Reviews

Kanthapura by Raja Rao

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windymist's review against another edition

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4.0

charliereadsalot's review against another edition

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1.5

1.5 STARS

CW: death (including of loved ones), violence, blood, rape, mention of prostitution

This book was a chore to read. Purely enjoyment-wise I could not find one good thing to say about this book... I read this for my Postcolonial Studies course and naturally, I can appreciate this for the time it was written in and there is plenty to think about and analyze. The most fascinating aspect for me was definitely the narrative choices and the role of women in the story which I hadn't expected when I started reading.

But, as Goodreads is not the place for me to dive deeper into analyzing texts and I usually rate books based on a combination of a book's legacy and how much I liked it overall, I cannot give this more than 1.5 stars. It took me so long to get through this because the narrative voice is all over the place. Yes I can appreciate the author mentioning that this is a deliberate choice and meant to echo oral storytelling customs in India, but it made this a labor to read because sentences went on and on and the syntax kept repeating.

Nevertheless, as always, I know I'll be able to discuss about this a lot in class. But still, nothing about this book and story endeared it to me. I definitely would have stopped reading this, had it not been for uni. But maybe you'll enjoy it more?!

lsparrow's review against another edition

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3.0

I found the writing style rather dense - but I enjoyed the perspective of a small village in India pre partition and see the effects of Gandhi and his movement.
The changes that can be made in individual lives and hearts and society through a movement.
"Brothers and sisters remember we are not out to fight the white man or the white man's slaves, the police and the revenue officials, but against the demonic corruption that has entered their hearts, and the purer we are the greater will be our victory, for the victory we seek is the victory of the heart. Send out love where there is hatred."

lindseyzank's review against another edition

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4.0

I enjoyed this novel more a decade after I read it the first time as an undergraduate in a postcolonial literature class. It is a beautiful articulation of the nonviolent movement inspired by Gandhi in a small town in India. Rangamma, the lead female character in the novel, is animated and feisty, willing to sacrifice herself for the movement. The landscape descriptions are captivating and the section where Moorthy (the town's "little Gandhi") meditates and fasts for days is really moving.

hetauuu's review against another edition

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2.0

The story at the heart of Kanthapura is an extremely eye-opening and emotional one. Set in a small Indian village during the Gandhian movement for independence, the narrator of the story recounts the trials and the unfortunate lack of triumphs of the villagers as they try to fight for independence. As much as the story moved me, the narrative structure was quite a struggle for me and made the reading experience overall a bit tiring. This story will stick with me for a good while and it has given me a lot of food for thought, but I can't say I will read this one again or be recommending it to many.

madritb's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was difficult to read due to the language used. But still I made through, and it turned out to be amazing.

** Spoliers below **

It made me live through that time and feel the sadness of people of Kanthapura. But the beauty of the story lies in that sadness. And I want to read it again someday.