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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
Having been given this book by a dear friend, and having rad the blurb I was keen to get between its pages. Sadly I was very disappointed.
I liked the comparison of lives in the west and the east, but found the characters a little tedious and rarely funny,a s promised.
I think what put me off the most was the writer's style, which for some may be poetical and elegant but for me it detracted from a story that could have been so much more.
I liked the comparison of lives in the west and the east, but found the characters a little tedious and rarely funny,a s promised.
I think what put me off the most was the writer's style, which for some may be poetical and elegant but for me it detracted from a story that could have been so much more.
In the early stages of the covid pandemic, the library offered a mystery bag of used books. I bought a "bag o' fiction" and The Inheritance of Loss was included. Although it is a prize-winning book, the book and author were not familiar to me. It has been on my shelves for a while and I suggested it to my book club. We are meeting today to discuss it and I am anticipating hearing the other's thoughts.
The Inheritance of Loss takes place in the mid 1980's in a small village in India and New York. The Indian story concerns Sai, a young teen orphan who, after the death of her parents, goes to live with her maternal grandfather, a retired judge. The judge is not a very nice man, but Sai becomes close to the judge's cook and her tutor, Gyan, a college student. Other characters include two sisters, Father Booty, and Uncle Potty. There is upheaval in the country among the ethnic and religious groups which affects the characters.
The New York story is that of Biju, the cook's son, who, as an illegal, cycles through various restaurant jobs where he is exploited and makes few friends.
It may have been my mood, but I had trouble getting into the story. The alternate settings and many of the characters didn't seem to contribute much to the telling. This book was not what I expected or wanted. The abundant use of italicized foreign words and phrases was annoying to me. I either glossed over them and tried to discern the meaning, or looked them up and became distracted by something else.
The cover of this paperback edition is beautiful - the blue/green background with flowers. A similar scene is referenced in the story - flowers blooming among the shacks. Similarly, I found some of the words and phrasing beautiful, among, to me, this mess of a story.
"By year's end the dread they had for each other was so severe it was if they had trapped into a limitless bitterness carrying them beyond the parameters of what any individual is normally capable of feeling. They belonged to this emotion more than to themselves, experienced rage with enough muscle in it for entire nations coupled in hate." (190)
"You have to swear at a creature to be able to destroy it." (199)
"How often could you attack it before it crumbled? To undo something took practice; it was a dark art and they were perfecting it. With each argument the next would be easier, would become a compulsive act, and like wrecking a marriage, it would be impossible to keep away, to stop picking at wounds even if the wounds were your own." (259)
All book club members present who had read the book did not like it as well. This is a very rare occurence.
The Inheritance of Loss takes place in the mid 1980's in a small village in India and New York. The Indian story concerns Sai, a young teen orphan who, after the death of her parents, goes to live with her maternal grandfather, a retired judge. The judge is not a very nice man, but Sai becomes close to the judge's cook and her tutor, Gyan, a college student. Other characters include two sisters, Father Booty, and Uncle Potty. There is upheaval in the country among the ethnic and religious groups which affects the characters.
The New York story is that of Biju, the cook's son, who, as an illegal, cycles through various restaurant jobs where he is exploited and makes few friends.
It may have been my mood, but I had trouble getting into the story. The alternate settings and many of the characters didn't seem to contribute much to the telling. This book was not what I expected or wanted. The abundant use of italicized foreign words and phrases was annoying to me. I either glossed over them and tried to discern the meaning, or looked them up and became distracted by something else.
The cover of this paperback edition is beautiful - the blue/green background with flowers. A similar scene is referenced in the story - flowers blooming among the shacks. Similarly, I found some of the words and phrasing beautiful, among, to me, this mess of a story.
"By year's end the dread they had for each other was so severe it was if they had trapped into a limitless bitterness carrying them beyond the parameters of what any individual is normally capable of feeling. They belonged to this emotion more than to themselves, experienced rage with enough muscle in it for entire nations coupled in hate." (190)
"You have to swear at a creature to be able to destroy it." (199)
"How often could you attack it before it crumbled? To undo something took practice; it was a dark art and they were perfecting it. With each argument the next would be easier, would become a compulsive act, and like wrecking a marriage, it would be impossible to keep away, to stop picking at wounds even if the wounds were your own." (259)
All book club members present who had read the book did not like it as well. This is a very rare occurence.
Marked this book 'to read' and the realised I'd read it –shortly after having a kid. This is what sleep deprivation does to you.
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Don't get me wrong, this book was beautifully written and brought up more international human rights issues than probably any books I've ever read. However, Desai clearly sacrifices the plot for these other features of the piece and I found myself having some trouble staying interested for the entire 350 pages or so. I think it's a good read for someone who's really into prose or just the region, but if you're looking for an exciting plot, turn the other way.
emotional
funny
sad
medium-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:
Complicated
This is beautiful prose, so clever and rich and delightful. The structure of the book is unusual and the themes it covers are important and addressed in such an interesting and thoughtful way. Your heroes are not who you think they are.
I read this book years ago, in Norwegian. Bought it at a book sale. That was two moves ago and lo' and behold: it's not in my bookshelf anymore. I only bother to tug along the books I like. About the only thing I remember in retrospect - except for the ever so promising title - is that I did not like it at all and that I was deeply disappointed.
Nothing really happened, and everything happened. So beautifully written. Everyone bad but understandable. To a point.
I'm gonna' be real here: This was a HATE READ by the end.
My God I could not stand this novel. It began promising enough, with interesting descriptions set in a country I don't read much about. I was here for this book! I wanted it to be good! Ugh and it just was not.
The plot was meandering, the perspective jumps confusing, the references utterly remote. I had no context for 1986 social upheaval in India, but rather than feel curious or fascinated by it, I just felt detached and bored.
TBF I read the audiobook, and the nature of the writing makes it hard to follow a reader along without feeling lost. But yeah, this book DESPERATELY needed an editor. I was dying by the end. I mean, this is a critically acclaimed novel so I must be missing something, right?
My God I could not stand this novel. It began promising enough, with interesting descriptions set in a country I don't read much about. I was here for this book! I wanted it to be good! Ugh and it just was not.
The plot was meandering, the perspective jumps confusing, the references utterly remote. I had no context for 1986 social upheaval in India, but rather than feel curious or fascinated by it, I just felt detached and bored.
TBF I read the audiobook, and the nature of the writing makes it hard to follow a reader along without feeling lost. But yeah, this book DESPERATELY needed an editor. I was dying by the end. I mean, this is a critically acclaimed novel so I must be missing something, right?
An interesting concept - life in NE India (bordering Nepal) in the late '80s as seen through the eyes of various villagers. But, without knowing a lot of the geopolitics of that region, I couldn't always understand the significance of what was going on.
I would have finished this if life isn't so short, and I have tons of other books to get to!
I would have finished this if life isn't so short, and I have tons of other books to get to!