Scan barcode
raintaxi's review
5.0
- given that my indian cbse history/pol sci education was completely useless,, this was a great introduction to some of the social/political/economic intricacies of india
- we never talk abt the lower castes, the poor, the adivasis in a way that isnt self serving to the upper middle class that dont have to deal
- side note: india's education system is fucked
- she touches on how capitalism/industrialization/militarization/nationalism all relate to each other in a way thats super accessible and still retains it's nuance
- at the end of the book, she poses her demands which is something ive never seen done so explicitly and concisely in a non-fic before,,, i wish there was additional reading to tie in each of those demands with the previous essay but not necessary for my comprehension of the book
- time to read all her other books!!
- we never talk abt the lower castes, the poor, the adivasis in a way that isnt self serving to the upper middle class that dont have to deal
- side note: india's education system is fucked
- she touches on how capitalism/industrialization/militarization/nationalism all relate to each other in a way thats super accessible and still retains it's nuance
- at the end of the book, she poses her demands which is something ive never seen done so explicitly and concisely in a non-fic before,,, i wish there was additional reading to tie in each of those demands with the previous essay but not necessary for my comprehension of the book
- time to read all her other books!!
indielitttttt's review
4.0
A great short read that summarizes the woes of capitalism in India and beyond. Roy discusses the extreme negative impact that corporations have on government and elections & police and military forces. She examines corporate philanthropy and how so many of the worlds artistic, academic, and social programs are funded and shaped by billionaires. She also dives into how capitalism is one of the biggest influencers of racism and inequality.
fearandtrembling's review
3.0
Brief and eye-opening. My main issue was that it was too short. I flipped the page for more and was like, What.
It's a collection of linked essays and she writes about complex political issues with clarity. Sometimes this can come off a little basic but it's a solid primer for people who want to know more about the politics that inform her second novel. This is essentially the nonfiction version of it.
I found the sections on the increasingly far-right Indian security state & Kashmir especially useful.
It's a collection of linked essays and she writes about complex political issues with clarity. Sometimes this can come off a little basic but it's a solid primer for people who want to know more about the politics that inform her second novel. This is essentially the nonfiction version of it.
I found the sections on the increasingly far-right Indian security state & Kashmir especially useful.
pearseanderson's review
3.0
I don't understand a lot of Indian politics so I didn't understand a lot of this book, but I enjoyed it and the discussions it had of cronyism, capitalism, and the value of bringing these systems down. Watching Malcolm X while I read this was quite interesting. Arundhati Roy is a prolific person and author, damn!
emilywasbored's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Genocide
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Rape
noushin_nuri's review
5.0
Though it was written in a very Indian context referencing events I barely know about, I could relate very well as a Bangladeshi. I have seen how cross-ownership, especially corporations' ownership of media has given them the freedom to do the hell they want, how artists, journalists and all dissidents have been mercilessly silenced and wiped out.
What drew me very close to this book was how Arundhati repainted the people who were wiped out, how she went into each case point by point. How she has cared for the people who the governments didn't care to give a fair trial even before the death sentence.
This was a thorough and serious non-fiction. But in a part Arundhati mentions an event that made me live in that moment in a way even many fictions can't. I'll just give a hint: the warmth of boiled eggs warmed my heart. If you are reading this book, I bet you will feel intense emotion in this part. What sort of emotion I don't know but feel you must!
What drew me very close to this book was how Arundhati repainted the people who were wiped out, how she went into each case point by point. How she has cared for the people who the governments didn't care to give a fair trial even before the death sentence.
This was a thorough and serious non-fiction. But in a part Arundhati mentions an event that made me live in that moment in a way even many fictions can't. I'll just give a hint: the warmth of boiled eggs warmed my heart. If you are reading this book, I bet you will feel intense emotion in this part. What sort of emotion I don't know but feel you must!
nealadolph's review
4.0
I purchased this book last week at a book fair. I knew it had released earlier this year - even anticipated it - but I have far too many books to justify picking it up at the time. I had also never read anything by Roy before, and for some reason I had always felt as though I should read her one piece of fiction before I jumped into her non-fiction. But I couldn't hold back once I saw this short, beautiful, unassuming collection of essays and questions at the book fair. Maybe that was a sign that I had finally gotten over that ex of mine who was a big fan of hers? What was his name again?
