BOOK REVIEW. THE RISING MAN

THE RISING MAN BY ABIR MUKHERJEE
The cover is an eye-catching one with a predominance of yellow framed in black and to make sure that it is not missed there is a central red orb. The Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee was my choice after reading Linwood Barclay’s trilogy and as I had no desire to read another ‘cop story’ in the traditional sense I read Mukherjee’s tale of Imperial India. Captain Wyndham, a survivor of the Great War and with only a few years under his belt as a London detective sails out to Calcutta to find himself.

The writer excels himself in the way that he portrays the aristocratic British class system that has the imperfections of unadulterated arrogance. It is amplified even more with their behaviour to and with the natives and, even more so, with his portrayal of the aspects of Indian life. Of course, how could you dare to be of mixed birth, in a country where being an ‘half-caste’ is not acceptable to any of the communities. Prejudice leaps off the page!

Yes, this is another crime story with our good man Captain Wyndham and is more than able native assistant Surrender-not given the opportunity to solve the murder of a white sahib. It is happening in 1919 and the great British Empire is congratulating itself on another victory at a cost only achievable by the cannon fodder of the colonies and there is the strong indication of even more monumental change.

I enjoyed reading this book, but again we have a super hero in Captain Wyndham who is able to continue with hardship and injuries. It seems common amongst writers that all the heroes have to have super-human strength to achieve the desired result. I liked it. I will not even ask for your views on the intricacies of the plot and even it's plausibility. That is for you to decide when you read it.