Identityprecious, elusive, fakableis at the heart of Hari Kunzru's engaging debut novel The Impressionist (Penguin; 481 pages), which explores what it is to be Indian, English...
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The Smooth Surface
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From the discreet burgundy shade of his silk tie to his delicate suede shoes to his beautiful white skin, Jonathan Bridgeman is the ideal Englishman. True, his background is a bit murkythey say he was raised in colonial Indiabut he affords the proper impression, and in a well-manicured world where impressions are all that matter, he fits in seamlessly. But Jonathan Bridgeman isn't English. He isn't Indian. He isn't anything at all.
