India, Feb. 27 -- Tagore Never Ate Here begins with a dedication by the translator that celebrates pulp fiction. This is not just an act of sentimentality, though it could well be, but it also sets context. If the sensational title hadn't alerted you, you now definitely know that what you are about to read is "pulp". If you had other expectations, run along and read Eliot.

This gothic-mystery romp by Bangladeshi author Mohammad Nazim Uddin begins with the entry of Noore Chhafa, undercover detective; so undercover, in fact, that the reader finds out he is one only halfway into the book. It causes quite a stir in sleepy Sundarpur and would have been a surprise if the book blurb hadn't alerted you already. He has sunglasses on, which he tak...