The Death of Vishnu: A Novel (P.S.)
The Death of Vishnu: A Novel (P.S.) book cover

The Death of Vishnu: A Novel (P.S.)

Paperback – Bargain Price, January 8, 2008

Price
$24.30
Format
Paperback
Pages
320
Publisher
Harper Perennial
Publication Date
Dimensions
5.31 x 0.72 x 8 inches
Weight
8.8 ounces

Description

“A delightful and rich first novel…lyrical.” (Wall Street Journal )"Deft and confident ." (New York Times Book Review )"The reader is swept away by Suri's fresh, witty observations and tender comic moments." (Seattle Times )"[A] literary accomplishment… eloquent, refined and tasteful. (Washington Post Book World )"[THE DEATH OF VISHNU] reads like the work of a highly skilled and experienced practitioner of the writer's craft." (The Los Angeles Times Book Review )"Suri, at his best, reveals not only a collision of modern and mythic India but a commingling of them." (San Fransisco Chronicle )"Marvelously life-embracing … THE DEATH OF VISHNU is a seamlessly constructed, quietly eloquent work of art." (Newsday )“Enchanting…Masterfully created…No telling detail or private vanity escapes the author’s comic yet infinitely compassionate scrutiny.” (Boston Globe ) Manil Suri, a native of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), has lived in the United States since 1979. He is a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker . The Death of Vishnu , a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, is the first novel in a trilogy.

Features & Highlights

  • Vishnu, the odd-job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing. Around him the lives of the apartment dwellers unfold: the warring housewives on the first floor, lovesick teenagers on the second, and the quietly grieving widower on the top floor of the building. In a fevered state Vishnu looks back on his love affair with the seductive Padmini and wonders if he might actually be the god Vishnu, guardian of the entire universe.
  • Blending incisive comedy with Hindu mythology and a dash of Bollywood sparkle,
  • The Death of Vishnu
  • is an intimate and compelling view of an unforgettable world.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(98)
★★★★
20%
(65)
★★★
15%
(49)
★★
7%
(23)
28%
(91)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Brilliant!

What a brilliant story! Beautifully written. Captivating. Deserves all the accolades, adjectives and adverbs you would want to attribute to a great book.
1 people found this helpful
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Worth your time if you like character development.

I hope Mr. Suri is reading these reviews. If you are - it must be so rewarding to just go on the internet and read how real people feel after reading your work - 10 years (?) from the time you wrote it.

This is one of the best character developments I have read in a work of fiction. The most profound was Mr. Taneja and I kept wondering if Mr. Suri ever knew a Mr. Taneja personally. Oh well, that was my best guess.

The book might drag a bit towards the middle but it is so beautifully concluded that I might even go back and read the last 1/4th of the book.

Please continue writing Mr. Suri.
1 people found this helpful
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A "JEANNE'S LIST" SELECTION FOR: PERSONAL GROWTH THROUGH FICTION

Jeanne Shutes chose this fine novel and four others to explore a theme in her seminar, Self Awareness through Literature--the longest running book group known (>40 years). If you're interested in the other works of fiction she chose for this theme or would like other fine recommendations for your book club/group, go to the blog devoted to Jeanne's choices: personalgrowththroughfiction.blogspot.com.
1 people found this helpful
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Loved this Book

Honestly I LOVED this book - I thought it was hilarious and wonderfully written. Vinod Taneja was my favorite character in the book, I'm surprised more people didn't adore him...to be honest I wish the reader had been able to get inside of his head and into his story more. The Asrani family is pretty typical of selfish middle-class Indian families taking after the wealthier families in Bombay/Mumbai (and even Dehli/Ahmedabad). I found it entertaining bc their actions and thoughts were written so honestly, most definitely not over the top, that it almost seemed as though he had told a true story. I highly recommend this book to everyone :o)
1 people found this helpful