It’s pretty awesome when a book drops on my lap that is so reflective of the time that we live in. We might not have seen it until COVID-19 appeared but the fabric of society has been slowly unraveling for quite some time. We of the Forsaken World by Kiran Bhat dives into the world that is slowly falling apart and how it is all connected.
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The Book
In a distant corner of the globe, a man journeys to the birthplace of his mother, a tourist town destroyed by an industrial spill. In a nameless remote tribe, the chief’s second son is born, creating a scramble for succession as their jungles are being destroyed by loggers. In one of the world’s sprawling metropolises, a homeless one-armed woman sets out to take revenge upon the men who trafficked her. And, in a small village of shanty shacks, connected only by a mud-and-concrete road, a milkmaid watches the girls she calls friends destroy her reputation.
In We of the forsaken world, Kiran Bhat tells the stories of four worlds falling apart, through the structure of four linguistic chains, comprised of the accounts of four people witnessing the decline of these worlds, in four acts. Like modern communication networks, these sixteen stories connect along subtle lines, dispersing at the moments where another story is about to take place. They flow together and disconnect. Each story is a parable of its own, into the mind of a distinct human being. These are the tales of not just sixteen strangers, but many different lives, who live on this planet, at every second, everywhere.
Thoughts on the Book
I received this book ages ago to review but haven’t because of COVID-19. It seemed like a bit of a kick in the teeth to review a book that showed the complex and fragile nature of the world when countries were being hammered by a viral attack. For this reason, I decided it would be best to sit on this review for a while and things began to settle. We still have a long way to go with COVID-19, we are still nearly a year away from a vaccine. But we are in a position to change our perspective and challenge who we really are. We of the Forsaken World will make you wonder what your role is in this life and if you can do better.
Thoughts on the Author
Kiran Bhat is a global citizen – born in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, to parents from Southern Karnataka, in India. An avid world traveller, polyglot, and digital nomad, he has currently traveled to over 130 countries, lived in 18 different places, and speaks 12 languages. His list of homes is vast, but he considers Mumbai the only place of the moment worth settling down in. He currently lives in Melbourne. Kiran Bhat can be found on Twitter and on Facebook.
Overall
Under normal circumstances, this book would be filed under “socialist claptrap” by most people and be forgotten. But now that we are facing the effects of the virus and we can see how it is changing the world that we live in, it really strikes a chord. We need to look at the big picture and not just turn the page on the things that don’t affect us, it all affects us. This is one of those books that is worth a read to help expand your horizons.