My Friend Sancho

My Friend Sancho by Amit Varma was listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2008. It is an easy to read and readily enjoyable short novel set in the urbane city of Mumbai. The story revolves around a crime reporter and his intriguing friendship with Sancho. Besides the main characters, there is Mohammed Iqbal, who dies in the first five pages, Inspector Thombre, the person responsible for Iqbal's death and a talking lizard.

The young crime reporter, Abir Ganguly is called by the police to cover a routine arrest. Little does he expect a shootout, but a shootout takes place killing Mohammed Iqbal. Abir's boss wants him to file a story about the victim. For this, he must meet Muneeza who is fondly known as Sancho and is the dead man's teenage daughter. Love blooms between the two and the plot swivels around interesting anecdotes of their meetings, conversations and the reader is kept wondering if they will ever be able to survive the maneuverings of a jealous lizard that shares Abir's flat.

The novel is hilarious with the talking lizard adding to the bonhomie and congenial feel the book wears. Amit Varma is well known for his unique and jaunty writing style and the book lives up to his reputation. I have loved reading the book and it made me laugh out loud many a time. Yet I feel the ending could have been more convincing and Sancho's character a bit more believable. Despite the two drawbacks 'My friend Sancho' makes for an interesting read and compels you to admire the eloquent writing skills of Amit Varma.

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