‘Daaku’
First-time novelist Ranj Dhaliwal is launching Daaku (Bandit) this month. The novel is a fictionalized account of the Indo-Canadian drug gangs of British Columbia.
The story follows Ruby Pandher, “a teenaged street soldier gunning for a generalship,” who eventually struggles to extricate himself from the vicious world of thugs, drug lords and terrorists. [Link]
… some of his friends growing up in Surrey were used by traditional Sikh temple leaders to rough up moderate opponents in temple elections. “This is the stuff I’ve heard about, where I’ve had friends that are saying, ‘I had to go and beat somebody up for one of the older guys.’ And these are guys that wear their turbans. They’re very religious. It’s more political than anything else.” [Link]
… it’s a very long road from swiping a dime off your Grade 1 teacher’s desk to whacking the last guy who stands between you and ultimate supremacy of the Lower Mainland cocaine market… Ruby becomes an increasingly unsympathetic figure as the story progresses. From lying to his parole officer and neglecting his mother, he progresses to cheating on his all-too-loyal girlfriend and betraying his fellow “Dragons…” I wanted the fucker to die. [Link]
The book launch party is next Thursday, Oct. 26, 7-10pm at Central City Brewing, 190 – 13450 102nd Ave., Surrey, BC.
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