Anurag Mathur writes an excellent story about an unfortunate indian struggling to make some meaning out of the way americans live. Set in the small city of Eversville, this book is about an indian student, Gopal Kumar, who is doing his chemical engineering, speaks english in the most typical indian style you can find, thinks that he knows all about america after reading ’Collected Letters From Penthouse’, and drinks coke by the litres.
Gopal promises himself that he will never break the hindu customs of not consuming alcohol and beef and will never go to bed with a woman. Unfortunately, he has a close friend, Randy, who is on a mission to Devirginise him. What results is a series of hilarious disasters after which Gopal ends up having beers and MacDonalds hamburgers. However, he hasn’t got laid yet and everytime Randy throws an opportunity at him, he manages to make colossal disasters. The book ends underlining the title, ’The Unscrutable Americans’.
Hilariously scripted, the pages are full of laughter(the jokes are pretty bawdy, though). Sample this
’The bloody radio is bloody shouting’
’ The National Hair Oil Manufacturers Assosciation has given me the Most Promising Young Man certificate. Do you think people will be impressed if I hang it on the wall?’
’The place looks too green. we should start a hair oil factory here. good market, no?’
Question asked by a lady after Gopal tells people in a church about India
’Dou you drive the elephants only during the day or during the night a well without the headlights and all that stuff?’
Stewardess on Being asked by gopal for a ninth Coke
’Why don’t you go buy yourself a factory?’
Read this one, folks. You won’t be disappointed.