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A review by timgreenard
Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall, I really enjoyed this book.
During the first third, the focus on warfare and the switch between characters did start to bore me. I think this was also a consequence of the way we glimpse multiple characters in the first section with no clear indication of what the broader story is and how they relate. Once Sanjay entered the picture as the main character, it became easier for me to accept diversions from his story since I now knew what the central narrative was. Early on, I wasn't sure where the stories were going and there was no consistent character to follow. But the first third did seem more meaningful once I was finished. I still think it was hard for me to get into though.
At points I felt Chandra did not succeed in varying the narrative voices. Perhaps this was intentional since all of these narratives are technically being told by one character. Nevertheless, there were definitely examples of distinctive narrative voices throughout.
The interspersed narratives of contemporary American life were interesting, but often felt like they only just held together with the 18th/19th century story. It did sometimes feel jarring to transition between the two, and at times it felt like reading to distinct books. Some parts would have worked equally well or even better just as separate short stories.
But the ending brought everything together in a way that satisfied me. Abhay does something very unlikable within the first few pages, which kicks off the whole book. But by the end of the book you can understand his actions, and I think Chandra ties the two main narratives together successfully at the end, perhaps enough to compensate for the failure to better integrate them at other points.
My favourite section was the story of Sanjay's childhood. Despite Sanjay being the character we follow for the majority of the book, I never got the impression that I understood him or his motivations, or saw things from his perspective. While this was at times confusing, it did give the impression of a myth or legend; we follow the character and get glimpses of his thoughts and feelings, but are always observing from a slight distance. I felt I was watching but never fully understanding him, and that was ok.
I did have a great time with this book. It just confuses me that I enjoyed it so much by the end while being so close to putting it down for almost the entire first third of the book. I surprised myself by giving it such a high score, but I think it reflects how I felt when I finished.
During the first third, the focus on warfare and the switch between characters did start to bore me. I think this was also a consequence of the way we glimpse multiple characters in the first section with no clear indication of what the broader story is and how they relate. Once Sanjay entered the picture as the main character, it became easier for me to accept diversions from his story since I now knew what the central narrative was. Early on, I wasn't sure where the stories were going and there was no consistent character to follow. But the first third did seem more meaningful once I was finished. I still think it was hard for me to get into though.
At points I felt Chandra did not succeed in varying the narrative voices. Perhaps this was intentional since all of these narratives are technically being told by one character. Nevertheless, there were definitely examples of distinctive narrative voices throughout.
The interspersed narratives of contemporary American life were interesting, but often felt like they only just held together with the 18th/19th century story. It did sometimes feel jarring to transition between the two, and at times it felt like reading to distinct books. Some parts would have worked equally well or even better just as separate short stories.
But the ending brought everything together in a way that satisfied me. Abhay does something very unlikable within the first few pages, which kicks off the whole book. But by the end of the book you can understand his actions, and I think Chandra ties the two main narratives together successfully at the end, perhaps enough to compensate for the failure to better integrate them at other points.
My favourite section was the story of Sanjay's childhood. Despite Sanjay being the character we follow for the majority of the book, I never got the impression that I understood him or his motivations, or saw things from his perspective. While this was at times confusing, it did give the impression of a myth or legend; we follow the character and get glimpses of his thoughts and feelings, but are always observing from a slight distance. I felt I was watching but never fully understanding him, and that was ok.
I did have a great time with this book. It just confuses me that I enjoyed it so much by the end while being so close to putting it down for almost the entire first third of the book. I surprised myself by giving it such a high score, but I think it reflects how I felt when I finished.