The Devil and the Dark Water, Stuart Turton, 2020

Rating: 5/5

I had been looking forward to read this book ever since Turton announced it, given how delightful his first book, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (7 Deaths Review), was! While The Devil and the Deep Water is not as complex and jaw-dropping as his first book, it’s still a surprising story, is a page turner from the first page to the last and ends satisfyingly!

The story is set on a ship, the Sardaam, which is transporting cargo from Batavia to Amsterdam for the United East India Company. Governor General Jan Haan is the senior-most official on board and is also carrying some personal secret consignments. He is accompanied by his wife, Sara Wessels, his daughter, Lia, and his mistress Creesjie Jens – all of them accomplished women but forced to hide behind a veil of mediocrity in keeping with the times. A famous investigator, Samuel Pipps, is a prisoner on board and his journey from being a hero a short while ago to a prisoner is shrouded in mystery. Arent Hayes is his bodyguard and sidekick and in the absence of Pipps’ freedom, takes on a more central role in the proceedings.

The mysteries begin from the end of the first chapter itself. And as the story moves forward, tales of fear, greed, betrayal and revenge emerge, framed in the backdrop of a devil called Old Tom, as various characters get killed off. The “dark water” of the title could refer to the sea around the ship or could refer to the evil in the souls of men. Besides the mysteries of the various protagonists, there is a strong supernatural element through the book and after the experience with Turton’s first book, it is impossible to decide whether this element is imaginary or not.

Like all good mystery novels, this one is a page turner right until the end. And has a big surprise towards the end. And ties up all the loose ends and the questions raised through the book, neatly. There are several references to the period in which the story is based but as Turton pens in an “apology” at the end, he has sacrificed some of the historical realism to befit the narrative.

The absolute ending is perhaps a trifle glib and convenient. And this book is nowhere as jaw-dropping as his first book. But that does not take away from the fact that this is an extremely enjoyable book.  I now can’t wait for his third book!

Pros: Page-turner, satisfying and surprising denouement, well-written

Cons: A trifle convenient ending perhaps

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, 1932

Rating: 4/5

The title of the book is taken from a line in Shakespeare’s The Tempest – “O brave new world, that has such people in it!” – uttered by the character Miranda who has grown up in an isolated society and sees a large number of people for the first time. Huxley’s Brave New World is about the clash between the Miranda-like protagonist, John (who incidentally has read only Shakespeare while growing up), who lives in an isolated settlement, and a world where humans are engineered in labs to lead a perfectly contented life.

The first third of the book describes the dystopian World State where everything, ranging from procreation to employment to recreation, is created and controlled artificially in line with its motto of “Community, Identity, Stability”. Humans are artificially produced in batches and divided into a caste system ranging from Alpha Plus to Epsilon Minus, conditioned from the embryo stage. They (including the lower castes) lead a happy life driven by technology, promiscuity and a drug called “soma” – overall a “civilized infantility” as Huxley puts it. Henry Ford seems to be the presiding god of this world, possibly in line with his famous assembly line system of manufacturing.

The second part deals with the exploration of a “savage” settlement, where people live the old-fashioned way, by Bernard Marx (an Alpha Plus but one who does not wish to conform to the ideal world, like his friend Helmholtz Watson) and his date of the moment, Lenina Crowne. They meet John, a naturally created offspring of a senior functionary of the World State, but one who has grown up oblivious to it. The final part is about John, like Miranda, trying to blend in the World State and the inherent conflicts that it creates. The highlights of this part, in my view, are the discussions between John and Mustapha Mond, the controller. It’s about the eventual salvation of Bernard and Helmholtz and the only possible conclusion of John’s story.

Brave New World, like 1984 published 17 years later, discusses a dystopian world and the perils therein. But the books’ approaches to this end are significantly different – the latter explores control through fear while the former sees pleasure as a tool for control. Brave New World is an interesting and short read about the clash between those who want to “get rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it” and others who would like to “claim the right to be unhappy”, while simultaneously discussing issues such as racism and casteism.

It's easy to see that it would have been a radical book in 1932. It obviously is significantly less so today which makes this book seem obsolete at times. But if one can get past it or if possible, read this book through the lens of a 1930s reader, the book is an extremely interesting and rewarding read.

Pros: Fascinating setting, using Shakespeare as an interesting metaphor, easy read

Cons: May seem a bit outdated now