About the Author – Dr. Merlin Franco
Born in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Merlin Franco is an Ethnobiologist by profession, currently residing on Borneo Island, Malaysia.He is known for writing satires and having a good hold on the social undercurrents in his home state.
“Saint Richard Parker” is his second novel , the first one being A Dowryless wedding , which was very well received.
What make “Saint Richard Parker”a Good Read
1. The Cover – The cover design by Estella is very clever .It depicts a close likeness of Merlin Franco , the author , with a Halo around his head and saffron clothes, depicting the Saint status of the self proclaimed Saint Richard Parker.Also notice the tongue in cheek tag of – Now (not ) a Major Motion Picture.The cover itself is catchy enough to make me pick up this book.
2.The plot– The book is a collection of human experiences that self proclaimed Saint Richard Parker undergoes in his search for love, sex and Moksha all the way from his native village Kuttithamaraikulam (which means little lotus pond ) to Borneo Island via thailand etc.The book is divided into 4 parts
Part 1. For the love of cows
Part 2. Richard Parker in Little Lotus Pond
Part 3. The Voyage to Southeast Asia
Part 4. The Return to Little Lotus Pond
3.Saint Richard Parker – In this book, Richard Parker is a journalist who writes for a popular newspaper “Indian Republic”, but is thrown out when his investigation of a Cow shelter scam points towards his very own boss.Robbed of his job and his dignity, Richard Parker sets out to seek Nirvana for his soul.In his quest for Moksha, he meets various people from different walks of life and different ideologies who propel him forward (and sometimes backward) in his search for love and Sainthood.Sometimes Black and blue and red but almost always the brown man, Saint Richard Parker stumbles across the truth of love and life in a very heartwarming ending.
4. Narration – The book “Saint Richard Parker ” has no holds barred wit and humour sprinkled on every page and I must say I just loved reading his amusing accounts of SRP’s antics – whether it was his misinterpretation of “Kallu” (meaning Blackie in a derogatory sense in Hindi ) as some ode to his handsomeness or the incident where he inadvertently ends up helping tow away a stolen car trying to be a good Samaritan.Merlin Franco has a witty repartee even when he faces racism and discrimination from not only foreigners but even his own people.His writing while amusing is also a sad commentary on the state of affairs in our country and the status of the brown man as compared to the white man outside India.
Quotes from “Saint Richard Parker” by Merlin Franco
Here are some interesting quotes from Saint Richard Parker which I just could not help sharing with you all.
1.”We sell cow urine “From Grass-Fed Country Cows”—at twice the price of milk. That is an unbeatable 300 percent profit margin. We also sell pure, sun-dried organic cow dung that emits oxygen while burning. “
2. “Life was routine for Aroonan until Lord Ayyappa’s call arrived in the form of a laddoo through his neighbor. It was perfect timing for three reasons: one, at eighteen, Aroonan was already slipping into hooliganism like his Tamil peers, risking execution; two, black country chickens in his neighborhood began disappearing, only to surface headless in male vitality-enhancing rituals; three, had the laddoo found him a day later, the mold inside would have turned it velvety black. He has been visiting Sabarimala regularly since then.”
3. She prods the cigar on her lips for a while and asks me with a straight face, “Tell me Parker boy, is the vagina a wine bottle that loses its flavor once opened?”
… killed my hanker for virgins.
4.Pay only $4,999 US dollars, and liberate your soul.
Grab your copy of “Saint Richard Parker ” for more such humor laced hard hitting social trends.
Book Specifications
Title – Saint Richard Parker
Author – Merlin Franco
Price – E-book (kindle version) – Rs 160/- BUY IT HERE
Language – English
Genre- Fiction, Satire, Humour
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This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Dr. Preeti Chauhan.
#sinplypretty #bookreviews #books #booklovers #abetterlife
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