and took place from August to September. I definitely had the sense that the narrator was omniscient because we could either be in Santoshs point of view or Gowda or the mysterious Bhuvana or even the corporator.  A dictionary is necessary because there are a lot of Hindu? Words that I didn't understand or had trouble imagining. I also think I had some trouble understanding on why the police were after the corporator. Other than that, an entertaining book that I might revisit soon.  Also what does eunuch refer to India? And in India are eunuchs different than transgender? 

Author Information:
(From goodreads) 

Anita Nair is the bestselling and critically acclaimed author of the novels The Better Man, Ladies Coupé, Mistress, Lessons in Forgetting, Idris: Keeper of the Light and Alphabet Soup for Lovers. She has also authored a crime series featuring Inspector Gowda.

Anita Nair’s other books include a collection of poems titled Malabar Mind, a collection of essays titled Goodnight & God Bless and six books for children. Anita Nair has also written two plays and the screenplay for the movie adaptation of her novel Lessons in Forgetting which was part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI 2012 and won the National Film Award in 2013. Among other awards, she was also given the Central Sahitya Akademi award and the Crossword Prize. Her books have been translated into over thirty one languages around the world. She is also the founder of the creative writing and mentorship program Anita’s Attic.

Opinion:

While not given for review, I wanted to prepare myself for reading of the third book in the series: HOT STAGE. ( Personal experience has taught me that its in a very rare instance that a stand alone version applies.) Prior to this novel, I seriously can't recall if I ever read books that took place in India. Apparently there are at least three authors that I read that took place in India ( and three that deal with Sri Lanka) but apparently while the three Indian authors I read tend to sanitize, in my opinion, India ( Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Thrity Umrigar and Sejal Badani) Anita Nair refuses to follow their footsteps and instead shows the reader the reality of India. ( maybe I should mention that the India I saw in A Cut Like Wound is very different than in previous books I  have read.) Def Italy count me as a new fan of Anita Nair. 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)