The Last Jet-Engine Laugh Book

Ruchir Joshi's debut The Last Jet-Engine Laugh is buoyed by the belief that everything matters, that every ephemeral peak, deepening drop, every drive, every breakfast, every touch, sound and word slowly forming, extends to the heart of some fundamental genetic momentum. Paresh is the glue of the story, son of two former non-violent revolutionaries who met on a demonstration in Ahmedabad. Detached from the urgency that fuelled his parents' convictions, he adopts a passive stance toward the events of his life, becomes an observer. His daughter, Para, in turn exposed to Paresh's haphazard experience, his lack of urgency, takes firm root in combat flying. Reaction and adaptation, circumstance and principle: through the characters' instalment in the present--1970-2000-2030--and through the evolution of one family, the future of India and Indians is skilfully conjured. In a matter of decades, India has become a militaristic power from its ascetic, caste-structured past and Para, only one generation removed from Thoreauvian pacifists, has become a war hero. The wonder of Joshi's narrative is not the fantastic leaps he takes but that he makes them so convincingly. Ruchir Joshi is relaxed and sincere, often ironic and very funny. Those readers wary of the vigorous Indian literary invasion, those tired of Salman Rushdie's apocalyptic seriousness or still angry at Tagore for The Home and the World, will find here a strong clear voice. --Michael KeddaRead More