Ghachar Ghochar

“Ghachar Ghochar” is minimalist storytelling in every sense. It's short, at only 118 pages. It shows only a small part of a family's life together, focusing on two scenes with a few flashbacks to establish characters. But most of all, it tells only part of the story while you have to fill the rest in.

The story is told from the perspective of an unnamed unreliable narrator. He's either hiding information or is ignorant of most of what's going on. So to find meaning in the story, you must read between the lines. Though you could read the story in or or two sittings, it's better to take your time. As you read, take time to think about the part of the story that's being hinted at but not explicitly stated. What's really going on?

It's also thematically rich despite its brevity, dealing with classism, materialism, and traditional conservative family dynamics challenged by more modern sensibilities, most of all by young feminist women.

And possibly also about how society turns a blind eye to murder? Or was there a murder? That's one of the debates about the novel. Because so much of the story is implied rather than stated, you'll have to decide for yourself.

A good little novella, there isn't much room for extra words, and it will make you think. I would highly recommend it if you feel like reading something that seems like a classic but will not take much of your time at all.

Perhaps some rave reviews had raised my expectations too much, but I felt slightly disappointed with this book.

Unusually for me, I think I would have liked the story to be a bit longer. The family changed so much once money entered its life, that I wanted a bit more than just the “then and now”.