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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
It's a hard book to review. Desai does an excellent job using juxapoisition to portray Hugo's experience as an imigrant in Inida wih that of his Jewish experience in Germany. She implements language in a skilfull way to highlight cultural identity, or the lack of cultural identity, and how that contributes to Hugo's isolation from society. That being said I felt nothing reading this. The story itself is harrowing, but I couldn't connect with any of the characers, nor did I care for Hugo. It's sad and depressing, which I know is the point, but this felt like reading a texbook raher than a novel; it failed to make me emotionally invested as a reader.
I just saw this title while looking up the author, and realized that I read this during college but remember almost nothing about it. I didn't enjoy most of the reading I did for that class, on colonialism in literature, but I don't know whether my reading of twelve years ago was to blame, or the book list really wasn't for me. I think I'd probably rather try something new from that area before specifically revisiting them. (Or maybe, today, I am cranky!)
The teen-aged Hugo Baumgartner is sent to Calcutta via Venice when his family's furniture business is destroyed by the Nazis, his father is sent to a concentration camp, and his mother has gone into hiding. His mother agrees to send her only son to India, but when he arrives he is imprisoned in an internment camp as a 'hostile alien'. After six years, he is released and ends up in Bombay where he befriends Lotte, the unhappy dancer, Farrokh, the owner of a cafe, and Kurt, the young Aryan druggie, but mostly he spends time with his assortment of cat-friends who make visitors to his small apartment so uncomfortable they resort to holding handkerchiefs to their noses.
The story opens with a murder and weaves present and past together in Desai's graceful style of prose, however it doesn't captivate the reader - or at least not this one. While I understood Baumgartner's life to be a miserable one, I didn't reach the point of empathizing with him. I understood the irony of his internment, and found humor in his exchanges with Farrokh and Kurt, but in everything I looked on as a passive observer.
The story opens with a murder and weaves present and past together in Desai's graceful style of prose, however it doesn't captivate the reader - or at least not this one. While I understood Baumgartner's life to be a miserable one, I didn't reach the point of empathizing with him. I understood the irony of his internment, and found humor in his exchanges with Farrokh and Kurt, but in everything I looked on as a passive observer.
I've been on an India kick since my trip, and this one came very close to accurately describing the level of poverty I saw. The main character was intrinsically interesting as a perpetual outside (not at home as a Jew in Germany nor as a foreigner in India) but I didn't care about him at all. Maybe that was the point, but it was kind of a heartless read for me.
In the last one month I have read three books by Anita Desai, but this is only my first review out of the three. The reason behind it is that Anita Desai’s writing always leaves me with a feeling of awe towards the author. Her language and her writing style is unparalleled in her genre and I feel extremely under qualified to review her works. So instead of making this a proper review, I am going to merely state my feelings from reading this book.
Baumgartner’s Bombay is the story of one Hugo Baumgartner and his life during the World War II. Hugo had the misfortune to be born into a Jewish family during the time of The Holocaust. When his father’s furniture shop was ransacked and he was taken to a concentration camp, Hugo’ mother sent him off to Calcutta with the hope of a better future for her son before going into hiding. But Hugo arrived at Calcutta only to be imprisoned for a long period. Once freed, he moves to Bombay where he rekindles his acquaintance with Lotte and makes a few new acquaintances too. But even then he remains a loner for most part as his true companions were not human, but cats for whom he used to bring scrap food.
Starting with a murder at the beginning, Anita Desai continues to tell Baumgartner’s story by tying up the present with the past. Hugo Baumgartner at a glance seems to be an extremely plain person with no strong personality. As the story progresses, we realize that there’s more to depth to Hugo’s character than we had initially thought. The loner’s need for relationship/companionship is reflected in his apparent affection for the cats. His life from the time of The Holocaust and the following experiences were responsible for shaping up his life and his personality. I found Lotte’s character to be a sharp contrast to Hugo. She had a certain belligerent persona that made her stand apart from Hugo.
The ending was just perfect for how the story had been shaping up. The novel takes us on a ride to discover the importance of relationships, friendships and explore the feelings of loss and solitude. The best part of the story is the author’s narrative style and her elegant writing style which has the quality to grasp the reader unawares and not let go. It simply compels you to delve further and further into the character’s lives and feel their emotions in person.
Awesome book and I recommend it to the people who are interested in reading quality fiction with some depth.
Baumgartner’s Bombay is the story of one Hugo Baumgartner and his life during the World War II. Hugo had the misfortune to be born into a Jewish family during the time of The Holocaust. When his father’s furniture shop was ransacked and he was taken to a concentration camp, Hugo’ mother sent him off to Calcutta with the hope of a better future for her son before going into hiding. But Hugo arrived at Calcutta only to be imprisoned for a long period. Once freed, he moves to Bombay where he rekindles his acquaintance with Lotte and makes a few new acquaintances too. But even then he remains a loner for most part as his true companions were not human, but cats for whom he used to bring scrap food.
