Book Review: ‘The Sacrifice’ by Indrajit Garai

The Sacrifice is Indrajit Garai’s first volume of short stories. As the title suggests, each of its three stories are linked by the common theme of sacrifice.

The stories act as a window into the working class of society. Garai focuses on telling the stories of ordinary families whose lives could resonant with readers who have had to face struggles, hardship, and difficult choices.

Each novella is placed in a different setting. (The Move = Rural / The Listener = Sub-Urban / The Sacrifice = Urban). This gives each story a different feel and a different set of challenges for the characters to overcome.

THE MOVE

Set a rural community high in the mountains, The Move follows Guillaume – a local farmer whose family has tended the land for generations. Newer, larger, industrial farms continually threaten traditional farming methods. In this changing world Guillaume struggles to keep his farm afloat whilst also raising his young son Hugo.

The Move provides a snapshot into the lives of a small struggling community and at its heart is a story about family and about fathers and sons. The conflict comes from Guillaume who doesn’t want to fail his own father’s legacy and all he has accomplished with the family farm. Yet Guillaume needs money and must find a way to adapt his way of life before it is too late. At the same time Guillaume is very protective of his son and does not want to uproot Hugo by selling the farm and taking him away from everything he knows. There are no good options and inevitably a choice must be made.

While I felt the plot suffered from too many secondary characters, I did care about Guillaume and Hugo and wanted to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen to this little family next.

THE LISTENER

Matthew is a young boy living with his distant mother. He also has to deal with her unsavoury boyfriend who happens to be one of his school teachers. Matthew goes to the nearby forest to escape his problems and seeks sanctuary in the roots of an ancient tree. Danger looms as the Forest Office wants to cut down the trees for profit.

Despite being a good story overall, regrettably for me The Listener is the weakest in the collection due to the amount of questions I had after the story had concluded. Sadly we never get an explanation for the rift between Matthew and his mother – a shame since their relationship is such a big part of the story.

I was also unsure about who the ‘Listener’ was. I believe there are multiple answers to that question. The first is the ancient tree. It is a comfort to Matthew and always there when he needs it. Matthew himself could also be the Listener as he is the only one who can hear and understand the plight of the forest. Despite her initial lack of communication, Matthew’s mother could be classed as the Listener as she goes on a journey and learns to listen to her son by the end of the story.

I’m still in two minds about how well The Listener pulled off the theme of sacrifice. The story’s ending makes it clear that the ‘sacrifice’ is the ancient tree which has to be cut down before the rest of the forest can be saved. While I understand this line of thinking – was the forest being saved not an unintended consequence? The ancient tree by itself didn’t save the forest; that was due to Matthew’s campaigning efforts. So is The Listener a story about sacrifice or about loss and the effects of our actions?

THE SACRIFICE

Francois is already suffering from monetary problems when he gains custody of his only grandson Arthur. Arthur is the best thing in Francois life and Francois will do anything to provide for his grandchild – including skipping meals so Arthur can eat more. All of this is set to the backdrop of Francois’ life as an author struggling to get his latest novel published. Will the money come in time…?

The Sacrifice is my personal favourite in the trilogy. The way Francois and Arthur were written made both characters seem very realistic and believable in their actions, speech and relationship. Their bond brought this story to life and kept me wanting to read more.

Here the theme of sacrifice is very clear. Francois is devoted to Arthur and wants his grandson to have the best life possible. As a family with very little money, Francois continues to write novels ultimately as a way of making Arthur happy and to give the boy financial security. Worried about rent, bills, and food, in a darker moment Francois even considers committing suicide in order to give Arthur the life insurance payout.

Despite being published in 2016, the core issues of this story are very relevant during 2022’s cost of living crisis. With ever-rising costs and inflation affecting everyday items there are an unfortunately high number of families who currently have to choose between paying for heating and electricity or buying food. There are many real-world parents making the same choice as Francois and going without meals so their children can eat more. In The Sacrifice Garai has managed to capture a hard-hitting snapshot into the lives of many working class households.

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A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Estelle, a friend of the author. You can find more information about Indrajit and his works on Estelle’s website.

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