Calgary writer Ashok Mathur’s first novel, Once Upon an Elephant, was a perfectly pitched satire in which a gruesome and bizarre double murder entangles a diverse group of characters, including the elephant-headed deity Ganesh. Mathur attempts a similar mix of Hindu mythology and modern satire in The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar, with less satisfying results.

Harry Kumar, a hapless Vancouver bank teller, becomes unwittingly enmeshed in a literal reenactment of the Hindu epic the Ramayana. His role, as the incarnation of Rama, is to seek out his lover Sita (actually, they’re just good friends), kidnapped and spirited away by the evil Ravana, or, in this case, Anna Varre. Helping out are his dog, Han, and a world-renowned concierge, Athnic Long.

Though it seems like every writer of Indian nationality or descent eventually gets compared with Salman Rushdie, Harry Kumar’s narrative has an exuberance and breadth that owes something to Rushdie. Unfortunately, some of Rushdie’s bad habits are here too, like having a character repeatedly intrude upon the narrative to comment on the proceedings, usually through forced playfulness and punning that often feels like pleading on behalf of a sagging story. Once Upon an Elephant had its share of authorial bluffing, but the novel succeeded because Mathur put all at the service of the book’s comic goals. Harry Kumar is much more ambitious, but its goals are far less evident. It’s never certain who, or what, the novel’s satirical targets are.

Mathur possesses a comic touch that is deft, light, and dry. When Mathur sustains his rhythm and focus, Kumar’s misadventures become more than mere slapstick. In The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar he may not be able to pull together all of the jokes, but he offers readers much more than most writers.