PVLF 2025

"The Map and the Scissors" by Amit Majmudar: Book Review

on Aug 19, 2022

"The Map and the Scissors" by Amit Majmudar is a fantastic fictional piece that depicts the riveting story of modern Indian politics through two contrasting personalities, MK Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The author took an excellent approach to curate the personalities while maintaining their political ideologies.

Starting with the characters, Jinnah is a perfect gentleman and a brilliant lawyer, while Gandhi has been a raging success since he arrived in India. They are both of Gujarati origin, and by examining their early lives, readers can discover similarities. As the plot progresses, we see how their differences widen with each critical turn in anti-colonial Indian politics.

The most remarkable aspect of this novel is that it has delivered as an epic drama unfolding before our eyes. Being a Poet, Majumdar's writing style has refined this book to the highest degree; much of the prose reads like verses, beautifully structured while pertaining to the use of words to convey a complex range of emotions. The plot becomes more intense and dramatic as the novel progresses. As a result, the reading experience is smooth and comparable to that of a theatrical play.

Majumdar's portrayal of these historically renowned characters remains abstract and theoretical until the end, but this novel will extensively engross anyone interested in late colonial fiction and politics.

Overall, this exquisitely written fictional book provides readers with an intense reading experience.