The Fallen Angels of Karnataka
By Hans M Hirschi
Review By Ila Garg
The Fallen Angels of Karnataka, a novel by Hand M Hirschi, is published by Beaten Track Publishing. The cover is quite a sight. One of the best covers I have seen lately… The colour is a soft shade of blue, blending towards grey. It gives the feel of an emboss. Sad part is this book is available only in kindle edition as of now, so I can’t treasure the cover and flaunt it in my book shelf. But I totally loved it.
Born and raised in Switzerland, Hans graduated from High School in Arizona, worked for several years in the Swiss financial industry before pursuing his university studies in Zurich and Gothenburg.
His majors include literature, linguistics & social sciences.
Hans self-published his first book with poetry and a short story in 1991.
Nine years later, he followed up with a professional book on e-learning pedagogy and in 2010 his book Common Sense was published.
He's published ten novels so far.
The blurb reads as, “In an isolated mountain town in Norway, Haakon dreams of traveling the world, pursuing adventure, seeing great places, finding love. His very first trip to London with friends from university offers much promise, yet soon after tragedy strikes.
Still young, and mourning the loss of his lover, Haakon is not ready to give up on his dream, so when a rich Englishman offers him the chance to join him on a tour of the world, Haakon takes it, daring to believe that his dream is finally coming true...but at what price?
The Fallen Angels of Karnataka is a novel filled with adventure, life's hard-learned lessons, loss, despicable evil, and finally, love and redemption.”
The Fallen Angels in Karnataka is a story of a teenager, Haakon, who grew up in an isolated town in Norway and dreams of traveling the world in pursuit of adventure, exploring great new places and finding love in his quest.
The author sketches Haakon’s character well for the readers to connect with him. He talks about Haakon’s childhood, his upbringing, his parents and his hometown of Roso in Norway. Haajon’s life was simple and he was loved by all. Then, we come to Haakon’s adulthood where he plans to travel the world. It is here that the adventure finally begins.
Haakon first travels to London with his friends from university and eventually as his journey progresses, the readers will find mentions of a few social evils like child slavery, paedophilia and child abuse. Subjects like HIV, being gay and the challenges that come with it, leaving home, shaping up a life, etc. are also dealt with in the book.
The language is simple and easy to comprehend. Nowhere will a reader feel any disconnect. It’s so well-written that once you pick up, you will find yourself engrossed in the story. The characterisation has come out really well.
The narration is so gripping that I at once found myself travelling with Haakon, living the tale as I went on reading the book. I found it quite engaging and interesting. The subject of LGBT is tackled efficiently by the skillful author. The details have been put in after a thorough research and it shows. Hans has done a commendable job with the book. Writing about a topic that is still considered a tabboo and pulling it off with such an ease isn’t an easy task and yet Hans does it in this story through the character of Haakon.
Further, this 254-page book is overall a compelling book. Who is Haakon, how does he start his journey, what are his discoveries, what are the societal evils that he unveils, what does Hans discover about his sexuality, is he able to overcome from a life of tragedy, how does he learn to overcome the fear induced by the society, will he be able to survive or be destroyed in this journey of love, loss, hurt, horror, despair, joy and redemption are some of the many reasons why you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens in The Fallen Angels of Karnataka.
The book is highly recommended because it’s truly an eye-opener.
Ratings: 4/5
Buying Link: Amazon
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