Vishnu, the odd-job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing. In his fevered state, he looks back on his love affair with the seductive Padmini while all around him is played out the drama of the apartment-block dwellers: Mrs Pathak and Mrs Asrani's ferocious bickering over their shared kitchen; Vinod Taneja obsessively playing his dead wife's favourite album; Mr Jalal (a Muslim) dreaming of a pan Hindu/Muslim path to enlightenment while his son Salim plots a film-style elopement with the daughter of the Hindu Asranis downstairs. Then to ignite this mix of social and religious differences comes to Mr Jalal's pronouncement That Vishnu is no ordinary man...

Blending Indian mythology with acutely observed social detail and a dash of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnu is a breathtaking debut.

Condition: Pre-loved book. Moderate yellowing of pages.

Format: Hardcover
Year published: 2001
Pages: 329
Sub-genre: Literary fiction; historical fiction
Imprint: Bloomsbury