Customer Reviews

Transplanted Man

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Following his debut novel, "The Snake Charmer," which was a finalist for a number of important awards, novelist/physician Sanjay Nigam presents a story both touching and humorous.

The title character, known only as the Transplanted Man, is "not only a medical curiosity but one of India's most powerful, popular and some said, wiliest politicians.......His body now harbored seven organs that had once belonged to different people." He has entered a New York City hospital where he is under the care of Dr. Sunit "Sonny" Seth, a young medic prone to sleepwalking and haunted by thoughts of his homeland.

The Transplanted Man hovers on the brink of death yet retains a wryly wise outlook. Sonny valiantly attempts to solve his patient's increasing medical problems, and come to terms with Gwen, and English nurse, whose actions are propelled by impulse rather than reason.

Nigam's gift for creating unforgettable characters is again showcased with Dr. Ranjan, an insomniac scientist who searches for the cause of insomnia, a psychotherapist who passes himself off as a New Age guru in order to make ends meet, and an egomaniacal actor with political aspirations.

With the Indian area of Queens as his backdrop Sanjay Nigam luminously paints a culture little known to most. In the hands of this author Little India becomes a place all will want to visit.

- Gail Cooke
.

Following his debut novel, "The Snake Charmer," which was a finalist for a number of important awards, novelist/physician Sanjay Nigam presents a story both touching and humorous.
The title character, known only as the Transplanted Man, is "not only a medical curiosity but one of India's most powerful, popular and some said, wiliest politicians.......His body now harbored seven organs that had once belonged to different people." He has entered a New York City hospital where he is under the care of Dr. Sunit "Sonny" Seth, a young medic prone to sleepwalking and haunted by thoughts of his homeland.
The Transplanted Man hovers on the brink of death yet retains a wryly wise outlook. Sonny valiantly attempts to solve his patient's increasing medical problems, and come to terms with Gwen, and English nurse, whose actions are propelled by impulse rather than reason.
Nigam's gift for creating unforgettable characters is again showcased with Dr. Ranjan, an insomniac scientist who searches for the cause of insomnia, a psychotherapist who passes himself off as a New Age guru in order to make ends meet, and an egomaniacal actor with political aspirations.
With the Indian area of Queens as his backdrop Sanjay Nigam luminously paints a culture little known to most. In the hands of this author Little India becomes a place all will want to visit.

- Gail Cooke

Populated with oddball yet endearing characters, Nigam's Little India (the one in Queens, not the commercial district in central Manhattan) is a byway for immigrants and second-generation citizens who are somehow caught between their country of ancestry and their new home--in a word, "transplanted." Mirroring their lives is the title character of the story, an Indian government minister who has undergone a rather mind-boggling series of organ transplants and who has admitted himself to the regional hospital.

Hovering around this inspirational figure is a cast of local residents who, in varying degrees, live in a somnambulistic state--between worlds, both figuratively and literally. The Transplanted Man's doctor, a resident with a reputation as a miracle worker, has a penchant for sleepwalking through the city streets in his underwear. A hypokinetic homeless man shuffles glacially through the neighborhood, resting in a spot where he becomes a tourist attraction to those looking for spiritual enlightenment (or who just want to see this peculiar specimen of streetlife). A research scientist suffering from insomnia succeeds, and fails, and succeeds again at his attempt to isolate the factor that causes humans to sleep. Nightmares plague a restaurateur who has sold his soul, along with his traditional "spicy spicy" menu, for an Indian-American fusion cuisine that is palatable to Anglo-American tastes. And there are other uneasy eccentrics; Nigam imagines a multitude of troubled yet charmed individuals struggling to live the American dream--yet unable to achieve even a good night's sleep.

Emphasizing the allegorical nature of Nigam's novel, however, disguises its whimsical beauty and its guffawingly funny scenes. Its unique blend of soap opera characters and sitcom moments, with a touch of magic realism and Bollywood mirth, makes for a pleasurable, memorable read.

This book presents five intertwining stories taking place in a New York hospital. All characters are of Indian origin--except for the hero's nymphomaniac girlfriend.
The author moves us from plot to plot in a seamless manner, but the pace of the novel is slow, hypokinetic.
The description of the Indian psyche and customs is superb. This reviewer had several Indian roommates. One of them, a brilliant and eccentric physics student, even tried to stab him in the kitchen and succeeded in throwing him over a pot of curried chicken; all this over a girl, Satya, aka Karen. Numerous close academic friends dot his existence and he can relate to the intricacies of their minds.
The characters are well developed and diverse. The dialog is well crafted, although excessive in places. Good use is made in several places, of one-sentence paragraphs to emphasize the dramatic effect. Book has a humorous overtone that is pleasant, but lacks a great, over arching denouement. It peters out at the end, rather than going out in a bang. The hero never meets his father. The transplanted man does not make it back to India to cleanse the country from its many vices. The dog returns to the street. The girl moves on.

