review
An unusual blend of genres that draws on academia and popular culture, Antichristie is a towering work of fiction from one of Germany’s most intriguing voices. In her second novel, following the award-winning Identitti (translated by Alta L. Price), Mithu Sanyal offers a thorough and sometimes unsettling exploration of identity, racism and the impacts of colonialism, set against the backdrop of Indian independence.
Antichristie opens in Germany, where screenwriter Durga is scattering her mother’s ashes. Though recently bereaved, she is suddenly required to travel to London for work: a workshop to develop an anti-racist adaptation of an Agatha Christie story. Durga makes the journey with Nena, a friend from university; in 1990s West Germany the two were involved in the punk and Antifa movements. But following an argument with Nena on Brick Lane, Durga finds herself transported back in time to the East London of 1906, trapped in the body of Sanjeev, a Bengali man.
From this point, the novel becomes one of the locked-room mysteries in which Durga specialises, incorporating screenwriting features and blurring the lines between past and present. As Sanjeev finds refuge in India House, a student residence, he encounters figures from the fight for Indian independence, including Gandhi, Madan Lal Dhingra (who shot British official Curzon Wyllie) and Hindu nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Though trying not to interfere with history, Durga/Sanjeev feels compelled to help Savarkar avoid becoming known as the ‘Hindu Hitler’, and enlists Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of Wyllie’s murder.
Sometimes blending both timelines, Sanyal powerfully shows the interconnection between the British colonial ‘experiment’ in India, the early days of the independence movement, and the impact on modern-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Multiple voices and layered histories make the past, the future and the personal political; nevertheless, the dialogue remains authentic and the characters – real or fictitious – are vivid and believable. Sanyal draws heavily on her background in cultural studies and academia, but the novel retains a compelling freshness and dark sense of humour.
A post-colonial reworking of classic British stories (Doctor Who, Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes) that explores identity politics and the seeds of radicalisation while critiquing the established historical narrative written by the victor, Antichristie is a thought-provoking and imaginative novel with great relevance for today’s world.
All recommendations from Autumn 2024