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puhkew's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
polly423's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
scribepub's review against another edition
The story stretches out the narrow boundaries of magic realism — you will find yourself more grounded in the matter-of-fact world we live in — where Joseph transmutes the ‘sameness of everydayness’ into the extraordinary. You will discover every shower bringing out its own special rainbow. Keeping in Touch is a very old-fashioned love story in a modern time, where the seduction of a 30-something British Asian man by an Assamese woman assumes epic undertones. This is a story well told. It is hard to put the book down after you have read the first few pages. The aftertaste lingers long after the book is done and dusted.
Ganesh Saili, The New Indian Express
A fragile story of reluctant commitments … this is not just a love story but an intricate political saga of contemporary times. The author has interwoven a layered narrative … Anjali Joseph has written an outstanding novel. An excellent read.
Jasmine Sandhu Sandhawalia, The Tribune (India)
Anjali Joseph excels in these middle class stories. It is almost as if it is in the spirit of Jane Austen, to polish the two inches of ivory … Interestingly, this novel is probably a fine example of a new brand of diasporic literature that blends the cultures of the two lands deftly and unapologetically. It is evident in little details such as the use of Assamese words in the course of conversation or to describe dishes … Keeping in Touch is a very old-fashioned love story in a modern setting. It is beautifully told. It is impossible to put down. It lingers with you long after the book is over.
Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, co-founder of Ace Literary Consulting and Associate Professor at School of Modern Media Studies, UPES University
Joseph is particularly good at evoking … visceral experiences, of being displaced from one’s own context and thrown into another, of meeting other people in other places, and of the life crackling in those fleeting encounters that animates the spirit. She does this in unassuming, clear prose … Joseph is equally capable of lush, gorgeous visions that strike the reader suddenly, arresting, like the sight of ordinary beauty … Her writing illuminates the mundane and mysterious pace of life, the long and slow parts before major transformations that propel characters into greater self-awareness, or awareness of the world.
Shreya Ila Anasuya, Mint Lounge
Anjali Joseph has the gift of writing from the perspective of the outsider. The accounts her protagonists give of their experiences in her novels manage to be wry, detached and honest all at the same time … Keeping in Touch, like Joseph’s other novels, seamlessly switches perspectives of the protagonists, and has the same measured pace.
Antara Raghavan, Open
Keeping in Touch is an ode to ordinary lives of people with extraordinary experiences and legitimate expectations … Keeping in Touch also moves through a series of “lasts” and “finals” till you reach the beginning of the road to self-discovery … The cinematic quality of Joseph’s storytelling is unmistakable. The interplay of crisp scenes makes the story read like a screenplay … embrace both the strange and the familiar realities in life, and never lose touch with either.
Ipshita Mitra, Scroll.in
A novel with a lingering resonance for our times … Keeping in Touch is edgy, funny, and uncompromisingly modern.
Fantastic Fiction
Ganesh Saili, The New Indian Express
A fragile story of reluctant commitments … this is not just a love story but an intricate political saga of contemporary times. The author has interwoven a layered narrative … Anjali Joseph has written an outstanding novel. An excellent read.
Jasmine Sandhu Sandhawalia, The Tribune (India)
Anjali Joseph excels in these middle class stories. It is almost as if it is in the spirit of Jane Austen, to polish the two inches of ivory … Interestingly, this novel is probably a fine example of a new brand of diasporic literature that blends the cultures of the two lands deftly and unapologetically. It is evident in little details such as the use of Assamese words in the course of conversation or to describe dishes … Keeping in Touch is a very old-fashioned love story in a modern setting. It is beautifully told. It is impossible to put down. It lingers with you long after the book is over.
Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, co-founder of Ace Literary Consulting and Associate Professor at School of Modern Media Studies, UPES University
Joseph is particularly good at evoking … visceral experiences, of being displaced from one’s own context and thrown into another, of meeting other people in other places, and of the life crackling in those fleeting encounters that animates the spirit. She does this in unassuming, clear prose … Joseph is equally capable of lush, gorgeous visions that strike the reader suddenly, arresting, like the sight of ordinary beauty … Her writing illuminates the mundane and mysterious pace of life, the long and slow parts before major transformations that propel characters into greater self-awareness, or awareness of the world.
