What reviewers are saying

The book is compulsively readable. I found myself reluctant to skim passages for fear of missing any of the gems scattered across every page. Gopinath sketches his hugely entertaining characters with sure and economical strokes. I enjoyed all of them, from the Convener and the godman to B Plus and the “doctor of venereal diseases,” with his very entertaining medical examination of Pat and Rose, the central characters. . . The book is also a structural success. Among other features, it presents an excellent conclusion, something too many otherwise good novels lack. En route, Gopinath consistently leaves the reader hanging at the end of each chapter, wanting more, and introduces each successive chapter with a surprise.

(Read more here.)

— Collin Piprell, Canadian author

The Book of Answers is a fine tribute to George Orwell’s 1984. Set in the not so distant future, it’s a story about ordinary Patros Patronobis, who receives a mysterious, metal bound book which supposedly has answers to all the world’s problems. . . Most of the book is a stinging satire on Indian democracy and our redundant laws and Gopinath masterfully creates a theatre of the absurd, as the story progresses. . . I loved Gopinath’s nomenclature for characters in the book. Tarachand Sagar’s junk shop is called Starmoon Ocean, a literal English translation of his name. There’s also a women’s shelter titled Women Without Want, whose website URL is www.www.org. . . There’s been want of some really good topical satire in Indian fiction. The Book of Answers satisfies that want. Even more topical if you look at the Anna drama unfolding on Indian TV screens these days.

(Read more here.)

— Arcopol Chaudhry, www.uread.com

Something I neglected to mention last week is that my former client C.Y. Gopinath’s truly fantastic novel THE BOOK OF ANSWERS has been published by HarperCollins India, and it immediately shot into the Indian Top 10 bestseller list. TBOA is available as an e-book in the US — and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

(Read more here.)

— Nathan Bransford, author

One of the best lines in veteran communicator CY Gopinath’s novel is to be found somewhere close to the end. It is put in the mouth of a policeman. “You are a-a-a one-man subterfuge,” he says, brilliantly fusing subversive, terrorist and refugee into one multiplex word. . . The basic premise of the book is a metaphor. The answer to all the questions that the world is asking itself is to be found in a single book.  This book is sealed into a metal box and is delivered to Patranobis. The rest of the book is a parody of the functioning of democratic India as politicians and godmen struggle over possession of the book.

(Read more here.)

— Jerry Pinto, Time Out

At the launch event in New Delhi on July 5, Mani Shankar Aiyar, ex-politician and veteran truth-teller known for his sharp tongue, waxed lyrical about the writing in The Book of Answers. You can see a shaky-camera YouTube video of it here.

“. . .  One of the most remarkable satires that equally touches both the political and social realm with placing an individual at the forefront. C.Y.Gopinath deserves all praise to unleash the real happenings in political circles and its consistent harm on the collective psyche. Few today have the patience to read books like Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World.  . . . But Indian English writing is passing through a productive phase, and [Gopinath's] work strengthens that notion with its readability and its delving into systemic issues and oddities we face regularly. It is daunting in this scenario for a writer to interpret events and reach a conclusion. Fortunately The Book of Answers has a conclusion for its readers — though they will simply not stop enjoying the satire!”

(Read more here.)

Atul Thakur, Standpoint