Customer Reviews

All About H. Hatterr: A Novel

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This is a book whose content and literary importance are nearly inseperable. "The first great stroke of the decolonizing pen," Salman Rushdie (merely one in the great line of authors that Desani made available to themselves and the world) rightly called it. The book's language is its most interesting characteristic: "Hinglish" it has come to be called, proper English Hinduized and thereby made its authors own. The plot itself, while intriguing and playful, does not carry the reader along or provide enough substance to make this book great; the wonderful twists and turns of language and plot that we've come to associate with Indian literature in English is seen here only in germ form. Still, to miss this is to miss a revolution. Its out of print, but hopefully that will change; check the libraries in the meantime, and start a petition for a reprinting or something.

'All about H Hatterr' is an achievement non-pareil (and I'm not only considering Indian-born writers here). This novel captures the adventures of a certain H Hatterr, an Anglo-Indian never-do-good fellow, amongst the seven sages. He gets into all kinds of trouble, always to be bailed out by his devoted friend Bannerji and 'that gem of a lawyer', Y Beliram. Trying to summarise the story would be a gross unjustice to the book, which is superb in content but absolutely brilliant in form. The style, scathingly original, is at times slightly tough to grasp (reminds one of Ulysses and the good old Joyce). Not a very light read, but really enjoyable.

I've had my copy of this book in my library since the year 2000. It was given to me in India by a good friend, who told me it was amazing. He was right. I finally have gotten around to reading it after being initially put off for 9 years by its strangely eclectic language and thoroughly unconventional format. I have since learned that these are just two of this book's extraordinary strengths, as G.V. Desani demonstrates a fantastically freewheeling imagination and healthy creative disregard for traditional novelistic forms. He proceeds to structure his "chapters" like a scientific treatise. However, first he gives us a "Warning!": Dear reader, this isn't a novel, it's a "gesture," but if you can't relate to that, then call it a "novel." Then we are given a kind of preface, called "All About...", followed by ANOTHER "Warning!" and then a "Mutual Introduction." So now you know you're in for something completely different.

By page 39 of my Penguin Books edition, we get to the "chapters." Each one begins with a "Digest," which is a kind of Abstract summary that gives nothing away to the reader. These Digests need to be reread after "digesting" the actual chapter. Following the Digest is the "Instruction" section, which is what we are supposed to learn. Then comes a "Presumption" as to what is assumed by the writer as he goes about relating to us the actual "Life-Encounter" of H. Hatterr, which is the heart of the chapter.

H. Hatterr as a main character is a picaresque cultural mashup of western and eastern thought. He's a seeker and a cynic, a believer and an irreverent skeptic who finds more fraud and nonsense in the world than sincerity. The only sincere person is his loyal friend Banerrji, his Sancho Panza, who loves to quote little fragments from "the Bard" and other western literary icons. Adventure after wildly funny adventure only confirms Hatterr's outlook on life. Yet, genuine spiritual feelings also arise, but they usually are self-generated by Hatterr, not by the sages and gurus he encounters.

The language and style of Desani have clearly influenced other writers, such as Amitav Ghosh. I noticed a similarity between this seminal work and Ghosh's wonderfully freewheeling "Sea of Poppies." The language here is rich, funny, and entertaining. I found myself completely lost in its spell.

Without a doubt, I highly recommend this "novel," "gesture," or whatever you want to call it. Don't compare it to anybody or anything else. It stands up all on its own.

I typically don't review the books I have purchased but I have to say that this is one of the best books I have read in awhile.

I found this book so good that I decided to translate it into French, and actually did it. It was no easy deed, but so gratifying !

Now, no French house as yet has found my work worth publishing.

A pity for both of us : Hatterr and myself.

Salman Rushdie, in his collection of essays "Imaginary Homelands", acknowledges a longstanding debt to G.V.Desani. He paraphrases Desani's H.Hatterr talking about the migration of the fifties and the sixties. "We are. We are here", he says, speaking for Indian writers in England. Rushdie's own prose owes much to Desani, and Saleem Sinai to Hatterr. Desani's prose is rollicking, hilarious, wildly creative and even boisterous, in this book that was written in wartime and published in postwar England, over a decade after R.K.Narayan's gentle little "Swami and Friends". Allan Sealy and, of course, Salman Rushdie are probably the best-known inheritors of the Desani mantle, having learned many tricks of their trade from him. But Desani himself has been sadly underrated for all these years, and, with the book not readily available, one has to hunt for his book in the King's Circle and Churchgate used-book markets of Bombay. Never fear, I discovered my copy there, and so might you. And in doing so, you might, as I did, discover Desani too.

Stop whatever you are doing, whatever you are reading and whatever you are watching and make time for this book. Once you read Hatter your literary life will be easily divided into two parts: Pre-Hatterr and Post Hatter.

Easily the best Indian novel written. And I think Midnight's Children is outstanding. But Hatterr is way ahead of everything else in style.