Anyways. I read through this book quite quickly. Three days. In that time I read several of the essays more than once, two more than twice. She writes beautifully, even if she at times inserts her voice into it just a bit too much, which means her humour and her sentence structure doesn't necessarily make sense until you've listened to her speak. The way she wraps stories into these larger narratives of destruction is impressive. One in particular, about warm eggs, is beautiful.
What comes across first and foremost is that Roy is aware of history and the present and the unattainable future, and how important it is to fight for all three moments in time even if it seems like it is a loss.
But I would struggle to say that this is always clear or, even, that this book is always really aware of what it is trying to prove. That is partially because it straddles that line between the essays and memoir - I think this is what we call creative non-fiction, non? Regardless, the end result is a fantastic work of literature with far too many truths, plenty of conviction, and not enough security in what it is trying to say. Particularly in the second half, whose relationship with the first is only made quickly and poorly. This is surprising given how well she connects plenty of surprising and alarming dots in the first half.
It is perhaps fitting, then, that this books ends with a comment on the Occupy Movement, which has dramatically altered the state of political rhetoric in America and continues to push against greed and capitalism in the very land where both have flourished unheeded for so long. The Occupy Movement had far too many ideas to be successful - far too many participants. It was a cacophony of concerns. And those of us who watched Zucotti Park on the news or who participated in protests and sympathy camps around the country were not always certain what was to come of it. Roy, though, provides a message of hope out of it. If people in America, white and middle class people, can rise up again and again and again, day after day, and tell the state that they are no longer willing to co-operate with capitalism, then maybe there is hope yet. Maybe there is hope yet.
I think this book is important and incredible. It is often awful, but only because it is talking about awful things. A good primer about neo-liberalism and neo-colonialism. I will be giving it to my mother to read and hope that it can have as disheartening and hope-impressing power on her as it did on me.
Anyways. I read through this book quite quickly. Three days. In that time I read several of the essays more than once, two more than twice. She writes beautifully, even if she at times inserts her voice into it just a bit too much, which means her humour and her sentence structure doesn't necessarily make sense until you've listened to her speak. The way she wraps stories into these larger narratives of destruction is impressive. One in particular, about warm eggs, is beautiful.
What comes across first and foremost is that Roy is aware of history and the present and the unattainable future, and how important it is to fight for all three moments in time even if it seems like it is a loss.
But I would struggle to say that this is always clear or, even, that this book is always really aware of what it is trying to prove. That is partially because it straddles that line between the essays and memoir - I think this is what we call creative non-fiction, non? Regardless, the end result is a fantastic work of literature with far too many truths, plenty of conviction, and not enough security in what it is trying to say. Particularly in the second half, whose relationship with the first is only made quickly and poorly. This is surprising given how well she connects plenty of surprising and alarming dots in the first half.
It is perhaps fitting, then, that this books ends with a comment on the Occupy Movement, which has dramatically altered the state of political rhetoric in America and continues to push against greed and capitalism in the very land where both have flourished unheeded for so long. The Occupy Movement had far too many ideas to be successful - far too many participants. It was a cacophony of concerns. And those of us who watched Zucotti Park on the news or who participated in protests and sympathy camps around the country were not always certain what was to come of it. Roy, though, provides a message of hope out of it. If people in America, white and middle class people, can rise up again and again and again, day after day, and tell the state that they are no longer willing to co-operate with capitalism, then maybe there is hope yet. Maybe there is hope yet.
I think this book is important and incredible. It is often awful, but only because it is talking about awful things. A good primer about neo-liberalism and neo-colonialism. I will be giving it to my mother to read and hope that it can have as disheartening and hope-impressing power on her as it did on me.