Serendipity with a dash of erotica

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When man plans, God laughs. And when despair drives man to embrace death, the forces that be open up a whole new facet of life for him. The unexpected twists of fate and the miraculous turns of destiny form the crux of Mathew Vincent Menacherry’s debut novel Arrack in the Afternoon.
The book begins with a colourful introduction to Verghese Konnikara, a writer whose book of poems fails miserably. Dejected at his “only” talent having failed to earn him a respectable life, he surrenders to his hopelessness and this negativity leads him to attempt suicide. Like many escapists he thinks death will ease him of all failures. But life, as they say, is a mystery and the path that is destined for us is exactly where we land up, no matter how hard we try or wish for something different.
But Verghese is not successful in his attempt and his plans of ending his life fall flat. Fate has something else in store for him. He is miraculously saved and on this “miracle” rests Mathew’s 315-page saga.
Verghese’s miraculous escape takes him through nooks and corners of the “Big City” — a journey which eventually leads him to finding himself in the role of a godman and the title of Vargi Baba.
His ascent from a ragamuffin to a godman with a following among the rich portrays the state of our society where people fall prey to mumbo-jumbo and clever PR of preachers and cosmic healers.
Arrack in the Afternoon scratches the dark underbelly of metros and is peppered with generous doses of expletives and veiled erotica. The novel’s strength lies in the intricate details, which can be attributed to the eight years that the author has put into the writing of this book. Each character is described at length and Mathew offers elaborate insights into the psyche and circumstances that make them so.
Arrack in the Afternoon mirrors our society and metropolis today — melting pots of culture where migrants arrive with dreams in their eyes. Mathew has dared to be different in his debut effort. Chapters and pages reeking of muck, alcohol and blood should appeal to those with a taste for ruthless reality.