Pico Iyer‘s tribute to the great English writer, Graham Greene, coupled with his own story, is a great read

THE FIRST dilemma that arises in one’s mind while reading Pico Iyer’s The Man Within My Head is how to classify this book. It would be unfair to call it a travelogue even though Iyer talks extensively about his escapades in countries starting from Bhutan to Bolivia; and from a war-struck Sri Lanka to Cuba and Vietnam. You cannot just call it a biography or memoir because it’s more than that. It could be called literary criticism but, wait! There certainly is more to this book than mere criticism. Then where exactly does it fit and what is it all about? It is the story of Pico Iyer told through the man within his head — Graham Greene. It’s a tribute of sorts to the great English author and playwright, who, as Iyer puts it, is his “adopted father”. Iyer ponders over the strange similarities between him and Greene. Greene and the author both went to English public schools, both saw their houses burn down in a fire, both got defined as restless souls, both refused to settle down at a place and call it home and, most importantly, both were fascinated with the complications of faith. Despite the striking similarities, and the obvious admiration that Iyer has for Greene, he writes that he never “wanted his work to resemble Greene’s writings”. Yet a clear influence is visible through Iyer’s body of work. Iyer’s relationship with his adopted father is examined against his fraught relationship with his biological father, India’s first Rhodes scholar, philosopher and polymath, Raghavan Iyer. “Fathers who create us are much harder to forgive than the ones we create, in part because they’re much harder to escape” writes Iyer. Escape — a word whose fascination he shares with Greene — from himself and the people around him, the restlessness he feels within, everything is like a string that attaches him to Greene. Those not familiar with Greene may find it hard to understand some of the references in the book. Though Iyer is mostly a non-fiction writer, while penning down his thoughts and drawing the connections with the man within his head he uses the fiction writer’s ink in this book. The images that emerge are thought-provoking. Though the book may largely appear to be a tribute to Greene, it actually is Iyer’s own story — narrated in a stylised tone. It is a thoughtful, eloquent and honest book by one of our most resourceful explorers