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audreyvm's review
5.0
I hardly left ten minutes between finishing Kamila Shamsie’s A God in Every Stone (Bloomsbury, 2014)and sitting down to write about it, so anxious was I to share the good news. After spewing out an exhilarated first draft of this review I’ve given it a 24 hour cooling off period, but I have to admit to still being more than a little in love with this book. I read as slowly as I could, savouring the poignancy of the small moments captured on the page and pausing often to reflect on the work, but by the end I could hold out no more and devoured the last third at once, reading with my heart in my throat. At the end the air left my lungs as if I had been punched in the stomach and there were – in fact there often were over the course of the book – tears pricking the backs of my eyes.
If you didn’t gather from that, I’m a fan. This has been on my TBR pile since March but I resisted starting it, both because I was being drawn into the new (to me) world of translated fiction and because when I hear that a book is a colonial-era tale about an English woman and a ‘native’ man, my expectations are that I’ve heard that story before. Which just goes to show how foolish it is to judge a book by our pre-conceived assumptions. We’ve heard every story before. What sets ‘A God in Every Stone’ apart is the depth of its characters and the nuances it brings to their loyalties and values. Plus, while it might be about a woman and a man, it isn’t a romance.
The book spans the time between July 1914, just before the outbreak of WWII, and April 1930, and tells the story of an English woman, Vivian Rose Spencer, an archeologist who travels to Peshawar in search of ancient Persian circlet which holds a special meaning for her; Qayyam Gul, a Pashtun soldier in the British army who returns home uncertain about his loyalties; and his younger brother, Najeeb, who is entranced by Vivian Rose’s stories of the Pashtun’s past.
Politically this is the time when India’s independence movement is on the rise, and change is on the horizon, both in England and in Peshawar, with the struggles, heartache and loss which inevitable accompany political upheaval. The strength of the characters in the book comes from their divided loyalties. Vivian Rose is a modern woman with a passion for archeology and an independent bent, but she is opposed to the suffragettes’ cause. Although she doesn’t share the worst of the colonial attitudes towards the Pashtun locals, she isn’t pro-independence, instead believing that the rule of Empire is necessary to modernize and ‘civilise’.
“The rage she felt on behalf of the women of the Peshawar Valley as she sweltered beneath the voluminous burqa dispelled any ambivalence she might have started to feel about Indian demands for self-rule. All these Indians talking about political change when really what this country desperately needed was social change. Why should they be allowed independence when they only wanted it for half of the population?”
Vivian Rose is the most vividly drawn character, but Qayyam and Najeeb have their own internal struggles, and the directions the two brothers take – one towards peaceful resistance, the other drawn to archeology, work well to highlight the difficulties of both sides. Qayyam cannot trust the motives of the English, while Najeeb is enthralled by the glories of the past, and neither can fully understand the other’s positon.
“Of all the fantastic tales you’ve ever told, none is more fantastic than that of the kindly English who dig up our treasures because they want you to know your own history. Your museums are all part of their Civilising Mission, their White Man’s burden, their moral justification for what they have done here.”
At the heart of the story is the Peshawar valley, the beauty of the city and the mountains (‘oh everywhere, the mountains! Dark green, almost black, mountains; blue mountains; rose-coloured mountains; and away in the distance, snow-topped mountains’), and the culture of its people. Nothing is idolized or glorified, and we are left to make our own decisions. Oh, there are holes you can pick in places, but there are always holes you can pick in places. After a few months of reading which has been largely focused on style, it was a refreshing reminder than excellence can also come from great characters and a good plot. For myself, I can’t wait to read another Shamsie.
More reviews available at www.goodbyetoallthis.com
If you didn’t gather from that, I’m a fan. This has been on my TBR pile since March but I resisted starting it, both because I was being drawn into the new (to me) world of translated fiction and because when I hear that a book is a colonial-era tale about an English woman and a ‘native’ man, my expectations are that I’ve heard that story before. Which just goes to show how foolish it is to judge a book by our pre-conceived assumptions. We’ve heard every story before. What sets ‘A God in Every Stone’ apart is the depth of its characters and the nuances it brings to their loyalties and values. Plus, while it might be about a woman and a man, it isn’t a romance.
