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A review by chrysemys
Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. by Arundhati Roy
3.0
Indian politics are insanely complex... which is not a surprise. Large area of numerous types of landscapes, a huge population with a lot of ethnic diversity, a long history of intense systemic disenfranchisement of the poor (caste system), and a very troubling modern history of colonization and decolonization whose effects still reverberate. I can't pretend to understand even a tenth of it but from Roy's essays, I'm getting an inkling of the dystopia that modern India is becoming.
Do I think Roy's writing is somewhat slanted, to better make her points? Probably. Do I believe what she has to say, by and large? Absolutely. Because people are horrible and people in power are especially horrible, no matter where in the world you are.
This book is a collection of essays written and lectures delivered by the author and are somewhat repetitive because, of course, a person who is asked to speak at an event will have specific topics she'll be asked to return to. An author of fiction might also be asked to discuss and do readings of her most recent work. Maybe the book should not have included so much repetition and it surely should not have contained so much discussion of--and content of--The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. I'll read it when I get to it, no need for all the spoilers.
Do I think Roy's writing is somewhat slanted, to better make her points? Probably. Do I believe what she has to say, by and large? Absolutely. Because people are horrible and people in power are especially horrible, no matter where in the world you are.
This book is a collection of essays written and lectures delivered by the author and are somewhat repetitive because, of course, a person who is asked to speak at an event will have specific topics she'll be asked to return to. An author of fiction might also be asked to discuss and do readings of her most recent work. Maybe the book should not have included so much repetition and it surely should not have contained so much discussion of--and content of--The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. I'll read it when I get to it, no need for all the spoilers.