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A review by richaudayana
The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
4.0
I'm not surprised that this won the Booker; it has all the signs of a winner -- the convulated, non-linear narrative, achingly real descriptions of hurt, loss, pride and penury, twisted relationships, the whole gig.
But that doesn't go to say that this story isn't deserving. Mukherjea has woven a rich, intricate tale that does justice to the entire substantial length of the book. At no point in this tragic drama, set alternately within the Ghosh mansion and the forests of post-independence Bengal and Bihar, bore the reader or lull them into thinking that it will have an ordinary (or pleasant) ending.
The plot is masterful, comparable in my mind to Kalyan Ray's 'Two countries'.
Despite the sad, almost morbid fate of the Ghosh family, this is a book I'd pick up again someday. Just not any time soon.
But that doesn't go to say that this story isn't deserving. Mukherjea has woven a rich, intricate tale that does justice to the entire substantial length of the book. At no point in this tragic drama, set alternately within the Ghosh mansion and the forests of post-independence Bengal and Bihar, bore the reader or lull them into thinking that it will have an ordinary (or pleasant) ending.
The plot is masterful, comparable in my mind to Kalyan Ray's 'Two countries'.
Despite the sad, almost morbid fate of the Ghosh family, this is a book I'd pick up again someday. Just not any time soon.