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sportula's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dellaposta's review against another edition
3.75
Mid-way through A Passage to India, I had the feeling that it felt like the work of a great moralist and just a pretty good novelist. From there, though, Forster lets his main characters — who initially feel like thin archetypes — go in so many genuinely surprising directions, including some that I’m still puzzling over and can’t tell if they are the work of an incredibly subtle writer or just an inattentive one. By the end, you get the feeling for Forster being a writer with surprising optimism in his view of human nature, and bottomless cynicism in his view of human societies.
jencunn2024's review against another edition
3.0
This is an important classic if you can get through it. I have no doubt the subject matter was important for its time geopolitically. It is a long, boring read. Forster’s writing is fine just not exciting. There is beautiful imagery and detail that provide wonderful description about India and its peoples as well as its religions. Forster presents an interesting setting during the colonial British Raj and India’s independent movement in the early 20th Century. It is chock full of racial contention and the struggle for India’s identity as a nation made of multiple religions. I enjoyed some of the misguided views of one type of person toward another but did not appreciate the flighty, superficial feel of the characters and their ridiculous cynicism.
belleb1401's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
elisabeth_with_an_ess's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexism
reintje69's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
tamracielle's review against another edition
4.0
I listen to recorded books during my daily commute, and I have to admit that this form of experiencing books lends itself more to the enjoyment of fast-paced thrillers rather than slow-paced “classics.” However, occasionally, one needs to take a break from a “junk food” book diet and experience some real literature. It is often hard to stay focused when listening to these types of books; the distractions of the commute often take me out of the story. And such was the case when I started listening to A Passage to India, and I feared it would be a long slog. I also had not realized the book was published in 1924, almost 100 years ago. But despite my misgivings, I was soon drawn into the story, and I now have an appreciation for E.M. Forster’s talent and understanding of why this is considered a classic. It is an incredibly perceptive portrayal of India during the British Raj and the difficulty of maintaining friendships between Indians and Britons. Recommended.
wilde_read's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This one goes to my re-read tbr to get the nuances of Forster's writings. I'd like to find an annotated version also, since there were a ton of words I had to find the definition for that describe Indian objects. The ending chapters describe ceremonies that I need to research as well. A real page-turner for me!
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs
This one goes to my re-read tbr to get the nuances of Forster's writings. I'd like to find an annotated version also, since there were a ton of words I had to find the definition for that describe Indian objects. The ending chapters describe ceremonies that I need to research as well. A real page-turner for me!paola_mobileread's review against another edition
4.0
Though as a non native speaker I found the prose at time very challenging, it was really a beautiful read.
In terms of the plot, for me it lost some steam (and coherence) after
As for the characters, rhe women here felt often more like a narration device than proper character - perhaps I am exagerating, but
On Aziz, though, the aspect that struck me most is not his being emotional or his propensity to act on instinct - but his relationship with facts and reality. For instance, how Aziz "fills in the details" of Adela's departure from the caves in his conversation with Fielding as if this was a statement of fact reminded so much of my dad that it made me smile: not because there was any intention to deceive, or any hidden agenda, but this was simply a reasoning that made sense, sounded plausible and appeared harmless. It provided a coherent way of filling the uncomfortable gaps in Adela's sudden and rude disappearance, and in the end this became reality in Aziz's mind. And in normal circumstances I am sure Aziz would have accepted an alternative if this had been provided later e.g. by Adela, not thinking for another second about having provided Fielding with a load of made up rubbish!
It was my first Forster, now I now it won't be the last.
