The Mammaries of the Welfare State is an English-language Indian novel, the sequel to Upamanyu Chatterjee's debut novel, English, August, also told from the perspective of the fictional character Agastya Sen.[1] It won the Sahitya Akademi Award (English) in 2004.[2] The novel tells the story of political bureaucracy in the fictional state of Madna when an epidemic breaks out.[3] The title derives from a line of dialog in the novel, where a civil servant states "In my eight years of service, I haven't come across a single case in which everybody concerned didn't try to milk dry the boobs of the Welfare State".[3]
 First edition | |
| Author | Upamanyu Chatterjee |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
Publication date | 2000 |
| Publication place | India |
| Pages | 437 pp |
| ISBN | 0-670-87934-7 |
| OCLC | 45845242 |
| 823/.914 21 | |
| LC Class | PR9499.3.C4665 M36 2000 |
| Preceded by | English, August |
Critical reception
editAnand Vardhan states that the novel anticipated India's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its portrayal of a pandemic where civil servants are preoccupied more with "procedure and spin".[3] Anjana Sharma, writing for The Hindu, says that it "dares to voice a moral outrage that very rarely finds its way into fiction".[4] Various reviews praise the humour of the novel as a "hilarious satire",[5] "funny"[6] and "a book of laughter and disgust".[1]
It received some criticism for its structure, focus and length. Vardhan criticizes the novel's "scattered plot and meandering narratives",[3] while Sharma concurs that it is "a bit repetitive".[4] The Modern Novel states that it "does drag out somewhat" and "you just want him to get on with the story. Which he doesn’t."[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Prasannarajan, S. (2 July 2012). "Book review: The Mammaries of the Welfare State by Agastya Sen". India Today. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Sahitya Akademi Awards listings". Sahitya Akademi, Official website.
- ^ a b c d Vardhan, Anand (28 December 2020). "A mess foretold: Reading Mammaries of the Welfare State amid a pandemic". Newslaundry. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ a b "The Mammaries of the Welfare State - Upamanyu Chatterjee". www.complete-review.com. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ Sandhu, Nirmal (7 January 2001). "India's uncivil service". The Tribune. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Chatterjee: The Mammaries of the Welfare State | The Modern Novel". www.themodernnovel.org. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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