No God in Sight [Paperback]

Tyrewala's debut novel is a plotless but vibrant trip through contemporary Mumbai (aka Bombay) which calls to mind films such as "Short Cuts." However, here the characters lives don't weave in and out of each other's, but connect in a linear line from one to the next, sometimes by the barest of threads. The fifty chapters are mostly brief, 2-5 pages or so, and comprise brief glimpses into the lives of a wide cast of characters which collectively comprise a kind of central character--citizen of Mumbai. The opening chapters dispel the notion right away that this is going to be another sentimental or romanticized excursion to a Western notion of an exotic India. It starts in the shabby offices of a cut-rate abortionist, a medical student who couldn't quite hack the exams to become a full doctor and has to eke out a living on the edges. The abortionist, like many of the characters, is a Muslim who must gingerly make his way in a Hindu-dominated world, and this tension becomes a running theme.

The book shifts perspective from the abortionist to his father to his father's boss, and so on. Tyrewala employs this structural device in order to show the broad spectrum of people living in the megacity--gangster, shoe store clerk, dissolute youth, jaded cop, door-to-door insurance salesman, butcher, CEO, refugees, journalist, hopeful immigrants to the U.S., and many more. However, the book's central weakness is that there's generally no room to develop these characters beyond their one defining profession or characteristic, and so they become little more than animated props. Even in the the way they speak or think, there's little variation in how they express themselves. Still, the reader is given enough insight into their lives to understand some sense of the magnitude of the struggle for daily survival. And as the title indicates, this struggle must be undertaken alone, since no one else is going to be looking out for you. What Tyrewala is much more successful at it showing us the city itself (current population is around 13 million), from the run down clinic, to gore-splattered chicken butchers, to shabby slum high-rise, to dusty shoe store, and garish singles bar, we get a real sense of place.

The book is short, manageable in a single sitting, and definitely worth reading by anyone with an interest in modern India or simply daily life in the world's megacities. There are no startling insights or moments of brilliance, simply many measured portrayals of the human condition.

Altaf Tyrewala's bestselling debut novel is a brilliant collective first person account of the pulsating metropolis Mumbai. The fascinatingly crafted, racy monologues add a sense of immediacy and unpredictability. the book is at once witty, surreal and dark, giving out a sense of larger forces at work. With the characters grappling with demonds - both inner and social, no God's gonna come from the skies and show you a path, each one has to work out his own destiny. (hence the tittle) The book captures confined existences in mumbai - something that is not really unique to just this city, rather anyone who's ever lived in a bustling city can relate to the experiences narrated in the book. All in all, a fantastic read!

Very similar in structure to Schnitzler's La Ronde (I wonder if the Author knew Schnitzler's play or at least the 1950 movie "La Ronde" by Ophuls), and Edgar Lee Master's "Spoon River Anthology", with a merry-go-round of characters only tangentially linked to each other, this 2005 Indian novel has gained worldwide acclaim. Altaf Tyrewala, after a degree in the States, lives in Mumbai and has worked in the e-learning industry. This experience has taught him how to synthesize personalities in short phrases and minute sketches. Juxtaposing about 50 people he creates a microworld inside Mumbai's eighteen million inhabitants, fourteen languages, eight religions, bringing to life this prototype of megalopolis of the post-industrial Third World. Between a video-clip and a tragic and comic theatrical piece we meat a variegated humanity that deals with day to day problems, traditions, progress and poverty, especially poverty that conditions and forges lives. The other dominant theme is discrimination, mostly Hindus against Moslems, but also against Sikhs and people from different casts against each other. No solidarity, no hope, no god in sight. Cynical, true and fascinating. A fast and satisfactory read.