An interesting read but nightmare inducing
I do not usually delve into surrealism. It is not my cup of tea. When I read the blurb for Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan, I thought it was a compilation of short stories about the life of non-Arab people living and working in the Gulf countries. There is probably no Malayali family that does not have a Gulf connection of some sort. Some immediate or distant relative has probably worked in a Gulf country. At one point, three of my uncles and an aunt and her family were in different Gulf countries and I reaped the benefits in dresses and chocolates. I had no idea, however, about the reality of their lives there. I still don’t. So, I was keen to read Temporary People . Unusual read It was not the kind of book I was prepared for. Yet, I read it with the kind of wide-eyed fascination that I usually reserve for slow-motion videos on Animal Planet that show herbivores being ripped apart by cute leopard cubs. And I discovered why surrealism is not for me. There is somethi...
