Animal's People by Indra Sinha

The novel is set in a city named Khaufpur, which is fictional but has experienced a similar catastrophe [to Bhopal]. It is narrated by a nineteen-year-old boy whose spine was destroyed by the gas, such that he must move around on all fours—he's taken the name 'Animal' to reflect what he sees as his nature. There are demands for the chemical firm (known only as 'the Kampani') to face justice, but it has thus far refused even to send lawyers to Khaupfur. Now Elli Barber, an 'Amrikan doctress', arrives in the city to open free clinic—but is she all that she seems? Could she actually be working for the Kampani?

The full review is available online at Serendipity.

Further links:
Indra Sinha
The city of Khaupfur
Simon & Schuster

On the Overgrown Path by David Herter

Janáček is the protagonist, though the tale itself names him only as J______. He begins on a train, carrying his notebook, in which he transcribes the notation of any interesting sound he hears. During an unscheduled stop at an unfamiliar village, J______ hears a beautiful song and races off to find its singer. He fails, but the distraction causes him to miss the departing train. Staying at the village, he comes across the body of a young woman who was wounded horrifically – and discovers that there may be more going on than meets the eye...

The full review appears in Issue Two of The Small Press Review.

Further links:
PS Publishing

The Man Who Was Loved by Kay MacCauley

We first meet Marin as an infant at the San Barnabo Redentore Shelter for Foundlings. Sister Clara recognises something in him: could he be her own child, the one she abandoned? Believing so, she takes him from the shelter to raise herself.... As Marin grows, he discovers that people see in him who they want to see, which sometimes even leads to his own physical appearance changing in sympathy. This naturally leads to... various adventures.

The full review appears in Issue Two of The Small Press Review.

Further links:
Telegram Books