Book Review - 'The Menagerie and Other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries' by Saradindu Bandyopadhyay

Book: The Menagerie and Other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries

Author: Saradindu Bandyopadhyay

Genre: Detective fiction

Language: English

Source: Amazon.in

About the Author 

Saradindu Bandyopadhyay was a prolific and renowned writer of ghost stories, historical romances, and children’s fiction. His original works used to be in the regional language that is Bengali, which was later translated into different languages. His series of Byomkesh Bakshi mysteries remains his most cherished contribution to the world of contemporary Bengali writers.

He was born on 30 March 1899, in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. His first literary venture was a book of poems which was published in 1919. He completed his studies in Calcutta and then moved to Bombay to work till 1952. Saradindu Bandopadhyay received Rabindra Purashkar in 1967 for his novel “Tungabhadrar Tirey”. Then, he was also awarded the Sarat Smriti Purashkar by Calcutta University. He passed away in September 1970.

About the book

This book contains various mysterious stories highlighting Byomkesh Bakshi as a figure of detective but our main focus is on “The Menagerie - a novella and a murder mystery, which depicts a post-war society of Calcutta with a certain double standard of morality that is connected to the theme of ‘appearance and reality’ in the text.

Psychological understandings

In ‘The Menagerie’ although Calcutta is the home to the detective, the setting of the crimes that take place is predominantly in the farmhouse called “Golap Colony- a fictional place created by the author himself which is away from the city”.

The idea of Golap Colony as a “verdant oasis” hypes a menagerie that indicates times all about ‘loss of respect’. It is a society made up of people ‘who have fallen in their own eyes’ and therefore have little respect for human life and probity. This psychological understanding of crime is a hallmark of Saradindu Badyopadhyay’s novel. Modern psychological theories are applied in the story to ascertain human motivation and cause for crime.

Geographical understanding

The locality and geography play a very important role in the narrative. Although the Golap colony is set some miles away from Calcutta, the city has a significant presence in the unfolding of the tale. Calcutta - the metropolitan and post-colonial city, is the radical site of people, livelihoods, secrets unearthed, of truths that come to light.

Golap colony, which is the microcosm of this larger society constantly is seen in terms of its relationship with the city. It is part of a larger hole and stands for the duplicity, deceit, and disguise of the urban space.

Reader's Emotional Connections

Readers are not just passive observers but active participants in the world of "The Menagerie and Other Byomkesh Bakshi Mysteries." They become emotionally invested in the characters and their fates. Byomkesh Bakshi, with his sharp mind and strong moral compass, becomes a hero readers can root for and identify with.

As they follow him through the intricate mazes of mysteries, they experience a rollercoaster of emotions - the excitement of discovery, the tension of suspense, and the satisfaction of justice served. Each story, with its unique set of characters and complex moral dilemmas, invites readers to reflect on their own values and principles, forging a deep emotional connection that extends beyond the pages of the book.

It's this engagement with both the intellectual and emotional aspects of the stories that makes "The Menagerie" a truly captivating and thought-provoking reading experience.

My views

It is one of the most suspicious and interesting murder mysteries I have been through. It raises the curiosity of the readers through the way of its writing style. The plot, characters, setting of the crimes, location, intelligence, everything is on point. The smartness of the criminal is equal to the intelligence of the detective, which creates balance and more mystery. The climax or turning point of the story gives readers a moment to cherish the ability of the detective to be the central character all the time and stand out as a heroic figure.

I highly recommend this to all the readers out there to read it once to get an idea of what exactly classical detective fiction looks like. It is one of the best classical detective fiction of all time. 

My rating for the novella as well as the book is 5/5.

You can get a copy of this from Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/3WcVeaO

Written by - Archi goldi

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