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A review by starryeyedenigma
Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. by Arundhati Roy
4.0
The first book I'd read by Arundhati Roy, was many many years ago - the book that won her the Booker Prize and the book that made her popular - God of Small Things. I was so young and pretentious then, so I picked up the book and understood nothing. I hadn't followed Ms Roy's writing after that. And probably missed a lot in the run.
Now, before I write anything about this book, two things that need to be mentioned upfront - 1) This is a non fiction work and collection of lectures turned into essays and 2) It's extremely political
A friend I was chatting with, rightly said, politics is a slippery slope. Everyone's politics is different. So I also need to add a disclaimer here saying, please dont troll me. Read this review and the author's book at your own discretion. And if you're not happy with it, then ignore the post :)
I for one, have been having my own political viewpoint journey - starting from being ignorant, to being a humanist, to being a liberal, and now leaning towards the progressive left that wants inclusivity and rights for all.
So Ms Roy's essays are all about the current political structure of India. She touches upon many of the burning issues plaguing the country supporting each argument she makes with facts. I guess for a leftist like me, they will be facts. For a liberal, something to read and for a rightist - fiction or propaganda. The writing is simple, easy to understand and the essays are not too long, for a non fiction political subject.
Few things that I didnt enjoy in this collection were that some of the points and references are repeated over the essays and the fact that there is a lot of reference and actual passages copied from the author's latest fiction novel - The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, which act as spoilers for the novel for people who havent read it and felt like marketing for the novel at times :)
Now, before I write anything about this book, two things that need to be mentioned upfront - 1) This is a non fiction work and collection of lectures turned into essays and 2) It's extremely political
A friend I was chatting with, rightly said, politics is a slippery slope. Everyone's politics is different. So I also need to add a disclaimer here saying, please dont troll me. Read this review and the author's book at your own discretion. And if you're not happy with it, then ignore the post :)
I for one, have been having my own political viewpoint journey - starting from being ignorant, to being a humanist, to being a liberal, and now leaning towards the progressive left that wants inclusivity and rights for all.
So Ms Roy's essays are all about the current political structure of India. She touches upon many of the burning issues plaguing the country supporting each argument she makes with facts. I guess for a leftist like me, they will be facts. For a liberal, something to read and for a rightist - fiction or propaganda. The writing is simple, easy to understand and the essays are not too long, for a non fiction political subject.
Few things that I didnt enjoy in this collection were that some of the points and references are repeated over the essays and the fact that there is a lot of reference and actual passages copied from the author's latest fiction novel - The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, which act as spoilers for the novel for people who havent read it and felt like marketing for the novel at times :)