’It’s true what they say - it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us. When there’s only a little, it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us.’ From a cramped, ant-infested house to a spacious bungalow, a family finds itself making a transition in many ways. The narrator, a sensitive young man, is numbed by the swirl around him. All he can do is flee every day to an old-world cafe, where he seeks solace from an oracular waiter. As members of the family realign their equations and desires, new strands are knotted, others come apart, and conflict brews dangerously in the background. Masterfully translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur, Ghachar Ghochar is a suspenseful, playful and ultimately menacing story about the shifting consequences of success. "Vivek Shanbhag is an Indian Chekov, illuminating the romantic and financial tensions in middle-class urban India with a doctor’s precision and sensitivity. Here is an India that is immediately recognizable to Indians, not an exotic concoction fabricated for a foreign audience. Ghachar Ghochar kept me riveted from start to finish." ― Suketu Mehta "Vivek Shanbhag writes engagingly about the entrapments and petty tyrannies of Indian family life. There’s a little of R.K. Narayan in him - a little of Chekhov too. He has a fine comic touch, but he is dealing in personal disasters." ― Ian Jack "A remarkable novel about the fragile civilities of bourgeois life. The reader becomes absorbed in the unforgiving self-knowledge and expansive humanity contained in every page." ― Amit Chaudhuri 'vivek Shanbhag Is An Indian Chekhov, Illuminating The Romantic And Financial Tensions In Middle-class Urban India With A Doctor's Precision And Sensitivity' - Suketu Mehta 'it's True What They Say - It's Not We Who Control Money, It's The Money That Controls Us. When There's Only A Little, It Behaves Meekly; When It Grows, It Becomes Brash And Has Its Way With Us.' From A Cramped, Ant-infested House To A Spacious Bungalow, A Family Finds Itself Making A Transition In Many Ways. The Narrator, A Sensitive Young Man, Is Numbed By The Swirl Around Him. All He Can Do Is Flee Every Day To An Old-world Cafe, Where He Seeks Solace From An Oracular Waiter. As Members Of The Family Realign Their Equations And Desires, New Strands Are Knotted, Others Come Apart, And Conflict Brews Dangerously In The Background. Masterfully Translated From The Kannada By Srinath Perur, Ghachar Ghochar Is A Suspenseful, Playful And Ultimately Menacing Story About The Shifting Consequences Of Success. A young man's close-knit family is nearly destitute when his uncle founds a successful spice company, changing their fortunes overnight. As they move from a cramped, ant-infested shack to a larger house on the other side of Bangalore, and try to adjust to a new way of life, the family dynamic begins to shift. Allegiances realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background. Things become “ghachar ghochar”—a nonsense phrase uttered by one meaning something tangled beyond repair, a knot that can't be untied.Elegantly written and punctuated by moments of unexpected warmth and humor, Ghachar Ghochar is a quietly enthralling, deeply unsettling novel about the shifting meanings—and consequences—of financial gain in contemporary India.
