Animal’s People is Sinha’s second novel. Set against a fictionalised backdrop of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, it is the story of Jaanvar, an adolescent whose body was distorted by the effects of the gas, so that he must now walk on all fours, like an animal. (Its opening line, "I was human once" must rank among the great opening lines of all time.) Born out of Sinha’s own emotional experiences as a long-time Bhopal activist, the book is narrated in the bitter, raucous and profane voice of Jaanvar, as he rambles on into a "tape mashin" given to him by an Australian "jarnalis", addressing the surreal, disembodied Eyes that will someday read his words.
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It’s a dark and ambitious book. Like poisoned gas, it grabs you by the throat and sears your insides. There is just one problem: Sinha’s style of Indian English is sometimes laboured. But then he’s not an Indian author writing in English; he’s an English author writing in Indian.
