My Review: Behind the Silicon Mask

Author: Eshwar Sundaresan
Blurb (probably the most misleading oneI have ever read):

"A serial killer targeting immigrants.
A record-shattering snowstorm that aids his cold mission.
A community of 200 Indian IT professionals under a siege.
A rapacious corporate employer, an unflinching deadline and a boss willing to risk anything.
A tale-twist in every living room and bedroom.
A bleak, fateful Friday that brings together all these elements and changes lives forever.
Neither Partho Sen nor Varun Belthangady is aware that his life is in danger. There is one man who can save them yet – Detective Farley of the Milwaukee Police Department. But will the serial killer prove too clever for him?" 

I am never much of a thriller/suspense book type. I would pick a lit-fic over a suspense novel any day. I had this book on my table for almost two days before I started reading but once I did I could not put it down till I finished it. I was speechless, because for once somebody had tried to put it on paper about how it feels to be working in IT. I couldn't have said it more pragmatically or eloquently. The serial killer plot line goes into the background when you get into the characters and their narratives. I was more interested as to how their choices would affect their future than the friendly neighborhood serial killer.

It gives a slightly skewed but an honest view of the IT service industry. It showcases the lives of those thousands of Indians living in the US in the name of client service. No one actually thinks about the daily struggles that people go through once they go to there, all everyone they see is the good life. The book makes a good introduction to fiction based on the IT industry. It analyzes conventions, reveals the machinations involved, and describes a slice of their lives. The author packed his novel with a lot of emotions and backgrounds of people in IT with different stories, lives and attitudes.

I had worked in an IT company for two years and I knew how meaningless, how conformist that life can be. There is no place for your independent thought. There is no space for emotion. You live, you code. The story underscores these emotions across its characters. It is a practical and emotional illustration of people in CSIK (drawing heavy parallels to Infy/TCS), their dreams and hopes and shocking reality and tragedy when things go horribly wrong during one winter in Wisconsin. 

The main plot is basic and it the police procedural part of the story is quite brisk, without wasting time on cliff hangers we get to the bottom of the mystery pretty soon.The story flows back and forth from one character to another. It sometimes gets a bit distracting because you are pulled out of one character's story to another hastily. It would have been better had there been lesser supporting roles so that the story would not loose its focus from the main plot. (What the fuck happened to Bugs!)

Regrettably, it ends too soon and misses an important opportunity to probe into many issues raised. There was no closure after a building all those characters.

Verdict: It was an enjoyable read that works as good summer reading material.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com.