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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Like The Sympathizer, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness unfolds the history of a nation through the experience of individuals, in 's case, three central characters with a strong supporting cast.
Threads of individual narratives are skillfully woven into fabric of partition. Some of the characters could have become charichatures, but there is enough individual spice to avoid that pitfall
One of the happy elements of the narrative is that one cannot guess from the beginning where the novel will wind up in the end, but there is nothing about the plot that feels contrived.
Highly recommended.
Threads of individual narratives are skillfully woven into fabric of partition. Some of the characters could have become charichatures, but there is enough individual spice to avoid that pitfall
One of the happy elements of the narrative is that one cannot guess from the beginning where the novel will wind up in the end, but there is nothing about the plot that feels contrived.
Highly recommended.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I love how Mrs. Roy is weaving politics into stories about those without the means to tell their stories however the book rambles in several directions with characters who either don't have any draw or who might have draw had they been fleshed out a wee bit more.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Lots of colour, lots of characters, lots of action. In many respects, this is all over the place. There's much going on, and a lot of people (each with complex histories) to get your head around. Gender identity, religious identity, class/ caste identity, it's all up for grabs here.
Parts are beautifully written, some sections are very funny, others tragic. It really is the veritable grab-bag of set pieces and tropes. Don't be perturbed by the extended exploration of the Kashmir situation, as I found it convincingly tied in with the rest of the piece. Definitely worth a look.
Parts are beautifully written, some sections are very funny, others tragic. It really is the veritable grab-bag of set pieces and tropes. Don't be perturbed by the extended exploration of the Kashmir situation, as I found it convincingly tied in with the rest of the piece. Definitely worth a look.
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Setting this aside for now. I am not understanding the logic of the book, there are a lot of interesting and well written things, but it is very anecdotal and I get the impression the story line was wedged inside the anecdotes and it feels very stitched together.
I may come back to this later, but for not I am putting it aside.
I may come back to this later, but for not I am putting it aside.
Difficult to get through
Difficult to get through. Tried my best but I gave up.
Difficult to get through. Tried my best but I gave up.
Guess I've abandoned this. But the same thing happened with The God of Small Things and I did eventually read that, a couple of years later. Maybe the same will happen with this.
Flawless. This is the story of 60 years in the life of one person whose life intersects in unexpected ways with a large and varied cast of characters, some of whose backstory we learn in great detail and some we don't. The conflict in Kashmir is not backdrop as much as it is another character in the story.