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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
The most beautiful language I have ever read! The turn of words and the rhythm of the language are magnificent.
It is a pity that the story disintegrates somewhat towards the end and becomes less interesting, at least for me.
It is a pity that the story disintegrates somewhat towards the end and becomes less interesting, at least for me.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
The Inheritance of Loss swaps between various timelines, places, and character's back stories, I think that's what makes it the most interesting. New York, Kalimpong, and other places in Northern India - in the 1950s when India is a newly independent country and people are just warming up to the idea of a nationalistic identity, there is bound to be various tensions in the air. While that, and the violence is shown very well, it's also about the common man living the mundanity of their lives in the mountains. Also, living abroad and struggling day in and out, while peers in India think they're living the high life.
The style of writing, using so many metaphors, was colorful at first but got annoying later. I also got confused by the pacing.
The style of writing, using so many metaphors, was colorful at first but got annoying later. I also got confused by the pacing.
"The telegrams in those days had arrived via postal runner who ran shaking a spear from village to village. “In the name of Queen Victoria let me pass,” he sang in a high voice, although he neither knew nor cared that she was long gone."
The Inheritance Of Loss is a Man broker prize winner (2006) by Kiran Desai. The book is based on a number of themes including:
• Post colonial life, where the loss identity is felt, and this sense of loss is inherited by next generations. It shows how people fail to get rid of their colonial habits.
• The duality of temptation and disgust with which western modernity is seen upon.
• The rich- poor divide.
• Migration
• Struggle between past and present
Among book’s main characters are Sai, an anglicized Indian girl, who fells in love with her tutor, Gyan. Gyan struggles through out the book in choosing between his love and his supposed responsibilities towards his family and community.
Sai’s grandfather, who was a judge in colonial times is seen lost in reflections regarding his own life. - How upon returning home after completing his studies, he had found his Indian identity lost.
Biju, Sai’s cook’s son, is an illegal migrant to U. S. A.
The picture of the country drawn, thus, is gloomy, comprehensive though not as comprehensive as Rushdi’s Midnight Children.
The book shows the ease with which a champion can handle these themes. The general tone is light and frequently humorous.
The only problem, as far as I'm concerned was that it seems to move a little too slowly.
The Inheritance Of Loss is a Man broker prize winner (2006) by Kiran Desai. The book is based on a number of themes including:
• Post colonial life, where the loss identity is felt, and this sense of loss is inherited by next generations. It shows how people fail to get rid of their colonial habits.
• The duality of temptation and disgust with which western modernity is seen upon.
• The rich- poor divide.
• Migration
• Struggle between past and present
Among book’s main characters are Sai, an anglicized Indian girl, who fells in love with her tutor, Gyan. Gyan struggles through out the book in choosing between his love and his supposed responsibilities towards his family and community.
Sai’s grandfather, who was a judge in colonial times is seen lost in reflections regarding his own life. - How upon returning home after completing his studies, he had found his Indian identity lost.
Biju, Sai’s cook’s son, is an illegal migrant to U. S. A.
The picture of the country drawn, thus, is gloomy, comprehensive though not as comprehensive as Rushdi’s Midnight Children.
The book shows the ease with which a champion can handle these themes. The general tone is light and frequently humorous.
The only problem, as far as I'm concerned was that it seems to move a little too slowly.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Follows the lives of a small community of people in Northern India during a time of unrest in the 80s, including one son who has emigrated to the US. The language is ornate and gorgeous, and takes awhile to get used to. At least at the beginning, I kept wishing she’d get to the point. But by halfway, I was thoroughly immersed, and the vivid prose fit perfectly with the story. Beautifully done.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think this was actually quite good im just book slumping right now and there are a lot of intelligent thoughts and words here that i cant process rn
‘At home, his mother was weeping because she had not estimated the imbalance between the finality of good-bye and the briefness of the last moment.’
‘The lines had blurred, luck had been misassigned.’
‘money wasn't everything. There was that simple happiness of looking after someone and having someone look after you.’
‘The ground sloped, and as they flew down the incline, their hearts were left behind for an instant, levitating amid green leaves, blue sky.’
‘Time should move… Don't go in for a life where time doesn't pass’
‘One's involvement in other peoples' lives gave one numerous small opportunities for importance.’
‘You lived intensely with others, only to have them disappear overnight’
‘As he floated through the market, Gyan had a feeling of history being wrought, its wheels churning under him, for the men were behaving as if they were being featured in a documentary of war, and Gyan could not help but look on the scene already from the angle of nostalgia, the position of a revolutionary. But then he was pulled out of the feeling, by the ancient and usual scene, the worried shopkeepers watching from their monsoon-stained grottos. Then he shouted along with the crowd, and the very mingling of his voice with largeness and lustiness seemed to create a relevancy, an affirmation he'd never felt before, and he was pulled back into the making of history.’
‘Pleasures existed in the world intense, tiny pleasures that nevertheless created a feeling of space on all sides.’
‘This was how history moved, the slow build, the quick burn, and in an incoherence, the leaping both backward and forward, swallowing the young into old hate. The space between life and death, in the end, too small to measure.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood
I found this novel underwhelming given it's high praise as a National Book Critics Circle Winner and Man Booker Prize Winner. I tend to prefer character-driven narratives. The Inheritance of Loss populates a very rich and colorful south east Asian landscape with many characters. Unfortunately, the players in this story were too many and too under-developed. They played more like chess pieces, existing to show the political turmoil and economic changes of to the region.
Desai gives insight into life as an immigrant, and shows the impact felt by locals of the subcontinent in postcolonial India. One string questions pulled from one of the final chapters captures the heart of the novel: "What was India to these people? How many people lived in the fake versions of their countries, in fake versions of other people's countries? Did their lives feel as unreal to them as his own did to him?"
Again, Desai painted a sensuous and almost fantastic image of a land she loves. My only wish is that I could get a better sense for the impulses, quirks, and psychology of her characters--I wanted to care and be compelled, but ultimately, she failed. I hope others will have more luck enjoying what I think is probably an important novel.
Desai gives insight into life as an immigrant, and shows the impact felt by locals of the subcontinent in postcolonial India. One string questions pulled from one of the final chapters captures the heart of the novel: "What was India to these people? How many people lived in the fake versions of their countries, in fake versions of other people's countries? Did their lives feel as unreal to them as his own did to him?"
Again, Desai painted a sensuous and almost fantastic image of a land she loves. My only wish is that I could get a better sense for the impulses, quirks, and psychology of her characters--I wanted to care and be compelled, but ultimately, she failed. I hope others will have more luck enjoying what I think is probably an important novel.
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While I'm glad that I've read the book, I'm also glad that it's over. The story is so unrelentingly tense and depressive reaching a fever pitch by the last quarter of the book.
I couldn't care much for the relationship between Sai and Gyan. The characters are difficult to sympathise with and we have to strain ourselves to care about them. Biju's journey throughout the book and his relationship with his father is by and away the best part of the book.
This book took me roughly a month for me to finish, the book does not in any capacity make for easy reading even though no complex language is used.
I couldn't care much for the relationship between Sai and Gyan. The characters are difficult to sympathise with and we have to strain ourselves to care about them. Biju's journey throughout the book and his relationship with his father is by and away the best part of the book.
This book took me roughly a month for me to finish, the book does not in any capacity make for easy reading even though no complex language is used.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes