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lindzlovesreading's review
4.0
This is a very clever novel.
If you were ever interested in the last years before Indian Independence, this is the novel. After the arrests of Gandhi and other members of the Indian Congress of 1942 a white woman Daphne Manners is attacked and raped by an unknown gang. But this is not by any means a clear cut, simple historical fiction. Scott uses this one event to look at India under a microscope in 1942, the complex social hierarchies and political philosophies.
'Jewel in the Crown' is a very circular narrative, at times very stream of consciousness, most of the novel is told throw interviews of secondary characters, but I like how this gives a large physiological scope, the Kipling like army officer, the well meaning missionary, the radical, the saint, and the upper class Indian.
I just wish I knew nothing of this novel when I picked it up. I was watching 'Faulks on Fiction' when he discuses one of the Villains of the novel, but Scott opened up a different world, one that is on the point of boiling point, and the English are too busy having a tea party to know that water is bubbling over the pot. But with out Faulks I would have never heard of this book or the Raj quartet.
This is still very much an English view of India, but it is fair and well balanced, and a gorgeous piece of literature.
If you were ever interested in the last years before Indian Independence, this is the novel. After the arrests of Gandhi and other members of the Indian Congress of 1942 a white woman Daphne Manners is attacked and raped by an unknown gang. But this is not by any means a clear cut, simple historical fiction. Scott uses this one event to look at India under a microscope in 1942, the complex social hierarchies and political philosophies.
'Jewel in the Crown' is a very circular narrative, at times very stream of consciousness, most of the novel is told throw interviews of secondary characters, but I like how this gives a large physiological scope, the Kipling like army officer, the well meaning missionary, the radical, the saint, and the upper class Indian.
I just wish I knew nothing of this novel when I picked it up. I was watching 'Faulks on Fiction' when he discuses one of the Villains of the novel, but Scott opened up a different world, one that is on the point of boiling point, and the English are too busy having a tea party to know that water is bubbling over the pot. But with out Faulks I would have never heard of this book or the Raj quartet.
This is still very much an English view of India, but it is fair and well balanced, and a gorgeous piece of literature.
librarygurl's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into this and I switched to the audiobook to finally finish. This books is really ideally an audiobook. Each chapter is a set of interviews from one specific character's point of view. The problem is that you only get one side of the interview. You don't see the interviewer, just the interviewee. It made reading it a bit of a struggle, but when listening to it I could get the right pauses and imagine the other side of the conversation.
That being said, while this story is simply about the rape of an English woman in India in WW2 era, it is so much more than that. This story is a great example of systematic racism, while male privilege, and the impact of colonialism. Each interviewee has to put context on what they are talking about. I was listening to this book when the Charleston, SC attack happened. It was an interesting parallel that made both events (book and life) resonate a bit deeper.
That being said, while this story is simply about the rape of an English woman in India in WW2 era, it is so much more than that. This story is a great example of systematic racism, while male privilege, and the impact of colonialism. Each interviewee has to put context on what they are talking about. I was listening to this book when the Charleston, SC attack happened. It was an interesting parallel that made both events (book and life) resonate a bit deeper.
makenziewho's review against another edition
Did not finish. The framework of the story made it very difficult for me to develop any sympathy with the characters. The descriptions of every little thing in every single room were tedious, and it was becoming a chore to read. I ended up just reading a synopsis on Wikipedia and I don't feel bad about quitting it. I used to hate leaving a book unfinished, but there are too many good books in this world to waste your time with the ones that don't interest you.
teriboop's review against another edition
4.0
The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott is the first of four books in The Raj Quartet series. The story takes place during in India during WWII and centers around a rape that is revealed at the beginning of the book, but the details of what happened are slowly unveiled throughout the book. The story is told by a series of characters, both Indian and English, giving the reader several vantage points and commentary on political as well as social Indian life. This book is full of subplots and symbolism and gives the reader insight into the very real issues of social segregation in India as well as India vs British rule.
I enjoyed this book and the lyrical writing of Scott. He vividly brings the characters to life and clearly shows the struggle of the classes in India at the time. I am looking forward to reading the next three books in the series.
