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misspalah's review against another edition
4.0
All night there was no cessation of the storm or of the passionate cry. I wandered from room to room in the dark with unavailing sorrow. Whom could i console when no one was by? Whose was this intense agony of sorrow? Whence arose this inconsolable grief?
- Rabindranath Tagore, The hungry stones.
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This is the third book that i have read written by Tagore. The first one is Kabir and followed by The Religion of Man. Honestly, i should have just reviewed this book with Tagore is Tagore. I am pretty sure his fans would understand me. However, i figure maybe i need to summarize a little bit just in case those who have never read his book will likely to put this in their TBR after reading this post. His talent in describing his characters in each story demonstrated how connected those protagonists are with the culture and values. Although some stories are a bit simple, befitting the time when Tagore wrote it, but it did carry an immense emotion. Some may not be comfortable with the narration of his stories but you get used to it after 2 or 3 stories. With Tagore stories, you shouldn’t expect things will be going as you predict it, as he loves to end his stories with sorrowful tones. Either death, regret, pain or altogether in one, it did leave you a little bit depress after finishing it. As this was a translated book, i am pretty sure some might lost in translation and there’s nothing i can do about it because english can never measure up to the real beauty of the original language. Be it Bengali, Arabic, Malay, Korean, the gap will always be there. Overall, a highly recommended book. If you have never read Tagore, then this shall be the one. It is a quick reading and undoubtedly , worth your time. If i can ranked all 11 stories from the book and choose my favourite, then the top 5 will be :
1. The Cabuliwallah
2. The son of Rashmani
3. The postmaster
4. Subha
5. The homecoming
- Rabindranath Tagore, The hungry stones.
.
.
This is the third book that i have read written by Tagore. The first one is Kabir and followed by The Religion of Man. Honestly, i should have just reviewed this book with Tagore is Tagore. I am pretty sure his fans would understand me. However, i figure maybe i need to summarize a little bit just in case those who have never read his book will likely to put this in their TBR after reading this post. His talent in describing his characters in each story demonstrated how connected those protagonists are with the culture and values. Although some stories are a bit simple, befitting the time when Tagore wrote it, but it did carry an immense emotion. Some may not be comfortable with the narration of his stories but you get used to it after 2 or 3 stories. With Tagore stories, you shouldn’t expect things will be going as you predict it, as he loves to end his stories with sorrowful tones. Either death, regret, pain or altogether in one, it did leave you a little bit depress after finishing it. As this was a translated book, i am pretty sure some might lost in translation and there’s nothing i can do about it because english can never measure up to the real beauty of the original language. Be it Bengali, Arabic, Malay, Korean, the gap will always be there. Overall, a highly recommended book. If you have never read Tagore, then this shall be the one. It is a quick reading and undoubtedly , worth your time. If i can ranked all 11 stories from the book and choose my favourite, then the top 5 will be :
1. The Cabuliwallah
2. The son of Rashmani
3. The postmaster
4. Subha
5. The homecoming
robshpprd's review
3.0
From what I've read so far, these stories alternately interest and annoy me. Far too many of them end with some trite little "punchline" of a sentence. This is not good writing. The others, simply describing life and how it unfolds, are good. Nothing life-changing, but good.
pranaysomayajula's review
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
truelizrose's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
prakruthi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
shloka19's review
5.0
Rabindranath Tagore’s grasp and understanding of human nature was extraordinarily profound, and this set of short stories really exhibits that well. A few of my favorite quotes from the book:
"I was thinking, why is there such a deep note of mourning in the fields, ghats, sky and sunshine of our country? I think perhaps the reason is that Nature is constantly before our eyes: the wide, open sky, flat and endless land, shimmering sunshine—and in the midst of this men come and go, crossing to and fro like a ferry-boat. The little noises that they make, the ups and downs of their happy or sad efforts in the market of the world, seem in the context of this endlessly reaching, huge, aloof Nature so small, so fleeting, so futile and full of suffering! We feel in Nature’s effortless, unambitious stillness and serenity such vast, beautiful, undistorted, generous Peace; and compared to that such an effortful, agonized, tormented, petty, perpetually unstable lack of peace inside ourselves, that when we look at the distant blue line of the shady woods on the river-bank we are strangely unsettled. Where Nature is swathed and cramped by mist and snow and dark clouds, man feels in command, feels that his work can leave a permanent mark: he looks towards ‘posterity’, he builds monuments, writes biographies and erects huge stone memorials over dead bodies. "
"All she could do was wander near the post office, weeping copiously. Maybe a faint hope lingered in her mind that Dadababu might return; and this was enough to tie her to the spot, prevent her from going far. O poor, unthinking human heart! Error will not go away, logic and reason are slow to penetrate. We cling with both arms to false hope, refusing to believe the weightiest proofs against it, embracing it with all our strength. In the end it escapes, ripping our veins and draining our heart’s blood; until, regaining consciousness, we rush to fall into snares of delusion all over again."
"If you stay in Calcutta you forget how extraordinarily beautiful the world really is. It’s only when you are here, and can see the sun setting behind the peaceful riverside trees, and thousands of stars appearing above the unending, pale, lonely, silent sandbank, that you realize how amazing these daily events are. The sun seems to open a huge book every morning, and by the evening a huge page has been turned in the sky above: what extraordinary things are written on it!"
"I was thinking, why is there such a deep note of mourning in the fields, ghats, sky and sunshine of our country? I think perhaps the reason is that Nature is constantly before our eyes: the wide, open sky, flat and endless land, shimmering sunshine—and in the midst of this men come and go, crossing to and fro like a ferry-boat. The little noises that they make, the ups and downs of their happy or sad efforts in the market of the world, seem in the context of this endlessly reaching, huge, aloof Nature so small, so fleeting, so futile and full of suffering! We feel in Nature’s effortless, unambitious stillness and serenity such vast, beautiful, undistorted, generous Peace; and compared to that such an effortful, agonized, tormented, petty, perpetually unstable lack of peace inside ourselves, that when we look at the distant blue line of the shady woods on the river-bank we are strangely unsettled. Where Nature is swathed and cramped by mist and snow and dark clouds, man feels in command, feels that his work can leave a permanent mark: he looks towards ‘posterity’, he builds monuments, writes biographies and erects huge stone memorials over dead bodies. "
"All she could do was wander near the post office, weeping copiously. Maybe a faint hope lingered in her mind that Dadababu might return; and this was enough to tie her to the spot, prevent her from going far. O poor, unthinking human heart! Error will not go away, logic and reason are slow to penetrate. We cling with both arms to false hope, refusing to believe the weightiest proofs against it, embracing it with all our strength. In the end it escapes, ripping our veins and draining our heart’s blood; until, regaining consciousness, we rush to fall into snares of delusion all over again."
"If you stay in Calcutta you forget how extraordinarily beautiful the world really is. It’s only when you are here, and can see the sun setting behind the peaceful riverside trees, and thousands of stars appearing above the unending, pale, lonely, silent sandbank, that you realize how amazing these daily events are. The sun seems to open a huge book every morning, and by the evening a huge page has been turned in the sky above: what extraordinary things are written on it!"
kateshark's review
4.0
Loved these stories in high school. I need to revisit them -- I'm curious to see if I still feel the same now.
pilgrimbookstore89's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5