Reviews - The Glass Palace

295 reviews for:

A beautifully written novel spanning several generations. It gives great insight into the interconnected colonial history of the region it is set in - Myanmar, India, Malaysia, and Singapore. The author masterfully portrays the effects of the social and political events on the personal lives of the characters with his penetrating observations on human condition. The book is long and complex but I still found it engaging from start to end; it's easily one of my best reads this year.

briannaslibrary's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

smartipants8's review against another edition

3.0

I was reading this and loving it until about 1/3 of the way in and then I got annoyed because the attention to detail that he originally showed in his characters flew out the window. The Burmese lady in waiting and the poor Rohingya man became people completely different to suit the plot - how did the boy become a philandering tycoon? How did the passionate girl become a dispirited wannabe nun? By the time we hit the end, the coincidences and the desire to tell Burma/Myanmar's story were coming so fast and furious that i could spot them 10 pages away. I cared not at all about the children and grandchildren of the main characters... I never understood their motivation. I loved reading about India, Malaysia, and Burma and I certainly learned about their history in a different way than before but at times, I felt like I was in Forrest Gump.

charlotte_molloy_'s review against another edition

5.0

Another absolute marvel by Amitav Ghosh. I am in love with Ghosh as a storyteller. This is a masterpiece; solidifying Ghosh's name as my favourite, newly discovered author of the year.

lizziemcdermott1228's review against another edition

4.0

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

ptandon's review against another edition

5.0

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh is historical fiction at its best. I have loved and appreciated a lot of historical fictions in the past but somehow it was clear what was fiction and what was real . But in this book , It was impossible for me to separate out the real from the fiction. The amount of research which would have gone behind writing this book would be humongous.

The book is a story of a poor Indian boy who builds a business empire for him in Burma and of this timid girl who served as a servant with the last Burmese king and Queen , and their story together with their future generations. Through their interactions , Amitav Ghosh presents the socio political status of Burma , Indian and Malaya. The most fascinating part for me was the perils of the last royalty of the Burmese king and Queen , exiled in Ratnagiri. This was real and yet so fictionalized in the book that it felt like a story which almost never happened. Also, the dilemmas of soldiers in the British Indian Army, which was very well presented through fictional characters and yet felt so real and so devastating.

The book spans around 100 years and presents the full journey of Myanmar, from being a prosperous aristocracy, through the world wars to where it stands today. For me, who knew little to nothing about the history of Burma, this book was a crash course to its history, culture, politics and its relationship with neighboring countries. It was an absolutely enriching experience. The vivid descriptions of places in Myanmar , Malaya and India are amazing and makes me want to visit all of them. The descriptions of the palace in Burma and Ratnagiri created a longing in my heart to be able to see these places with my own eyes.

Overall, an unforgettable book , enriched with details of culture of three countries, excellent storytelling, beautiful play of words , a wide range of characters but most of all, history coming alive. I loved this book and I would highly recommend it if history intrigues and enchants you.

mwagen's review against another edition

2.0

It was too difficult to remember who all the different secondary characters were. This book didn't grab my interest, and finishing it was a chore. I didn't really like any of the characters, and I think that the timeskips were not handled very well.