Starting with a murder at the beginning, Anita Desai continues to tell Baumgartner’s story by tying up the present with the past. Hugo Baumgartner at a glance seems to be an extremely plain person with no strong personality. As the story progresses, we realize that there’s more to depth to Hugo’s character than we had initially thought. The loner’s need for relationship/companionship is reflected in his apparent affection for the cats. His life from the time of The Holocaust and the following experiences were responsible for shaping up his life and his personality. I found Lotte’s character to be a sharp contrast to Hugo. She had a certain belligerent persona that made her stand apart from Hugo.
The ending was just perfect for how the story had been shaping up. The novel takes us on a ride to discover the importance of relationships, friendships and explore the feelings of loss and solitude. The best part of the story is the author’s narrative style and her elegant writing style which has the quality to grasp the reader unawares and not let go. It simply compels you to delve further and further into the character’s lives and feel their emotions in person.
Awesome book and I recommend it to the people who are interested in reading quality fiction with some depth.
Was simply not interested enough in the content to continue reading it. Won't end up writing a paper on it and the unit we read this for in class has since ended. it will live on the shelf until the end of the semester and probably get donated or resold.
Wonderfully written with great use of language. Bits of it held me enthralled, and then bits made me cringe with discomfort - but that was always the story which at moments I also felt a bit bored with. So an odd one to review or even gather my thoughts about. Anita Desai conjures up something really memorable, perhaps it's just because there is so much sadness in here too that I felt so uncomfortable? Bombay, Calcutta, Germany, Venice, internment camps, cafes, streets, race courses - all so well described and brought to life. But what a life.
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The ending.... I just.... Tragic. I really ended up loving the characters and felt attached to them.
In the last one month I have read three books by Anita Desai, but this is only my first review out of the three. The reason behind it is that Anita Desai’s writing always leaves me with a feeling of awe towards the author. Her language and her writing style is unparalleled in her genre and I feel extremely under qualified to review her works. So instead of making this a proper review, I am going to merely state my feelings from reading this book.
Baumgartner’s Bombay is the story of one Hugo Baumgartner and his life during the World War II. Hugo had the misfortune to be born into a Jewish family during the time of The Holocaust. When his father’s furniture shop was ransacked and he was taken to a concentration camp, Hugo’ mother sent him off to Calcutta with the hope of a better future for her son before going into hiding. But Hugo arrived at Calcutta only to be imprisoned for a long period. Once freed, he moves to Bombay where he rekindles his acquaintance with Lotte and makes a few new acquaintances too. But even then he remains a loner for most part as his true companions were not human, but cats for whom he used to bring scrap food.
Starting with a murder at the beginning, Anita Desai continues to tell Baumgartner’s story by tying up the present with the past. Hugo Baumgartner at a glance seems to be an extremely plain person with no strong personality. As the story progresses, we realize that there’s more to depth to Hugo’s character than we had initially thought. The loner’s need for relationship/companionship is reflected in his apparent affection for the cats. His life from the time of The Holocaust and the following experiences were responsible for shaping up his life and his personality. I found Lotte’s character to be a sharp contrast to Hugo. She had a certain belligerent persona that made her stand apart from Hugo.
The ending was just perfect for how the story had been shaping up. The novel takes us on a ride to discover the importance of relationships, friendships and explore the feelings of loss and solitude. The best part of the story is the author’s narrative style and her elegant writing style which has the quality to grasp the reader unawares and not let go. It simply compels you to delve further and further into the character’s lives and feel their emotions in person.
Awesome book and I recommend it to the people who are interested in reading quality fiction with some depth.
Baumgartner’s Bombay is the story of one Hugo Baumgartner and his life during the World War II. Hugo had the misfortune to be born into a Jewish family during the time of The Holocaust. When his father’s furniture shop was ransacked and he was taken to a concentration camp, Hugo’ mother sent him off to Calcutta with the hope of a better future for her son before going into hiding. But Hugo arrived at Calcutta only to be imprisoned for a long period. Once freed, he moves to Bombay where he rekindles his acquaintance with Lotte and makes a few new acquaintances too. But even then he remains a loner for most part as his true companions were not human, but cats for whom he used to bring scrap food.
Starting with a murder at the beginning, Anita Desai continues to tell Baumgartner’s story by tying up the present with the past. Hugo Baumgartner at a glance seems to be an extremely plain person with no strong personality. As the story progresses, we realize that there’s more to depth to Hugo’s character than we had initially thought. The loner’s need for relationship/companionship is reflected in his apparent affection for the cats. His life from the time of The Holocaust and the following experiences were responsible for shaping up his life and his personality. I found Lotte’s character to be a sharp contrast to Hugo. She had a certain belligerent persona that made her stand apart from Hugo.
The ending was just perfect for how the story had been shaping up. The novel takes us on a ride to discover the importance of relationships, friendships and explore the feelings of loss and solitude. The best part of the story is the author’s narrative style and her elegant writing style which has the quality to grasp the reader unawares and not let go. It simply compels you to delve further and further into the character’s lives and feel their emotions in person.
Awesome book and I recommend it to the people who are interested in reading quality fiction with some depth.
A tangled, rich stew of people, plots and places, haggard, heavy-hearted and sometimes humble. Well-worth reading for the beautifully clear sensual imagery Desai is so good at.