Coinman: An Untold Conspiracy
In a sleepy North Indian town where the clocktower stopped at a quarter to three, a timid clerk soothes himself with the soft jingle of his father’s coins — until the office decides to take them from him.
Pawan speaking at a Coinman book event.
About the book
The clocktower of Naugavan stopped at a quarter to three, many years ago. Nobody fixed it. Nobody needed to.
In this drowsy tehsil town lives Kesar — known to all as Coinman — a gentle, meticulous copy-clerk with one small strangeness: in his pocket he carries his late father’s old coins, and their soft jingle is the music that steadies his world. The office cannot bear it. Led by the bullying Hukum and fed by the Merchants of Rumor, the clerks of Naugavan declare a quiet war on one man’s pocket — and discover, as all machines eventually do, that the smallest habits of a good man are the hardest things in the world to grind down.
Narrated by Shesh — an unseen witness who has watched the town for twenty-five years, and who confesses more than a narrator should — Coinman is a comic fable in the great tradition of R. K. Narayan’s Malgudi and Shrilal Shukla’s Raag Darbari: a book about offices, rumor, caste, marriage, and the one incorruptible thing a man can carry, told with a humor that sneaks up on heartbreak and a heartbreak that never quite forgives the laugh.
Winner of the eLit Book Award for Literary Fiction and the Readers’ Favorite International Award, and a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award for Humor, Coinman returns in a revised and expanded edition — with new chapters, a new ending, and the full story of the town that tried to silence a jingle and made it immortal instead.
Praise
“A business firm that turns violent… a conspiracy in the works… and a spy among the coworkers. Coinman is an incredible and an unforgettable journey.”— Readers’ Favorite ★★★★★
“Mishra’s debut comic novel is an absurdist tale of office and personal politics set in a small town in northern India.”— Kirkus Reviews
“Originality is often elusive, yet that’s exactly what Pawan Mishra delivers.”— BookViral
“A quirky, heartfelt novel about finding your identity — and keeping it.”— Self-Publishing Review
“The book is a brilliant linguistic muddle and a stunning display of stylistic somersaults… an apparently bottomless and amazingly diverse fund of linguistic humor. 5 stars.”— The Bibulous Bibliobiuli
“The story of Coinman is like an Indian meal, with so many rich spices that contribute to the complexity of the overall flavor. One to be eaten slowly, and savored.”— Catyana Falsetti, author of Facing Death
“Refreshingly unique, humorous, and honest! Mishra’s eloquent writing style is itself a feast for lovers of literary fiction.”— Nelou Keramati, author of The Fray Theory: Resonance
“An insightful, funny, and beautifully crafted mockery of the ridiculous and bureaucratic social oddness that is working in an office.”— James Hockley, author of Fear’s Union
Where to buy
All editions: Amazon author page · Audible author page · Follow on BookBub for deal alerts
Details
Literary fiction / satire · Lune Spark Books · Revised & expanded edition · ISBN 978-1-947960-56-5 · Paperback, hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.