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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
There is so much going on in this book. It is about sibling rivalry and sibling love, child abuse, sexuality, horrendous sports parents, corruption and oh yes, cricket. You don't need to know about cricket (I don't) to enjoy this book, but it would probably increase the enjoyment if you do. Many of the themes about sports and the pressure on children to succeed translate well to our American culture. The book focus mostly on Manju, the younger brother of Radhi, both talented cricket players (in Mumbai) who are groomed by their father to become professional cricket players. Often horrible, with burst of humor, and some boring sidetracks, this book kept me involved to the end.
Manju is the second son of Mohan Kumar, and the second-best bastman in the world, or he should be as per his father’s contract with Lord Subramanya. The first-best batsman in the world should be his brother, Radha. But fate seems to favour Manju. Manju however doesn’t care much for cricket and plays because he fears his tyrannical father. He would rather be a forensic scientist.When Manju meets Javed Ansari –rich, gay and bold, he makes decisions that throw everything and everyone around him into a maelstorm.
Adiga’s Mumbai is one that evokes some sharp memories, such as his description of the Chheda Nagar temple, which I’ve visited often. Or the Oval Maidan, where I’ve gone to see school-level cricket being played (and played a game of handball myself).
Adiga’s exploration of relationships is enjoyable as he brings his characters to life. Radha and Manju’s relationship with their father is the epitome of bad relationships. . The most interesting relationship however, is that between Javed and Manju. Manju is both attracted by and repelled by Javed, who is gay.
Adiga’s prose is not quite poetic, but it isn’t drab either. I find myself struggling to describe it. It is detailed and descriptive, and helps to build images, but there is something fuzzy around the edges, as if we were seeing the images through some distorted lens. The pacing seemed to lag a bit, but while I found it easy to set the book aside, I would always come back to it.
For more: https://thereadingdesk.wordpress.com/2017/08/02/book-review-selection-day/
Adiga’s Mumbai is one that evokes some sharp memories, such as his description of the Chheda Nagar temple, which I’ve visited often. Or the Oval Maidan, where I’ve gone to see school-level cricket being played (and played a game of handball myself).
Adiga’s exploration of relationships is enjoyable as he brings his characters to life. Radha and Manju’s relationship with their father is the epitome of bad relationships. . The most interesting relationship however, is that between Javed and Manju. Manju is both attracted by and repelled by Javed, who is gay.
Adiga’s prose is not quite poetic, but it isn’t drab either. I find myself struggling to describe it. It is detailed and descriptive, and helps to build images, but there is something fuzzy around the edges, as if we were seeing the images through some distorted lens. The pacing seemed to lag a bit, but while I found it easy to set the book aside, I would always come back to it.
For more: https://thereadingdesk.wordpress.com/2017/08/02/book-review-selection-day/
I never thought I would be able to finish a book about cricket but this was much more riveting than I expected. I didn't think the time jump at the end offered a very good conclusion
Selection Day is a wonderful, big-hearted, sprawling book set in the heart of contradictory modern India. The motor of this book is the drive to cricket greatness by two young men, and their father. For me, though, the true story was the universal search for self in a world of voices (parents, teachers, family, friends) that think they know best. The young protagonist, Manju, is remarkably able to articulate his own desires, but he is pressured to deny his own wishes to fulfill the hopes of his father, his coaches, his sponsor and his friends.
I added this book to my "to-read" list after hearing an interview with the author on NPR. There was a lot about the description of the book that intrigued me, but perhaps what was most interesting was the idea of reading a story with a familiar premise (father drives his sons to succeed in sport) in the unfamiliar setting of modern-day India.
And this is exactly what Aravind Adiga delivers. It's the story of two teenage boys, Radha and Manju Kumar, who have been moved to Mumbai by their father Mohan in the hope that he can use their skills as cricket to escape from their family's poverty. Adiga's story centers on Manju, the younger of the two, who idolizes his older brother and dreams of becoming a forensic scientist. Together they share a loathing at the controlling lifestyle that their father imposes upon both of them and the hope of escape, yet their growing self-awareness and exploration of life in Mumbai sets them on two very paths towards adulthood.
Such a story is hardly a novel one, but uses it to explore themes in a very different setting -- a vibrant, cricket-obsessed Mumbai, with stark divides of wealth and poverty. It's a fluid world populated with a solid cast of supporting characters, from the cricket scout Tommy Boy desperate to define his legacy by finding a great player to the handsome middle-class Javed, who represents both the main competition for the brothers and the allure of a different life. What they all have in common is that they are all striving in one way or another -- the adults striving for wealth through the children they try to control like chess pieces, the children who seek to break free from that control and discover themselves before the world opening up before them. It is their growing realization of their power to determine their own fate that drives the story, even if it leads them in some very familiar directions.
And that is what disappointed me about the novel: the predictability of Adiga's plot. The whole story unfolds in an extremely formulaic fashion, with the ending telegraphed to its readers well before reach the book's midpoint. Perhaps my expectations were excessive, but I hoped for something more from an author who has won the Man Booker Prize for his previous work. What he has written is an enjoyable novel about two boys living in a world of in which the promise of youth intermixes with the desperation of poverty, but I couldn't help finishing it thinking that it could have been so much more than it was.
