Explores the psyche of a young man trying to navigate his way through life, striving to find purpose and meaning as he contends with the daily stressors of poverty, a stunted education, classism and patriarchy. He tries to move forward in meaningful directions by educating himself and keeping himself and his domicile clean and making the most of opportunities to expand his experiences, but the forces of violence and poverty surrounding him make increased awareness all the more painful and impossible to bear, so he shelves his budding intellectual life for the social and psychological safety of not knowing. Or something like that. Themes – cleanliness, education, material wealth and display of wealth, class and power, grief that nobody wants to acknowledge, loss of parents in early childhood, lack of social safety net, maladaptive coping (violence, alcohol abuse). Haam saah. Something about the protagonist is so lovable, we are rooting for him. His thoughts are honest, tender, sweet, vulnerable, smart, authentic. His actions are brave though he is a fearful person. Haam saah. Haam saah. Also, how shame, carried shame and safeguarding prevents people from courageously confronting their mistakes and the offenses of others, look away rather than confront. How protecting a reputation is paramount, and there is no room for people to acknowledge their mistakes and how they have hurt others, without risking everything, so power is used to control and suppress threats to reputation. Society would be better if we had ways of calling people in, ways that people could take responsibility without being villainized, haam saah. Reading about other’s reviews, the theme of feminism being for wealthy women, not poor women; the idea that the character ends up where he started, so it’s circular, but worse off because his quest is unsupported by the culture so one gets the sense that he will now stay stuck, so tragic rather than a feeling of resilience. Picaresque meets tragedy. In a book within a book moment, the character Rina’s book about a shop assistant imagines Ramchand’s life while sanitizing it and making sure that it ends well, unlike the bleak ending the author provides for the actual Ramchand in this novel.

I picked up this book as part of my endeavor to read all the Sahitya Akademi Award winners in the English category (shamefully, I have managed to read only 5 until now).

I was left feeling a bit disappointed after reading the book, especially the ending. It certainly did not justify the book. The beginning was superb. The author's description of an old and decaying market in the older part of Amritsar and a daily mundane life of a shop assistant is interesting and comical at the same time.

However the direction that the book took half way through was a let down. I would have rather liked to read about how Ramchand, inspired by the Kapoor family (his chance encounter with Rita) would have continued in his efforts to educate himself and make a better living in the process, rather than sink and withdraw into a almost bipolar disorder on account of the plight of others around him and also up to a certain extent his own failures and disappointments in life.

Overall a decent read but certainly had the potential to be a great book.

Ramčand se osećao kao jedina normalna i pametna osoba u svom okruženju, u kome većina osoba nije pomišljala kako je drugima.Posebno onima koji su u najnižijim slojevima, koji su najslabiji.Ali on je razmišljao, iako je i sam bio siromašan, želeo je da pomogne ženi koja je prolazila kroz toliki užas.
Ali kada je saznao da je umrla, to ga je slomilo i prema gazdi i ostalim poslodavcima se ponašao onako, kako se nikada ne bi.

I stumbled upon an old copy of this book, and altho i was sure i had read it years ago, i started the 1st few chapters and then was so caught up in it, and finished it by the end of the day.

Its a tale of a simple man employed in the sari shop and all the characters he encounters. But depsite all the ups and downs, the mundane hours and high drama, the take home message could be, things go round and round and end up the same...much like a hamster in his wheel.

I loved the prose and the setting, and will be looking out for more works from this writer.

هل المعرفة نعمة ام نقمة !
هل الحياة الرتيبة المعتادة و الصمت و الخوف افضل ام الشجاعة و اتخاذ المواقف و القرارات
رواية موجة الى اقصى حد , حاول فيها البطل ذلك الشاب الهندي البسيط للغاية رامتشاند ان ينهض بذاته و يعلم نفسة و يفتح لعقله افاق جديدة و لكن في النهاية وجد ان عقله الذي بدا للتو يتعرف على اشياء جديدة اصبح يفكر بطريقة مختلفة
اصبح كارها للظلم و القهر
استوقفته كثيرا عبارة لكل عملة وجهان , اصبح يبحث عن الوجه الاخر
كانت النهاية ان شعر رامتشاند بمدى ضعفه و عدم قدرته على التغيير , و ان المعرفة اصبحت ثقلا لا يستطيع حمله
عاد رامتشاند الى حياته الرتيبة ة تحديقه في سقف غرفته و ليته ما عرف و ليته ما عاد

Represents the life of an ordinary salesperson in a sari shop in a small town of Amritsar so unpretentiously. The author captures the very soul of India and how in the modern world hope and violence are permanently entwined.

Love love love such slice-of-life themed books. Its not just that the story was amazing, there was a very serene flow to the writing. It wasnt rushed or overly prosaic. Brilliant amalgamation of light humor and tragedy.
This is one of your everyday stories made extraordinary by sheer literary talent.
At one point I thought Reena is probably the semi-biographical form of Rupa Bajwa but no, this book isnt for surprises. Its beauty is its mundane-ness, often ignored in our day to day lives. I could connect with Ramchand automatically and could feel all his emotions quite closely.
I loved the book so much that the only beef I have is not being able to know enough about the other characters, the other assistants working at the sari shop. Whats the story of Rajesh, Hari, Shyam....would have loved to get a glimpse of their lives too. Maybe a part 2?

This is the first bit of literary work that I have engaged in quite a while and I think I will go back to my fluff. This book was undoubtedly well written, evocative and often times oddly nostalgic so there is no fault there. The problem is it is so bloody depressing! The first part of the book was hopeful even in its melancholy but the second part was utterly horrifying! So, if you want to maintain your mental well-being and don’t want to sink into a horrible depression, do not read!

الجهل ليس دائماً سيء! بعض الجهل منقذ لصاحبه، وبعض رتابة الأيام شعور بالراحة والأمان
رواية تعلمنا تجنب محاربة بعض الجهل والرتابة، والاستمتاع بها

This was an interesting book, along similar lines to the books by Kaled Housseini, however set in India and not quite as well written. It revealed a lot about the Indian class system and society and was quite sad. The only thing I did not like about this book, is that the main character had the potential to really make something of himself or perhaps to even challenge the status quo, however after one bad exchange, he gave up and went back to his mundane life, with the suggestion that he had given up his quest for self-achievement for good, which was pretty disheartening and not how I thought the story would end. Overall though, a pretty good read.

Searing. Haunting. Thought provoking.

I thought this story was very interesting and profound. A wonderful book created on a simple story and bringing out characters wonderfully. It hints social standing in major cities.
This is a very good book, very well written. Each of the character's in the book are portrayed with skill and very realistically. Through the lives of sari shop assistants, owner and customers, the story depicts the modern day class differences and the multi-layered Indian society very well. Though some people may find it depressing, that's the reality and Ms. Bajwa tackles the issues boldly and illustrates the helplessness of a Sari shop assistant to do anything about it , even though he tries.