The Caretaker

A.X. Ahmad has given us an unusual and fascinating lead character in this debut thriller. On the most basic level, we learn about the military conflict between India and Pakistan and about the Sikh religion and we travel to the wealthy pockets of Martha's Vineyard and the working class parts of urban Boston. But The Caretaker stands out because former Indian Army Captain Ranjit Singh is so real. Singh suffers from PTSD and his conversations with the men that he's lost gives us an idea of the demons that he carries. The PTSD and appearance of these presences reminded me of Charles Todd's Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge series set in England after WWI, but Singh's problems are particular to a dark skinned man with a turban living and show more working in the US today. Singh doesn't have the skills or a US degree. He's overstayed on his tourist visa and must find a way to support his family as an undocumented worker.

He's tried working at his wife's uncle's Asian goods store as a clerk and all around handyman. Sorting insects from the ice, ringing up purchases, unpacking spices and lentils for below minimum wage and having to act grateful for the job has taken its toll on his spirits. On a tip from one of the Latino cooks, Singh moves his family to Martha's Vineyard and tries to make a living as a handyman/caretaker.

Ahmad captured the feeling of being an outsider, of missing one's home country, of being evaluated and labeled that many foreign nationals feel when they emigrate. With his turban, Singh is regarded with more than the usual wariness and hostility. He undertakes his tasks with the same meticulousness and attention to detail that won the respect of his men and the higher ups in the Indian Army. A Senator and his wife are impressed with his work and agree to hire him as a caretaker for their summer home.

But just as Singh seems to be getting toehold, his furnace breaks and he must find shelter for his family for the winter. He makes the decision - and my stomach turns - to move his wife and daughter into the Senator's beautiful summer home and claims that "a friend has offered to lend them the house". His wife's depression seems to lift at this improvement in their living situation and she makes herself very much at home. As Ahmad described how Singh's wife enjoyed the shampoos, lotions, etc in the Senator's wife's bathroom, I started to dread the inevitable.

Ahmad is a riveting storyteller and his hero, Rajit Singh, quickly won my respect and my sympathy as he faced one awful situation after another. His skills, moral core, and willingness to face the demons all help to make Rajit Singh someone to care about. I hope that Mr. A.X. Ahmad is working on book two of Rajit Singh's story.

ISBN-10: 1250016843 - Hardcover $28.99
Publisher: Minotaur Books (May 21, 2013), 304 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine Reviewers Program. show less

This gracefully written yet ingeniously plotted tale effectively intertwines compelling human stories with political intrigue. Ahmad has created a new sharp memorable voice in fiction with Ramjet Singh, a disgraced Indian army captain hoping to rebuild his life in the United States, while attempting to do the right thing is challenged by family expectations, preconceived prejudices, and dubious double-crossing. In what seems like random twists of fate the taut action and twists highlights the often unknown deadly consequences of the six-degree of separation. What makes this novel soar is a likable complex flawed hero, whose moral integrity is essential to his being and his grounding belief in his Sikh faith, not often presented in show more American literature. While some questions get answered, it is often the not the outcome Singh would like – opening the door for the next book in this trilogy which I look forward to reading. show less

Disgraced Sikh Indian Army captain Ranjit works as the caretaker for a U.S. Senator's estate in Martha's Vineyard, and becomes ensnared in the Senator's shadowy world.

A lot happens in this story as it switches back and forth between present day and the past when Ranjit was in the Army. Ranjit is a bit of a loose cannon and, although not all his fault, gets himself and his family in trouble based on some decisions he makes. There’s a lot that’s far-fetched but there’s also things that happened that kept me interested. If it was a bit more plausible, I would’ve enjoyed it more.

Most of this intriguing literary thriller, The Caretaker by A. X. Ahmad, takes place in the off-season on the island of Martha’s Vineyard and in the Boston and Cambridge area, where the author (now in Washington, D.C.) attended M.I.T., so there are many familiar references for readers familiar with Massachusetts, but also an added layer of difference – a slight foreignness – because the places are seen through the eyes of the main character, Ranjit Singh, a Sikh from India – ex-Indian military – who has been in the U.S. for under three years.
Ranjit (pronounced with the “a” as in “arm” and the “i” as in “it”, emphasis on the first syllable) and his family have struggled to start a new life in the U.S. after a show more career disgrace in the military. For the past six months on Martha’s Vineyard, Ranjit worked as an independent landscaper, but now winter is coming on. When the wife of a popular African-American senator he did landscaping for offers him a job keeping an eye on their expensive house during the off-season, he leaps at the chance to stay on the island.
From this somewhat hopeful beginning, the story covers a lot of ground in 10½ hours of audio (or just under 300 pages) including flashbacks to Ranjit’s time as an army captain on the Siachen Glacier – a high-altitude Himalayan battleground on the disputed border of India and Pakistan – and problems mount quickly for Ranjit, who hadn’t realized how expensive life on the island would be. Amid a rash of burglaries on the island, the senator’s house is broken into, but in the senator’s house, the thieves seemed to be looking for something in particular. When they don’t find it, they decide Ranjit must have it. Then they need to find Ranjit.
I enjoyed The Caretaker as a thriller-style variation on the Indian-immigrant-to-America theme. The numerous Indian references are easy to understand from context or get explained. Even though, as in most thrillers, some of the plot points seem a little unbelievable and there are (inevitably?) a few sex-in-times-of-danger scenes, the author brings in issues of undocumented immigrants, international politics, personal ethics, race relations, Sikh religious beliefs, patriotism, and the delicate balance of individual initiative and subservience in military and public service – without slowing down the action of the book too much.
Audiobook narrator Sam Dastor does an excellent job with the Indian-accented English of many of the characters, but struggles to keep the female voices out of the annoyingly falsetto range.
For a fuller review, please visit Bay State Reader's Advisory blog. show less

Former Indian Army Captain Ranjit Singh, after being court-martialed for a mission gone terribly wrong, is self-exiled to Massachusetts with his family. He is barely scraping by on Martha's Vineyard, working as the winter caretaker for the rich summer residents of the island, when a chain of events gets his family picked up by Homeland Security and puts Ranjit on the run for his life. This is a well-told conspiracy story with an intriguing hero and an interesting glimpse of Indian culture. An unexpected page turner for me, picked up on a whim at the library.

I was totally captivated with the writing---very readable, page by fast page. Although the story flowed right along, it's another case where the ending sort of hits you and you realize you are left wondering...what's next?

Big relief---I just checked, and as an earlier person wrote, this book IS part of a trilogy and the second book, “Bollywood Taxi,” will be published in 2014. "In it, Ranjit is working as a cab driver in New York and is accused of the murder of a famous Bollywood actress who is now living there." Just knowing that book is coming makes The Caretaker all the better

Really enjoyed this read:great main character and very interesting backstory. The "thriller" part of the plot was much less interesting to me than the characters' daily lives and struggles.