Rating: 
Summary: dense Kathmandu life, implausible characters
Review: Previously, the author has published the collection of short stories "Arresting God in Kathmandu". With this novel he takes the opportunity of treating in more depth the problems that he explored in his short stories. We accompany Ramchandra, a disillusioned schoolteacher in Kathmandu. Because of his meager salary he tutors students for the School Leaving Examination. He takes a liking to one student, a young woman with a kid but no husband, starts to cheat on his wive, and later confesses to her. She moves out but, for reasons that are not quite clear, moves back in later, where Ramchandra, his mistress and her son, and his wive and their two kids are now living together in utter breach with tradition. How might this come to a conclusion?In contrast to one might expect the book isn't so much a character study of the three, very different, protagonists, but a social study of Kathmandu. The surroundings are described to some detail and it is easy to follow the characters on their wanderings though the city. The story is very much at odds with traditional, and probably also contemporary, Kathmandu. How Ramchandra, his wive and his mistress act is sometimes hard to understand, and their reasoning is even stranger. The final justification for Ramchandra's wive's staying with him is unbelievable, even though it gives a nice reference back to the title of the book. The book is well written and easy to read. The characters are not developed to my satisfaction. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a feeling for Nepali life in the city of Kathmandu.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing but disjointed novel about midlife crisis in Nepal
Review: Ramchandra, a schoolteacher, seems to be happily married; his dream is to one day buy a house for his family. To earn extra income, he tutors students on the side, but he constantly and unsuccessfully struggles to make ends meet, and he falls in love with one of his students. While this is certainly familiar literary terrain, Samrat Upadahyay's debut novel is distinctive for its Kathmandu setting, social milieu, and religious elements. Featuring prose that is emotionally reserved and stylistically brusque, the book excels at portraying a middle-class protagonist, including his guilt whenever he spends money on frivolous luxuries, his remorse when he cheats on his wife, and the drudgery of his workaday world. The same can't be said for the rest of the characters, who sometimes border on cardboard cutouts. There are the nasty in-laws, who regard Ramchandra as an inferior match for their daughter. There is his mistress, Maliti, whose motives are shallow and whose passions seem capricious. And there is Ramchandra's wife, Goma, a compassionate, suffering saint who overcomes her initial anger over the affair and resorts to a surprising solution to accommodate her husband's mistress. Although Goma is certainly likeable (what saint isn't?), the author presents absolutely nothing in Goma's character or background that would make this aspect of the story even remotely believable. Much of this subplot struck me as fanciful, because its representation resembled a midlife fantasy instead of a midlife crisis. True--married men everywhere have affairs and their wives accept them back, but how many wives are so bizarrely tolerant of their husband's transgressions? The novel is also strewn with passages relating the social and political upheaval in Nepal. The purpose of these passages, while informative, is never really clear. Upadhyay might be contrasting everyday personal travails with political and social disorder ("My personal problems are my country's problems," Ramchandra says at one point), but the comparison seems superficial and the disconnectedness of these episodes is often jarring. Nevertheless, the book is never boring, and the depictions of the Dashain festival and religious rituals are captivating. Much, much more happens in the novel, and in many ways it redeems itself in the final chapters.
Rating: 
Summary: RICH AND REWARDING
Review: Related with humanity and humor this debut novel by Nepali writer Samrat Upadhyay places him among the most gifted of contemporary authors. "Arresting God in Kathmandu," his 1999 collection of short stories gathered unanimous acclaim with critics hailing his work as "fiction that haunts as much as it instructs" and "complex and delicate." Surely, "The Guru Of Love" will reap even greater praise. Narrator/protagonist Ramchandra is a teacher of mathematics in Nepal. His school sits in a compressed muddy alley where piles of garbage are heaped.. Ramchandra's professional surroundings are similar to his personal dwelling - he lives in a tiny apartment with his wife, Goma, and two children, a daughter, Sanu, 13, and a rambunctious son, Rakesh, 9. Mired in no-way-out poverty Ramchandra tutors in an attempt to save enough to buy land. For him, Kathmandu is a city "swollen to such a point that it was ready to explode." And he owns absolutely nothing. Add to this the rudeness of his wealthy in-laws, the Pandeys, who look down upon him because he has not provided well for their daughter and grandchildren. One of Ramchandra's tutees is Malati, a beautiful but poor teenage mother. Deserted by the father of her child she lives with a stepmother who reviles her. It is not long before tutor and student begin an affair. Enchanted by the young woman yet troubled by his infidelity Ramchandra eventually tells Goma about his extra-marital relationship. Goma accepts the news almost impassively, or so it seems to Ramchandra, and leaves him. She takes their children and goes to live with her well-to-do family at Pandey Palace. The affair between teacher and student continues, but Ramchandra is desolated by the loss of his family and begs his wife to return. Goma does agree to come back but with one startling proviso: Malati and her baby are to come to their apartment and live with them. It seems that Goma knows Malati has no one and is concerned about the welfare of the young mother and her baby. Much to the distress of the Pandeys this rather unique arrangement takes place. There is, they say, gossip throughout the city and Ramchandra's fellow teachers and neighbors ridicule him. What is apparently a harmonious relationship slowly changes to one of tension as each individual struggles to realize who and what they have become. Personal issues are set against a backdrop of unrest in a city and country during the 1990 pro-democracy movement. Tradition vs. modernization. Can there be room for both? Ramchandra is undergoing a transformation as is his country. Samrat Upadhyay, a teacher at Baldwin-Wallace college, brilliantly paints a country's culture and the dichotomy of desires within the human heart. - Gail Cooke
Rating: 
Summary: Not a book for someone from the indian subcontinent.
Review: The book brings no real surprise if you are from India or a reader of contemporary indian fiction (a suitable boy). Its a simple predictable story, not particularly rich in details.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Novel
Review: The Guru of Love is a terrific read. It is entertaining, engaging and well-written. The story concerns a middle-aged school teacher, Ramchandra, living in Katmandu. He has a wife he loves, two children and annoying in-laws who don't seem to like him that much. Ramchandra has middle class dreams of owning a house, but his realities keep him from that dream. To pick up some extra money, he tutors on the side. One of his tutees, Malati, is a young single mother with whom Ramchandra beomes a bit obsessed with. He begins an affair with her and ultimately, his wife finds out. His wife's behavior, while a little unconventional, makes for interesting reading. Ramchandra is not the most sympathetic of protagonists, but he is all to human and most readers will see bits of themselves in him, if not in his actions. The final resolutions of various parts of the novel (why Ramchandra's wife married him in the first place, what happens to Malati) are particularly satisfying. Not neat, tidy endings, but an excellent, and a bit amusing, ending. Enjoy this well-written novel.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Novel
Review: The Guru of Love is a terrific read. It is entertaining, engaging and well-written. The story concerns a middle-aged school teacher, Ramchandra, living in Katmandu. He has a wife he loves, two children and annoying in-laws who don't seem to like him that much. Ramchandra has middle class dreams of owning a house, but his realities keep him from that dream. To pick up some extra money, he tutors on the side. One of his tutees, Malati, is a young single mother with whom Ramchandra beomes a bit obsessed with. He begins an affair with her and ultimately, his wife finds out. His wife's behavior, while a little unconventional, makes for interesting reading. Ramchandra is not the most sympathetic of protagonists, but he is all to human and most readers will see bits of themselves in him, if not in his actions. The final resolutions of various parts of the novel (why Ramchandra's wife married him in the first place, what happens to Malati) are particularly satisfying. Not neat, tidy endings, but an excellent, and a bit amusing, ending. Enjoy this well-written novel.
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