I initially read Rupee Millionaires because no one ever thinks of wanting to be such a thing. However, here author Frank Kusy writes in his own memoir of achieving the dream.
The book begins in the throes of India where this man from the UK has come to find himself. Here he becomes a horrible self-proclaimed Buddhist, he eats meat after all, and begins to write travel guides.
To become better self supported he begins to sell hippy clothing brought back from India to the markets of London.
Here he meets an unlikely and bullish character by the name of Spud. Their partnership is forged when Spud takes over Frank's market stall and announces he needs a partner. This begins the dream of becoming rupee millionaires which is actually 20,000 British pounds.
Frank's partnership with Spud is ironically long lasting, a "marriage" of epic proportions which include, Spud's threats to customers, bombings, tax evasion and threats to Frank's personal health and well being. It seems almost odd that Frank would continue to forge this relationship as long as he did.
This duo will achieve the rupee millionaire dream many times over but in the end at what cost.
Along the way, in his many travels to India to buy stock, Frank meets other interesting characters all of whom are in business of some sort but meet yearly as friends. They become known as the Pushkar Posse.
These very people will also shape Frank into the person he will eventually become and help him achieve the one thing he has always wanted, the approval of his Hungarian mother.
After years of travel that takes the author through personal loss, danger to self, travels through India, Thailand and other parts of Asia, mental breakdown, love and self-discovery, the author ends the book in a twist that even takes him off guard.
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Once I started reading this book, I absolutely could not put it down. Through Frank Kusy's travels and words, I learned of an India that makes me want to meet it. I also learned of the things I also do not want to meet.
Certain chapters make you want to scream at the author, others make your mouth drop in disbelief and even others make you endeared to the author and some of its characters. All in all you wonder if the tale is really true or if this is just a good story written by a man who knows India and its people well.
The fact is, I couldn't care less. This book was well written and entertaining. It deserves the 5 stars I am giving it.
~Naila Moon
Disclosure: I downloaded a free copy of this book to my Kindle. The opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
Where to find the author:
Amazon
6 comments:
Great review girlfriend! Sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Lovely review.
This isn't a true account by any means. I am one of the people characterized in this work of fiction and the whole plot is a fabrication woven around some fairly amusing anecdotes.
The author has struggled for 20 years to try to put this story into a workable format and this is a poor attempt indeed.
Please notice, I said this, "All in all you wonder if the tale is really true or if this is just a good story written by a man who knows India and its people well."
My review is how I read it.
I find it interesting that you post on my blog as an anonymous person with this comment. Reveal yourself! After all, he said he did not use real names! Maybe you should write your own book with your own take. Hmm???
I'm actually considering doing that.
He used an anonymous nickname to portray me in the book so I have preserved my anonymity thus far. If I produce an alternative work I'll be sure to link you.
I did recieve a full copy of the book on request and I see he has extended 3 years of business together (1991/1994) into approximately 8 and extended our relationship until 2001 when in fact I had no contact with him after December 1995.
I thought the book was poorly written with many details hat I can recall from memory missing from his documented records that he used to keep. Even small details a writer could easily check are incorrect. For example he says he went to India in 2001 still sore after tramping through the mud at Glastonbury. Glastonbury festival was not held in 2001 and the closest years it was muddy were 1997,1998, 2004, 2005. A good writer checks things like that, even if he's writing fiction.
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