Review: The Hundred Names of Darkness by Nilanjana Roy

Title: The Hundred Names of Darkness (The Wildings #2)

Author: Nilanjana S. Roy

Pages: 313

Published: 2013 by Aleph Book Company

Find it at: Amazon

My Rating: 4.5/5!

Book Blurb 

Nilanjana Roy takes us back to the Delhi neighbourhood of Nizamuddin and its unforgettable cats - Mara, Southpaw, Katar, Hulo and Beraal. As they recover slowly from their terrible battle with the feral cats, they find their beloved locality changing around them. Winter brings an army of predators - humans, vicious dogs, snakes, bandicoots along with the cold and a scarcity of food. Unless Mara can help them find a safe haven, their small band will be wiped out forever. With the assistance of a motley group of friends--Doginder, a friendly stray; Hatch, a cheel who is afraid of the sky; Thomas Mor, an affable peacock; Jethro Tail, the mouse who roared; and the legendary Senders of Delhi - Mara and her band set out on an epic journey to find a place where they can live free from danger.

My Thoughts

I'd read the wonderful the Wildings (click link to read review) some years ago. I've had this copy for quite some time (an author-signed copy I got at the launch!) but hadn't got around to reading it till now. I was just as enchanted with the author's writing as I had been with the Wildings. It's simply engaging, lyrical and creative with the ability to pull you into a world run by cats, cheels, rats and others we "Bigfeet" either ignore or mistreat. It's such fun to be reading about the world from the perspective of these creatures. They're as varied as we are, though perhaps not as complicated.

Isn't the cover gorgeous?

The setting is in Nizamuddin, Delhi. In the Hundred Names of Darkness, we follow Mara, the "sender" of Nizamuddin's cats, as she grows and learns. Due to Bigfeet activity, the clan is in danger of being wiped out. It takes Mara a while to realize the level of danger, triggered more so when one of her favourite companions gets lost. Mara realizes the importance of her being a sender and having a responsibility towards her clan. She starts leaving her comfort zone and discovers the world as she never knew it before.

There a bunch of new characters whom I loved. I want to particularly mention Doginder Singh, not only because his name made me glad that I'm not the only one who thinks of such straightforward names, but also because--what a lively, cheerful character! The unique friendship between Mara and Doginder serves to break stereotypes in two ways. One is the parallel metaphor to differences in race and another is Doginder's likes and preferences that represent the breaking-away-from-the-norm by following one's heart. I also liked Hatch's character, a young eagle and son of a super-talented flyer, who stubbornly refuses to fly at all. It's a trying time for Tooth, Hatch's father, to get him up in the sky. Hatch is the embodiment of the hidden feelings of insecurity, lack of knowledge about oneself, and under-confidence. It is so easy to lose faith in someone like that. But sometimes what seems to be at the surface is not what is actually at work on the inside. There could be reasons we don't know about and mostly it could be tackled in a new, surprising way.

Compared with the Wildings, this book was more slow and deliberate. It lingered more on thoughts than action, and it showed places other than the Nizamuddin we knew of from the first book. Gone are some Wildings characters and instead we are introduced to some new ones--both the good and the mean. I felt that the second half of the book was better paced than the first, and there were some parts I wished had been described more when they seemed to get over too quickly or happened in the background.

As for the story, it is doubtless a wonderful tale with hidden meanings and references, narrated in a unique way by the langauge of cats. Artful illustrations at the beginning of each chapter add to the charm. The Hundred Names of Darkness is more 'dark' and sad than the Wildings, especially because we get to see the effect human activity has on nature and wildlife. A particular thing about the ending was just delightful (even though it was predictable)! I recommend this book (this author, this series) if you're interested in good Indian writing.

Review: The Wildings

Author Nilanjana Roy

Title: The Wildings

Author: Nilanjana Roy

The book's website: http://thewildings.net/

Published: 2012 by Aleph Book Company

Pages: 310

Price: Rs. 595

My Rating: 5/5! 

As perplexing as it may seem to be, this book is quite some surprise! I wasn't sure about it when it was up for review at blogadda.com, what with the scary cat on the cover and the premise of the book being cats and their lives in Nizamuddin, Delhi, from the perspective of cats themselves! Lion King types, just minus the lions. However, I'm so glad I asked for it. This book is totally worth your time. I loved every bit of it!

Goodreads blurb!

A small band of cats lives in the labyrinthine alleys and ruins of Nizamuddin, an old neighbourhood in Delhi. Miao, the clan elder, a wise, grave Siamese; Katar, a cat loved by his followers and feared by his enemies; Hulo, the great warrior tom; Beraal, the beautiful queen, swift and deadly when challenged; Southpaw, the kitten whose curiosity can always be counted on to get him into trouble… Unfettered and wild, these and the other members of the tribe fear no one, go where they will, and do as they please. Until, one day, a terrified orange-coloured kitten with monsoon green eyes and remarkable powers, lands in their midst—setting off a series of extraordinary events that will change their world forever.

My thoughts!

The Wildings is the kind of book I hadn't read in a long time. Based on the lives of a small band of cats living in Nizamuddin, among humans whom they call 'Bigfeet' (cute, no? ;) ), this is a tale spun around creatures, stray and otherwise, whom we mostly don't give a passing thought to. Really, what I could think about later, after reading this book was, 'Are we really so engrossed in our lives that we don't even notice these animals?'

