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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
What a little packet of punch! What started out humdrum really ended up being a deep and cutting narrative. There are so many hidden aspects to this small tale.
The plot is quite simple and revolves about a family and their rise from rags to riches. How becoming nouveau-rich changes their life. Whilst this may seem as a really ordinary plot, it’s anything but. Vivek Shanbhag does an excellent job at weaving into the story the aspects of classism, modernism, and feminism in India.
The characters of this story are its stars. They’re very well developed and come to life as we read on. The narrators namelessness sort of implies that he’s every male in india—I really hope not! There are females who bring females down and females who support females. There are women looking for male validation and women who’re not. The inter familial relationships are also very well portrayed: family members supporting one another unconditionally, to the extent that it frustrates a reader like me. Etc etc.
Written the way it is, even with an ordinary plot, we end up wanting to know what happens next. The ending leaves us and our imagination to fill in the blanks.
Definitely recommended short quick fun read.
The plot is quite simple and revolves about a family and their rise from rags to riches. How becoming nouveau-rich changes their life. Whilst this may seem as a really ordinary plot, it’s anything but. Vivek Shanbhag does an excellent job at weaving into the story the aspects of classism, modernism, and feminism in India.
The characters of this story are its stars. They’re very well developed and come to life as we read on. The narrators namelessness sort of implies that he’s every male in india—I really hope not! There are females who bring females down and females who support females. There are women looking for male validation and women who’re not. The inter familial relationships are also very well portrayed: family members supporting one another unconditionally, to the extent that it frustrates a reader like me. Etc etc.
Written the way it is, even with an ordinary plot, we end up wanting to know what happens next. The ending leaves us and our imagination to fill in the blanks.
Definitely recommended short quick fun read.
I don't know where to begin.
"Ghachar Ghochar" means tangled up beyond repair.
This is a story about an Indian Family consisting of parents, the uncle, the protagonist, his sister, and his wife, who rise to riches from poverty. It’s true what they say – it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us. When there’s only a little, it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us. It is also a story about every member of their family and how they fuck up life once they get the money they never had.
The ending shook me to the roots. My prediction about the ending is that he has blood in his hand as he is responsible for not speaking up when he thought it was not right the way Suhasini was treated. nor did he stand up for Anita as her husband. While both or one of these women might have been murdered by his family members.
Quotes from the book:
"We were thrown off balance by her love for one of us, and so we tore into her with such vengeance that she collapsed to the ground, sobbing."
"I became convinced that it is the words of women that deeply wound other women."
"Our relationship with the things we accumulated around us became casual; we began treating them carelessly."
"Ghachar Ghochar" means tangled up beyond repair.
This is a story about an Indian Family consisting of parents, the uncle, the protagonist, his sister, and his wife, who rise to riches from poverty. It’s true what they say – it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us. When there’s only a little, it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us. It is also a story about every member of their family and how they fuck up life once they get the money they never had.
The ending shook me to the roots. My prediction about the ending is that he has blood in his hand as he is responsible for not speaking up when he thought it was not right the way Suhasini was treated. nor did he stand up for Anita as her husband. While both or one of these women might have been murdered by his family members.
Quotes from the book:
"We were thrown off balance by her love for one of us, and so we tore into her with such vengeance that she collapsed to the ground, sobbing."
"I became convinced that it is the words of women that deeply wound other women."
"Our relationship with the things we accumulated around us became casual; we began treating them carelessly."
1.5 Stars
Where do I start.... This is a story about a family in India who went from poor to abundantly rich. The narrator is a very unlikable character. He's spineless, lazy, and sexist. His whole family looked down on women and treated them horribly. His mom just takes it and she even criticize other women. Honestly what was the point of this story? To show how toxic some family and people can be? Also what's up with that ending? It left me quite unsatisfied.
Where do I start.... This is a story about a family in India who went from poor to abundantly rich. The narrator is a very unlikable character. He's spineless, lazy, and sexist. His whole family looked down on women and treated them horribly. His mom just takes it and she even criticize other women. Honestly what was the point of this story? To show how toxic some family and people can be? Also what's up with that ending? It left me quite unsatisfied.
Fun! A very interesting view into family dynamics, wealth, and a touch of crime. The characters pop out of the page.
I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would, wow.
Vivek narrates the story of a lower middle class family from Bangalore living in a cramped three room house, and how in a swift turn of events they land themselves in an opportunity to open their own masala business and what transpires is their transition from their middle class status to a family with prominent status.
But as Appa would say it ,"wealth shouldn’t strike suddenly like a visitation, but instead grow gradually like a tree.", ties in the close knit family start to shift and something rather ominous is lurking just around the corner.
GHACHAR GHOCHAR , in it's entirety is a made up word, from what I could gather and it essentially means something entangled. And in what stupendous way, does the ending does justify it. This is not your regular mystery until you start piecing the scenes and the characters together, after that applauding climax.
If you are interested in reading this book, I'd throughly recommend the audiobook which is quite short and you can listen to it in no time.