An intelligently written, hugely entertaining book, 'The Transplanted Man' captures the desi (immigrant?) experience with sensitivity and humor. The book is replete with a cast of very human characters - Nigam, unfortunately regresses into being a diagnostician and quite literally spells out their failings, the one fatal flaw that stands between them and their happiness. Much as I enjoyed the book, especially when Nigam waxes eloquent about beloved glomeruli ('tall, proud, tamarind hued'!!), and Sonny's love affair with coffee, I could not help wishing that Nigam had delved deeper into the psyches of his characters and indeed, into the dynamic nature of happiness and sadness.

If you liked "Confederacy of Dunces", "Son of the Circus" (or any John Irving), or "Alice in Wonderland", run out and get this book. "Transplanted Man" has an incredible number of richly defined characters that dance in an out of each other's lives in a tightly choreographed ballet that mimics real life. I say "mimics", because many of these characters are so outrageous and wacky. Yet, somehow, they are also so believable. I found bits of myself in all of them. Philosophy aside, this is just a fun read. I think it can be read simply for the great twists and turns of the plots and the colorful characters, as well as a metaphor for the search for the meaning of life. I probably missed a lot of nuances of American Indian life, due to my very Caucasian upbringing, but this only whetted my appetite for more spice Indian food and, since I heard the phrase "Bollywood" for the first time, perhaps even take in an Indian movie. Especially rewarding is the ending, which inexplicably ties up all the lose ends and lets the reader know the fate of each character.

this novel vibrates with human interactions. there is a strong sense of human inter-relation and co-existence--from the hypo-kinetic man to a bollywood superstar trying desperately to hang on to his youth--everyone is tied together. the characters are lively and enjoyable. like the particles of an atom, energy is created as the chacters revolve around one another. each one polerizing and then bouncing off of the other. this is a wonderful book & i would highly recommend it to anyone.

What a hoot of a book. Sanjay Nigam's captivating novel is a different take on the Indian diaspora and a fine addition to that list of good reads penned by Indian writers. Sonny Seth is a resident in a large hospital in New York City's Little India. Sonny's a pretty straightforward guy--an Indian-American from Arizona, a gifted physician--except that he sleepwalks nightly around the neighborhood dressed only in boxer shorts and shoes no matter what the weather. Sleeping the night through is an issue with many in Little India, meaning that Sonny is one of the few people who doesn't know about his pre-dawn strolls.

The Transplanted Man is one of Sonny's patients. He is an Indian politician who is in terrible condition and whose failing body has been patched together by a series of organ transplants. After seven of these procedures, his body now contains a vital organ donated by someone from each of India's major religions, which has turned out to be an enormous advantage in a nation as divided as that one. His prayer is that, because he can now truly represent all Indians, he will be able to make amends for his corrupt past.

Sonny's co-workers are a bizarre lot, the patients are even kookier, and the neighbors may be the nuttiest of all. There's an engineer who has chomped a hunk out of his wife's buttock, a psychotherapist who finds himself playing a New Age guru in order to make a living, and a scientist who can't sleep seeking the cause of insomnia. There's a current of disruption and disturbance running through Little India, but Nigam makes it such a vibrant place full of wackily appealing characters that he could make its subway stop in Queens a tourist destination.

"The Transplanted Man" is a charming and thoughtful book with a great deal of affection for its characters. With this novel and his first, "The Snake Charmer," Sanjay Nigam is proving himself a writer of scope and heart.

It was inevitable given the number of Indian medical doctors here in that US; someone had to turn into a writer. Well, Sanjay Nigam is one such MD turned writer. In this book, he presents a smorsgasboard of characters all (but two) Indian, living in Little India in New York. We meet the namesake of the book, who is an old politician so named because he has had numerous organ transplants. Attending to him is Dr. Seth, who is prone to sleepwalking and has the magical healing touch. Then there is Dr. Ranjan, a scientist who has invented the drug that may cause sleeplessness -- imagine the possibilities for college students and night shift workers. There is also a psychotherapist, Dr. Giri, who masquerades as a new age guru to make ends meet. Then there is Tiger, the restaurant owner who makes "spicy-spicy" foods and claims royal heritage. There is Manny, the hospital orderly who has a voice like Kishore Kumar. Rounding up the non-Indian casts are two Indophiles -- Gwen, a British expat and Alvin, a 60's American hippie. In a sense, all the people are transplanted men really; so the name of the book is a metaphor for each one of them. And all are in love more with the idea of India than the real India; hence their transplanted status. The book was an enjoyable read, although I cannot see how a Western (or a non-Indian) reader will find it interesting -- there is too much Indian pop culture interspersed in the book. None of the non-Indian friends I know have heard of Sholay, or know who Veeru and Jai were. Likewise, I am sure none of them have heard a Kishore Kumar song. All nuances that you need to understand in order to really enjoy this book.

This book was quite amazing. It gets the reader totally involved in the characters and plot. Another fantastic book by Dr. Nigam. I thoroughly enjoyed the Snake Charmer but this 2nd novel by Nigam has proven that he is one of the premier writers.