It's quite a simple story. There are these wildings, stray cats who love their territory in Nizamuddin, then there are the dargah cats, the ones from the canal, and the most dangerous of all, the ferals in the Shuttered House! The wildings are living their routine lives, when they have a newcomer with the powers of a Sender. Beraal, the queen cat with amazing fighting ability, is sent to find and kill the intruder. But she finds a tiny orange kitten rescued by some Bigfeet, living in their home and unaware of its powers or how to use them! Beraal is charmed by Mara and she decides that she'd train her. Other cats reluctantly agree. I have to say, I loved all characters, they're so well defined! I mean, you'd think how one can define a cat, but here is an author who seems to know cats inside out! And she made them seem so interesting. I never noticed cats (or any animal, for that matter, being wary of them all) and now I don't think I'll ever be able to ignore them anymore. 

Nice cover! ;)

That's where the second best part comes in, the descriptions!!! As you read the book, you're thinking from a cat's perspective and it is quite fascinating. The way they wash themselves, focused on keeping themselves clean, the way they bring up their litter, the way they attack or make loving gestures, the way they hunt, the way they live, basically. It's fascinating. (Oh, I've said that already! Know what I mean?). As I read through, I loved the Nizamuddin cats more and more, especially young Southpaw, an orphan kitten being taken care of by Miao, Hulo and the older cats, with a tail for trouble. The way he's been described, his antics and the way he talks, I grew to love this fictional cat! Then there's the Sender, Mara, with an innocent heart of gold. I really liked the parts where the kitten goes and travels out through her powers, over to the zoo where she makes friends with a pair of tigers and their cub, Rudra. That was something cute, innocent and very child-like, a perspective into the story I really enjoyed. When Rudra gets a new playmate and realizes that he could be hurtful to Mara and his langur friend Tantara, there's a heart breaking moment when Mara realizes he's asking to bring their friendship to a pause. 

Which leads to the next best part about this book. It gives you a lot to think about and is related to the way humans think, too. Rudra is of a different species, and so is Tantara and Mara and she can't understand why it has to be a deterrent in their friendship. Just like humans, like we create classes and categories. There are a few lines and paras I jotted down, just because of their similarity to human life and the philosophical angle, if you look at it that way. 

'In her experience, it was never the bulk of the cat that counted or even the speed of the paw, the sharpness of the claw, as much as it was the ability to conquer one's fears.'

'Some animals are rogues. We don't know why that happens, but its'a bad thing when it does. Those creatures are born with something broken, inside them. If you ever link with their minds, you'll smell it; madness and evil have their own stench, like rotting flesh, and it's best to stay away from the stink'.

'You ought to be careful of the fascinating ones, young Southpaw, they're the most dangerous.'

(I realized all these are related to Southpaw. No wonder I adore that kitten! ;) )

There was a moment where Southpaw, when he meets Mara the first time, tries not to seem less-than-fascinating to this new friend of his. See how he tries to impress her? 

'He saw the adoration in Mara's eyes dim. His ears drooped. He thought fast, wanting to see those lovely green eyes light up again. (says a lot of things). He wondered whether he's overdone it, but Mara's eyes shone with ecstasy.'

Most of all, there's emotion. I loved this aspect of the book, it's totally realistic, takes into account the love and feelings of care among the cats. And not just the cats, there are other creatures too, the dogs, the cheels, the mice and rats and mongoose and bandicoots, the Babblers and the crows and the bulbuls. I can't help stating one cat characteristic I really admire (I'm not sure if it is for real too, having no cat-knowledge) but when Miao takes Southpaw on his first hunt, she tells him, 'Never kill for fun, Southpaw, only for food'. In other instances too, they respected other lives, killing only when they were hungry. Otherwise they lived in peace. Also, I did not like the Shuttered House ferals and their story, but that's how it is. The book is a great read, kind of cute too (in a very different way, not the sickly or cheesy kind of cute) and gives you a lot of perspective. It's very well written, totally engaging and makes you feel things you never thought you would. Mourning the loss of a cat? Yes, I did. Getting happy over a friendship with tigers? I did. The characters were all solid, even the ferals and the mongoose and the cheels. The best part is, humans weren't a part of the story, except for Mara, whose two 'Bigfeet' loved her, that's all. Oh, also the fakir at the dargah who loves cats! And the old Bigfeet in the Shuttered House. 

What made it even more interesting, if possible, is the fact that the book has so many illustrations (by Prabha Mallya)! Of the cats and rats and others, according to the story. They were absolutely wonderful! :)

This is an amazing book, I'm telling you. The cover says, 'The Wildings is bound to be hailed as the most imaginative and accomplished debut by an Indian novelist in years.' You know what? I have no doubts about it. I was never really a fan of Indian novelists, now I guess I can change that thought. :)

I've never before included book trailers! But see this one! 

PS- I wasn't sure where I could put it, but I was so interested with the description of how cats communicated, using the links. The Sending and those powers also perplexed me, though I guess that's fiction. Loved the telepathic idea, it's very innovative!

Recommended for: Everyone, really. Especially experimental readers who'd like to read something refreshing! :) No inappropriate content, so it's for everyone, across all ages! 

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