The book spans the time between July 1914, just before the outbreak of WWII, and April 1930, and tells the story of an English woman, Vivian Rose Spencer, an archeologist who travels to Peshawar in search of ancient Persian circlet which holds a special meaning for her; Qayyam Gul, a Pashtun soldier in the British army who returns home uncertain about his loyalties; and his younger brother, Najeeb, who is entranced by Vivian Rose’s stories of the Pashtun’s past.
Politically this is the time when India’s independence movement is on the rise, and change is on the horizon, both in England and in Peshawar, with the struggles, heartache and loss which inevitable accompany political upheaval. The strength of the characters in the book comes from their divided loyalties. Vivian Rose is a modern woman with a passion for archeology and an independent bent, but she is opposed to the suffragettes’ cause. Although she doesn’t share the worst of the colonial attitudes towards the Pashtun locals, she isn’t pro-independence, instead believing that the rule of Empire is necessary to modernize and ‘civilise’.
“The rage she felt on behalf of the women of the Peshawar Valley as she sweltered beneath the voluminous burqa dispelled any ambivalence she might have started to feel about Indian demands for self-rule. All these Indians talking about political change when really what this country desperately needed was social change. Why should they be allowed independence when they only wanted it for half of the population?”
Vivian Rose is the most vividly drawn character, but Qayyam and Najeeb have their own internal struggles, and the directions the two brothers take – one towards peaceful resistance, the other drawn to archeology, work well to highlight the difficulties of both sides. Qayyam cannot trust the motives of the English, while Najeeb is enthralled by the glories of the past, and neither can fully understand the other’s positon.
“Of all the fantastic tales you’ve ever told, none is more fantastic than that of the kindly English who dig up our treasures because they want you to know your own history. Your museums are all part of their Civilising Mission, their White Man’s burden, their moral justification for what they have done here.”
At the heart of the story is the Peshawar valley, the beauty of the city and the mountains (‘oh everywhere, the mountains! Dark green, almost black, mountains; blue mountains; rose-coloured mountains; and away in the distance, snow-topped mountains’), and the culture of its people. Nothing is idolized or glorified, and we are left to make our own decisions. Oh, there are holes you can pick in places, but there are always holes you can pick in places. After a few months of reading which has been largely focused on style, it was a refreshing reminder than excellence can also come from great characters and a good plot. For myself, I can’t wait to read another Shamsie.
More reviews available at www.goodbyetoallthis.com
chrismologos's review against another edition
emotional
informative
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? Yes
lucy_qhuay's review
2.0
The best thing about this book was definitely its title. I admit the first chapter had a lot of potential, but then the author never really followed through it. I had high hopes for the growth of Vivian, the main character, and her relationship with a certain man due to all that was between them. I believe that would have made a greater service to the story giving the importance put by the author in the tension between different cultures and nations. It would have showed people can put those differences aside and love as one. But apparently it wasn't meant to be and that loss didn't even mean anything. At least I didn't feel like Vivian took anything of importance from that. In fact, she became more and more insipid as the story went on.
The author had another chance of saying something truly meaningful with Najeeb Gul, who was just a curious boy when he first appeared, but once again, he too was but a glimpse of potential. He too faded away.
All in all, I believe the author meant to show us how Vivian and all the others were intertwined and how this was a story of many people. However, ultimately this was a story of no one.
stephh's review against another edition
3.0
I tend to avoid books set in/around either of the World Wars, as I've read so many nowadays that I find they rarely hold different or new stories, but this was a great read.
Told from the perspective of an Englishwoman, Vivian Spencer, who became a nurse for a part of the war, and an Indian man, Qayyum Gul, who served in the British army, the book covers their lives before, during and after WWI. Spencer ends up in Peshawar after serving as a nurse for a time, believing that the man she loves, who she was separated from during the war, is there. Qayyum ends up convalescing in England after losing an eye in Ypres, but soon comes back to Peshawar and his life intersects with Viv's in ways he never expected.
The book was a really great insight into how India under British rule became involved in World War One, as well as the Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre. I found the time gap between the first and second halves of the book quite jarring and a bit disjointed. I didn't enjoy the book as much as Shamsie's 'Homefire', but it was an interesting read.
