"Dancing
with the Two-Headed Tigress" is the title of Tina Biswas's debut novel. When
her father dies, fat and unsophisticated Mousumi is sent from India to live
with her glamorous London relations. The father of the house, Prakash, is
frustrated and bored; ignored by both Tuhina, his successful wife, and
Darshini, his beautiful, nonchalant daughter. And so he dreams of a simpler
life back in Calcutta...
Mousumi becomes his unlikely
friend. However, when Mousumi meets Seph, Darshini's boyfriend, a confusion
between them leads to further trouble... To find out more about the
author, you must visit our Tina Biswas page.
Tina Biswas writes
the most sublime prose. She avoids post-modernist trickery, but there is more
than enough sophistication in her wit. Her prose style is simple, direct, and
compelling. There are a couple of odd, clunky paragraphs in the novel, but
these only stand out due to their rarity, and nothing is life is perfect.
The characters in "Dancing with the Two-Headed Tigress" are
also less than perfect, but this only serves to make them more vivid. Take for
instance Hariprasad, the sweet shop owner who falls for Mousumi: he thinks
nothing of removing a cat's eye to make a sign of devotion (you have to read
the novel to find out why). And then there's Seph, Darshini's handsome, but
troubled lover. It gives you an indication of Tina Biswas's skill as a novelist
that she makes him so sympathetic, since, as well as he is blessed by his good
looks, he is damned by his jealous and violent anger. Do not be mistaken into
believing that Seph is some dark, brooding Mr. Rochester, for he is far more
complex than that romantic cliche.
"Dancing with the Two-Headed Tigress" is not yet another
chick-lit novel: Darshini is only one half of the title, not the star of the
book.
All the characters
are sketched out very well, and are very vivid. Although I did wonder how
Prakash came to be at school with one of his brothers if he was the last child
of the family, born 15 years after any of his siblings? However, Prakash's
impotence in the face of the two-headed tigress is really affecting, and you
feel greatly for him when Tuhina fends off his clumsy amorous advances. The
backstories of even the most minor characters, such as the Chatterjees, are so
very well embellished that they could have justified their own novels. Tina
Biswas's portrayal of Ireland and its inhabitants is also very convincing. In
addition, there are a number of grotesque stories in the novel, which Tina
Biswas relates very well. Having said that, she does break one of the 'golden'
rules of writing in that she does a whole lot more telling rather than showing,
but since "Dancing with the Two-Headed Tigress" is such a compelling
narrative, she gets away with this with ease. Besides, she does allow a great deal
of room for the reader's imagination when it comes to the resolution of the
novel. Then again, some unfinished business could be fertile ground for a
sequel... Tina Biswas's novel has not been feted as much as works by
lesser authors, but I'm sure that this will be rectified soon, as positive word
spreads around about this excellent debut. I look forward to reading more of
Tina Biswas's excellent prose in the future.
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interview
