Arthur & George
Finally finished this Booker prize shortlister. The story is based on the lives of Sir Arthur Conan Doyal (SACD) and George Edalji (GE) and how they crisscross each other. Before I read the book, I knew about SACD but not about GE. So my initial perception was that this was a piece of fiction which just happens to use SACD as is protagonist. But later when I did a search on the net. I found out that this book is a sort of pseudo-fiction. GE is a real person and the way their lives are related is indeed true. The filling up of all the gaps in between the historical events is the reason why it is a fiction. The author, Julian Barnes, clearly and charmingly weaves a yarn of detective tale right up to the standards of Sherlock Holmes. The book is really engaging and has all the ingredients of a suspenceful and clever detective story. Even though there is no twist because the story is already well known, the author brilliantly slips in many other worthy issues to ponder over. GE, is actually a second generation Indian in Britain. This fact isnt immediately obvious from the beginning of the book if you did not already know the historical story, but the author cleverly fills us in as the story progresses. So issues of race, class and proprieties are brought into the picture. As a large part of the plot revolves around the legal profession, many conundrums are posed and you learn alot about how you really can make bricks out of straw. Ultimately what left a strong impression is how prejudices are easily formed and how in the hands of too much power, reality can be fabricated.  F-ed by me at 9:52 PM

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