April 5, 2021
Irony and satire collide in Raina’s sparkling debut about a crooked college consultant and his inadvertent role in the making of a celebrity. Ramesh Kumar grows up in poverty and is forced to work in his abusive father’s tea stall in Delhi, until he meets a nun who helps him get an education. By the age of 24, he’s become a self-described “charming, witty, urbane man-about-town,” and a successful con artist. He tutors elite high school students, scams their parents for extra cash to cover “expenses,” and takes their college entrance exams in their place. After Ramesh achieves the top score in the country for sweet but dim Rudi Saxena, Rudi receives nationwide TV coverage and Ramesh becomes his manager. The two consume a great deal of drugs and alcohol as Rudi basks in the spotlight. Then, during Rudi’s appearance on a game show, Ramesh and Rudi are kidnapped from the set. They escape, and the experience gives Ramesh the idea for his biggest hustle yet, with Rudi as an accomplice. Raina ably shows both the seedy and privileged parts of Indian society through Ramesh’s biting wit (“My hate could have made India the world’s leader in renewable energy,” he reflects on his time in the tea stall). Readers will enjoy the ride.
May 7, 2021
DEBUT Money is the key for Ramesh Kumar to get out of his rough Delhi neighborhood and away from working at a tea stall owned by his abusive father. He stumbles into a way to use his study skills to scam the system, getting paid by wealthy parents to take college entrance exams for their sons. When Ramesh poses as the not-so-bright Rudi Saxena and unexpectedly aces a nationwide test, Rudi is catapulted into fame and a starring role on a TV quiz show. Ramesh rides his coattails, posing as Rudi's manager and indulging in drinking and drugs. When Rudi carelessly humiliates a young contestant on air, neither realizes that things have gone too far. The contestant's father kidnaps Ramesh and Rudi, vowing to make them pay. What happens next isn't pretty. VERDICT Debut author Raina's gritty description of Ramesh's downward spiral and the story's over-the-top action give this novel a cinematic feel. Ramesh has a singular voice, and readers will come to understand how and why he has made the decisions he has. This tale should appeal to fans of the 2021 Netflix series The White Tiger, or possibly films such as Parasite and Slumdog Millionaire; the latter is referenced in the novel.--Laurel Bliss, San Diego State Univ. Lib.
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Starred review from May 1, 2021
Raina's debut novel lives up to its billing as a fun caper and social satire thanks to strong characterization, a fast-paced plot, and an eye for the ridiculous. His delicious skewering of the social mores of Delhi's �ber-rich and clear-eyed rendering of India's social hierarchy propel sheer entertainment into striking elucidation in the mode of Aravind Adiga. Ramesh grew up poor and found a way to support himself and subvert the system that has done little for him by turning himself into an educational consultant who takes exams for his rich clients' kids. He ends up elevating 18-year-old Rudi to fame when he earns a first in India's university entrance exams. When Rudi lands a spot on a televised quiz show, Ramesh serves as his manager, and then things spin wildly out of control when the two young men are kidnapped. Ever the entrepreneur, Ramesh manages to switch from being a hostage to being a kidnapper. There is drama in the dizzying turns of events, which Raina makes good use of with his unerring ability to neatly capture whole segments of Indian society and their corresponding absurdities, while his keen depictions of rich, ambitious, and unscrupulous parents, the frenzied media, and systemic inequities are universally recognizable.
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