Notes on Mice in Men by Anirban Bose

           

                  A couple of years back,I got a chance to read Bose's debut novel,'Bombay Rains,Bombay Girls'- a coming of age story of a group of medical students.Frankly speaking,I didn't like that book very much as I had found it only mildly amusing.So when I chanced upon the author's second work('Mice in Men') in the local Landmark's Book store,I was a bit apprehensive initially but still decided to give it a try as I have a thing for well crafted works of short fiction.

                        ' Mice in Men' is an anthology of short stories set in contemporary India.Most of the tales have a medical background(which is understandable as the writer is a doctor by profession) and in one way or other portray the joys of being in the medical profession.The writer has made sure that all the medical terms used in the stories are explained in a very simple manner without resorting to extremely complicated medical jargons.I particularly liked the story of the young doctor('The Magic of Medicine') who is in a dilemma to treat the 'illegal immigrant' who is fighting for his life.As in the case of any other anthology,'Mice In Men' also packs in a couple of bland and even mundane short works('The temptation of fate') of fiction.The writer has a good attention to detail but the un-necessary detailing backfires atleast in a few occasions-('The faithfulness of traits').On the other hand,I also felt some stories to be a bit confusing and lacking clarity('Stockholm syndrome'-well, it is obviously a well written piece but the author seems to have overlooked a couple of loose ends in the narrative).

                'Mice in Men' is undoubtedly a better work when compared to the writer's debut 'Bombay Rains,Bombay Girls'.If you have a penchant for short tales of fiction,you can definitely give it a try.

Verdict-A good read.I'm giving it a three out of five.

-nikhimenon

Bombay Rains, Bombay Girls by Anirban Bose

About the author:

A doctor by profession, Anirban Bose is the author of the book Bombay Rains Bombay Girls and the short story collection Mice in Men. Other than writing, he is passionate about guitars, cricket and music. He is currently Assistant Professor of Medicine and Nephrology at the University of Rochester.

Cover and blurb:

The cover shows nuances of a city and college life. The back cover suggests such a theme, a small-town boy’s venture to the big bad city to study medicine, and the college life that follows.

My thoughts on the book:

Do you remember the first day of your college life? I remember mine. It was difficult for me to talk to other classmates, except for the ones sitting on the same bench as I was. I was from the city, and my college had more number of small town students, who probably knew each other too. But I could feel the same difficulty for them to start a conversation with me as well. That way, it was easy for me to understand this awkwardness, the one the protagonist Adi feels when he goes to Mumbai for studying medicine. This book is about his experiences, starting from how their taxi driver gets beaten up when they (Adi and his father) first visit Mumbai to get him settled in to the new life. His life goes through the mostly expected nuances in college life like getting caught not paying attention in class, solving that dilemma and thereby finding himself more popular, the popularity increasing etc. It has heartbreak and new love, new friendships. It also has a lot of decisions, and some that he takes that defines who he is. It has politics and helplessness, even a murder. So…a lot of little things.

The pace of the book is quite quick. The font is easily readable, and quite nice to read as well in this size. I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint what makes this book good. It has a good mix of emotions, and a plot that a medical student may understand more than me perhaps. It engages the reader for sure, so the narration is quite good. The viewpoints in narration were something that confused me to a little extent. And yes, a little predictable. I guess the part that felt the most natural was the nervousness that Adi feels in the initial chapters.

Overall, an ordinary book. Nothing too good, nothing too bad. Quite decent.

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My rating: 2.5 / 5

Book Details:
Title: Bombay Rains, Bombay Girls
Author: Anirban Bose
ISBN: 9788172236830
Genre: Fiction
Publishers: Harper Collins India
Price: INR. 195

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Reviewed by Leo

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1. Indian Quills Review Challenge at The Tales Pensieve

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