Once Upon an Elephant [Paperback]

Ashok Mathur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

Once Upon an Elephant is a contemporary tale of Hindu deity Ganesh and what happens when worlds, cultures, and stories collide.

A whimsical, contemporary retelling of the creation story of Ganesh—the elephant-headed Hindu deity—Once Upon an Elephant is rife with humour and political satire.

When the police find unusual boy parts—a young man's head and an elephant's body—they assume a murder has been committed, and the case goes to trial. But the appearance of Vighnesvara, a manifestation of Ganesh with the body of a young man and the head of an elephant, in the courtroom of ultra-conservative Judge McEchern throws things into chaos.

Around the world statues of Ganesh are drinking offered milk, and poor Judge McEchern has troubles enough with his carnival court: witnesses who testify in languages other than English, testimony from an accused who grows extra arms at will, and a murder victim, with the head of an elephant, who refuses to stay dead.

Ganesh is known as the lord of obstacles, and Once Upon an Elephant is strewn with them, twisting, turning, and thwarting expectations about race, class, and sexuality, all within a page-turning murder mystery.

This was Ashok Mathur's first novel; his second novel, The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar, is also available from Arsenal Pulp Press.

(arsenalpulp.com )

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mathur's novel is as funny as it is smart . . . the tone is wry, sly and perfectly suited.
—Toronto Star (Toronto Star )

About the Author

Ashok Mathur is the author of two previous novels, both published by Arsenal: Once Upon an Elephant and The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar. He is the Director of the Centre for Innovation in Culture and the Arts in Canada at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, Canada.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551520583
• ISBN-13: 978-1551520582
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,439,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic indian mythology hilariously revisited., January 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once Upon an Elephant (Paperback)

Author Ashok Mathur revisits the mythology surrounding the birth of Ganesh, the Hindu God portrayed as a human with an elephant head. The story is told in the guise of a contemporary mystery with Ganesh himself as both murderer and victim. As the tale unravels, the reader is continuously transported between the mythology and the current events that have lead to the investigation. Mathur's induction of the tale into contemporary time is what makes the story both fascinating and hilarious. His clever use of recent past events, namely the miracle of the milk-drinking Ganesh statues amongst indian communities all over the world, brings the reader even closer to the story than if we had not already been given a taste of such phenomena. The investigation of the alleged crime is a self-reflexive comical romp in which neither traditional social mores or cultural differences are spared. I enjoyed the author's manipulation of the tale immensely, laughed uproariously, and would recommend it to all readers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When stories collide, April 2, 2003

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once Upon an Elephant (Paperback)

When the remains of a man's head and an elephant's body are found, police detectives Simpson and Delilah are called to investigate. It seems like a strange, yet straight-forward, homicide. Until Vighnesvara appears, and he's a version of the Hindu god Ganesh who appears with the body of a man and the head of an elephant. He, along with the suspected murderer who has a tendency to grow extra arms and some witnesses who testify in random languages, create havoc in the courtroom of Judge McEchern, who just wants to go back home. With the help of Simpson's boyfriend Sandip, maybe they all can figure out what's going on. "Once upon an Elephant" is a brilliant and whimsical retelling of Ganesh's creation from Hindu mythology. Flittering among the viewpoints of the characters, the story charms the reader, enlightening and delighting as it progresses.