---
product_id: 9254439
title: "The Afflictions"
brand: "vikram paralkaramanda thomas"
price: "$34.33"
currency: USD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/9254439-the-afflictions
store_origin: US
region: United States of America
---

# The Afflictions

**Brand:** vikram paralkaramanda thomas
**Price:** $34.33
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** The Afflictions by vikram paralkaramanda thomas
- **How much does it cost?** $34.33 with free shipping
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Brain Candy!
  

*by G***Z on Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2014*

Essentially, this book is the epitome of social satire, written in beautiful, metaphorical prose.One cannot simply read through this book cover to cover and figure it out. No, in order to get the maximum enjoyment out of it, I suggest that, first of all, the reader be wide awake and alert.Second, don’t expect too much from the monologue of the old librarian; his taking Maximo on the tour of the Central Library is primarily for the purpose of giving the reader some background knowledge of the mythical time and place the author has set us down in—though now and then, he does have something interesting to say that could be relevant to our understanding of the afflictions:“It makes me wonder what we’d find if we could distill a human being. How many elements, mixed in what proportions? Would one of those be the element of the soul? And could you distill that one even further?” Third, and most importantly, read a description of an affliction straight through, then pause and think it over. You will most likely be thinking, “Well, WHAT was THAT about?” or “Was THAT it?” But instead of moving on to the next ailment, reread that one (it’s short enough). Think about it again. Look for the less obvious meaning, the metaphor. Trust me, it’s there. Here is how I experienced the first affliction.At first, the description of Amnesia Inversa, seems fairly straightforward in meaning. Although beautifully written, melancholy in the feelings it induces in the reader, it just seems so obvious that it would indeed be a sad and terrible thing to have a disease that caused you to never be remembered by anyone, even your friends and family.But wait! Is that all the writer is trying to do—pluck our heartstrings with a sad, fantasy disease? Reread it carefully, give it some thought, and other possibilities suggests themselves—a deeper meaning that reveals the deep existential ponderings of the author: Among so many billions in the world, are we not all anonymous to all but a few? After a doctor has examined thousands of patients, even carefully describing their conditions on paper, will he or she, 20 years later, recall much of anything about one person in particular? And, ultimately, after we pass away, and our lover has passed away, and our children’s’ children’s’ children’s’ children have passed away, are we not all inevitably victims of Amnesia Inversa? Even those whose names are remembered in histories and memoirs of the American Revolution are only remembered in caricature, with historians endlessly arguing about who these people actually were.Well, hey, I didn’t promise you it would be a “happy” metaphor, just damned interesting!Metaphors are what this book is all about. Some, like Amnesia Inversa, are commentaries on mortality; some are about basic human foibles; some, like one of my favorites, Bernard’s Malady, are (in my opinion) about political behavior, providing, among other ideas, a very clever hypothesis for why poor people would vote to reduce taxes on the rich.There are 50 of these intellectually engaging “afflictions.” Some will take a few minutes to figure out, others an hour or hours, and others perhaps days. But if you’re an intellectual who enjoys a clever social satire wrapped in a beautiful metaphorical puzzle inside an enigmatic fictional world, then this book is just total brain candy.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Scriptus ecstasia non deligens
  

*by K***Z on Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2015*

For those of you who appreciate the light but serious novel, Lantern Press has recently published The Afflictions, by Vikram Paralkar.This novel a parts ponders the psychological and spiritual maladies of humanity in the guise of an Encyclopedia of Medicine at the Central Library. An admirable work, presented in short chapters that can be passed over quickly or pondered for some time, it is less, however, a novel of ideas than an idea novel, or cool idea novel.It’s structure reminds the reader of Italo Calvino’s great Invisible Cities, presenting a cubist-like collection of parts and angles that create, in its own quiet pace, a fractured yet recognizable picture of the human condition in a light, wry, and sympathetic palette with a daub of ennui. But there are only questions here, no resolutions, reminding me of an old philosophy professor who responded to a young student’s naïve question with “I don’t solve the problems of the universe, I just explain them.” Still, we appreciate those courageous authors who try.The volume, however, would have been stronger if it had been polished a bit; the overall writing style could have been a little more mature and still kept the lightness. Nothing the author could not have done had he not stopped at the epiphany stage of his idea and continued through to the nuts and bolts work of his craft. For this is obviously a talented author, and perhaps I am being a little hard on him because of it. I wouldn’t ask more of a less talented one.A good book, a very good book. Vikram Paralkar is an author to read, and to keep an eye out for his future work. Hats off to Lantern Press presenting him to us.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Best fiction I've read in years
  

*by D***I on Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2014*

It's been many, many years since I've read a book that I've enjoyed so much. The Afflictions, with its delightful prose and beautiful illustrations, is at once a splendid work of medical fiction and a satirical commentary on society. The worlds of Maximo and this medieval library are fascinating and the individual diseases make for compelling reading. But the hallmark of the book is that not-so-subtly-hidden among the metaphorical prose is Paralkar's unique take on the fears, desires, and anxieties that riddle our lives. Scientific descriptions of exotic diseases these may appear to be, but one only needs to gently scratch the surface to discover breathtakingly intense reflections on life itself; the metaphor simply allowing the author to be brutally honest with emotions that would be otherwise unpleasant to discover within ourselves.I couldn't help read and re-read the stories one at a time, and seldom made it past five or six at a time. At that point, as curious as I was to see what lay ahead, I had to pause and mull over what I had just read. I kept trying to keep a mental list of my favorites stories - as you can imagine from prior descriptions of this work, this got impossibly challenging over time. The razor-sharp intellect and the unique brand of wit that @VikramParalkar brings to his twitter-fiction are captured in their full glory in his debut novel.What a masterpiece! Magical in more ways than one.

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*Last updated: 2026-03-15*