Prisoner,Jailor,Prime Minister-Tabrik C

Title:Prisoner,Jailor,Prime Minister
Author:Tabrik C
Publishers:Hachette India
Price:350/-
Pages:300+
Year:2014
Source:Blogadda

         I owe a lot to blogadda.It was through this wonderful platform that I had got the chance to read some really cool works like ,'The Devotion of Suspect X' and 'The Salvation Of a Saint'.So naturally,when this new political-thriller by Tabrik C came up for review through blogadda,my expectations were sky-high.I was almost certain that what I had got was nothing but a chance to read the next desi best-seller before the whole world would start talking about it.
         'PJP' is the story of Sidharth Tagore,the 'Harvard educated',newly elected Prime Minister of the World's largest democracy.He has his arch-rival in Rukmani Devi,who is constantly trying to tarnish his new found image among the Urban educated youth.'Prisoner Jailor,Prime Minister' traces the journey of the musician- turned- politician Siddharth from Harvard to 7,Race Course road.
          The book has got quite a number of characters(Rukmani Devi,Rubaya,Gregor,Thor-to name a few) besides Tagore but none of them except him really manage to leave an impression.Blame it on half-baked characterisation or lousy plot twists that the book becomes  boring and brutally predictable after a point.Though Tabrik's language is fine,the gaping plot holes and serious lack of editing makes the novel a tedious read.Another issue I have is with the debutant author's style of writing. Infact the non-linear type of story telling didn't work for me,at all.          
          The author tries to pack in a lot of things and as a result he totally loses the plot mid-way.There is a nuclear blast in the beginning and a murder happening somewhere towards the middle but they remain neglected till the fag end of the story.To be very frank,I think the author himself had no clear idea about what to do with the rather promising story line of this book.Instead of rushing through and getting the book released(by early 2014) to cash-in on the pre-election euphoria,he should have worked more on the story line and developed it into a more interesting work of fiction,I feel.Moreover at 325+ pages,the book is tad too long.The writer's dislike for the Bharathiya Janatha Party,Hinduism and the Vedas is pretty evident though he desperately tries to mask it using irrevelant metaphors and weird reasoning.The writer tries to take pot shots at pseudoliberals and arm-chair activists but as the plot progresses the reader keeps wondering whether the author himself is one among those 'Aam-Admi' type seculars who keep talking about their 'idea of India' on one hand and visits radical clerics to safe guard their vote-banks on the other.

Verdict-Tabrik C's debut work is a mediocre affair.It could have been a lot better.I'm giving it a generous Two out of five. 

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 -nikhimenon