Turds of Gold by Jugal Mody
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Pages: 304
Price: Rs. 399 INR(Paperback), Rs. 225 INR(Kindle Edition)
ISBN: 978–9354894206
Buy here: https://amzn.to/3FI2Kf5
My take on the book:
Nikunj is not sure of his career path and hence starts off as his father Vipulbhai’s caregiver when his father suffered a sudden stroke. Dhiraj who is a professional caregiver advices Nikunj to become a full-time caregiver after Nikunj successfully completes few freelance caregiver assignments. Mumbai city is struck by a severe gastric epidemic and Nikunj suddenly realizes he is the Tatti Raja that Mumbai’s residents have been waiting for, after his magic to help people poop starts working.
Nikunj’s life changes when he meets one such patient Kalpeshbhai who is suffering from severe constipation and has not pooped in the last two decades. Will Nikunj be able to make the unimaginable happen with his magic for Kalpeshbhai forms the rest of the story.
The very unique blurb is the reason I was tempted to pick this one and it did not disappoint at all. The book is meant to be a satire on multiple things — starting from those doctors who treat patients without proper qualification and experience, by taking advantage of the desperation and stupidity of their patients.
I liked the representation of woman in Nikunj’s family as they achieve a lot of success without being cliched characters. Also, the underlying representation of Gujarati community throughout the story is well designed by the author. The dilemmas and insecurities of the current generation, especially with excessive usage and dependence on social media for acceptance is included nicely in the narration.
The highlight of the story however is the author’s imagination of a weird scenario and weaving a hilarious story around it. Humor and satire as genres are not much explored in Indian fiction, but the author does complete justice as humor can quickly go out of hand when not handled well. Humor apart, the story narrates sensibly the plight of those who are temporarily or permanently disabled and what it means for the family to be taking care of them.
Few sections of the story involving Nikunj, Fehmida, Ghaps and Buzzcut could have been edited better. The humor in the book especially towards the end may not be accepted by everyone so pick this one if you can accept humor and satire for what it is and not be offended.
My rating:
4/5.
This review is part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program.