A review by favvn
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

emotional reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I still love Forster's pathos in his writing, allowing the reader to both understand the characters and nod along with the narrative asides. There's a lot of heart in his works. It's a shame that misogyny goes completely unchecked in this. Granted, there are still some racist moments in the book that aren't the result of characterizations and I do wonder how much of it was Forster's own views versus being a narrative device to highlight how badly relationships unravel after the trial. Regardless, what a man before his time to produce a novel like this before the fall of the British Raj.

Also sonic screaming about the ending for a multitude of reasons. Forster could've ended it on an entirely bitter note given the circumstances of his life at the time (the man he loved didn't reciprocate and was getting married), but it ends bittersweet with reconciliation between the characters:

“Why can’t we be friends now?” said the other, holding him affectionately. “It’s what I want. It’s what you want.” 
But the horses didn’t want it—they swerved apart; the earth didn’t want it, sending up rocks through which riders must pass single file; the temples, the tank, the jail, the palace, the birds, the carrion, the Guest House, that came into view as they issued from the gap and saw Mau beneath: they didn’t want it, they said in their hundred voices, “No, not yet,” and the sky said, “No, not there.”

Forster I see what you did here and God. To a happier year!