But as Appa would say it ,"wealth shouldn’t strike suddenly like a visitation, but instead grow gradually like a tree.", ties in the close knit family start to shift and something rather ominous is lurking just around the corner.
GHACHAR GHOCHAR , in it's entirety is a made up word, from what I could gather and it essentially means something entangled. And in what stupendous way, does the ending does justify it. This is not your regular mystery until you start piecing the scenes and the characters together, after that applauding climax.
If you are interested in reading this book, I'd throughly recommend the audiobook which is quite short and you can listen to it in no time.
That ending. Honestly, I didn’t expect that and I listened to the last 20 minutes of this book twice to make sure I understood what the author was insinuating. Brilliantly done and I’m glad this was my last read of January
2021 is the year of translated works. I read quite a bit of manga which is technically translated; however, my ultimate goal is to broaden my horizons in relationship to translations. Ghachar Ghochar wasn’t on my radar. I randomly found the audiobook and made the decision to give it a try after reading the synopsis. The most interesting aspect of this reading experience is that the most defining moments of this book don’t come until the end meaning readers won’t grasp the true nature of the book until the last few pages. Set in Bangalore, Ghachar Ghochar opens with a young man sitting at coffee shop describing the setting of the coffee shop and those around him. Eventually he switches the narrative to a story focused on how his family went from poverty to acquiring massive wealth. This book isn’t so much about plot as it is about character study. Readers spend the entirety of the book watching a close knit family alter and change in very complex and intriguing ways after acquiring money. From small things such as less family meals to more complex situations like failed marriages, it’s fascinating to see the evolution of who they were to who they have become. As a reader, spectator, it’s easy to see how horrid the family becomes but they become so immersed in their new found wealth that they can’t see the changes within themselves. It’s only through the arrival of the narrator’s wife that their way of life becomes challenged. This is probably the first translated book that I’ve read from India and it won’t be my last. The following quote ties the meaning this book together beautifully: “it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us. When there’s only a little, it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us.” With great exploration of Indian culture and family dynamics, Ghachar Ghochar is dynamic and interesting read that I highly recommend.
2021 is the year of translated works. I read quite a bit of manga which is technically translated; however, my ultimate goal is to broaden my horizons in relationship to translations. Ghachar Ghochar wasn’t on my radar. I randomly found the audiobook and made the decision to give it a try after reading the synopsis. The most interesting aspect of this reading experience is that the most defining moments of this book don’t come until the end meaning readers won’t grasp the true nature of the book until the last few pages. Set in Bangalore, Ghachar Ghochar opens with a young man sitting at coffee shop describing the setting of the coffee shop and those around him. Eventually he switches the narrative to a story focused on how his family went from poverty to acquiring massive wealth. This book isn’t so much about plot as it is about character study. Readers spend the entirety of the book watching a close knit family alter and change in very complex and intriguing ways after acquiring money. From small things such as less family meals to more complex situations like failed marriages, it’s fascinating to see the evolution of who they were to who they have become. As a reader, spectator, it’s easy to see how horrid the family becomes but they become so immersed in their new found wealth that they can’t see the changes within themselves. It’s only through the arrival of the narrator’s wife that their way of life becomes challenged. This is probably the first translated book that I’ve read from India and it won’t be my last. The following quote ties the meaning this book together beautifully: “it’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us. When there’s only a little, it behaves meekly; when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us.” With great exploration of Indian culture and family dynamics, Ghachar Ghochar is dynamic and interesting read that I highly recommend.
Omg this was amazing! For such a short novel it really held your attention! It was so descriptive I could imagine everything being said and it really reminded me of a script for a Bollywood movie. That ending though l, oh my.
3.75/5 rounded down to 3 because I am a bitch.
this was a first person narrative, a little introspective family drama (?) of sorts, that follows our main character ruminating on the changes upward economic mobility has brought in terms of their internal relationships. it looks at those fissures from a very readable lens though my only complain is that it got a little on the nose sometimes, but not unbearably so.
this wasn't a bad book by any shot, but it wouldn't be my most memorable story of the year. I felt like the story, though decent enough in 115 pages, could have been fleshed out a little more and ended abruptly. I did, however, like the overall writing style (though it could have done with a little less on the nose explaining and more showing). I loved the moments of introspection and observation, and it was thoroughly readable, i didn't labour to pick it up at any point. I definitely recommend this for a short year end read since it's under 115 pages :)
this was a first person narrative, a little introspective family drama (?) of sorts, that follows our main character ruminating on the changes upward economic mobility has brought in terms of their internal relationships. it looks at those fissures from a very readable lens though my only complain is that it got a little on the nose sometimes, but not unbearably so.
this wasn't a bad book by any shot, but it wouldn't be my most memorable story of the year. I felt like the story, though decent enough in 115 pages, could have been fleshed out a little more and ended abruptly. I did, however, like the overall writing style (though it could have done with a little less on the nose explaining and more showing). I loved the moments of introspection and observation, and it was thoroughly readable, i didn't labour to pick it up at any point. I definitely recommend this for a short year end read since it's under 115 pages :)
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes