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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
Really interesting portrait of two brothers who react in different ways to their overbearing father. The characters and setting were both very new to me. I enjoyed all the cricket too.
Aravind Adiga, who won the Booker Prize several years ago for "The White Tiger," employs the popular sport of cricket as a lens through which to analyze and deconstruct the many neuroses of his native India. This is a novel about the fear and resentment that permeates beneath the surface. Our protagonist is Manju, a young teen who, along with his handsome older brother, suffers the mental abuse of a tyrannical father dead set on molding them into the world's best cricketers. The novel follows Manju as he comes of age. He rises out of the slums thanks to a business deal with a shady patron (which lands the family in massive debt). He begins to explore his sexuality in a country unaccepting of his curiosity. And he risks succumbing to the pressure placed upon him to achieve greatness at any cost. Naturally, such pressure wreaks havoc on his mental state.
This is a powerful novel filled with men who gnash their teeth and fuel themselves with bitterness, all in the pursuit of a twisted sense of dignity. And in this pursuit, Adiga shows us a quintessentially Indian brand of fear, corruption, and social barriers that frequently place the characters' dreams just out of their reach. Many of the characters in this book find themselves in situations where they have to choose a path for the rest of their lives. But the choice is never as simple as which opportunity you want to pursue because we often don't have the freedom to make that choice for ourselves.
I wouldn't pick this up if you're looking for a lighthearted read about kids on the cricket field. I would if you're interested in how social forces can turn people callous and why you should never let feelings of inadequacy or insecurity drive your decision-making.
This is a powerful novel filled with men who gnash their teeth and fuel themselves with bitterness, all in the pursuit of a twisted sense of dignity. And in this pursuit, Adiga shows us a quintessentially Indian brand of fear, corruption, and social barriers that frequently place the characters' dreams just out of their reach. Many of the characters in this book find themselves in situations where they have to choose a path for the rest of their lives. But the choice is never as simple as which opportunity you want to pursue because we often don't have the freedom to make that choice for ourselves.
I wouldn't pick this up if you're looking for a lighthearted read about kids on the cricket field. I would if you're interested in how social forces can turn people callous and why you should never let feelings of inadequacy or insecurity drive your decision-making.
The story had glimmers of hope, but just wasn't captivating enough
Selection Day is a wonderful story set largely in the poorest parts of India and filled with complex and interesting characters. It is the story of a father's passionate hopes for his sons to rise above his own station in life and become heroes in the world of cricket. The father places extreme pressures on his sons to fulfill the dream he has for them and, by association, to experience the glory of having his children become cricket idols. It is the story of how the father's single-minded drive impacts on his sons' relationships with him, with each other, with the wider community and with the game of cricket, itself. It is also a story about prejudice and acceptance, denial and acknowledgement and ultimately the realisation that we are the product of all our experiences. Highly recommended. Thanks to Scribner and Netgalley for the ARC.
I wanted to love this book, but found it slow to read.
I've put off writing this review, not because I hated this but because I wanted to love it. But really I sort of struggled to finish this.
Manju's older brother Radha is supposed to be the next cricket superstar, at least according to their father. The brothers are subjected to strict rules regarding diet, practice, physical fitness, shaving, driving, sleeping, drugs, and well, having any sort of childhood. The boys get sponsored (legally, illegally?) and with an elevation in status get access to better schools and coaches. One major flaw in the plan is that Manju is a better batsman than his brother. This truth complicates their relationships, in part because Manju doesn't really want to be the next big cricket superstar.
Adiga has a powerful and unique narrative voice. It worked beautifully in White Tiger, and feels less successful here. Focusing on the brother who has the gifts but doesn't want them and not at all on Radha, who desperately wants to be successful, doesn't allow for page turning tension.
Without that relationship full explored, this just feels like a boring book about cricket.
Manju's older brother Radha is supposed to be the next cricket superstar, at least according to their father. The brothers are subjected to strict rules regarding diet, practice, physical fitness, shaving, driving, sleeping, drugs, and well, having any sort of childhood. The boys get sponsored (legally, illegally?) and with an elevation in status get access to better schools and coaches. One major flaw in the plan is that Manju is a better batsman than his brother. This truth complicates their relationships, in part because Manju doesn't really want to be the next big cricket superstar.
Adiga has a powerful and unique narrative voice. It worked beautifully in White Tiger, and feels less successful here. Focusing on the brother who has the gifts but doesn't want them and not at all on Radha, who desperately wants to be successful, doesn't allow for page turning tension.
Without that relationship full explored, this just feels like a boring book about cricket.
I've been trying to read more books that I normally wouldn't read. It has resulted in some bad reads, but this one was not. I quite enjoyed the story and the characters. A very interesting read.
I will agree with other reviewers that this book was grabbed hoping to learn more about cricket, but honestly there wasn't as much cricket as there was conversations about cricket. The MC does go from being a young questioning kid to a cricket player questioning his sexuality, life, self worth... I can't say that I really understood the message the writer was trying to share, but I saw that Netflix picked up the novel for a movie. Planning to watch just to see how the book plays on film.