Subaltern Suspense
India Today|April 10, 2023
A good noir novel is more than mere entertainment. Tanuj Solanki's latest certainly fits the bill
Aditya Mani Jha
Subaltern Suspense

MANJHI'S MAYHEM

by Tanuj Solanki

PENGUIN INDIA

₹399; 216 pages

Good Indian noir is an infrequent occurrence, especially in the written medium. Good Indian noir that also has insightful things to say about the systemic injustices of Indian society is rarer still. Tanuj Solanki’s new novel, Manjhi’s Mayhem (2022), featuring a rough-around-the-edges Dalit hero (the promotional literature calls him an ‘anti-hero’, which isn’t really accurate) called Sewaram Manjhi, is a member of this small club.

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