The Best Seller [Paperback]

Arunabha Sengupta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2010

Woody Allen's raunchier films, conferences over cannabis, psychiatric analysis in Amsterdam's Red Light District, ancient Indian philosophy, Tai Chi Chuan - do these seem enough to combat the financial downturn? Sandeep, struggling novelist, takes on the roles of clandestine cameraman, ghost blogger and tai chi teacher as he awaits his big break. A convoluted twist of fate lands him in Amsterdam, propelling him through hilarious adventures in the toppling world of economic crisis, the murky domain of publishing, the crazy corporate circus and modern day relationships across mind, body and modem. During months of fruitless preparation of query letters, synopses and self addressed stamped envelopes, he comes across a consultant in love, an e-minded psychiatrist, a Dutch-American financial theorist, an octogenarian scholar, an attractive political science researcher, a visionary entrepreneur and a horde of colourful characters scurrying along in the corporate rat race. The journey towards grand truth and illusion - and the great fuzzy area in between - encompasses credit crisis conferences, hemp adorned coffee shops, personality disorders, packaged philosophy, identity swaps, branding phenomena, the deepest wisdom of the Gita, author evenings, Collateralised Debt Obligations and all conquering love. The novel combines unrestrained insights into the human mind and its networked playfield, doing so with more than a touch of humour.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Five Stars (out of Five)

Sandeep Gupta -- as befits the popular image of a writer -- has held a variety of jobs, the most recent being the ghost blogger for a multinational bank's vice president. He lives in Amsterdam, studies and practices tai chi for stress relief, and as a budding novelist, is trying to goad his procrastinating publisher into getting his first novel printed and distributed.

While pondering the direction his life should take--corporate drone or starving artist--he returns to India to renew his work visa, meets a very interesting woman named Shruti, heeds his tai chi teacher's words of wisdom, impersonates his friend Pritam Mitra at a business conference, and falls in love.

HMH Bank employee Simon van der Wiel provides a cyber-narrative in his Simple Simon blog of the goings-on during Sandeep's imposture of his friend. Sandeep-as-Pritam improvises a presentation based on the Bhagavad Gita at the conference and finds himself on the rise as an innovative thinker on economics. As if that weren't enough, Sandeep acquires a cyber-stalker.

Sandeep is a very busy man.

The bons mots fly thick and fast through the pages of this contemporary novel, which pokes loving fun at corporate culture, techno-gadgets in daily life, romance, traditional Indian customs, geekdom, and a handful of other themes. The wonder of it all is that Sengupta keeps all the threads interwoven in a densely attractive word tapestry which is also very, very funny. Logophiles will be snickering at all the literary in-jokes as well as the pop-culture references.

At 681 pages, The Best Seller is certainly a hefty tome, but the book's size should in no way intimidate the interested reader. Sengupta has delivered a finely tempered blade of a book that takes artful slices at several pretentious elements of modern life. In its scope and length, it's reminiscent of Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, another excellent novel. The Best Seller deserves the attention to match its title. --ForeWord Clarion Review

About the Author

Arunabha Sengupta is an author who has lived and worked around the world. His previous novels are 'Labyrinth - a Novel about the Software Industry' and 'Big Apple 2 Bites' - a tale combining 9/11, Consulting and Aikido.

Product Details

• Paperback: 692 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 145380398X
• ISBN-13: 978-1453803981
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Arunabha Sengupta was born in Kolkata, India. He has worked and lived around the world, basing his novels on the cities where he has lived for a substantial amount of time - Chennai, New York and Amsterdam.
His third novel - The Best Seller - was given a 5 star rating by Foreword Clarion Review. It is set in Amsterdam during the Financial Crisis of 2008 and follows the adventures of a struggling author. Foreword Clarion Reviews wrote: 'The wonder of it all is that Sengupta keeps all the threads interwoven in a densely attractive word tapestry which is also very, very funny. Logophiles will be snickering at all the literary in-jokes as well as the pop-culture references. Sengupta has delivered a finely tempered blade of a book that takes artful slices at several pretentious elements of modern life.'
His first two books - Labyrinth: A novel about the software industry, and Big Apple 2 Bites: A story of Love, Aikido and 9/11 - were said to be among the first ones to feature the Software professional as protagonist.
Sengupta has a black belt in Kobayashi Aikido, and much of the action of his second novel takes place in the New York Aikido headquarters. Sunday Tribune said that the exuberant description of the art in the novel made the reviewer think of learning it himself. The novel has also been identified in Geetha Ganpathy-Dore's 'The Post Colonial Indian Novel in English' as the only Indian novel in English to be based on 9/11.
Analysed in various compilations of Commonwealth Literature, his books have been lauded for changing the stereotypical way that the Indian characters had been depicted in novels over the ages.
Arunabha Sengupta is also a cricket columnist for Zee India's cricket web channel cricketcountry.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars philosophy, love and psychology March 18, 2011

By Maya

Format:Paperback

Yet another masterpiece by a young and talented author.
Set in Amsterdam and spanning across the continents to California and India , the novel reveals the brilliant command the author has on the English language, martial arts , the economy as well as the great Hindu philosophical text- the Geeta.
He manages to weave the skeins of these individual entities into a rich tapestry, shimmering with his own wicked sense of humor apparent in every page.
Though a weighty book,the narrative is never boring and conveyed through seamless transition between prose,delightful repartee, mails and Simons blog.
The darker undercurrents deal with being a struggling author and trying not to compromise ethics while being sucked into the vortex of rejection slips.