Shreya Ila Anasuya, Mint Lounge
Anjali Joseph has the gift of writing from the perspective of the outsider. The accounts her protagonists give of their experiences in her novels manage to be wry, detached and honest all at the same time … Keeping in Touch, like Joseph’s other novels, seamlessly switches perspectives of the protagonists, and has the same measured pace.
Antara Raghavan, Open
Keeping in Touch is an ode to ordinary lives of people with extraordinary experiences and legitimate expectations … Keeping in Touch also moves through a series of “lasts” and “finals” till you reach the beginning of the road to self-discovery … The cinematic quality of Joseph’s storytelling is unmistakable. The interplay of crisp scenes makes the story read like a screenplay … embrace both the strange and the familiar realities in life, and never lose touch with either.
Ipshita Mitra, Scroll.in
A novel with a lingering resonance for our times … Keeping in Touch is edgy, funny, and uncompromisingly modern.
Fantastic Fiction
scribepub's review
The story stretches out the narrow boundaries of magic realism — you will find yourself more grounded in the matter-of-fact world we live in — where Joseph transmutes the ‘sameness of everydayness’ into the extraordinary. You will discover every shower bringing out its own special rainbow. Keeping in Touch is a very old-fashioned love story in a modern time, where the seduction of a 30-something British Asian man by an Assamese woman assumes epic undertones. This is a story well told. It is hard to put the book down after you have read the first few pages. The aftertaste lingers long after the book is done and dusted.
Ganesh Saili, The New Indian Express
A fragile story of reluctant commitments … this is not just a love story but an intricate political saga of contemporary times. The author has interwoven a layered narrative … Anjali Joseph has written an outstanding novel. An excellent read.
Jasmine Sandhu Sandhawalia, The Tribune (India)
Anjali Joseph excels in these middle class stories. It is almost as if it is in the spirit of Jane Austen, to polish the two inches of ivory … Interestingly, this novel is probably a fine example of a new brand of diasporic literature that blends the cultures of the two lands deftly and unapologetically. It is evident in little details such as the use of Assamese words in the course of conversation or to describe dishes … Keeping in Touch is a very old-fashioned love story in a modern setting. It is beautifully told. It is impossible to put down. It lingers with you long after the book is over.
Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, co-founder of Ace Literary Consulting and Associate Professor at School of Modern Media Studies, UPES University
Joseph is particularly good at evoking … visceral experiences, of being displaced from one’s own context and thrown into another, of meeting other people in other places, and of the life crackling in those fleeting encounters that animates the spirit. She does this in unassuming, clear prose … Joseph is equally capable of lush, gorgeous visions that strike the reader suddenly, arresting, like the sight of ordinary beauty … Her writing illuminates the mundane and mysterious pace of life, the long and slow parts before major transformations that propel characters into greater self-awareness, or awareness of the world.
Shreya Ila Anasuya, Mint Lounge
Anjali Joseph has the gift of writing from the perspective of the outsider. The accounts her protagonists give of their experiences in her novels manage to be wry, detached and honest all at the same time … Keeping in Touch, like Joseph’s other novels, seamlessly switches perspectives of the protagonists, and has the same measured pace.
Antara Raghavan, Open
Keeping in Touch is an ode to ordinary lives of people with extraordinary experiences and legitimate expectations … Keeping in Touch also moves through a series of “lasts” and “finals” till you reach the beginning of the road to self-discovery … The cinematic quality of Joseph’s storytelling is unmistakable. The interplay of crisp scenes makes the story read like a screenplay … embrace both the strange and the familiar realities in life, and never lose touch with either.
Ipshita Mitra, Scroll.in
A novel with a lingering resonance for our times … Keeping in Touch is edgy, funny, and uncompromisingly modern.
Fantastic Fiction
Ganesh Saili, The New Indian Express
A fragile story of reluctant commitments … this is not just a love story but an intricate political saga of contemporary times. The author has interwoven a layered narrative … Anjali Joseph has written an outstanding novel. An excellent read.
