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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this novels ability to make me see the landscape and the descriptions. It was a sad read but very poignant. It reminded me a lot of 100 Years of Solitude. The language was so fluid and descriptive and the story has long stayed with me.
BEAUTIFUL and heartbreaking. Desai's outlook on the world has grown quite a bit bleaker since her first novel, which unfortunately makes this work far more relevant.
Interesting novel about the Indian psyche, Nepalese insurgency, the conflict between traditional Indians and Westernized ones, so worthwhile to read. Do not expect too much action though, it is a quiet, slow-paced novel which simultaneously tells several stories with common characters and traits.
Beautifully written, incredible imagery, but I was very disappointed with the last quarter of the book - it devolved into yet another, "misery in India" book and it seemed like some of it was just for shock value. Typical "war, pestilence, famine, greed, screwed-up-family" themes.
I loved it, I hated it... see my review of Love in the Time of Cholera for explanations why. Very rich in language, a well written piece. I would not recommend this for book clubs to try and get through in a month, I think I would have enjoyed it far more if I had taken more time to read it.
This book has many of the elements of masterful storytelling. A story wrapped in a culture and context that makes it bigger than the individual characters and events. Language, dialogue, and imagery that is rich, surprising, evocative, and nuanced. Plot and structure that fills with anticipation and hurtles towards the novel's ending. Even study questions that accentuate the story and help you meditate on intentions and symbolism. Great Great Great
I'm some what new to "post-colonialism" literature but I love what this novel has to share about journeys, dislocation, and violences. There were times when I groaned and laughed out loud.
**
I love this book so far. The first twelve pages did not impress me too much. Now I am about eighty pages in, and the story telling is captivating and superb. A book that is hard to put down. It is a story about storytelling, the stories we tell of ourselves and others. So many narratives wrapped into one. Reading this book makes me enjoy reading and writing.
I'm some what new to "post-colonialism" literature but I love what this novel has to share about journeys, dislocation, and violences. There were times when I groaned and laughed out loud.
**
I love this book so far. The first twelve pages did not impress me too much. Now I am about eighty pages in, and the story telling is captivating and superb. A book that is hard to put down. It is a story about storytelling, the stories we tell of ourselves and others. So many narratives wrapped into one. Reading this book makes me enjoy reading and writing.
Four lives illustrate the impacts of globalization in this lovely book. Desai's writing is so vivid and wise; she is an especially gifted place writer, no matter the setting, and is equally adept at immersing the reader in the northeast Indian Himalayas as New York City. While Desai often describes atrocities and great suffering, she is careful to preserve and illuminate each character's dignity and worth, and by the close the reader feels both deep sorrow and irrational hope.
This books weaves together two stories. One of a once-wealthy, British-educated Indian family who feel that they are foreigners in their own country with the story of their cook and his son, who is trying to make it in the United States. It is a sad and moving story. It took a little bit to get into it, and it has a unique writing style, but it was a good read that comments on the interaction between India and the west.
I’m sure this won some awards since it is a bunch of interwoven tragic and sad stories that don’t resolve, that seems to be what literary judges like. It is at least an interesting perspective and probably worth your time to read.
Today is the day I give up on this book. I tried again to read it after taking a break but it is time to say goodbye. I read because I enjoy books. I can't keep reading a book that is so boring, pointless, and dull. In fact, this might be the first book I have ever quit without finishing. That in itself speaks volumes.