Arzee the Dwarf

Arzee the dwarf's dream has come true. He has been crowned as head projectionist at the Noor, the Bombay cinema where he has been working since his teens. Arzee thinks that the worst of his troubles are behind him, and that he can marry and settle down now. But not for the first time, Arzee has it all wrong!

Arzee the Dwarf follows Arzee through day and night, slow time and fast time, agitation and reverie, beautifully setting off the inner world of Arzee’s jagged ruminations against the beating and pulsing of the great city around him. The narration vividly brings to life not just the protagonist, but also a host of characters to whom Arzee turns in his hour of need. Can Arzee find a place for himself in "the world of the fives and the sixes"? This bittersweet comedy, shuffling between hope and dread, between the yearnings of body and soul, is a book about the strange beauty of human dreaming.

About The Author
Chandrahas Choudhury is a writer and literary critic based in Mumbai. His reviews appear regularly in the Observer, the Sunday Telegraph, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Mint. He also writes the literary weblog The Middle Satage.