Well, this is the first time I am attempting a book review. But Karthik Laxman's Unreal Aliens is compelling enough to call for one.
Without revealing much of the story, let me just say that a group of aliens land in India for a certain purpose and as we read on further we meet some of our favourite celebrities (mostly from the space of politics) in situations that are overtly reminiscent of different movies we have seen. Now, if you are familiar with the website www.theunrealtimes.com , you would be familiar with the genre.
In the book, you meet Modi, Rahul, Kejri and my favourite, Dr. Swamy. Even Deve Gowda makes an appearance in the book in a pivotal role.
And if this were a movie, then there are those blink-and-thou-shall-miss appearances of many a people you know. Each of them makes you laugh.
And it is not just the politicians. There are 2 whole chapters dedicated to a cricket match. While the passionate cricket fans can enjoy the sequence of Ishant yorkers and the alien batsman talking of rotating the strike in the post-innings conversation, the not-so-passionate cricket fans will still enjoy the commentary of Rajdeep and Gavaskar.
There is that small sequence of a conversation between Tharoor and Tiwari. Now, for a reader who does not follow political leaders closely (their style, mannerisms etc.), that sequence could well be, hmm... nulliparous. If not, you will see an antipodal effect and thou shalt laugh.
I laughed out loud many a times while reading the book. Some episodes I distinctly remember. The conversation between our western and northern neighbours was hilarious. And yes, Baba Ramdev's Aasanas during the match will keep you in splits. Arnab playing with his son's toys, sequences with references to Modi's wardrobe and the dream structure in the chapter dedicated to Desh ki janta ka dream (towards the end) are absolute gems.
I think I have given you just about enough from the book to arouse your curiosity about the book in case you haven't read it yet.
The book does tend to drag just a little bit during the middle overs, but then there are those sequences that keep coming up to ensure that you just do not put down the book. And yes, Rahul has been treated rather harshly (You won't be surprised though if you have been following Unreal Times regularly) ...
Also, people who have not seen Nolan's Inception may not really understand ...hmm...well... inception.
But then, that does not really count for much for not many people who watched Inception understood inception in any case.
Let me tell you what I liked, nay, loved about the book. The writer's astute observation of contemporary events and weaving these observations into a spoof of ridiculous proportions and creating an entire novel is certainly commendable. For those of us who are familiar with Unreal Times, we are familiar with the author's style of how singular events are converted into short spoofs.
It is yet another skill to actually compile an entire book of spoofs- all intertwined in the same storyline. So, take a bow, Karthik.
CS Krishna and Karthik Laxman gave us an unputdownable Unreal Elections in 2014.
This year again, Unreal Aliens is an unputdownable book.
Karthik Laxman can be booked for a riot- a laughter riot :-)
Karthik Laxman can be booked for a riot- a laughter riot :-)
Some disclosures and views from the Reviewer:
1. I have great respect for PM Modi and Dr. Swamy.
2. I did not understand Inception
3. I enjoy humour across ideological lines. I admire people who have an ability to create humour out of thin air and have been a big fan of Faking News and The Unreal Times for quite sometime now. As a nation, I think we should be a lot less serious and any form of satire should be encouraged. I do hope more such books come up.
