Books of the Month

'Animal's People' by Indra Sinha

Telling the story of the aftermath of a large-scale industrial catastrophe based on the Bhopal disaster of 1984, Animal's People is a vivid portrayal of life at gutter level among the dirt-poor of the fictional city of Khaufpur. Sinha depicts a claustrophobic world of sickness, filth, scamming, surviving on four rupees a day, and above all, the ongoing suffering of those afflicted by an explosion at the local chemical plant on what is always referred to simply as ‘that night’.

In Animal, the book has what must surely be one of the most distinctive narrators in contemporary fiction: a teenage boy whose twisted back forces him to go about on all fours and who doesn’t consider himself human; who hears the voices of, and converses with, the living, dead and inanimate; who’s orphaned upbringing on the streets has left him at times hard-hearted and selfish; and who swears profanely and is obsessed with sex. However he is also quick-witted and intelligent, speaks several languages, and is devoted to the nun who looked after him as a child. One of the triumphs of the book is the richness of Animal’s language. When offered help he quickly picks up French and some English; he maintains a regular torrent of curses and scatological reference; chats and insults in fluent street-speak; and converses with people and things that nobody else can hear.

Most readers will know that the book is based on a true story with no real happy ending. But the quality of the writing, and its overarching humanity, compel the reader to continue. In this way Animal’s People achieves one of literature’s highest purposes – helping us look into the dark places we’d normally shy away from. At the same time though, there’s nothing worthy about the book. Amid all the sickness, poverty and hardship of Khaufpuri life are humour, camaraderie, loyalty, and plenty of thoroughly normal teenage obsessions. For the book is also the coming-of-age story of Animal, who falls in love for the first time, tries desperately to get laid, discovers who his friends really are, and comes to an understanding about his much-touted lack of humanity.

Susan Tranter

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