often seen in the street without a hat

We spent a week on Staying On during my degree! (The English one, not the Computer Science one.) It left a big impression on me. I think Tusker is a fascinating character with many sides to him, and his wife has more interiority that you might expect from a synopsis. It's a bit of a shame the main Indian characters are a bit grotesque, but they're fun and give as good as they get. The mixture of comic situations and social commentary reminds me a bit of White Teeth, though White Teeth is written a little more defty and has the edge. I should dig it out and see if it holds up.

This has been a Staying On Opinion comment by Peeet