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Fiction as clash of civilizations By Manju Gupta Once Upon a Time in Scandinavistan, Zac O’Yeah, Hachette India, Pp 400 (PB), Rs 395.00 THIS is a fiction about the clash of civilisations, a violent satire of the supposedly global society of the 21st century and a crime thriller. This story was originally published in Swedish language, the author’s mother tongue, and is set in a futuristic Sweden. The author is a columnist and critic who has chosen to settle down in Bangalore with his Indian wife. This is a horror story of the future of chaotic Europe after it has been colonised by India with its industries bought over by Asian capitalists; its administration by popular referendum entrusted to file-pushing babus; its food infused with the flavours of curry; where global warming has turned tropical, where the world economies have turned into an Indian colony and where the collapse of European Union finances have conspired to wipe out many countries, leaving some buried under the sand dunes of a growing Sahara desert while those that remain, such as Sweden, are reduced to slummy badlands. Public Intelligence Officer, Barsk reports of several deaths occurring due to charring of body parts and possible foul play involving cannibalism at the Tandoori Moose restaurant off Friendship Chowk. This middle-aged, down-and-out inspector, when out on a night-shift, enters the restaurant where the Tandoori speciality of the day is a well done. (Hachette India, 612/614 Sixth Floor, Time Tower, MG. Road, Sector 28, Gurgaon-122001; www.hachetteindia.com)

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