(edited version of my own posts in the Mobiler Read Literary Book Club discussion)
In terms of the plot, for me it lost some steam (and coherence) after
Spoiler
the climax of the trial's collapse, but in a sense the plot was really secondary to the arguments on colonialism, and I really enjoied this book!As for the characters, rhe women here felt often more like a narration device than proper character - perhaps I am exagerating, but
Spoiler
Adela is almost forgotten of after the trial, and both the change of personality in Mrs Moore as well as her death are rather sudden. These women needed to fade in the background, and in the background they disappear fast.On Aziz, though, the aspect that struck me most is not his being emotional or his propensity to act on instinct - but his relationship with facts and reality. For instance, how Aziz "fills in the details" of Adela's departure from the caves in his conversation with Fielding as if this was a statement of fact reminded so much of my dad that it made me smile: not because there was any intention to deceive, or any hidden agenda, but this was simply a reasoning that made sense, sounded plausible and appeared harmless. It provided a coherent way of filling the uncomfortable gaps in Adela's sudden and rude disappearance, and in the end this became reality in Aziz's mind. And in normal circumstances I am sure Aziz would have accepted an alternative if this had been provided later e.g. by Adela, not thinking for another second about having provided Fielding with a load of made up rubbish!
It was my first Forster, now I now it won't be the last.
(edited version of my own posts in the Mobiler Read Literary Book Club discussion)
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
Edward Said has observed how oriental this book is. A lot of people here seem to have similar objections to the book or how it doesn't represent India. I don't think this book tries to represent India or any book can do so. Forster even says somewhere in the book that no single person can represent India, so I think he would know no single book can do so either.
As for orientalism. I don't think a book (or a piece of art) can be considered bad just because it imagines an oriental country - otherwise, Salman Rushdi's Midnight Children could be considered oriental too. If such novels create prejudices (which was Said's main objection) then the fault lies with the readers who want to learn about a country from a work of fiction. As for Forster, if he is guilty of generalizing, he is guilty of generalizing both Indians and Britishers. Otherwise, he has built some complex characters and not the caricatures that result from the pen of those writing with prejudices.
Forster's interest is the challenges faced by the two communities in holding a conversation. Colonialism was one problem, and prejudices were another. Fielding was one character who went further than others in making a connection with an Indian and that was only because he was individualistic. Forster represents the whole Anglo-Indian society as forming a sort of single invisible institution representing to Indians their foreign rulers. Most Britishers who stayed in India accepted these dictates, but Fielding didn't accept his rules and that's why his and Aziz's friendship is at the core of the book (and not the lawsuit that most summaries seem to suggest). Aziz could make the Indian half of that friendship just because he too was unprejudiced at least in the beginning of the book. They knew that they won't meet again when Fielding gets marries (and thus loses his individuality) and Aziz develops a hatred of British in general (and thus loses his unprejudiced nature.
One thing I do agree with critics on is that Forster wrote way more than he had to. He seems obsessed with the Indian climate. It was as if he decided to make the novel his kitchen sink and threw in all eloquent descriptions of climate he didn't get the chance to use.
As for orientalism. I don't think a book (or a piece of art) can be considered bad just because it imagines an oriental country - otherwise, Salman Rushdi's Midnight Children could be considered oriental too. If such novels create prejudices (which was Said's main objection) then the fault lies with the readers who want to learn about a country from a work of fiction. As for Forster, if he is guilty of generalizing, he is guilty of generalizing both Indians and Britishers. Otherwise, he has built some complex characters and not the caricatures that result from the pen of those writing with prejudices.
Forster's interest is the challenges faced by the two communities in holding a conversation. Colonialism was one problem, and prejudices were another. Fielding was one character who went further than others in making a connection with an Indian and that was only because he was individualistic. Forster represents the whole Anglo-Indian society as forming a sort of single invisible institution representing to Indians their foreign rulers. Most Britishers who stayed in India accepted these dictates, but Fielding didn't accept his rules and that's why his and Aziz's friendship is at the core of the book (and not the lawsuit that most summaries seem to suggest). Aziz could make the Indian half of that friendship just because he too was unprejudiced at least in the beginning of the book. They knew that they won't meet again when Fielding gets marries (and thus loses his individuality) and Aziz develops a hatred of British in general (and thus loses his unprejudiced nature.
One thing I do agree with critics on is that Forster wrote way more than he had to. He seems obsessed with the Indian climate. It was as if he decided to make the novel his kitchen sink and threw in all eloquent descriptions of climate he didn't get the chance to use.