The Cripple and His Talismans

After a solid decade or so, I got around to reading a recommendation from another friend. I finished a short but powerful novel called The Cripple and His Talismans by Anosh Irani. I understand the book was recommended to me largely because of the prose...the author's writing voice. I must say the prose was what resonated the most with me as well. Very well done. I read a copy I grabbed on my Kindle.

The Cripple and His Talismans Book Cover

The Cripple and His Talismans is an extremely somber book. The main character, who has lost one of his arms, is struggling to adapt to the chaos of the world around him and to the events of his own life. I don't think this book is about depression, though the narrator is certainly depressed, but about trauma. He struggles to accept what has happened to him and even to accept what he has done to others.

The story follows the narrator through various locales in a slum as he is trying to become whole again. He's looking for clues that may redeem him. It has a dream-like, illusory quality to it. The characters and events are often not realistic but are no less stirring for that.

The book is somber. I think that's a good way to describe it. It is a short book, but I could only read it in even shorter sittings. I needed time to process what I had read. I thought I'd share a few unrelated passages from the book to give you a taste of what I'm referring to. It's beautiful but haunting stuff.

"People say that when hurtful words are repeated often enough they lose their sting. That is false. You never get used to bad things."

"Tonight I would like to tell everyone I have ever known that I am sorry."

"Words are useless. They are rotten vegetables that no one should use."

And last but not least: "The past is a tricky thing. You spend the present trying to forget it. So perhaps there is no such thing as the past because it is always present."

I enjoyed reading this book and am grateful for the recommendation. I likely never would have come across it without the heads up that it was out there and worth reading. I read it quickly.