The Best Seller [Paperback]
Arunabha Sengupta (Author)Price:$15.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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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
Product Description
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.
Product Details
- Paperback: 692 pages
- Publisher: CreateSpace (November 6, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 145380398X
- ISBN-13: 978-1453803981
- Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
Most Helpful Customer Reviews A fresh breath of air, December 21, 2010
By CrazyLazy -
This review is from: The Best Seller (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.
philosophy, love and psychology, March 18, 2011
By
Maya (NM United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Best Seller (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.
