india author m 1- a-nan - University of Wollongong

one of "East West encounter"; Sindi's quest is for peace and the meaning of life, not for
cultural roots. The thematic concerns of this novel indicate that Joshi is interested in more
deeply universal human problems than the East-West theme, as his later novels show.
SRINATH, C.N. "Crisis of Identity: Assertion and Withdrawal in Naipaul and Arun Joshi"
The Literary Criterion 14.1 (1980):33-41. Reprinted in The Literary Landscape Delhi:
Mittal Publications, 1986: 60-69.
SRINATH, C. N. "The Fiction of Arun Joshi: The Novel of Interior Landscape." The
Literary Criterion 12, nos.2-3 (1976): 115-33. Reprinted in The Literary Landscape
(Delhi: Mittal Publications, 1986): 40-59.
Leavisite. Presents evaluations of Joshi’s first three novels in terms of theme and
treatment. Srinath examines various aspects--characterization, structure, and language. The
Foreigner shows a remarkable degree of maturity and technical competence in its original
treatment of the theme of east-west encounter. The protagonist of The Strange Case of Billy
Biswas, Joshi's second novel, is aware of a region beyond the frontiers of ordinary human
consciousness. Joshi's craftsmanship is excellent. Billy realizes that the price of making the
choice (he disappears from civilized urban society) is terrible, but the price of not making it is
even more terrible. Ratan Rathor, in The Apprentice, shows the price paid for not choosing-moral
corruption. Joshi's sense of the concrete, and his eye on situation a character, enable
him to avoid the pitfalls of a thesis novel. Rathor is Everyman, and his story reveals the utter
degeneration of modern Indian society.
SRINATH, C. N. "Crisis of Identity: Assertion and Withdrawal in Naipaul and Arun Joshi."
The Literary Criterion 14, no.1 (1980): 33-41. Reprinted in The Literarv Landscape (New
Delhi: Mitt Publishers, 1986): 60-69.
Compares V.S. Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas and Arun Joshi's The Strange
Case of Billy Biswas. The central theme of both novels is the crisis of identity; in Naipaul, the
crisis is one of assertion, the supreme manifestation of which is Mr Biswas wanting to acquire
a house. Naipaul successfully presents a protagonist who is detestable but dignified and gains
our sympathy. In Joshi's novel, the crisis manifests itself in surrender to primitive forces. Billy
Biswas, a Ph.D in anthropology from an American university, son of a Supreme Court judge,
renounces his entire past, his parents, wife and child, to lead the life of a tribal in the forest.
Joshi makes Billy's action credible by showing us his seemingly eccentric but inwardly rich life
through his letters to his girl friend Tuula, and the way he argues with his father about judging
people who act under extraordinary circumstances. Both novels are distinguished by the
appropriateness of their styles that suit the nature of the tensions of their central characters.
SRIVASTAVA, RAMESH K. "The Theme of Alienation in Arun Joshi' Novels." Ken:
Journal of English Studies and Creative Writing 1 (1982-3): 13-24. Reprinted in Six Indian
Novelists in English (Amritsar: Guru Nanak Dev University, 1987): 311-25.
Shows how Joshi’s protagonists are alienated from society, family and self. Sindi Oberoi
learns the need for right action as well as detachment through the deaths of his friends; Billy
Biswas finds his true self in primitive nature; Ratan Rathor compromises with society and
realises the futility of inauthentic life. Joshi uses animal images to show disaffected inner states.
He is not necessarily detached from society, since his depiction of its evils is a sign of social
concern.