Jasmine Sandhu Sandhawalia, The Tribune (India)
Anjali Joseph excels in these middle class stories. It is almost as if it is in the spirit of Jane Austen, to polish the two inches of ivory … Interestingly, this novel is probably a fine example of a new brand of diasporic literature that blends the cultures of the two lands deftly and unapologetically. It is evident in little details such as the use of Assamese words in the course of conversation or to describe dishes … Keeping in Touch is a very old-fashioned love story in a modern setting. It is beautifully told. It is impossible to put down. It lingers with you long after the book is over.
Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, co-founder of Ace Literary Consulting and Associate Professor at School of Modern Media Studies, UPES University
Joseph is particularly good at evoking … visceral experiences, of being displaced from one’s own context and thrown into another, of meeting other people in other places, and of the life crackling in those fleeting encounters that animates the spirit. She does this in unassuming, clear prose … Joseph is equally capable of lush, gorgeous visions that strike the reader suddenly, arresting, like the sight of ordinary beauty … Her writing illuminates the mundane and mysterious pace of life, the long and slow parts before major transformations that propel characters into greater self-awareness, or awareness of the world.
Shreya Ila Anasuya, Mint Lounge
Anjali Joseph has the gift of writing from the perspective of the outsider. The accounts her protagonists give of their experiences in her novels manage to be wry, detached and honest all at the same time … Keeping in Touch, like Joseph’s other novels, seamlessly switches perspectives of the protagonists, and has the same measured pace.
Antara Raghavan, Open
Keeping in Touch is an ode to ordinary lives of people with extraordinary experiences and legitimate expectations … Keeping in Touch also moves through a series of “lasts” and “finals” till you reach the beginning of the road to self-discovery … The cinematic quality of Joseph’s storytelling is unmistakable. The interplay of crisp scenes makes the story read like a screenplay … embrace both the strange and the familiar realities in life, and never lose touch with either.
Ipshita Mitra, Scroll.in
A novel with a lingering resonance for our times … Keeping in Touch is edgy, funny, and uncompromisingly modern.
Fantastic Fiction
bookmarkonthewall's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
look_whos_reading's review
3.0
I was clearly misled by the blurb. This is both a good and bad thing. I got into this book expecting it to be a romance alternating between London and Assam. Also expected it to be a light-hearted casual read. On some level, both of these statements are true. However, this is not a traditional love story with the cliched tropes of strangers falling in insta love.
Honestly, I had so many mixed feelings while reading this story. I liked the beginning, it then seemed to digress into inconsequential side plots. I liked it again when the characters started sharing a bit more about themselves. The plot again meandered into trivial events here and there. I initially hated both protagonists because they came off super superficial. They seemed to have no focus, the plot seemed to lack direction. I read this over a few days and each day basically, I changed my mind about how I felt about the story and the writing.
In the end, I will give it 3 stars - I liked it. The characters (if intended so) accurately represent the in-betweenness of our generation. The in-between jobs, in-between relationships, in-between state of minds... The writing complemented this lifestyle. It was extremely sparing to the point of seeming disjointed and choppy. One thing's for certain - this is not a casual love story. It made me uncomfortable and unsettled and judge and reflect on what our lives have now become.
Would I recommend this? Well, it's not your usual fiction. It can go both ways - either you'll love it or be discomfited by its honesty.
Honestly, I had so many mixed feelings while reading this story. I liked the beginning, it then seemed to digress into inconsequential side plots. I liked it again when the characters started sharing a bit more about themselves. The plot again meandered into trivial events here and there. I initially hated both protagonists because they came off super superficial. They seemed to have no focus, the plot seemed to lack direction. I read this over a few days and each day basically, I changed my mind about how I felt about the story and the writing.
In the end, I will give it 3 stars - I liked it. The characters (if intended so) accurately represent the in-betweenness of our generation. The in-between jobs, in-between relationships, in-between state of minds... The writing complemented this lifestyle. It was extremely sparing to the point of seeming disjointed and choppy. One thing's for certain - this is not a casual love story. It made me uncomfortable and unsettled and judge and reflect on what our lives have now become.
Would I recommend this? Well, it's not your usual fiction. It can go both ways - either you'll love it or be discomfited by its honesty.
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