Told from the perspective of an Englishwoman, Vivian Spencer, who became a nurse for a part of the war, and an Indian man, Qayyum Gul, who served in the British army, the book covers their lives before, during and after WWI. Spencer ends up in Peshawar after serving as a nurse for a time, believing that the man she loves, who she was separated from during the war, is there. Qayyum ends up convalescing in England after losing an eye in Ypres, but soon comes back to Peshawar and his life intersects with Viv's in ways he never expected.
The book was a really great insight into how India under British rule became involved in World War One, as well as the Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre. I found the time gap between the first and second halves of the book quite jarring and a bit disjointed. I didn't enjoy the book as much as Shamsie's 'Homefire', but it was an interesting read.
magistra's review
4.0
I read this too quickly, keen to find out if Vivian Rose would find the silver circlet. A beautiful story combining feminism, archaeology and the end of the British Empire. I enjoyed it and will reread to absorb more of the nuances of the descriptions.
snoakes7001's review
4.0
I enjoy a novel with a historical background that teaches me something. In theory this ticked all the boxes for me - archaeology, WW1 and an insight into the independence movement in Peshawar, British India (now Pakistan) and the Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre.
It's a good story, with some great writing, but the book as a whole is a bit disjointed. It jumps forward in time without really fleshing out the characters' development. It's also a bit clichéd in places - Viv is a typical posh naive meddling Brit, Najeeb, the boy Viv befriends and teaches at the beginning predictably follows her into an academic world of history and archaeology and his brother Qayyam fights for the British in WW1 and returns home wounded where he undergoes an equally predictable political awakening.
Overall it's a good read, but not a great one. I wanted to love it more than I did - perhaps my expectations were too high.
It's a good story, with some great writing, but the book as a whole is a bit disjointed. It jumps forward in time without really fleshing out the characters' development. It's also a bit clichéd in places - Viv is a typical posh naive meddling Brit, Najeeb, the boy Viv befriends and teaches at the beginning predictably follows her into an academic world of history and archaeology and his brother Qayyam fights for the British in WW1 and returns home wounded where he undergoes an equally predictable political awakening.
Overall it's a good read, but not a great one. I wanted to love it more than I did - perhaps my expectations were too high.
andrew61's review
4.0
I think this book probably warrants 3.5 stars rather than 4 as there was so much about it that was interesting yet I did not feel totally emotionally drawn to the characters so at the end I was ambivalent about the outcome which perhaps may say more about me than the efforts of the author. The story has at its beginning two threads as World war one begins. Qayyam Gul is an Indian soldier serving on the western front , he is injured and in the story we learn about the appallingly racist way that Indians were treated to the extent that in Brighton when recovering they are treated as prisoners and English nurses are no longer able to treat them in case they morally corrupt the women, Qayyam returns to Peshawar where he re-joins his muslim family and eventually is drawn into the independence movement, this thread is excellent with a fascinating snapshot of India at this time including the non violence strategy. The second thread involves Vivian Spencer a young English woman who is the son her father never had and goes to India to assist her father's Turkish friend on an archaeological dig to find the lost city where Darius had invaded from Persia. On return she commits an act which has long term repercussions for her and another character , she then nurses soldiers at the wars outbreak before her mother persuades her to return to India on an archaeological dig, she is haunted by finding a headband given to an ancient king. In Peshawar she meets Qayyam's younger brother Neejab who helps her with the dig despite his families opposition. We then leap in the latter part of the book to 1930 when Vivian returns to begin a new dig and the story revolves around the events of the Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre when British troops massacre unarmed peaceful demonstrators. I've got to say even as I read this I am thinking what a brilliant book this should have been however I simply found that the characters lacked a depth which drew me in so that when they are in jeopardy I did not feel the emotional pull that turns a really good book into a classic and here I can only really compare it to one of my top five books 'A Fine Balance' where I was repeatedly moved ,shocked and engaged by all the events. Still I would recommend the book for anyone who enjoys stories set in India and for a snapshot of how the colonial soldiers were treated in the first world war and I will definitely read her again.
florapeach's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75