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aye_sha's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ninetales's review against another edition
4.0
Most of us dream of a job in the prestigious Indian Administrative Service. The IAS tag is the promise of a good pay package, a highly enviable social status, numerous Govt. benefits, the chance to travel all over India at the expense of the State and (for some men) a huge dowry. But new IAS recruit Agastya Sen just cannot settle into his responsibilities in his first posting in the hot and sultry town of Madna. He is preoccupied with thoughts of drugs and women and is continually harassed by the mosquitoes and the awful meals prepared by his cook Vasanth. The book is full of wit and sarcasm. Agastya manages to think of something outrageously funny in the most boring and depressing of circumstances, but he makes you think at the same time. A must-read for all those who think they are stuck in a wrong job. Definitely a good return-on-time for anyone who loves their jobs.
e_curran's review against another edition
3.0
This was a book club book; I actually finished it 3+ weeks after the meeting. I was never strongly drawn into the book -- it was definitely put-downable -- but it was a fascinating (and provocative) look into the life of a 20-something privileged Indian boy (he was definitely a boy, not a man, let's be honest.).
There were a larger number of similarities to Agastya than many "Westerners" or "Anglos" would most likely suspect. Dissatisfied, disillusioned young graduate struggles to connect with a new job in a town that's nearer to another planet than to his own country -- very similar to many later-age bildungsromans, of the "adult child" variety. And this book is 27 years old! plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
There were, however, many times when I knew I was missing a nuance of the joke or story due to lack of knowledge. The glossary was very helpful, but incomplete (what is a Naxalite?) and I got tired of going to Wikipedia 4 times on a page. A dramatis personae also would've been helpful. Agastya himself goes by several names throughout the book, as do a number of the characters.
Glad I read it; never would've come across it otherwise; kind of frustrating to get through, but ultimately I liked the story.
There were a larger number of similarities to Agastya than many "Westerners" or "Anglos" would most likely suspect. Dissatisfied, disillusioned young graduate struggles to connect with a new job in a town that's nearer to another planet than to his own country -- very similar to many later-age bildungsromans, of the "adult child" variety. And this book is 27 years old! plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
There were, however, many times when I knew I was missing a nuance of the joke or story due to lack of knowledge. The glossary was very helpful, but incomplete (what is a Naxalite?) and I got tired of going to Wikipedia 4 times on a page. A dramatis personae also would've been helpful. Agastya himself goes by several names throughout the book, as do a number of the characters.
Glad I read it; never would've come across it otherwise; kind of frustrating to get through, but ultimately I liked the story.
chaitanyasethi's review against another edition
4.0
Anchorlessness - that was to be one of his chaotic concerns in that uncertain year, battling a sense of waste was to be another. Other fodder too, in the farrago of his mind, self-pity in an uncongenial clime, the incertitude of his reactions to Madna, his job, and his inability to relate to it- other abstractions too, his niche in the world, his future, the elusive mocking nature of happiness, the possibility of its attainment.
English, August is the coming-of-age story of Agastya Sen, a truly globalized Indian man. Agastya(also August or English or Ogu) is a 24-year old guy who's born to a Bengali father and Goan mother, who's lived his life in Delhi and Calcutta, and who, in many ways, is more American than Indian. Agastya finds himself posted to a sleepy little town called Madna, as part of his IAS training, and now he is questioning his career, his ambition, and his future. Deeply unsettled, Agastya has no clue in what direction he wants his life to go, and the book explores his experiences of the following couple of months.
I found this book a fun and introspective read. It was almost the 'Wake Up Sid' equivalent of Indian novels. I found it extremely relatable. Agastya, as the mish-mash of cultures, is a well-written protagonist, whose circumstances first amuse you, but then you empathize. Born to a life of comfort and privilege, he lacks the ambition of his father and uncle. His life in Madna, as a bureaucrat to-be is his mirror into his future. Agastya's restlessness and dislocation is only amplified by the characters he is surrounded by - Shankar-the alcoholic engineer who's given up on his career, Srivastava - the uptight, forever-scowling, prick Collector, Bhatia - his college acquaintance who has also landed in Madna, and Sathe - the local satirist and cartoonist.
At times you feel for Agastya, who is so bored of his life in Madna, that he resorts to petty lying - things like fabricating his backstory - to keep himself entertained. Work is dull, slow, and uninspiring. His life is a blur of marijuana, masturbation, and musings of Marcus Aurelius(and later, the Gita). He's constantly shown to be lost in his thoughts, he loses interest in conversations halfway, and he is forever struggling to find ways to avoid being alone - because he cannot face the thoughts and questions that his mind poses to him.
It was really refreshing to have read such a story, written by an Indian author, featuring an Indian character, set in India. Worth the time.
harlots's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
amrith10's review against another edition
5.0
Incredibly raw and viciously funny account of the tedium of life in the officialdom in a small town for a young and 'progressive' man entering the civil services in a world quite afar from his past life. A wonderful glimpse at the post-Raj pre-'modern' India through the looking Glass of a then-city slicker.
prufrog's review against another edition
1.0
Will i have to read it again when i am 30 tto actually get it?
