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shishirkc's review against another edition
5.0
The mind is restless,
And I am short of words.
I am still shocked as to why this book has not garnered as much popularity as it deserved. Or deserves. Undoubtedly, one of the best books in English to emerge out of India. Perfect!
And I am short of words.
I am still shocked as to why this book has not garnered as much popularity as it deserved. Or deserves. Undoubtedly, one of the best books in English to emerge out of India. Perfect!
evancdent's review against another edition
4.0
A coming of age novel with no ambition, a slacker novel with plenty of work- a little bit of everything
arafat's review against another edition
4.0
Hilariously irreverent, brilliantly written. A "stoner meets the civil service" novel, if you will, but so much more in its remarkable portrait of twenty-something restlessness and keen ethnography of rural India.
pallavi_sharma87's review
3.0
for humor 5/5.....but there were many pages which bored me... some places were too dragging.. when humor was there it was too good ... i couldn't control my laugh.... overall 3/5 :)
dakshata's review against another edition
2.0
I was quite excited to read English, August, especially because of the interesting plot line and numerous 5 star reviews on goodreads, but was left severely underwhelmed. This book about an anglicised youth stuck in rural India somehow failed to strike a chord with me and I lost interest in reading the book many a times.
saakhi's review
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
rootdroid989's review against another edition
2.0
Definitely not the great Indian novel. Seems like part Chetan Bhagat of my parents generation and part forced musings of a person who really deep down doesn't want to do anything. The weird part is that he does have that option. To do nothing at all and thus his whinings are a tad more irritating than normal.
girish_jadhav's review against another edition
5.0
'The mind is restless, O Krishna'.
It's truly an Indian story! I wish, I read this novel earlier.
An urban IAS graduate is posted in Madna; hottest place in India, dot in a hinterland. As the story progresses, Agastya Sen has no idea why he joined civil service and what is he doing in this oblivious place. Story revolves around his ignorance towards the mundane life in Madna during the training period. His mind is clouded by sex, marijuana and literature. It's a humorous story which will make you laugh with staccato passages.
To quote: 'But someone, sir, I forget who, has said, that everything is maya except the feeling of completion at the ejaculation of semen and since this feeling itself is so transient it show how ephemeral the world is.'
He befriends some people during the short period, such as Shankar, bhatia, sathe, shrivatsav.. and yet remains clueless about his future in Madna. He's never satisfied with the position and always remains restless. And while posted block development officer of jompanna, he tries to come out of ignorance and helps the tribal villagers and keeps himself busy in mundane office work in the hope of finding the direction. But he fails in the attempt and takes a break by going to Calcutta, to meet his father, before starting his journey as a assistant collector.
'But many-branched and endless, Arjuna, are the thoughts of man who lacks determination, he remembered and started laughing again.'
Upamanyu chatterjee, himself from civil service background, gives the exact the picture of an IAS trainee. In parallel with Agastya's life, the author shows the problem faced in remote tribal areas of India. It's the true story of many Indians, who are lost and unable to figure out the future or what to do with life. As an Indian, I can easily connect to it as many does.
It's truly an Indian story! I wish, I read this novel earlier.
An urban IAS graduate is posted in Madna; hottest place in India, dot in a hinterland. As the story progresses, Agastya Sen has no idea why he joined civil service and what is he doing in this oblivious place. Story revolves around his ignorance towards the mundane life in Madna during the training period. His mind is clouded by sex, marijuana and literature. It's a humorous story which will make you laugh with staccato passages.
To quote: 'But someone, sir, I forget who, has said, that everything is maya except the feeling of completion at the ejaculation of semen and since this feeling itself is so transient it show how ephemeral the world is.'
He befriends some people during the short period, such as Shankar, bhatia, sathe, shrivatsav.. and yet remains clueless about his future in Madna. He's never satisfied with the position and always remains restless. And while posted block development officer of jompanna, he tries to come out of ignorance and helps the tribal villagers and keeps himself busy in mundane office work in the hope of finding the direction. But he fails in the attempt and takes a break by going to Calcutta, to meet his father, before starting his journey as a assistant collector.
'But many-branched and endless, Arjuna, are the thoughts of man who lacks determination, he remembered and started laughing again.'
Upamanyu chatterjee, himself from civil service background, gives the exact the picture of an IAS trainee. In parallel with Agastya's life, the author shows the problem faced in remote tribal areas of India. It's the true story of many Indians, who are lost and unable to figure out the future or what to do with life. As an Indian, I can easily connect to it as many does.
nhusain14's review against another edition
4.0
"And Agastya was again overwhelmed by the conviction that there was a method in his past, Kanchenjunga in Darjeeling, and its photograph in Mariagarh, Durga in Delhi and Jagadamba in Madna. He would thus always try to organize his past, to force order into it, and it would continue to mock him with images of worlds lost, and semblances of a pattern."
sheelal's review against another edition
5.0
This isn't a perfect book or even a must read for those interested in India. It is, however, the best "coming of age" Indian book i have come across. The dense prose forced me to engage with the text and context. Very happy I had the time to complete and contemplate