V. M. Gopaul’s
“TAINTED JUSTICE”
By Vimal Kodai
(Dated the 13th of October, 2013)
V.M.
Gopaul’s Tainted Justice is a novel
which has truly fascinated me, whereby I have enjoyed slaving through it: “I was
entertained and my curiosity was quenched with a sigh of soothing comfort – as
I put the book on my office desk, I felt that I had really read something out
of ordinary.” The novel is of high calibre. There is an original story in play.
A reader, who goes through the author’s first fiction novel, will definitely depict
realistic challenges faced by those working for private companies. Mr. Gopaul
acknowledges the many facets caricatured by today’s job market through the eyes
of his protagonist, Jason McDeere. How politics may have ties to privately run
firms, and how their invaluable support to the private sector, erodes the
rights of those belonging to the working-class. There is an amalgam of events
which are taken upon in the story, as we come to terms with issues related to
lay-offs at the workplace, friendship, love, romance, family-ties, hard-work, a
struggle for a rightful cause; and finally, a remarkable attempt to settle for
a better lifestyle within the society. In his quest for setting things straight
and rightfully, the protagonist goes the distance to prove that his being a truthful,
honest and a dedicated Senior Software Engineer (a software analyst) at a
certain computer firm (Softek) is worth fighting for. The
pathway chosen by Jason McDeere, takes him on a road that leads to dignity and
self-respect. He challenges his superiors, and he is determined that he will be
victorious at the end.
A brief outline of the book
Chapter 2,
p. 16
Shallen Xu: “Are you blaming the
management?”
Jason McDeere: “Absolutely. And politicians
too.”
Chapter 9, p. 118
V. M.
Gopaul:
“Jason suddenly realizes he was in the
middle of a political storm.”
Chapter 14, p. 190
The clean-shaven
driver:
“This Company is secretive. You need an
insider. Rocky is a good start. Someone who handles money. Rocky and I are
techies, not in the money circle. The CEO, CFO, and top management—those are
the ones you need to talk to. I hope you can nail the Senator. The politicians
use our money and then they look after themselves first.”
Chapter 15, p. 205
Terrance’s text
message:
“Something
has to end. Maybe my life.”
Chapter 16, p. 215
Shallen: “This conspiracy theory isn’t new. But Rocky’s lack of cooperation is disappointing. Did you tell
him we were in danger?”
Chapter 17, p. 243
V. M.
Gopaul:
“After hours of driving, a sense of
relief flooded him, vibrating down his hands as he let go of the steering
wheel…. He stared at the falling flakes and reminded himself that it wasn’t a
dream. He remembered the pushy reporter from the Post… How my world has changed.”
Chapter 18, p. 259
Jason McDeere: “I don’t believe it. My worst nightmare is
ending. Thank God.”
Chapter 18, p. 261
Jason
McDeere: “After
I left Corvallis
last month, my life completely changed. I entered a war zone. I was engaged in
many fights at the same time. I was also fighting a politically corrupt system.
Finally it boiled down to discovering a corruption scheme hatched by Senator
Quest. Whether you support him or not, it’s none of my business.”
Chapter 19, p. 267
Kara McDeere: “Life is a journey, a path of self-discovery.
Sometimes we find out more about our strengths, other times about our
weaknesses. See, you just became better aware of yourself.”
Chapter 19, p. 272
V. M. Gopaul: “Jason admired her room from top to bottom.
The sunlight danced in her eyes. Her skin vibrated with fresh color and wisps
of dark black hair gently blew as the wind passed through it. His heart was
filled with pride for sharing this moment with her. She is beautiful.”
The
approach which Jason McDeere adopts (although, he is no lawyer, no private
investigator) upon handling the case of several hundreds of lay-offs from work,
is thoroughly based on solid proofs - these lead him to come to the rescue of
his estranged family members. Tainted
Justice sets the tone as being a novel
which portrays an act of great valour, a case which is solved in the midst of
conspiracy, and a love-story which entails passion and courage. V.M. Gopaul is a writer who has thoroughly done minute research prior to taking the
stand of a fiction writer. He has combed through bits and pieces of various
aspects of life within the political arena. A novel of such calibre deserves much
esteemed recognition. Also, the author deserves keen merits for having so
diligently mastered his writing skills. “It is a novel which shares a blend of
each: Courage, Struggle, Love, Respect and Dignity.”
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Gitanjali
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