This was just boring. I was hung up on it for months but i just decided that (gasp) I don't have to finish it!? It was funny in bits and i understand what the writer was doing. It's like an older "Wake up sid" after the sid of this books actually lands a bureaucratic job. Idk this didn't work for me and i am going to stoop punishhing myself over it and move ahead..
I wanted to give it 2 stars because i can see the merit of the writing without liking it. But that feels unreal and unnatural. So nope. Bye. Moving one.
(HOW IS THIS AN INDIAN CLASSIC?)
This was just boring. I was hung up on it for months but i just decided that (gasp) I don't have to finish it!? It was funny in bits and i understand what the writer was doing. It's like an older "Wake up sid" after the sid of this books actually lands a bureaucratic job. Idk this didn't work for me and i am going to stoop punishhing myself over it and move ahead..
I wanted to give it 2 stars because i can see the merit of the writing without liking it. But that feels unreal and unnatural. So nope. Bye. Moving one.
(HOW IS THIS AN INDIAN CLASSIC?)
meow333's review against another edition
2.0
I wonder why some of the most insightful sections from the book have been omitted in this screenplay. The rest is restless :P
reader_speders's review against another edition
4.0
English, August gives an unfiltered peek into Agastya's mind. He is a city bred who somehow manages to crack the most difficult exam of the India,IAS and is now posted in a rural area.
His thoughts are chaotic but at the same time very assuring. You realize you are not only one who is sometimes jealous of a stray dog because you think they have it easy.
I enjoyed the book in its relatibility. Agastya's sense of dislocation and aimlessness is representative of most of people in their 20's and his crooked view of the world only makes him more intriguing. He is sarcastic and his humour is observational which really helps to get Madna(town where he is posted to) in perspective. At the end of the book you wish you could have been friends with him because you see so much of yourself in him.
“I am not ambitious for ecstasy, you will ask me to think of the future, but the decade to come pales before this second, the span of my life is less important than its quality. I want to sit here in the mild sun and try and not think, try and escape the iniquity of the restlessness of my mind. Do you understand? Doesn't anyone understand the absence of ambition, or the simplicity of it?”
This book is going to be a bit slow to read(atleast, that was the case with me) because the plot is non-existent. It reads more like a daily log. It is a character driven story that will capture your attention from the very first page.
There were a few things which I thought were missing :-.
In India, IAS has always been the most difficult exam of the country and the individuals who manage to bag themselves a seat are well aware of the current affairs, to say the least. But in author’s own words-
“he had generally avoided newspapers and what they called current affairs. News had never interested him, unless it had been calamitous, in which case it had got to him anyway.”
Agastya also wasn't even sure if it is called a Gandhi cap or a Nehru cap and various other instances where let alone the duties he isn't even aware of the common government job abbreviations. This ignorance doesn’t make sense for an IAS. So a little insight as to how Agastya cracked the exam without knowing all this would have given more context.
Throughout the book Neera was one secondary character which always intrigued me. I wish we could have gotten to know more about her.
His thoughts are chaotic but at the same time very assuring. You realize you are not only one who is sometimes jealous of a stray dog because you think they have it easy.
I enjoyed the book in its relatibility. Agastya's sense of dislocation and aimlessness is representative of most of people in their 20's and his crooked view of the world only makes him more intriguing. He is sarcastic and his humour is observational which really helps to get Madna(town where he is posted to) in perspective. At the end of the book you wish you could have been friends with him because you see so much of yourself in him.
“I am not ambitious for ecstasy, you will ask me to think of the future, but the decade to come pales before this second, the span of my life is less important than its quality. I want to sit here in the mild sun and try and not think, try and escape the iniquity of the restlessness of my mind. Do you understand? Doesn't anyone understand the absence of ambition, or the simplicity of it?”
This book is going to be a bit slow to read(atleast, that was the case with me) because the plot is non-existent. It reads more like a daily log. It is a character driven story that will capture your attention from the very first page.
There were a few things which I thought were missing :-.
In India, IAS has always been the most difficult exam of the country and the individuals who manage to bag themselves a seat are well aware of the current affairs, to say the least. But in author’s own words-
“he had generally avoided newspapers and what they called current affairs. News had never interested him, unless it had been calamitous, in which case it had got to him anyway.”
Agastya also wasn't even sure if it is called a Gandhi cap or a Nehru cap and various other instances where let alone the duties he isn't even aware of the common government job abbreviations. This ignorance doesn’t make sense for an IAS. So a little insight as to how Agastya cracked the exam without knowing all this would have given more context.
Throughout the book Neera was one secondary character which always intrigued me. I wish we could have gotten to know more about her.