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gayathiri_rajendran's review
4.0
This is the first book I have read by an Indian author with a story set in the past.There is a story within the story of this book.The book is beautifully written.
Most of the characters in this book are ordinary people and the author makes you care about each and every person.The premise is very relatable.My only qualm is that the book ended on a rather abrupt note without any proper closure.
Most of the characters in this book are ordinary people and the author makes you care about each and every person.The premise is very relatable.My only qualm is that the book ended on a rather abrupt note without any proper closure.
payalmukherji's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
soumyaa's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
salini's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
divyashreesalvi's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
daivatpbhatt's review
2.0
Terrible book. Surface-level commentary. All men talking about men things.
Totally not worth my time. Ugh.
Totally not worth my time. Ugh.
joeesomething's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
premxs's review
2.0
Amitabha Bagchi is clearly a talented storyteller. Unfortunately, his messy, often troubling politics gets in the way of what should be a compelling insight into family and poetry.
Bagchi peppers the book with classist, casteist (occasionally even cringeworthy sexist) apologism, which he attempts to temper with shoehorned-in 'liberal' Hindu thought. The depiction of the communist character as the violent casteist and classist, the capitalist merchant as a benevolent patriarch, the servants of the household as nothing more than bickering peasants who are elevated by the selective affections of said patriarch, the purity in a man's reckless devotion to Rama, there is no end to Baghci's contradictory, self-important moral aggrandizing. In a time where the BJP is relentless in its bigoted march towards fascism, the smug diatribes against the Congress' secularism and "Anglophile atheists," are misguided at best and malicious at worst. Bagchi's spin on "Hindu khatre mein hain, aur Hindi bhi" makes his weak attempts at portraying himself as a liberal, albeit a Hindi-speaking, North Indian one, come off as ineffectual. His spiritual detour in the penultimate chapter, exalting the merits of Sanskrit and Urdu poetry through the lens of Rama, just comes off as trying to pack in all his knowledge and research that he couldn't in previous sections.
Skip. Read Anuradha Roy's All The Lives We Never Lived instead for nuanced historical fiction that beautifully ties in themes of family and patriotism.
Bagchi peppers the book with classist, casteist (occasionally even cringeworthy sexist) apologism, which he attempts to temper with shoehorned-in 'liberal' Hindu thought. The depiction of the communist character as the violent casteist and classist, the capitalist merchant as a benevolent patriarch, the servants of the household as nothing more than bickering peasants who are elevated by the selective affections of said patriarch, the purity in a man's reckless devotion to Rama, there is no end to Baghci's contradictory, self-important moral aggrandizing. In a time where the BJP is relentless in its bigoted march towards fascism, the smug diatribes against the Congress' secularism and "Anglophile atheists," are misguided at best and malicious at worst. Bagchi's spin on "Hindu khatre mein hain, aur Hindi bhi" makes his weak attempts at portraying himself as a liberal, albeit a Hindi-speaking, North Indian one, come off as ineffectual. His spiritual detour in the penultimate chapter, exalting the merits of Sanskrit and Urdu poetry through the lens of Rama, just comes off as trying to pack in all his knowledge and research that he couldn't in previous sections.
Skip. Read Anuradha Roy's All The Lives We Never Lived instead for nuanced historical fiction that beautifully ties in themes of family and patriotism.
lovelifeandbeyond's review
4.0
A story within a story. While the author narrates his story through letters he writes, his manuscript is another storyline, sometimes intersecting with his own life. The writing is captivating and covers a variety of emotions - religious, familial, patriotic, just to name a few.