Half of What I Say

Half of this erudite mish-mash of a novel could be described as a challenging read. The other 50 percent makes the heavy lifting worthwhile by giving brilliant insights into modern Indian society. The mastery of slang in English and Indian languages define this work.

The half-and-half notion might be applied to the author, Anil Menon, himself. He has divided his life between computer science and literary endeavors and is often billed as a science or speculative fiction writer. However, this novel, despite its endorsement by Ursula Le Guin, has only a small sci-fi element. It also includes a love triangle, crime-solving, political analysis, literary theory and musings on the impact of technology which somehow hang together as a satirical thriller.