Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
It blew my mind how thoroughly researched this Historical Fiction is. I had read only one book (The Hungry Tide) by Amitav Ghosh before reading this, and that doesn't even come close to this, so suffice it to say I was wonderfully surprised by how much I loved this book. While reading it I felt as if I was reading about people related to me. And fictional or not, in a way they are related to me. I always feel so when I read about the independence struggle; they destroyed themselves to ensure that I won't have to in the future, and that is a very, very humbling thought. Perhaps I would try to write a more detailed review soon, but right now all I can say is that I loved it.
The timeline of the book covers almost a centuy, in Burma and India. From what I understood, The Glass Palace is not a single story, rather many of them threaded together over generations and struggles.
.
The story mainly revolves around colonialism, differences in thoughts, self-questioning and loyalties. The author has not imposed his thoughts, but let the characters go through various situations, and let them decide themselves.
.
There are a lot of characters, each of them wonderfully depicted. I loved seeing them grow. The writing, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!
Ghosh is a masterful, powerful writer. His decriptions are some of the best...in fact they often substitute for dialogue and action. With a lesser skilled author, it would have ended up poorly. All I wanted was his lush description! However, by the end of the book, it did start to feel a bit burdensome...but this is because the book is so long.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book; I kind of wished it would have stayed at that timepoint in a way. Yet, I completely understand why it fast forwarded through time to other characters. I really want to read some background on Queen Supayalat after this and the pre-colonization of Burma after this.
I don't think I had a favorite character. In fact I went back and forth between liking and disliking them throughout the book. I suppose that itself is a result of great writing.
I really enjoyed the beginning of the book; I kind of wished it would have stayed at that timepoint in a way. Yet, I completely understand why it fast forwarded through time to other characters. I really want to read some background on Queen Supayalat after this and the pre-colonization of Burma after this.
I don't think I had a favorite character. In fact I went back and forth between liking and disliking them throughout the book. I suppose that itself is a result of great writing.
Books like these will keep bringing you back to historical fiction. Sweeping view of colonial history of India, Burma and Malaysia under the British Raj is the background to this story of 4 generations. The book touches many chords including imperialism, nationalism, immigration, nostalgia, dictatorship and exile. But at the same time it never loses the connect with basic human emotions which keeps the story engrossing along with some powerful characters. Some of the pages and paragraphs seem rushed and at times characters are not well developed in a desire to show their end destination.
The book took me on a journey—a journey of life. It started with a boy running around in a city of Myanmar (formally Burma) to find some odd job for himself and ends somewhere in Kolkata with him being now more than 80 years of age listening to an old radio on his bedside. A slow journey where Amitav made sure that the reader gets attached to everyone the boy meets and made connections with; personal as well as emotional.
Now that necessarily may not be the endpoints of the book. There was a tale from the previous generation of the King of Myanmar. And a story of two generations after him of his kids and grand-daughter. Then there were wars, turmoil in relationships of characters, tranquillity in the end. It was complicated, but the things were taking shape like a jigsaw puzzle; individually, the characters matter a little, but together they frame the story.
Historical fictions are challenging to execute. As a well-researched book 'The Glass Palace' does not bring just the historical events as a fact with itself but also historical emotions. The way people think and make their decisions while things around them were turning into long treasured history - like a war, bringing more learning than just knowing those facts.
Now if only I could explain any better the feeling of bliss in reading a well written historical fiction in a review, we would probably not respect the author like Amitav Ghosh. If you are planning on reading this book, I would recommend you to start with it without a second thought.
Now that necessarily may not be the endpoints of the book. There was a tale from the previous generation of the King of Myanmar. And a story of two generations after him of his kids and grand-daughter. Then there were wars, turmoil in relationships of characters, tranquillity in the end. It was complicated, but the things were taking shape like a jigsaw puzzle; individually, the characters matter a little, but together they frame the story.
Historical fictions are challenging to execute. As a well-researched book 'The Glass Palace' does not bring just the historical events as a fact with itself but also historical emotions. The way people think and make their decisions while things around them were turning into long treasured history - like a war, bringing more learning than just knowing those facts.
Now if only I could explain any better the feeling of bliss in reading a well written historical fiction in a review, we would probably not respect the author like Amitav Ghosh. If you are planning on reading this book, I would recommend you to start with it without a second thought.
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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
A bit pedantic at times, but thought provoking and educational on the colonialist past and present of Burma, and how the British recruited thousands of Indians to build an army that colonised and maintained their grip over Burma and India.
The Glass Palace follows one family through most of the Twentieth Century in Burma, India, and Myanmar. It explores the family's relationship to British Imperialism and the personal and political struggles of India's fight for independence. It's an ambitious book: it covers a lot of territory, history, and themes. Ghosh is good at depicting people and events vividly; in some ways, this is actually a weakness of the book. He is very good at bringing characters to life quickly, but the book's scale is so large that he can't focus on many of these characters for long. I would have preferred a story that only covered 10 years, instead of nearly 100. Any book that spans such a long time period must skip over some events, and the pacing felt uneven to me.
I have studied a lot of postcolonial theory. This book raises many of the major postcolonial issues: is violence or non-violence a better approach to throwing off an imperialist power? Are the benefits of colonialism (education, roads, etc.) worth the costs (subjugation, loss of culture)? To whom should a soldier in an imperial army be loyal? Ghosh treats these topics very sensitively, showing just how impossible it is to come up with a good answer to any of the questions raised by a postcolonial situation. This would be a wonderful introduction to postcolonialism; however, I've read enough postcolonial literature and theory that the book felt a bit like a postcolonial primer to me.
All in all, a very enjoyable book that raised some interesting issues, but perhaps had too much of an agenda to really be an enjoyable story.
I listened to the audiobook, and as always, Simon Vance's narration was wonderful
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Firstly the actual writing of this book is so beautiful and easy to read whilst being very fluid and descriptive. I was initially slow to warm to it but ended up storming through - definitely one to dedicate time to. I found I can really dive into the deeper topics within the novel - ideas of power, empire, people and family and 'what is right'. The progression of the book was also excellent, with a pace that flowed so naturally, resting in each point of focus and moving without feeling jarring. I would not there was some references sexual content that made me feel slightly uncomfortable - this may be personal feeling rather than a criticism per say.