Written in the form of a letter addressed to God, the narrator’s experience of her traumatic train journey and her narration of the events unfolding after that constitute the plot of Vampire. Like many modernist novels, there is the depiction of the inner world of the main character and the use of dream sequences, nightmares, and foreshadowing of events in the narrative.
Sood wants to make it extremely clear to his readers that the global networks of war, money, arms, oil are stronger than ever. Even as he highlights the proliferation of conspiracy theories and subterfuge advertising, Sood hints at the need to cultivate discernment among a country’s citizens.
History comes alive in the narrative as the chants of ‘Simon, Go Back’ fill the air, or when we see the call for Salt Satyagraha at Dandi reverberating in Garhpura in Bihar when everyone in the village joins the march to make salt.
The book features a long, rambling interview that references important themes such as Hindustaniyat, the Partition and its resonances, his formative days with the Progressive Writers Association, the Punjabi Sahitya Sabha, and reminiscences of working with nearly the entire pantheon of filmmakers, music directors, and actors in India over about fifty years.
Mani’s autobiography insightfully spells out traits of the politicians and authors and points out, ‘There are some writers whose subconscious is filled with politics and when they actively pursue literature, they juxtapose organization, leadership
Nadeem Khan’s translation is excellent. In times when we have serious debates on the political and subjective agency of the translator, Khan seems to be a follower of the classical school: not displaying any inclination towards transcreation and the dubious freedom it brings.