The Sound of Water: A Novel

Review; The Sound of Water by Sanjay Bahadur.

For being Sanjay Bahadur first book I feel he did a fabulous job. Well written, captivating and strong. The author unfolds a story about of a small India community of people and a life only coal miners experience down deep under the folds of dirt and rocks through the tunnels of their uncertain fate.

Sanjay Bahadur uses vignettes to weave through the creation of his novel to relate both the characters complicated plot of Indian life as well as the dangers of the government officials of their country. I liked the way he was descriptive and informative. I felt it made the story more intriguing. I believe he can be a promising writer for his readers.

It was a quick read with a lasting impression. I do think he could have added more to the story at the end but it still was a great novel and I highly recommend it.
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Some books are great because they take you to a place you will never go, other books introduce you to people or a life you will never experience. Fewer can do both, but the Sound of Water accomplishes just that.

Small vignettes weave the story through a coal mine accident deep in India. This book is both character study of people from the various, complicated strata of Indian life as well as a warning against materialism and the dangers the "beast" of a bureaucracy. The sections on the actual mining operations are fascinating and manage to keep up interest.

Beautifully written and fraught with philosophy, it is not necessarily an easy read, mostly because its English is Indian. Still, once I picked up the rhythm I breezed through it and it was well worth the effort. ( )