re:mote voices

Title: Paperback Raita
Author: William Rhode
Publisher:Pocket Books

paperback raita is the first novel by the writer will rhodes, his second due soon. like rhodes, his character josh king is a writer preparing for his first novel. josh has expressed a desire to be a writer, though for the most part he hasn't done anything towards that end, other than write a couple of articles for a paper. a paper in india, where he has spent a lot of time hanging around. his dad doesn't think that josh is really trying hard enough - so when his dad commits suicide, he makes it a condition of his will that josh publishes a successful novel if he is to get his inheritance of five million pounds.

during his time in india, josh has heard of a major drug dealer - someone from the bollywood scene of mumbai who is involved with the trafficking of drugs from pakistan to india, while also taking in goa's tourist trade. josh feels that if he can penetrate the circle surrounding this trade he might be able to get a story out of it, at least initially for the newspaper, and possibly then for a novel. but with the addition of yasmin a beautiful dutch girl who's boyfriend is arrested, and josh's childhood friend sanjeev, a plan comes about to rip off the drug baron and make a fortune that way.

this sets up something of a skam/heist plot - penetrate the inner circle of mumbai's drug trade, then time it for the next batch from pakistan and steal the money. this leads the cast from new delhi up to mumbai, then back down to the border with pakistan - providing something of a road trip aspect to the whole. throughout there is a certain mix of indian culture, details of the poverty and caste systems, which serves to flesh out the story and provide the exotic detail which it needs being set in india.

tension comes with josh's growing suspicion of those around him, and the fact that he actually becomes good friends with the ex-bollywood director who they are planning to rip off. paperback raita is self-aware enough to know what it is - a paperback adventure, pulp novel, taking in the classic themes of big journeys, beautiful women, and a big prize. of course in saying that, this is a light read, lacking grit - there are murders, druggies, and street kids, but somehow, like a lot of the other details, is perhaps too fleeting.