Book review: Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan

Temporary People by Deepkak Unnikrishnan (first published in 2017 by Restless Books)

Unnikrishnan provides a quick glimpse into the lives and beliefs of others, in a mesmerizingly poetic and striking manner. His words are weapons, hitting the reader in the heart and mind. 

Comprising a series of short stories, Unnikrishnan cleverly narrates differing opinions and situations, from a night-shift emergency nurse’s experiences patching up broken labourers, to the frustrations of teenage boys unable to communicate effectively in a foreign country’s mother tongue, to the large-scale manufacture and importing of workers to feed the industrial machine that is Saudi Arabia, Temporary People has a little of everything. 

In addition, it encompasses shadows of the taboo; the results of deception, homosexuality and moral depravity, in whatever forms this may take. All spectrums of human experience seem to be condensed into a singularly impressive book.

The stories are told with such feeling and intimacy that it is difficult to read these tales without feeling like a voyeur, an outsider looking in, immobile and silent. 

Yet these are not simply tales to be read and enjoyed, they serve to feed the reader’s understanding of another. Unnikrishnan plants ideas as one plant’s seeds; with care and at the right time. 

Purchase a copy of the book from Takealot.com.

Read more of Samantha’s reviews on her book blog.