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angelajuniper's review against another edition
2.0
I kind of feel like Vikram Chandra said to himself 'what do I want to read? what do I want to see happen in a story?' then gathered every idea he had ever had and smooshed it into a book. He covers every single genre in one way or another and at times it is so compacted that I couldnt remember who people were and why they were there so had to browse back through the first third of the book. At times it was very wordy, almost unnecessarily so, and I didnt think it was actually needed. Abhay's story was so sharply contrasted with the rest of the book that Chandra could have left it out and still achieved the same outcome. I didnt see the point of Abhay's immature antics with his rich but miserable friends. It was a whole other book slid between a story of battle, Indian Gods, love and struggle. A book that was strangely put together, I probably would't read it again.
superfamoustia's review against another edition
4.0
Picked this up at Adventures Underground, a jaw-droppingly fantastic bookstore/comic book store in Richland, WA. Very excited to start!
* * *
Finished: an EXCELLENT work. Sublime moments meet "surly sphincters." A story about stories, which I'm a sucker for; dashes of magic realism, which I'm also a sucker for. I preferred the old tales to the new, myself, but the whole book was written with loveliness. I look forward to "Sacred Games."
* * *
Finished: an EXCELLENT work. Sublime moments meet "surly sphincters." A story about stories, which I'm a sucker for; dashes of magic realism, which I'm also a sucker for. I preferred the old tales to the new, myself, but the whole book was written with loveliness. I look forward to "Sacred Games."
shonasmile's review against another edition
4.0
Some lovely prose. Got slightly lost in the third quarter, but managed to stick it out to a rewarding end.
soitis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yellowtypophile's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting book. I found it quite difficult to follow - perhaps because I read it on and off over several months, but I've done the same with Vikram Chandra's other novel (Sacred Games, which I enjoyed much more) without a problem.
This book is written as a story within a story for several layers, as is common in Indian storytelling traditions - while this made it a little difficult to follow, for me this was not the main issue. The main story about Sanjay and his life, which runs through the whole book, is what I found difficult. I didn't have an understanding of what the book is trying to do with the story; I couldn't understand Sanjay's motivations, which seemed to change substantially and gain new drivers in drastically different directions every so often. Perhaps it was this aspect which some reviewers apparently called "cinematic".
I noticed a couple stories which are inversions of familiar stories from Hindu mythology and are nice winks from the author to the aware reader - I don't know how many I missed. The example that comes to mind is Sikander narrating his archery lesson where his master has him aim at a bird and then asks him what he sees; when Sikander replies that he sees only the bird, his master tells him that he will only not miss when he sees everything, the mountains and the sky and the ground and the bird as well. This is an exact inversion of the story from the Mahabharata of Dronacharya teaching the Panadavas and Kauravas archery. He asks each of them what they see, and all but Arjuna describe the bird and other things as well. Drona is pleased with only Arjuna, who claims to see nothing but the eye of the bird.
The bits of the book I enjoyed the most were the parts that happened in present times: the descriptions of the situation in the maidan where the highest level of storytelling is happening, and all of Abhay's stories of his times in America. For me these are the parts which flowed the most easily, where it was easiest to empathise with the characters and find the humour and just-feels-right observations that make good writing good. This writing also feels the most down-to-earth; somehow in making Sanjay's thread somewhat grand and far-away, the writing gains some pretenses it could do without. Perhaps this is what makes Sacred Games so good.
All in all: good, but read Sacred Games.
This book is written as a story within a story for several layers, as is common in Indian storytelling traditions - while this made it a little difficult to follow, for me this was not the main issue. The main story about Sanjay and his life, which runs through the whole book, is what I found difficult. I didn't have an understanding of what the book is trying to do with the story; I couldn't understand Sanjay's motivations, which seemed to change substantially and gain new drivers in drastically different directions every so often. Perhaps it was this aspect which some reviewers apparently called "cinematic".
I noticed a couple stories which are inversions of familiar stories from Hindu mythology and are nice winks from the author to the aware reader - I don't know how many I missed. The example that comes to mind is Sikander narrating his archery lesson where his master has him aim at a bird and then asks him what he sees; when Sikander replies that he sees only the bird, his master tells him that he will only not miss when he sees everything, the mountains and the sky and the ground and the bird as well. This is an exact inversion of the story from the Mahabharata of Dronacharya teaching the Panadavas and Kauravas archery. He asks each of them what they see, and all but Arjuna describe the bird and other things as well. Drona is pleased with only Arjuna, who claims to see nothing but the eye of the bird.
The bits of the book I enjoyed the most were the parts that happened in present times: the descriptions of the situation in the maidan where the highest level of storytelling is happening, and all of Abhay's stories of his times in America. For me these are the parts which flowed the most easily, where it was easiest to empathise with the characters and find the humour and just-feels-right observations that make good writing good. This writing also feels the most down-to-earth; somehow in making Sanjay's thread somewhat grand and far-away, the writing gains some pretenses it could do without. Perhaps this is what makes Sacred Games so good.
All in all: good, but read Sacred Games.
eyelit's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meyshka's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
stellarya's review against another edition
2.0
Red Earth and Pouring Rain is a whirlwind of a book, and a heavy whirlwind at that. The book itself is weighty, and its contents are jammed full of an overwhelming amount of characters.
I had trouble remembering who did what, what the effect was, and how things influenced each other later. So to me, it seemed in parts like one random thing happening after another.
I really enjoyed the first third or so of the book, and then I think things all started to jumble together. I think I finally lost track of what was going on about halfway through. But I kept reading, hoping that everything would work itself out in the end. For me, it didn't.
I had trouble remembering who did what, what the effect was, and how things influenced each other later. So to me, it seemed in parts like one random thing happening after another.
I really enjoyed the first third or so of the book, and then I think things all started to jumble together. I think I finally lost track of what was going on about halfway through. But I kept reading, hoping that everything would work itself out in the end. For me, it didn't.
dreesreads's review against another edition
4.0
This novel flip flops between early 19th century India, and 1990s India and California/Texas. It is about coming home and what is home, family and what is family, and identity. The cover is not lying, there is a typing monkey.
Many of Chandra's early 19th century characters were real people. I am not well-versed in Indian history (especially Indian military history), so I spent a fair amount of time reading about James Sikander Skinner, George Thomas (Jaharai Jung), Begum Sumroo, and more on Wikipedia. I looked up foods and places and wars. I am sure that someone with good knowledge of Indian history and culture would get a lot more out of this book than I did.
But I did enjoy this. Stories within stories, characters across time, gods, cricket in Houston, college in LA, driving long distances, characters in the 19th century and the 20th century wondering who they are and where they belong.
Many of Chandra's early 19th century characters were real people. I am not well-versed in Indian history (especially Indian military history), so I spent a fair amount of time reading about James Sikander Skinner, George Thomas (Jaharai Jung), Begum Sumroo, and more on Wikipedia. I looked up foods and places and wars. I am sure that someone with good knowledge of Indian history and culture would get a lot more out of this book than I did.
But I did enjoy this. Stories within stories, characters across time, gods, cricket in Houston, college in LA, driving long distances, characters in the 19th century and the 20th century wondering who they are and where they belong.