Last Man In The Tower

Crime is commonplace, and the lust of easy money- the catalyst.

It’s not that Arvind Adiga has not delved his mind towards the art of grotesque murders but ‘Last Man In Tower’ stands out apart. Vishram Society is a normal, respectable society filled with human beings and their jealousies, their ideals and their difficulties, their eccentricities and their common-senses.

Added to that, is the property boom, where builders are ready to pay outrageous sum of money- for housing societies to vacate, so that they can build their Shanghais in their place. Mr. Shah is a pukka builder, who using brawn and guile, carrot and stick has managed to create himself a niche but is now feeling threatened by the new generation of builders. He sees his glory in buildingShanghaiin place of Vishram Society, and he is ready to loose his pocket.

Eyes start rolling. The shock of a huge chunk of instant money makes the mouths of the residents slaver.

But there is that Last Man who wants to stay in the Tower. There is that Yogesh Murthy, the Masterji to all the members of the society, who doesn’t want to sell the apartment.

What begins as a mild cajoling by the neighbors turns into a murderous streak overnight. Slowly the society residents become hell-bent to torture him mentally as well as physically to make him yield. Most dominant amongst them is Mrs. Puri, a shallow, hypocritical woman- whose character you come to repulse as you turn the pages. And you may also watch out for Masterji’s daughter-in-law, she indeed is the hyena-in-human-garb. Surrounded by an uncaring son, greedy neighborhood and ambitious builders, Mr. Murthy finds himself waging a personal battle everyday with everyone as his neighbors isolate him, write emotionally devastating letters, make threatening phone calls, send thugs after him…

With each passing page it becomes certain that the old fart would be murdered any day soon. Surprising as it may be, it’s not the builder who sends his henchmen to do the nasty job- it’s the money-crazed neighbors who set out to do a ‘Simple Little Thing’, to remove the weed from their path.

The Murder scene is graphic. They choke, hammer and push him off the top to make certain he dies all the way through. This is what Arvind Adiga excels at- he finishes off his protagonist with ruthless efficiency.

If you have been feeling overtly optimistic aboutIndia’s vibrancy and dynamism lately, its time that you do a reality check and start reading this book, which is crude and cynical in its flavor. I could not actually bear this book due to the impending doom, but I think you won’t be as faint-hearted as I was.