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New York Post
January 7, 2000
The Death of Vishnu
By Manil Suri
Published by W.W.Norton & Co.
pp. 293 $24.95
Reviewed by Roopa Unnikrishnan
Great books begin well. "The Death of Vishnu" certainly does. "Not wanting to arouse Vishnu in case he hadn't died yet, Mrs. Asrani tiptoed down to the third step above the landing on which he lived…"-- this first line sets a pace that Manil Suri maintains through his first work of nonfiction.
This is an intriguingly complex novel that manages to be a very easy read. The death mentioned in the title is of a homeless man who sleeps on the steps of a middle-class apartment building in Bombay, India. The God Vishnu does not appear, except as a series of dreams the comatose man has -- dreams that capture memories of an interesting life.
Many characters populate this book-- warring neighbors, Mrs. Pathak and Mrs. Asrani who are divided by their common kitchen; Mr. and Mrs. Jalal who are divided by their religion; other denizens of the sub-culture of maids, guards and corner shopkeepers who support the middle class lifestyle in urban India. The most poignant descriptions, however, are reserved for the many women who have been part of Vishnu's life: his mother, his lover, Padmini and young Kavitha Pathak, all of whom remain out of Vishnu's reach. Suri brings together all these stories with great skill and sensitivity.
Look out for more from this author, a math professor at the University of Maryland -- "The Death of Vishnu" is the first of a forthcoming trilogy. The other volumes are "The Life of Shiva" and "The Birth of Brahma".