Review: Villainy by Upamanyu Chatterjee
Hindustan TimesThe boundary between “literary” and “genre” fiction is semipermeable in the literary thriller. Pukhraj’s father, the rich jeweller Nemichand, bribes the presiding judge to let off his son by framing Parmatma. The atmosphere of the book, dark and memorable, is built through several scenes: Pukhraj’s family life, the murder scene, his tenure in prison, where his warped moral sense fits right in, and the casual villainy found in ‘polite society’. As for her better half, Pukhraj’s father Nemichand lusts after more and more wealth as well as “aggressive, bullying sex… preferably with tarts with rich tastes with whom he could drive some hard bargains”. As pieces of work go, they are a metaphorical twenty-foot neon sign atop a tall building in a new moon night anchoring the story’s central mood – the widespread nature of villainy, its many manifestations.
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