Book Review: Transmission

By Hari Kunzru

Yes, this is the chap who's first novel, The Impressionist, broke all records for the most amount of money made signing a debut novel. Unfortunately, I never got around to reading it, as it looked big and boring. Transmission, however, looked a lot less imposing, and a lot more interesting.

It was. Its quite an interesting book, in the oddest way. You know what is going on, you know how it is going on, even though the narrative wildly switches between characters, but you aren't exactly sure why its going on. The three characters seemed so incredibly disjointed, right upto the end of the book.

Ah, what is the book about, you ask? Its about a Computer Programmer from Noida, who gets his shot at the American Dream, goes abroad, and has his dream shattered. First, unable to find a job, and then unable to keep one in the face of economic slowdown, he, in frustration releases the most deadly virus the world has ever seen, upon, well, the world at large.

Well, after this, as you may suspect, disaster ensues. And this is how the three characters are linked up, the effect on each of them. Again, as with each book, I refuse to give spoilers, so you'll have to go read it for the plot.

The book is intelligently crafted, though takes Bollywood a little too jocularly. The characters are all sadly real, and victims of circumstance. But the best thing about the book is the ending. Its unreal, it sort of defies the normal logic of literature, not in its content, but in the way it is presented. It is somewhat like a Martin Scorsese film. Go read it, this is great material, and short enough not to cut too far back on your time.