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== Critical reception == | == Critical reception == | ||
Anand Vardhan states that the novel anticipated India's initial response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in its portrayal of a pandemic where civil servants are preoccupied more with "procedure and spin".<ref name=":1" /> Anjana Sharma, writing for The Hindu, says that it " | Anand Vardhan states that the novel anticipated India's initial response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in its portrayal of a pandemic where civil servants are preoccupied more with "procedure and spin".<ref name=":1" /> Anjana Sharma, writing for The Hindu, says that it "dares to voice a moral outrage that very rarely finds its way into fiction".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=The Mammaries of the Welfare State - Upamanyu Chatterjee|url=https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/chatteru/msotws.htm|access-date=2021-06-10|website=www.complete-review.com}}</ref> Various reviews praise the humour of the novel as a "hilarious satire",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sandhu|first=Nirmal|date=7 January 2001|title=India's uncivil service|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010107/spectrum/books.htm|url-status=live|access-date=10 June 2021|website=The Tribune}}</ref> "funny"<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Chatterjee: The Mammaries of the Welfare State {{!}} The Modern Novel|url=https://www.themodernnovel.org/asia/other-asia/india/chatterjee/mammaries/|access-date=2021-06-10|website=www.themodernnovel.org}}</ref> and "a book of laughter and disgust".<ref name=":0" /> | ||
It received some criticism for its structure, focus and length. Vardhan criticizes the novel's "scattered plot and meandering narratives",<ref name=":1" /> while Sharma concurs that it is "a bit repetitive".<ref name=":2" /> The Modern Novel states that it "does drag out somewhat" and "you just want him to get on with the story. Which he doesn’t."<ref name=":3" /> | It received some criticism for its structure, focus and length. Vardhan criticizes the novel's "scattered plot and meandering narratives",<ref name=":1" /> while Sharma concurs that it is "a bit repetitive".<ref name=":2" /> The Modern Novel states that it "does drag out somewhat" and "you just want him to get on with the story. Which he doesn’t."<ref name=":3" /> | ||
Latest revision as of 22:34, 14 October 2021
 First edition | |
| Author | Upamanyu Chatterjee |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Pages | 437 pp |
| ISBN | 0-670-87934-7 |
| OCLC | 45845242 |
| 823/.914 21 | |
| LC Class | PR9499.3.C4665 M36 2000 |
| Preceded by | English, August |
The Mammaries of the Welfare State is an English-language Indian novel, the sequel to Upamanyu Chatterjee’s debut novel, English, August, also told from the perspective of the fictional character Agastya Sen.[1] It won the Sahitya Akademi Award (English) in 2004.[2] The novel tells the story of political bureaucracy in the fictional state of Madna when an epidemic breaks out.[3] The title derives from a line of dialog in the novel, where a civil servant states "In my eight years of service, I haven’t come across a single case in which everybody concerned didn’t try to milk dry the boobs of the Welfare State"[3]
Critical reception[edit | edit source]
Anand Vardhan states that the novel anticipated India's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its portrayal of a pandemic where civil servants are preoccupied more with "procedure and spin".[3] Anjana Sharma, writing for The Hindu, says that it "dares to voice a moral outrage that very rarely finds its way into fiction".[4] Various reviews praise the humour of the novel as a "hilarious satire",[5] "funny"[6] and "a book of laughter and disgust".[1]
It received some criticism for its structure, focus and length. Vardhan criticizes the novel's "scattered plot and meandering narratives",[3] while Sharma concurs that it is "a bit repetitive".[4] The Modern Novel states that it "does drag out somewhat" and "you just want him to get on with the story. Which he doesn’t."[6]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Prasannarajan, S. (2 July 2012). "Book review: The Mammaries of the Welfare State by Agastya Sen". India Today. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ↑ "Sahitya Akademi Awards listings". Sahitya Akademi, Official website.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Vardhan, Anand. "A mess foretold: Reading Mammaries of the Welfare State amid a pandemic". Newslaundry. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Mammaries of the Welfare State - Upamanyu Chatterjee". www.complete-review.com. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ↑ Sandhu, Nirmal (7 January 2001). "India's uncivil service". The Tribune. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Chatterjee: The Mammaries of the Welfare State | The Modern Novel". www.themodernnovel.org. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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