Reviewed by Rudy R. Jadoopat
By Petamber Persaud
One hundred pages, 15 short stories with vivid description of encounters among people of varying backgrounds are enough to awaken numerous questions and rife speculation about the objectives of this book.
“Stories Set in Two Countries” fascinates the reader by bringing multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-national fragrance into the fathomless pit of provocative relationships. The Guyanese author’s personal experiences in Guyana, Canada and Fiji have obviously left indelible impressions which influence these stories. There is an abundance of evidence of this subjective aspect. In the very first story, ‘How the Other Half Lives’, he describes the site supervisor James as “a Tamil from Sri Lanka, not too dark, but dark nonetheless”. Here the author emphasizes race, nationality and complexion. Throughout the book the nationalities of characters are mentioned, for example: “Shawn….He was of Irish ancestry…”, “Ramon, a Filipino…”, “Victor was from Korea and was a friend of Aziz, who was from Bangladesh”. The story entitled ‘Brown Folks’ also underlines the complexion of characters. Unfolding dialogues on the subject of race, national peculiarities and social behaviour enrich the stories and enlighten the reader. This is mean feat, but is accomplished by way of years at honing his skill as a writer, resulting in the following publications: “Politics, Race, and Youth in Guyana”, “Notes on Race and Psychology”, “Schooldays in the Colony”, and “Stories from India for Children”.
The themes of Madan Gopal’s book will resonate well with the large number of Guyanese who are living in foreign countries, adapting to strange environments, unfamiliar cultures and unpredictable habits. All of which is achieved by the author’s use of excellent diction, colourful detailed and humorous descriptive actions performed by characters, adding credence to a unique literary work.
Rationalism and realism are intertwined as the author reacts to events and activities, affixing his theoretical interpretation and knowledge of psychological processes to empirical reality.
I am overwhelmed and pleasantly amused, not only as I read the book, “Stories Set in Two Countries”, but more so because I am acquainted with the author’s outlook and sophisticated multi-disciplinary capacity to produce multilayer artistic works. These are characteristics which subtly engage the reader and at the same time stimulate diverse thoughts.
In “Frowzy of Philadelphia”, the author writes about “this teacher of forty would sit in the staff room laughing and talking …” which probably was his personal experience as a teacher… “The best solution the white man can make to Fiji is to practise what he preaches… He needs to solve the race problem he has… If every senator and congressman in America were to take a black son-in-law …” This is how Frowzy is described: “…a flashing smile and a fair skin. Her waist was slim, and when she walked her deliberate walk in the sun her full breasts swayed ever so lovingly and her buttocks rumbled ever so gently…” These are just a few quotes from the book which permit the conclusion that, in addition to the topic of race, the book is not void of politics and sex, making it a collector’s item for all those who enjoy a variety of spices in a well-cooked meal of literature. The stories have been told with subtle and overt humour and twists to satisfy different tastes.
The world of literature has been enriched by yet another talented Guyanese academician and writer. The book is a must read for all, especially Guyanese at home and in the diaspora.
Responses to this author please telephone 226-0065 of email: oraltradition2002@yahoo.com
What’s happening:
Over GYD$1,000,000 in prize monies up for grabs in the 2018 issue of The Guyana Annual. Closing date for entries to the various competitions is November 30, 2017. For further information go to The Guyana Annual on Facebook or email: theguyanaannual@gmail.com (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
