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A review by dely_dd
Il Palazzo degli specchi by Anna Nadotti, Amitav Ghosh
4.0
4,5
This is the story about Burma from the British colonisation till the years after WWII and some hints to modern times. But it is also the story about the exile of the last Burmese king and his family and their life in India; it is the story of the British colonisation of Burma but with some hints also to its colonisation in India and Malaysia; it is the story of Rajkumar, an Indian orphan that lives and works in Burma, of his family and several good friends of him and his wife. Reading this book the reader knows also more about the Indian National Army and why some Indian soldiers decided to mutiny from the British Army. The story is set in Burma, India and also Malaysia.
There is really a lot in this book though the main focus is on Burma, its history and Rajkumar's family.
I liked this book because I didn't know a lot about the colonisation of Burma, and it was also a real pageturner. I was never bored by the story.
Despite this I can't rate it with 5* because the story about the Burmese king and his family's exile, and therefore also the story about Rajkumar's and Dolly's youth, was very long and detailed, while the last part of the book (about the second and third generation of Rajkumar's family) was shorter and there were some time leaps. I would have liked this second part, both about the history of Burma and the family members, to be more detailed even if I should have read several additional pages. I would have liked also to know more about the Burmese princesses and what happened to them once married.
It is a very engrossing and interesting book and I like Ghosh's writing style. It is a pity that the first part was very detailed and the second part was too concise.
This is the story about Burma from the British colonisation till the years after WWII and some hints to modern times. But it is also the story about the exile of the last Burmese king and his family and their life in India; it is the story of the British colonisation of Burma but with some hints also to its colonisation in India and Malaysia; it is the story of Rajkumar, an Indian orphan that lives and works in Burma, of his family and several good friends of him and his wife. Reading this book the reader knows also more about the Indian National Army and why some Indian soldiers decided to mutiny from the British Army. The story is set in Burma, India and also Malaysia.
There is really a lot in this book though the main focus is on Burma, its history and Rajkumar's family.
I liked this book because I didn't know a lot about the colonisation of Burma, and it was also a real pageturner. I was never bored by the story.
Despite this I can't rate it with 5* because the story about the Burmese king and his family's exile, and therefore also the story about Rajkumar's and Dolly's youth, was very long and detailed, while the last part of the book (about the second and third generation of Rajkumar's family) was shorter and there were some time leaps. I would have liked this second part, both about the history of Burma and the family members, to be more detailed even if I should have read several additional pages. I would have liked also to know more about the Burmese princesses and what happened to them once married.
It is a very engrossing and interesting book and I like Ghosh's writing style. It is a pity that the first part was very detailed and the second part was too concise.