Solo

By Rana Dasgupta

I got the hardcover edition of Solo with a beautiful cover and big, clear letters. It was fun to read on the bus and train without having to strain my eyes. This book is much acclaimed for the author, Rana Dasgupta received the prestigious Commonwealth Writers' Prize. This is his second novel after Tokyo Cancelled.

Solo tells the moving story of Ulrich, a Bulgarian, looking through his 100 years of life. The later part concentrates on his daydreams fueled by recurrent failures of his life. It starts with a story of exquisite parrots which can talk the native tongue of an extinct society. The parrots die traumatically in an attempt to transport them to linguists for recording the language. Ulrich, now 100 years old, recounts his life to find the wisdom that he could leave the world as his legacy.

Ulrich is a blind old man, living in a tiny apartment in Sophia and cared for by his kind-hearted neighbors. He starts an exhilarated journey through the past. A usual son denied of his budding interest in music, Ulrich travels to Germany to study Chemistry. Meeting Einstein serendipitously, he intends to make a mark as a chemist. When fate decides otherwise, Ulrich is forced to go back home due to the family's depleting wealth and his father's health.

Ulrich takes up a menial job to support his family in Sophia. He gets married and fathers a son in his short-lived marriage. His life gets traumatized by his divorce and by the execution of his socialist friend Boris. The world wars, the socialism, and the independent Bulgaria each contributes in worsening Ulrich's life. After losing his mother to a false accusation, Ulrich engrosses into his chemistry lab set up, where he accidentally spills acid and loses his sight.

The second part of the book happens in the hippy 21st century New York. There is the ambitious Khatuna, a gangster's mistress whose life topples as the gangster falls for the violence. Urich's imaginary self Boris, a gifted musician raised by his grandmother and found by a multinational musical company, struggles in the whirlwind of the corporate ways. Boris finds comfort in Irakli, Khatuna's brother, and an innocent poet.

Ulrich's story spreads through the failures and oddities of a simple man. It is through his euphoric daydreams that he learns life isn't perfect. This ordinary man's story is definitely worth reading. The strangeness of the characters adds a unique aura to it. It is touching, refreshing and everything a book could offer.

Solo is a must-read, albeit it might be demanding sometimes.