21st Century Literature discussion

This thread should be free of spoilers for any part of the book beyond the end of Book Two.

Please add any comments you like about your impressions of Book Two.

This Book is titled 'The Story of the Pipe', and takes a large detour away from Rashid's opium den and the main characters from the first part, in order to tell the story of how the pipe arrived with Dimple at Rashid's. What do you think of this device? There are suggestions throughout that the pipe itself is almost a character. How do you think of the pipe at this point?

I lost sight of the notion that this was the pipe's story. So, in that sense it didn't work. However, I was very interested in Dimple's story. Was she really a eunuch?

She undoubtedly was. "There are more than 1.5 million eunuchs in India today, many of whom were born with abnormal genitals or castrated by parents who regarded them as effeminate and later abandoned them." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world...

Well, I never... So, there's more to this book than drugs.

I found Dimple's story the most engaging; for me she was the central character. Her hijra status was fascinating, and her comments on sexuality were very interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(S...

I did find Dimple's story more engaging than Mr Lee's, but I liked the way that the story diverged into this other storyline. For me it showed exactly the kind of tangent that drugged trains of thoughts are often characterised by. Suddenly we're in what is in some way an irrelevant story. And we may almost forget where we really are, where the story really dwells right now. But it doesn't matter, if the new story engages us with its diversion.

Dimple is certainly the most developed character, such that, in many ways, it's her story.

You are so right about irrelevant details and 'drugged trains of thought." I'd forgotten that. It makes it a difficult read though. Unfortunately the new story did not engage me. At this point I could well have given up, but because I had committed to the book I kept going.

I agree that Dimple is central to the story. However, I really liked the tangent of Mr Lee' s story, and that of his parents, and how he ended up in Bombay. Dimple is quite an enigmatic, soulful character; she seems strong yet vulnerable at the same time, which makes her very engaging.

Good insight about Dimple, Dierdre. She is in many ways strong, but very vulnerable at the same time.

I enjoyed all the tangents. Diversions can be engaging and amusing, and I found that Mr. Lee's story was quite such. I think what helped, though, was that I was kind of expecting such diversion. I knew I was probably being led away from the 'main' story.

It reminds me of Season Two of the Wire, when all the characters from Season One are moved away from and a whole range of other characters introduced, in a different setting. It was quite an unpopular move, but there was some great story in there.

I remember that season of The Wire. I think I was disappointed for about 10 minutes at the absence of Stringer Bell, but the story, acting and writing soon had me gripped. Narcopolis is reminding me a little of Cloud Atlas in the way it's written. I have to say, I always like when an author surprises the reader in this way.

I found Mr. Lee's story quite engaging. I was honestly happy that we were allowed some temporary escape from the claustrophobic feeling that came with the opium den. I agree that this is Dimple's story, and one of the things that allowed me to enjoy this and other tangents in the novel was the apparent remembrance of Dimple by the author throughout. What I mean to say is, it seemed clear to me that Mr. Lee's story was being heard by Dimple, and it was important for me, the reader, to remember that. Especially when part 2 ends, the reader is given a clear view that this tangent is not a story about how a pipe came to Rashid, but how Mr. Lee helped shape Dimple, for better and worse. There was never a time that I felt Dimple was forgotten or shelved. Even when she is not on the page, her absence is itself a powerful factor, words unspoken, a kind of ghostly presence.