Abhay, un estudiante hindú recién llegado a Estados Unidos, hiere de un disparo a un mono ladrón que frecuenta el tejado de la casa de sus padres cerca de Nueva Delhi. El impacto que recibe el animal es tan fuerte que recupera su conciencia humana: en una existencia anterior fue Sanjay, un poeta del siglo XIX que ahora, reencarnado en mono y herido, sino desea morir deberá contar cada día un relato diferente, que resultará ser un gran repaso por la historia de la India.

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "This was a really fun read. Contrasts Indian and American culture, while teaching a lot of Indian history. Recall cover photo; Monkey at the typewriter." ( )

This novel flip flops between early 19th century India, and 1990s India and California/Texas. It is about coming home and what is home, family and what is family, and identity. The cover is not lying, there is a typing monkey.

Many of Chandra's early 19th century characters were real people. I am not well-versed in Indian history (especially Indian military history), so I spent a fair amount of time reading about James Sikander Skinner, George Thomas (Jaharai Jung), Begum Sumroo, and more on Wikipedia. I looked up foods and places and wars. I am sure that someone with good knowledge of Indian history and culture would get a lot more out of this book than I did.

But I did enjoy this. Stories within stories, characters across time, gods, cricket in Houston, college in LA, driving long distances, characters in the 19th century and the 20th century wondering who they are and where they belong. ( )

I found it at the Salvos and it looked interesting and had good reviews on Goodreads. A monkey in India is shot and nearly dies, which give him the ability to recall his past lives and communicate them on a typewriter. He makes a deal with the God of Death that he can live as long as he can entertain an audience with his tales, and so begins to tell stories.

I normally can't stand this kind of thing but I like it so far.

Nah, gave up for now. Too many characters to keep straight. This needs to be read in long chunks and I can't do it justice right now.

Fascinating! And dense with characters and events. I found it a bit hard to follow -- so many characters, some mythical, and the writing is rich with detail of all kinds. It's a story of stories, narrated mostly by a god-like monkey who used to be human. I'd like to read it again sometime, as I was less confused after reading half the book and I'd get more out of it the second time. This author has boundless imagination! I couldn't tell how much was historical, if any. It's a complex book and richly so, as I said. There are many long, run-on sentences, so the reader must pay close attention. There is much to admire in the book and writing. There are several comical scenes of the monkeys running off with clothing from the clothesline on the roof, and more. Most of the stories interlock, revealing a saga of the life of the monkey as a human and other key people and their adventures, trials, lives and loves, and foes. I'd recommend the book for more sophisticated readers and perhaps for those living in India or who have lived there or visited at length. Though I have heard of the Gods in the book, I know nothing about them. ( )