Evil: An Investigation

Ever since the Devil tempted Adam and Eve with the apple (consequently, earning them the wrath of the Almighty and banishment from Paradise), Old Nick has slunk about on the world stage in a host of guises, from the garish to the banal, going about his nasty business - an assassination here, a homicidal rampage there, a mass suicide.

It is a daunting enterprise, tackling a subject as recondite as evil. But Morrow brings to the task all those virtues that make him one of the world’s finest living writers: a keen sense of perception and history, a flair for argument and analysis, and – most important – an ability to express even the most abstract of ideas with telling precision, in language of the highest order.

Through this 266-page dissertation, Morrow - often described as the “master of the think piece” - discusses evil in all its manifestations, whether elusively metaphysical or in such obvious incarnations as Bin Laden, Jack the Ripper, the Marquis de Sade and Hitler. He talks about the similarities between humour and evil, offers interesting anecdotes to illustrate complex perspectives, sets his eyepiece on some of evil’s ambiguities, and tries to understand the pathology of this malign force on both global as well as personal levels – the nature of evil in war, and as it resides in the darker recesses of the id, for example.

In much the same vein as he has handled many of his essays for TIME magazine, Morrow uses rhetoric and elegant prose – and here is where the charm of the book lies. Less theology than philosophy, this tome offers no pat answers to perplexing questions of evil, but it certainly enthuses the everyday reader to cogitate upon a subject that has obsessed theodicists for eons.

On a lighter note: with Morrow hot on his tail, Old Nick had better keep a low profile…

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

I read Kiran Desai’s Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard after reading The Inheritance of Loss, moving down the author’s evolutionary ladder, so to speak. The exercise proved instructive. Hullabaloo, Desai’s literary debut, is full of intimations of the greater work to come. It has the tropes and stylistic elements that define Inheritance (comedic satire, animated dialogue, endearingly eccentric characters), though, understandably, it lacks the literary sophistication and conceptual heft of its successor.

Hullabaloo tells the story of Sampath Chawla who, having become disenchanted with life in general, takes up permanent residence in a guava tree in an orchard adjacent to his hometown. Ensconced in this verdant idyll, he acquires the aura of a “guru”, attracting large crowds – and eventually, a band of monkeys whose drunken antics are a cause for concern.

The book begins well, focusing on Sampath and the angst that drives him. However, in an attempt to profile other characters by offering multiple points of view, the author all but sidelines the protagonist. By the time the manic monkeys have done their worst and scrambled over the last treetop, Sampath is reduced to a… well, no spoilers here!

Hullabaloo soars to literary heights in places, but generally reads like a children’s book (especially in slapstick comedy situations). This is not to say that it isn’t hugely entertaining. In the final analysis, it’s worth the bucks, not just for academicians who seek to broaden their perspective on Desai, but also for those readers who’d like something light for the summer.