After three novels, British-Indian author Sunjeev Sahota’s latest, The Spoiled Heart, is another skilful piece of work that confirms what a gifted writer he is.
His debut book, Ours are the Streets (2011), was a powerful story of a Sheffield-based young Muslim man’s search for identity and his political radicalisation.
Unlike his previous novels, where the narrative alternates between Britain and India, his latest is set entirely on British soil although he continues in the same vein, tackling contemporary political and social concerns. After all, by his own admission, Sahota is on the Left and has been in union and labour movements for years; he is critical of identity politics and a believer in solidarity and economic justice.
A multi-layered, intriguing and compelling page-turner, The Spoiled Heart is as much a tale of trade union politics, class-race divide, misogyny and elitism as it is about love, grief, and the mystery surrounding two families.
Set in the industrial city of Chesterfield in central England, the plot has two main strands — the political and the personal — revolving around the protagonist, Nayan Olak, a 40-plus Sikh factory worker who has earned the admiration of his peers for years of tireless union advocacy. Following the tragic death of his mother and son in a fire two decades earlier and consequently his marriage break-up, Nayan, who is immersed in union work, decides to run for General Secretary of the city’s largest union.
Battle of wills
He is pitted against British-Indian Megha Sharma who is younger, better educated, from a privileged background, and the union’s first-ever Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The duo battles the election on differing ideas and visions leading to a vicious and destructive campaign that boils down to the working-class vs. the elite, or class vs. identity.
Nayan, a veteran unionist, with his “curdled charisma”, swears by “politics based around solidarity and universalism” and broad-based economic reforms to benefit the working class while Megha, the “change candidate” donning the badge of identity politics, roots for special initiatives for oppressed groups. Megha pulls out all the stops to ensure victory but when Nayan’s popularity continues to soar, she resorts to defamation and lying to wrest the election from Nayan, who is now at his wits’ end. “My life’s being destroyed in front of my eyes,” he confronts Megha who audaciously responds with, “Then stand down. Resign. That’s all people want…”
On the personal front, Nayan is caught up in a complicated love story. He has begun a relationship with Helen Fletcher, a health worker, who, after disappearing several years ago, has returned to town, son in tow. Nayan is also burdened as caretaker of his abusive father, battling dementia and Parkinson’s.
In his heart of hearts, Nayan is an upstanding human whose mission in life is to improve the lot of the working class, a fact everyone knows. Even his comrade, Richard, who ditched Nayan to join forces with Megha, cannot hold himself back from wishing him well when he is compelled to resign: “You’ll be missed. You’ve been the place’s beating heart.” One can be the beating heart of the place but hearts do get spoiled, reflects Nayan and departs quietly.
View from the outside
Sahota has employed the outside-narrator device, telling the story through the eyes of Sajjan, a journalist-cum-writer and Nayan’s childhood friend. Through interviews with the main characters, Sajjan, detective-like, leads the reader in unravelling Nayan’s past, the mystery behind the fire, Helen’s dark secrets and her role in Nayan’s life and his inevitable downfall.
Deftly structured, with rich characterisation and a lively pace, the author has explored equality and equity and the nuances of disparate political views in building solidarity within the working class, while neatly blending politics into the narrative without sounding didactic. Add to that the imaginative telling of the family story, of loss and belonging and more.
In the end, one wonders why authors use excessive cuss words. Is it to convey the attitudes or toughness of the characters or the values of society? Sahota too drops many F-bombs (even during formal speeches and within the precincts of a gurudwara) which seem gratuitous and unnecessary.
That said, with two Booker nominations (one, a finalist) under his belt, will Sahota score a hat-trick with this latest? I’d wager that.
The reviewer is a Bengaluru-based independent journalist and writer.
The Spoiled Heart
Sunjeev Sahota
Hamish Hamilton
₹699
Published - June 14, 2024 09:45 am IST
