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duffymn's review against another edition
4.0
Charming. Not quite a protagonist like Ove, but a stick-in-his-ways professor looking at the hindsight of his life and his faults. Well written, but maybe ended things too neatly.
bmart25's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Really great and creative characters. It’s flaw is the predictability. You see what will happen next at every point. Sometimes too slow at the wrong times.
taymcphail's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
4.25
bookthia's review
3.0
You might think, based on the cover and the title, that this book would be a fluffy happy tale of a grouchy older man finding happiness. Don't be fooled. It's not fluffy at all and its happiness, like in real life, comes and goes. Chandra has not valued happiness and he views its pursuit as a self-serving cop-out to doing work. In this book, Chandra has his long-held world view challenged.
Chandra is an interesting character. He's a perfectionist who has high expectations not only of his own professional contributions, but those of his students, of his children and of his wife and marriage. He becomes so self-absorbed and so consumed with perfection that he loses the ability to empathize when people, including himself, cannot live up to his expectations. He learns, as we all must, that life must be lived in balance.
This story focuses primarily on Chandra's relationships with his family, his ex-wife and her new husband, his three grown children. Readers should relate to some of these interactions as everyone has complicated family relationships. The book does a good job of showing both sides of these interactions.
I enjoyed reading this book. A solid 3.5 stars. My gratitude to Goodreads and to Penguin/Random House Canada for the complementary copy.
Chandra is an interesting character. He's a perfectionist who has high expectations not only of his own professional contributions, but those of his students, of his children and of his wife and marriage. He becomes so self-absorbed and so consumed with perfection that he loses the ability to empathize when people, including himself, cannot live up to his expectations. He learns, as we all must, that life must be lived in balance.
This story focuses primarily on Chandra's relationships with his family, his ex-wife and her new husband, his three grown children. Readers should relate to some of these interactions as everyone has complicated family relationships. The book does a good job of showing both sides of these interactions.
I enjoyed reading this book. A solid 3.5 stars. My gratitude to Goodreads and to Penguin/Random House Canada for the complementary copy.
mmz's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure what bliss Professor Chandra is following, or how he's following it, but he's an interesting guy to read about. A distinguished professor of economics, has just been denied the Nobel Prize (again), he is hit by a bicycle and suffers a heart attack, forcing him to take a break, under doctor's orders. And he does try. He tries to reconnect with his children, and attends a mindfulness retreat. He learns a lot about himself, and his children, but I didn't really see where the bliss comes in, since he's mostly just as conflicted at the end as he is in the beginning, if a bit gentler about it.
Bliss, not so much, but Chandra himself does come to understand and accept a lot about himself and his past mistakes. His journey, with all its missteps and imperfections, is very believable, and you'll find yourself rooting for Chandra to find a way, not to bliss, but to more happiness. Or maybe just contentment? Or self-awareness? Whatever he's on the path to, it's an enjoyable journey, for the reader, at least.
One thing that really stood out to me is the very subtle way that Balasubramanyam points out the ways in which Chandra was a terrible father. His casual cruelties to his children are reported as straight facts; there is no extended narrative exposition explaining the effects of his words, allowing readers to make their own judgments without interference. This is a mark of a good author, one who truly shows, rather than tells, and he does this with aplomb throughout the book.
Bliss, not so much, but Chandra himself does come to understand and accept a lot about himself and his past mistakes. His journey, with all its missteps and imperfections, is very believable, and you'll find yourself rooting for Chandra to find a way, not to bliss, but to more happiness. Or maybe just contentment? Or self-awareness? Whatever he's on the path to, it's an enjoyable journey, for the reader, at least.
One thing that really stood out to me is the very subtle way that Balasubramanyam points out the ways in which Chandra was a terrible father. His casual cruelties to his children are reported as straight facts; there is no extended narrative exposition explaining the effects of his words, allowing readers to make their own judgments without interference. This is a mark of a good author, one who truly shows, rather than tells, and he does this with aplomb throughout the book.
jzahlit's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this book. Funny and examining what it means to be fully alive and present.
kelseylovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss is a family drama centering on the crotchety Professor Chandra. He is a man turning 70 who has set beliefs about the world and often disagrees with his children on how things really are. Throughout the book, he attempts transformative experiences to try to find a new path and better connect with his family. It's a redemption story that can be a bit predictable, and sometimes left me quite frustrated with the characters.
bookalong's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
This was a funny read with a great main character! Though a bit quirky and cantankerous I enjoyed the journey he goes on. A slower paced novel, very character driven, full of family drama.
•
Thank You to the publishers for #gifting me this book.
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For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
This was a funny read with a great main character! Though a bit quirky and cantankerous I enjoyed the journey he goes on. A slower paced novel, very character driven, full of family drama.
•
Thank You to the publishers for #gifting me this book.
•
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
bookmadjo's review against another edition
4.0
I was intrigued by the description of this book, and it really did not disappoint. Professor Chandrasekhar is tipped to win the Nobel prize for Economics again, and is disappointed when he fails to win it yet again. Following an accident which leads him to reassess his lonely life in England, he decides to pursue an opportunity in America, where his youngest daughter, his ex-wife and her husband live. His ex-wife's husband manages to manipulate the professor into agreeing to go to a Californian new age retreat, and the fun begins.
The dynamic of this story revolves around Professor Chandra and his three children, looking at the way he relates to his children, but also considering the pressure they each individually feel to live up to the success their father had achieved as one of the leading experts on economics in the world. Chandra assesses how he has acted as a father, and considers whether his behaviour as a parent was moulded by his own childhood, together with how his own parenting moulded his three children. The cover would suggest a light-hearted read, and although there is considerable humour throughout, particularly at the retreat, it is a deep and thoughtful book in which a learned septuagenarian looks back at his life, and looks forward to the things he can do differently. It was an enjoyable book, and I loved how my feelings towards Professor Chandra changed the more he begins to understand himself.
Thank you to Chatto & Windus for the opportunity to read and review this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The dynamic of this story revolves around Professor Chandra and his three children, looking at the way he relates to his children, but also considering the pressure they each individually feel to live up to the success their father had achieved as one of the leading experts on economics in the world. Chandra assesses how he has acted as a father, and considers whether his behaviour as a parent was moulded by his own childhood, together with how his own parenting moulded his three children. The cover would suggest a light-hearted read, and although there is considerable humour throughout, particularly at the retreat, it is a deep and thoughtful book in which a learned septuagenarian looks back at his life, and looks forward to the things he can do differently. It was an enjoyable book, and I loved how my feelings towards Professor Chandra changed the more he begins to understand himself.
Thank you to Chatto & Windus for the opportunity to read and review this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
gillenwaaah's review against another edition
3.0
As a self-proclaimed econ nerd I loved that the center of a book was an older economist discovering compassion and also that his opinion wasn’t always needed or necessary. I like Chandra a lot and found myself relating to him a lot. The rest of the characters, not so much. The ending felt a bit like a cop out. Just not as satisfying of a read as I was hoping.