People working in the IT industry will identify with the all too familiar shenanigans of everyday corporate life.
The erotomania of Amrita, the simple philosophy of Simon as well as rotund intrusiveness of manager Madhu with her self proclaimed knowledge of psychiatry is entertaining.
These are interspersed with philosphical discussions with the real psychiatrist Dr Roy and his analysis of people and their personalities, these compelling conversations often being held in interesting locations.
The reverence that the author and by extension Sandeep the protagonist, has for the "Professor" is apparent in the exchanges with him over the telephone as well as in person.

Running through the core is the stimulating banter between Sandeep and spirited Shruti while their love blossoms over text messages and haikus. Every encounter is a pun-filled paradise peppered with playfulness and is a treat to savor.

Finally we have the authors own interpretation of the financial crisis as well as his own innovative solution.

A thoughtful and thought-provoking tome, refreshingly written and a riveting read.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An unputdownable read April 11, 2011

By Hermes

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Arunabha Sengupta's `The Best-Seller' is quite an unputdownable read. Set primarily in
Amsterdam, it's a story about a talented but struggling author, Sandeep Gupta, with eclectic interests ranging from writing and mathematics, to tai-chi and sting operations, who manages to get involved in the imbroglio of the IT corporate sector, through a planned identity swap with partial look-alike and old school-buddy Pritam Mitra, a renowned IT consultant. Pritam sets off Europe-trotting with his flame, the dashing Shruti Rattan, who by a strange concatenation of circumstances, is also known to Sandeep.

What follows is a gripping tale that's set rolling when the brilliant Sandeep, in a creative effort to save face, adapts the philosophy of the Gita to deliver a riveting presentation to an IT corporate audience about the role of the consultant in the ups and downs of the corporate world, how to negotiate the ephemeral transitions between highs and lows by performing one's functions assiduously but with a calm detachment from the fruits of action and how to survive the `Mayajal' (the web of illusions) of the corporate life and yet remain steadfast in one's goals. The highly original and non-conventional presentation catapults Sandip to high visibility levels within his group as well as the higher echelons of the company, much to his dislike, since this defeats the purpose of his staying under radar and promoting his writing career which had been his original intention.

We encounter corporate honcho, the visionary Ramesh, trying to team up with Sandip to market the new corporate philosophy which he predicts should reap rich dividends, the fundamentally insecure and domineering manager Madhu Deb with a secret crush on Sandip, the madly-in-love Amrita who is prepared to go any length for his affections (in some sense, playing Radha to Sandip's Krishna in this reader's opinion), the keenly observant, thoughtful and cynical Simon van der Weil, the electronically inclined psychiatrist Dr. Suprakash Roy.

The novel rolls on, through many twists and turns, following Sandeep's boisterous voyage on corporate seas. It finally comes to an end with a decision between the real, ethical and virtual world, between dedication and gimmicks, between love and obsession. The choice, as outlined by the Gita, lies with us.

Laced with acerbic wit and literary allusions, `The Best-Seller' manages to be both funny and tragic as well as flippant and profound at the same time.
The author's portrayal of characters is admirable, his erudition impressive, his narrative gripping. The philosophical discourses do have a tendency to get a little heavy at times and the length of the novel is formidable, but when all is said and done, I have little doubt that `The Best-Seller' will live up to its name.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh breath of air December 21, 2010

By CrazyLazy

Format:Paperback

This book is like a morning star alone and ungrouped, amidst a milieu of stars and asteroids in the literary firmament, shimmering in ancient wisdom and philosophy of life and emphasising the ways and nuances of interpreting our own lives and making our own choices as we go along. It also makes a case for understanding the subtle distinction between truth-like and the Truth and carefully choosing the latter.

Seldom has any author attempted to reconcile the complex ambitions of human minds by putting on conference a psychiatrist, a political science student, an information technology worker, a young multi-faceted hero who expresses his love both through Shakespearean drama and Tai-Chi rigour and finally an aging saintly professor who passes to his protégés his unbounded faith and erudition from ancient Indian canons viz. the Gita, the Upanishads and the Mahabharata. Also what is interesting are the multi-cultural discussions around the self-contradicting India and the self- introspective
Dutchland.

The presentation style is contemporary and unique through the usage of chat transcripts and blogs which are the modern mantra of corporate and social networking. Every page of this book has got a thrill, many wonderful alliterations and expressions of humour, mostly leaning on sarcasm whose poignancy leaves our mind badly bruised and scarred... and makes us reflect those very shades on our own personal lives. Makes us feel like a journey ... a real one towards truth.

Choosing characters, from the sphere of Information Technology, who are working in large global corporations with vaunted identities, makes it a very interesting read for the real IT professionals. This book is highly recommended for all multi-national knowledge workers at varying echelons of the corporate ladder who wish to take a fresh perspective of their lives and start preparing for avoiding their premature career burnouts. Also in some cases this journey may help them to turn their attention towards other vocations in life which could even foliate priceless enjoyment.

Lastly, it discusses the age old dilemma in relationships between a man and a woman ... and without attempting to draw any conclusion just leaves it to one's own faculty, maturity and mental frequency to decide on how and what can create the resonance of two minds.

My gratitude goes to the author for turning this honest book out from his own sweatshop each page finely calligraphed in crimson.