Read an excerpt
See all author's titles
252 pages hardcover
Finished books available
Canada: Raincoast, Apr 2004
U.S.: Algonquin Books, Spring 2005
Germany: Europa Verlag, Aug 2005
World Chinese Rights (excl.Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau): Business Weekly Publications, Aug 2007
(Photo: Tushna Shroff)
Anosh Irani was born and brought up in Bombay, India, and moved to Vancouver in 1998. He is the author of the acclaimed novels The Cripple and His Talismans and The Song of Kahunsha. His play Bombay Black was a 2006 Dora winner for Outstanding New Play. Anosh's first full-length play, The Matka King, premiered at the Arts Club Theatre Company, Vancouver, in October 2003.
a novel by Anosh Irani
A MODERN-DAY, INDIAN, MALE RENDITION OF ALICE'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
A fable set in the chaos of Bombay, The Cripple and His Talismans marks the emergence of a unique, engaging voice. By turns philosophical, funny, violent, and tender, The Cripple and His Talismans tells the many-layered, surreal story of an amputee in search of his lost arm. Alienated from his privileged upbringing by his handicap, the unnamed narrator sets off on his quest. He encounters bizarre and fascinating characters: a beggar who lives under an egg cart; a leper who bites off his own finger and presents it to the cripple; a lady who sells rainbows; a blind man who cannot go to the bathroom unless he hears the sound of a train; and a mysterious coffin-maker.
The cripple soon becomes a riddle-solver, and the trail of clues inevitably leads him to a godlike character named Baba Rakhu—a master of the underworld who procures and sells lost limbs. From Baba, the narrator learns the story of his lost arm and a new maxim: that the world cannot be changed by ending suffering, but by a more judicious distribution of it.
One of the most unusual aspects of this book is its combination of traditional storytelling techniques with a compelling modern sensibility. The author takes the reader on a journey with the logic of dreams (or nightmares), peeling back layer after layer of the story while guiding us through the Bombay underworld and back out again. The energy of the main narrative—our very modern anti-hero's search for meaning—is strengthened with each layer and each revelation.
PRAISE FOR THE CRIPPLE AND HIS TALISMANS
“A highly imaginative novel, full of humour, poetry and insights, written in a beautiful, spare style. Throughout the narrative looms a great city, Bombay, crazily reflected in the life of one of its inhabitants who, by means baffling, heinous, desperate and often very funny, seeks to embrace the divine with both arms.” — YANN MARTEL, author of Life of Pi
“[Irani's] brilliant debut novel, The Cripple and His Talismans, radiates with the energy of Bombay, albeit a dark energy... Irani commands attention from the first sentence.” — THE GLOBE AND MAIL
“[The Cripple and His Talismans] is an impressive debut, a beautifully written modern-day fable about a man on a quest to find his missing arm.” — OTTAWA CITIZEN
“[The Cripple and His Talismans] makes demands on the reader, but our effort is triply rewarded — first, by the lush imagery of the writing; second, because of its surprises and, finally, because of its deep moral gravity.... This debut novel marks a step in the evolution of Canadian literature.” — THE VANCOUVER SUN
“Darkly comic and brave, this novel has no fear when it comes to facing the lepers, beggars and prostitutes of the city. Irani seeks out territory that would frighten away other writers.... The book's sheer audacity and humour elevate it well above the level of most first novels.” — QUILL & QUIRE
“[A] lush debut novel...an undercurrent of dark humor as well as Irani's atmospheric evocation of Bombay enliven this compelling story.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY