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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
An epic historical fiction spanning from the Third Anglo Burmese War to WWII era Malaya, this ambitious novel sets out to tell a love story between a Burmese royal maid and a Bengali orphan.
I read this book when I was much younger, probably in my early 20s and the first thing I remembered about this book was that Saya John and his granddaughter were killed - Saya John in his addled state of dementia killed while he was trying to run away from the Japanese in his Sunday best (he just wanted to go to church) and his granddaughter who killed herself so as not to be captured alive by Japanese troops.
I should have a lot to say about this book but as epic as it is, war is a topic I don't really have much to say on. Maybe it's because the events in this book, especially pertaining to WWII in Malaya, hits close to home because my 92 year old grandmother is still traumatised from the events, whether she openly admits it or not. Then again, she may never divulge her true feelings as she too, like Saya John, has dementia. Though me and her don't have the greatest relationship, I respect her enough to never bring it up again after asking her about it once.
Back to the book, it read like a historical account for me so I didn't enjoy it in that aspect but it did give me a glimpse into Burmese and Malayan history during those times. All I can say is, I'm grateful to live in a time of peace.
I read this book when I was much younger, probably in my early 20s and the first thing I remembered about this book was that Saya John and his granddaughter were killed - Saya John in his addled state of dementia killed while he was trying to run away from the Japanese in his Sunday best (he just wanted to go to church) and his granddaughter who killed herself so as not to be captured alive by Japanese troops.
I should have a lot to say about this book but as epic as it is, war is a topic I don't really have much to say on. Maybe it's because the events in this book, especially pertaining to WWII in Malaya, hits close to home because my 92 year old grandmother is still traumatised from the events, whether she openly admits it or not. Then again, she may never divulge her true feelings as she too, like Saya John, has dementia. Though me and her don't have the greatest relationship, I respect her enough to never bring it up again after asking her about it once.
Back to the book, it read like a historical account for me so I didn't enjoy it in that aspect but it did give me a glimpse into Burmese and Malayan history during those times. All I can say is, I'm grateful to live in a time of peace.
This book is incredible, and one to be savored. It follows a family through some incredibly turbulent eras in the South Asian continent, across boarders and across conflicts. Their trials are terrible and dramatic, and so engrossing.
Incredible book.
Incredible book.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This took me forever to finish. Part of the reason was that I go through audiobooks faster, because I can do other things at the same time, and this was not an audiobook. The other reason was that because it took so long, I started getting bored due to the difficulty of keeping up with all the characters. So, it took so long because it took so long?
There were a lot of good parts, and I learned a lot about the history of the area, mostly Burma, which was interesting to me because I know people from that area; my wife also grew up close to there in Yunnan, China. But to be honest, I was bored during a lot of the book, and just wanted to finish, but didn't want to abandon it.
There were a lot of good parts, and I learned a lot about the history of the area, mostly Burma, which was interesting to me because I know people from that area; my wife also grew up close to there in Yunnan, China. But to be honest, I was bored during a lot of the book, and just wanted to finish, but didn't want to abandon it.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It traces three families in Burma, India and Malaya from 1885 to a brief stint in the mid-1990s. I have little knowledge of these countries' histories and found it fascinating to read about the British Empire from this perspective. I don't know that I'd ever read about Japanese invasion during WWII from this perspective.
The author for the audiobook did a fine job keeping up with the story, but did not do enough for this listener to differentiate the different characters. I sometimes found myself confused for a bit about which storyline I was hearing. But maybe that's the fault of the listener rather than the reader.
The author for the audiobook did a fine job keeping up with the story, but did not do enough for this listener to differentiate the different characters. I sometimes found myself confused for a bit about which storyline I was hearing. But maybe that's the fault of the listener rather than the reader.
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The book gets off to a slow start, but then after about 200 pages it gets gripping. What Ghosh lacks in character development he makes up for as a "chronicler of history". An enormous amount of research effort has obviously gone into the making of this book. My favourite character was Dinu.
Historical fiction at its best! A sweeping panorama of Burma's history through the lives of few characters across generations. The detailed research which the author did for this book is evident in each and every para.
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, War
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-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:
N/A