And this is exactly what Aravind Adiga delivers. It's the story of two teenage boys, Radha and Manju Kumar, who have been moved to Mumbai by their father Mohan in the hope that he can use their skills as cricket to escape from their family's poverty. Adiga's story centers on Manju, the younger of the two, who idolizes his older brother and dreams of becoming a forensic scientist. Together they share a loathing at the controlling lifestyle that their father imposes upon both of them and the hope of escape, yet their growing self-awareness and exploration of life in Mumbai sets them on two very paths towards adulthood.
Such a story is hardly a novel one, but uses it to explore themes in a very different setting -- a vibrant, cricket-obsessed Mumbai, with stark divides of wealth and poverty. It's a fluid world populated with a solid cast of supporting characters, from the cricket scout Tommy Boy desperate to define his legacy by finding a great player to the handsome middle-class Javed, who represents both the main competition for the brothers and the allure of a different life. What they all have in common is that they are all striving in one way or another -- the adults striving for wealth through the children they try to control like chess pieces, the children who seek to break free from that control and discover themselves before the world opening up before them. It is their growing realization of their power to determine their own fate that drives the story, even if it leads them in some very familiar directions.
And that is what disappointed me about the novel: the predictability of Adiga's plot. The whole story unfolds in an extremely formulaic fashion, with the ending telegraphed to its readers well before reach the book's midpoint. Perhaps my expectations were excessive, but I hoped for something more from an author who has won the Man Booker Prize for his previous work. What he has written is an enjoyable novel about two boys living in a world of in which the promise of youth intermixes with the desperation of poverty, but I couldn't help finishing it thinking that it could have been so much more than it was.
Selection Day is the story of Radha and Manju, two boys who are being moulded for cricket stardom by their father. He has brought them from his village to the slums of Mumbai to give them the opportunity. He is controlling, eccentric and ruthlessly determined. The boys, as children, have no choice but to do what he wants.
Although the story follows both brothers, it mainly focuses on the younger, Manju. Manju is a talented cricketer but he really wants to be a scientist. His father is so convinced that both he and Radha will succeed that he wants him to give up his education. Then Manju notices Javed, a handsome, privileged and determinedly unconventional cricketer who is also their rival. Manju’s attraction to Javed further confuses his sense of what he wants and what is right.
I found Selection Day a little slow going at first. I thought it was just another coming-of-age story. But as the boys grow older, and the decisive day approaches, it becomes about much more.
The talent scout and coach Tommy Sir is a historian of cricket, but also a man of wide-ranging interests, from military history to geology. He sees the changes in cricket representing a shift in his country’s values. He laments the power of money and fame.
Javed’s affluence means he is free to rebel in ways which Radha and Manju are not. Their father takes on a sponsorship arrangement which leaves them in virtually slavery, prey to corruption. But each brother attempts to assert himself in a different way, and much of the story is about how they respond to the increasing pressures placed upon them.
Selection Day is a vivid portrait of Mumbai, cricket, obsession and ambition. It is about belonging and competing and the cost of both.
*
I received a copy of Selection Day from the publisher via Netgalley.
This review first appeared on my blog https://katevane.wordpress.com/
Although the story follows both brothers, it mainly focuses on the younger, Manju. Manju is a talented cricketer but he really wants to be a scientist. His father is so convinced that both he and Radha will succeed that he wants him to give up his education. Then Manju notices Javed, a handsome, privileged and determinedly unconventional cricketer who is also their rival. Manju’s attraction to Javed further confuses his sense of what he wants and what is right.
I found Selection Day a little slow going at first. I thought it was just another coming-of-age story. But as the boys grow older, and the decisive day approaches, it becomes about much more.
The talent scout and coach Tommy Sir is a historian of cricket, but also a man of wide-ranging interests, from military history to geology. He sees the changes in cricket representing a shift in his country’s values. He laments the power of money and fame.
Javed’s affluence means he is free to rebel in ways which Radha and Manju are not. Their father takes on a sponsorship arrangement which leaves them in virtually slavery, prey to corruption. But each brother attempts to assert himself in a different way, and much of the story is about how they respond to the increasing pressures placed upon them.
Selection Day is a vivid portrait of Mumbai, cricket, obsession and ambition. It is about belonging and competing and the cost of both.
*
I received a copy of Selection Day from the publisher via Netgalley.
This review first appeared on my blog https://katevane.wordpress.com/
novel based in bombay and using the background of cricket its about sibling relationships and those with their cricket mad father and relationships with others as hint of homosexuality with one of the other cricketers.
I didn't realize that a novel that revolved around cricket would be fun!! Aravind Adiga develops some unique and hilarious cast of characters with equally hilarious dialogue. The author explores teenage homosexuality in India and all the social ignorance that is uniquely Indian.
it wasn't my vibe but it was cool to learn new stuff about a new sport!
this was so frustrating but GOD i would die for javed ansari and his stupid hairline and his beautiful heart