3 out of 4 stars
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The Mangoman by Rishabh Dubey is a novel in the political satire genre, with elements of fantasy and suspense spicing it up. It is the first book in the series.
Oday (pronounced as Udai) Luhar seemingly lacked for nothing in life. Being the son of a powerful politician, Aditya Luhar, he had money which could buy him almost anything, and influence which could garner the rest. The only thing which he had earned without the assistance of either was his friendship with Arjun, without whom Oday was an anchorless boat. Unfortunately for Oday, Arjun falls in love and decides to move away from Oday. That’s when Oday realizes that he lacks the most important thing in his life: motive.
After this startling realization, Oday slits his wrist to free himself from a meaningless life. However, God has other plans and sends Oday back to the world of the living with a gift: he could have any superpower of his choice for one hour everyday on the condition that he would use it to help others. Seems easy, right? Not so, as Oday, Arjun, and his girlfriend Shalini, find out when they embark on a roller coaster ride to save the world.
Mangoman in Hindi translates into ‘Aam Aadmi’, which means the common man (‘Aam’ here means both mango and common). So, from the title itself it is evident that story is going to take things literally, and the author does just that, where he picks up some idiosyncrasies typical to India, and spins them on their head. Sample this, a political party named the ‘Ityadi’ party, or literally the Etc party, which is symptomatic of political parties in India trying to gather votes based on identity politics, rather than addressing public grievances.
Coming to the storyline, a spoilt brat waking up to his potential and responsibility towards humanity, aided by a trusted, nerdy friend, might sound familiar, but it is far removed from other superhero tales. The kind of help Oday thinks of providing, is lighting up someone’s cigarette, using the thruster in his Iron Man suit. Moreover, Oday needs help from Arjun in the first place, to find out people he can help, and how to help them. Eventually the story does wind up in the oft-trodden saving the world and defeating the devil (again, literally) sub-plot, but how the characters reach there, helped on by some crazy permutations (like Superman, Iron Man and Goku put together), is hilarious to read.
The novel is written in third person, which works to its advantage, since most of the chapters begin with some interesting commentary on the present state of affairs, ranging from politics or the tussle between God and the Devil. The writing style could have been a bit sharp, with some portions lacking subtlety. The humor element was too loud and immature in a few places. Despite these flaws, the narration is captivating and has a good flow.
The characters are well sketched. For all his empty headedness, Oday’s most endearing attribute is his innocence, since his mind is a clean slate and hasn’t been socialized. My favorite character though, is Arjun. He not only calls the shots and guides Oday through almost everything, but his dependability, loyalty and wit make him a very likeable character. Shalini’s character on the other hand, is too shallow, and it seems that she is there only to provide comic relief, but it evolves gradually to show that she doesn’t lack emotional depth. Another minor character I liked a lot was Shalini’s butler (called Butler!) who was the background superhero, switching from driver to pilot to aiding the trio in their rescue missions.
Since the author himself is in his late teens, I’m not surprised to report that this rather insane, coming-of-age superhero adventure-cum-satire would impress readers in their late teens the most, though adults might find it entertaining as well. Though the book is largely based in the Indian context, it will be easily understood by global readers, helped on by the author’s exhaustive glossary. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.
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The Mangoman
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