Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry – Book Summary
A lot of you might not have heard of Cyrus Mistry and for the rare few who have, you’ll most probably have mistook him for Ratan Tata’s successor! If you belong to the second group, then you’re not alone; when I picked up Cyrus Mistry’s first novel, The Radiance of Ashes, I, too, was under the same impression.
I really liked that first book so when I found out that the author’s 2nd novel, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry, was out; well out I went and bought myself a copy and now 7 days later, here I am trying to pen my thoughts into words in the form of this book review.
I don’t know how many Parsi stories you’ve read but believe me, they make for a wonderful read! There’s no community that’s as closely-knit as theirs and when such closeness is there, you’re bound to have some exciting times and interesting equations. From dysfunctional families to affairs with cousins; from unhappy marriages and colonial bungalows to betrayal, divorce and illicit affairs – yup, like I said, Parsi stories do make for an interesting read!
The origin of the book, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry, is actually a story in itself. Apparently, Cyrus was doing a documentary on corpse bearers in the Mumbai Parsi community in 1991, which never saw the light of day but the idea stuck with him and hence, 20 years later, this book was published as an inspiration from that tale.
“There’s Elchi (Phiroze Elchidana), son of a revered Parsi priest, narrating the story of his life – growing up in deeply religious Parsi household, being a non-achiever at school, falling in love with Seppy (Sepideh), the daughter of a khandhia, giving up his family to marry her, losing her soon after their daughter is born, and eventually his complete dignity amongst the Parsi community”
And so you have the story of Phiroze and Sepideh, a tale of tragic love that ends with a very important message for all of us. It’s a well-told story with a nice does of grey humour, irony and of course, tragedy! What I really loved about Cyrus Mistry was his approach in telling the story – it’s very mature and emphatic. There’s conflict, a sense of belonging and loss and the characters in themselves are crafted in various shades and layers to add to the beauty of the plot.
All in all, a must-read recommendation from my side!
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry – Book Excerpt
Below is a short summary and excerpt of the book:
“At the very edge of its many interlocking worlds, the city of Bombay conceals a near invisible community of Parsi corpse bearers, whose job it is to carry bodies of the deceased to the Towers of Silence.
Segregated and shunned from society, often wretchedly poor, theirs is a lot that nobody would willingly espouse. Yet that’s exactly what Phiroze Elchidana, son of a revered Parsi priest, does when he falls in love with Sepideh, the daughter of an aging corpse bearer…
Derived from a true story, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry is a moving account of tragic love that, at the same time, brings to vivid and unforgettable life the degradation experienced by those who inhabit the unforgiving margins of history…”
A really great book for those who love intelligent and moving love stories set in times that are just not present these days (sigh).
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry – Release Date
The book, Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry, has already been released and I was pretty surprised to note that hardly any promotion regarding this book has been done till now. Cyrus Mistry is a pretty intelligent writer and I expected his books to be in the limelight.
So that’s good news for all those wanting to read Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry because this is now available for order on almost all the online bookstores such as Flipkart and Infibeam.
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry – Praise for the Book
I really liked Cyrus Mistry’s first book, The Radiance of Ashes, and although it was not a huge commercial success, the book was a really nice read. Similar is the case with his 2nd novel and a lot of eminent personalities have given rave reviews for this book. This is what some of them had to say about Cyrus Mistry and the Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer:
“Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry shines a light on a little-known segment of the Parsi community. It is brilliant and unsettling.” — Khushwant Singh
“…Cyrus Mistry has long been known as perhaps the best writer of his generation.” — Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
“Mistry shows a very mature and empathetic approach in telling the story, developing conflict, a sense of longing and loss…”
“…it also tells an unsettling story of those on the fringes of an alarmingly shrinking community”
“The characters stay with the reader beyond the pages of the book…loved Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry”
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry – Price and Best Place to Buy
Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry is already out in the market and you can order a copy of this novel from any of the online bookstores such as Flipkart which is offering a great 30% Discount on this book.
The MRP of this book is INR 495 but thanks to the nice discount that Flipkart is offering, you can buy this book at a special price of INR 347 (at the time of writing this review)
In my personal opinion, Flipkart is one of the best places to buy all kinds of books because of the great discounts as well as their excellent delivery and overall service. So in case you’re looking to buy Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer by Cyrus Mistry, you can do so by clicking here.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
not a bad review at all. The book didn’t excite me much to be frank
This is a lovely review. It is really disappointing that good writers don’t get their fair share of recognition while the hack writers are oh-so-popular!
Thank you for bringing to light this author and his work.
If you are interested in reading Parsi stories, then Rohinton Mistry’s three books are a must read!