I enjoyed this book and the lyrical writing of Scott. He vividly brings the characters to life and clearly shows the struggle of the classes in India at the time. I am looking forward to reading the next three books in the series.
paulataua's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely top drawer! The ‘Jewel in the Crown’ is the first part of Paul Scott’s ‘Raj Quartet’, four novels that deal with the final years of the British Raj in India. The focus of the novel is the story of the events leading up to a rape and what follows, and is disclosed mainly through the pronouncements of the characters in the novel. We soon become aware that the people telling their stories are actually the story itself, and the rape is really just an event through which the author lays bare the thoughts and attitudes of that age. It is hard believe that people could hold views like those and behave as they did, but maybe years in the future someone will be puzzling over our views and behavior in the same way. A really sobering look at the past that should make us consider the present. I would say more, but I must bash off and grab a nimbu before tiffin, and then make a start on the next one in the quartet.
alped's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
bibliobethreads's review
4.0
Before starting this novel, I had heard great things about Paul Scott’s The Raj Quartet, and when it was picked by a GoodReads group as part of the British Empire Challenge, I knew I had to read it. The novel opens in India 1942, where the British stationed there fear not only talks of a Japanese invasion but India’s demands for independence. You get the feeling that Paul Scott knows exactly what he is writing about, he served in the army based in India and Malaya from 1940-1946 so the story has an authentic feeling. On the night after the Indian Congress Party votes to support Ghandi, riots break out across the country and a British girl, Daphne Manners is raped by a number of young men. Scott begins the novel with the beginning of the riots, and the story of an English missionary teacher, Miss Crane then spends the rest of the novel by assessing different viewpoints of all the characters who surround Daphne or are involved in the situation in some way which was really interesting to read. I particularly enjoyed Daphne’s own journal entries where we find out her secret, and see just how destructive an Anglo-Indian rift can be, especially when an innocent man is accused of a crime he did not commit, purely because it seems impossible to some that two young people of different colours can be lovers.
There are so many fantastic characters in this book, the scene where the teacher Miss Crane is sitting by a roadside holding the hand of her Indian friend who has been bludgeoned to death by a mob while an overturned car burns in the background is a haunting and terrible image, yet one that Scott uses brilliantly as a beginning the troubles discussed in this novel. There is also Sister Ludmila, who is not actually a Sister religiously speaking, but wears the habit and trawls the city streets for the dead and seriously ill to take back to her Sanctuary and nurse them or bury them as the case may be. Scott’s poetic use of language and descriptions of India are honest and also beautiful, although I did find some parts a bit dry and difficult to get through. I persevered however because the colourful characters and back story of Daphne was just too intriguing and I had to find out the truth of what actually happened. I can definitely see why this author won the Man Booker Prize (for Staying On in 1977), and will probably pick up the rest of his Raj Quartet. My only real criticism is that I would have liked to read more about Ghandi and his thoughts and ideas, but this does in no way diminish how special and important I feel this book is as an example of our history.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
There are so many fantastic characters in this book, the scene where the teacher Miss Crane is sitting by a roadside holding the hand of her Indian friend who has been bludgeoned to death by a mob while an overturned car burns in the background is a haunting and terrible image, yet one that Scott uses brilliantly as a beginning the troubles discussed in this novel. There is also Sister Ludmila, who is not actually a Sister religiously speaking, but wears the habit and trawls the city streets for the dead and seriously ill to take back to her Sanctuary and nurse them or bury them as the case may be. Scott’s poetic use of language and descriptions of India are honest and also beautiful, although I did find some parts a bit dry and difficult to get through. I persevered however because the colourful characters and back story of Daphne was just too intriguing and I had to find out the truth of what actually happened. I can definitely see why this author won the Man Booker Prize (for Staying On in 1977), and will probably pick up the rest of his Raj Quartet. My only real criticism is that I would have liked to read more about Ghandi and his thoughts and ideas, but this does in no way diminish how special and important I feel this book is as an example of our history.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
majkia's review against another edition
5.0
The state of Anglo-Indian relations at the height of WWII as Gandhi and his party was fighting for Independence.
emily_van's review against another edition
4.0
Beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most lyrical books I've ever read. It takes me forever to get through a single page because I want to fully appreciate every perfectly placed word. However, Paul Scott is not only a literary genius, but obviously has very advanced knowledge of the politics, spirituality, and social context of Colonial India.