Reviews

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh

aditithedot's review against another edition

informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

The book gets off to a slow start, but then after about 200 pages it gets gripping. What Ghosh lacks in character development he makes up for as a "chronicler of history". An enormous amount of research effort has obviously gone into the making of this book. My favourite character was Dinu. 

yaki78's review against another edition

5.0

Historical fiction at its best! A sweeping panorama of Burma's history through the lives of few characters across generations. The detailed research which the author did for this book is evident in each and every para.

koshe1's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and War

shag_un's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

andsoitgoes's review against another edition

I remember liking this.

adelphiereads's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

What this book had is exactly what I have been missing from Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls. This is the third novel I've read about war this year and this, by far, my favorite. The amount of annotations I had for this book was similar to whenever I am studying a reading text for school. 

The book was a bit slow-paced at first and then gets a bit fast towards the end but despite this, it was still able to convey socially-relevant and impactful messages that both had implications on the past and present of human race. It's a story that passed through generations. It's a story about how the choices of our ancestors heavily influence who we are today and who we can be in the future. It's a story about the wars that had happened over the years, how in these wars no one really won because thousands of people died, suffered or was misplaced from their homes. It's a story about colonialism, imperialism and the people's fight for freedom and also about the magnitude of their fight's impact on the situation. It's a story about politics. What it really is. What it really means to others. 

What I love most about this book is that every character is a representation of a fraction of the society at that specific time period. Every single character development makes me reflect on myself, on the society I live in and on the people from my country.

I would like to commend the author for writing such a magnificent novel. His writing style is so moving that my issue about the irregular pacing was quickly thrown off board. It was all worth it. This book was worth the long-read. Definitely check it out. 

fifiwiththafifteens's review against another edition

3.0

This book was one of my summer reads; a book I typically choose because I want to feel like I am in the characters’ whirlwind adventures and growing with the characters, becoming a better, more developed person with them. This book definitely did that for me. Through the many characters and their plot lines, I felt engulfed in their adventures which brought sensations of pain and suffering but never ending joy, too.
Another thing that I genuinely enjoyed about the writing was the historical accuracy - I love a good historical fiction story! And it certainly delves into the misfortune of the pawns of British colonialism.
Though I wanted to love this book, there were a few things that I didn’t love. First, there were just too many plot lines slithering through the book at the end. Honestly, I don’t care about who the first main characters aunt’s cousin ended up marrying! With that, because there were so many unnecessary plot lines and only a limited amount of pages, the end was mostly about tying up all of the strings in the most concise, neglected way. The end just wasn’t as cathartic as I thought it deserved to be because of this so that’s the reason that I feel like this book deserves only 3 stars.
Despite my nitpicky issues with the novel, I did enjoy it. It was unique and an interesting and usually untold perspective which I thoroughly enjoyed!

kaadie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Ghosh wrote an interesting and insightful narrative. He artfully wove together history, fiction, love and conflict. All of the characters - I felt - were nuanced and autonomous. I liked how the characters' lives were used to show the history of their respective countries. It was interesting because while we were following the historical events occurring in India, Burma and Malaya through the characters the characters themselves were microcosms for the cultural, spiritual and emotional state of the countries they were living in. Both the countries and the characters reflected the toll of decisions made and unmade. 

I did enjoy the novel but towards the end of the book

The characters were suddenly under attack. Everything was going wrong and sadly most of the second generation died. That was quite prevalent, parents outlasting their children. This does fit with the narrative considering the fact that the Great War was occurring at that time. However it was shocking and quite the sad end for a relatively measured book thus far. I suppose though it should not have been a surprise considering how we all know how modern day India, Myanmar and Malaya have fared after colonization and subsequent independence. The lost grandeur and prosperity of Burma is mirrored in Rajkumar's life. It is sad but true I suppose. It just sucks to "experience", even voyeuristically through a fictional novel.

.

Contemplations on colonization, particularly by the British Empire, was a prevalent theme in this novel. Which was expected and welcome. I think Ghosh deftly articulated the nature of colonization. Its function, mode of operation and the subsequent trauma and horror it unleashes. He discussed the internal conflict is suppresses and induces and how it fractures both people and countries. 

Ghosh really did have some beautiful prose and a lot of his remarks and commentary within the book I found to be insightful and interesting. However this is one of the few books that I have read on India by an Indian author so I would have to read more to have a more informed opinion.

abetterjulie's review against another edition

2.0

I wanted to like this book more than I did. Whenever I would start to feel connected with a character they would abruptly do something completely out-of-character leaving me feeling adrift and confused. The romance scenes were awkward and off-putting, and I wonder if that is a cultural issue. I enjoyed learning new things and perspectives. The history was mostly new to me, which was also enjoyable. I've read other tomes of multi-generational historical fiction and loved them, but this one misses the mark for me.

rosyroo's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5