2014 Reading: Understudies by Ravi Mangla

understudiesUnderstudies by Ravi Mangla

This short novel is a very quick read (or listen, as I did with the audio version). The (unlikable) narrator is a high school teacher whose live-in girlfriend, Missy, reveals pretty early in the book that she’s pregnant. The narrator isn’t thrilled, and he’s unsure what to do about his relationship with her. Among other things, a famous actress has moved into the neighborhood, a fact also noted by the narrator’s odd friend Chudley. Then there’s Palover, another teacher at the school, and a couple of kids he joins in a band.

One thing that makes the story interesting is that it is broken up into 140 or so very small pieces, some that don’t even seem particularly relevant to the plot. They are snapshots–scenes in the movie that is the narrator’s strange life.

It’s an enjoyable, fast read.

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