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A review by sky_reaper
How I Became a Tree by Sumana Roy
4.0
This is an odd read. The feeling of encountering some personal musings and reflections about trees across the author's personal histories and anecdotes of people who inspire the same will drive you to wonder about how strange and wonderful this world of ours could be.
I can't say I totally relate with everything in it, since some parts are hard to read and understand. What I mean with it are the abstractions with philosophical quips I am quite unfamiliar (and still can't get used to sometimes) with the way she approaches ideas she stirs in the text. It's extensive with the sources mentioned and provided that are quite persistent, but I think familiarity to the material itself to relate and appreciate the abundance it tries to exhibit is a must.
Also, some terms in Bengali and/or Hindi mentioned in the names of things, like for flowers and trees, and other terms vernacular to the speaker's origin that are not translated proves to be challenging. Maybe reading this, being plagued by words in academia, overwhelmed me unlike when I first read the first few chapters during my vacation. It could be a factor, but still I want to reread it again.
Moreover, I like the things shared about Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, and Nandalal Bose. The ideas explored by these men throughout their lives dedicated to their crafts exhibited a sense of exaltation in taste and understanding of the world around us. I've seen Tagore and Ray in a new light once again. Also, new authors to read.
Overall, the musings delighted me in how it relates from one material to another. It is not for everyone, but this book somehow opens up a space to be who we are with our own inhibitions.
I can't say I totally relate with everything in it, since some parts are hard to read and understand. What I mean with it are the abstractions with philosophical quips I am quite unfamiliar (and still can't get used to sometimes) with the way she approaches ideas she stirs in the text. It's extensive with the sources mentioned and provided that are quite persistent, but I think familiarity to the material itself to relate and appreciate the abundance it tries to exhibit is a must.
Also, some terms in Bengali and/or Hindi mentioned in the names of things, like for flowers and trees, and other terms vernacular to the speaker's origin that are not translated proves to be challenging. Maybe reading this, being plagued by words in academia, overwhelmed me unlike when I first read the first few chapters during my vacation. It could be a factor, but still I want to reread it again.
Moreover, I like the things shared about Rabindranath Tagore, Satyajit Ray, and Nandalal Bose. The ideas explored by these men throughout their lives dedicated to their crafts exhibited a sense of exaltation in taste and understanding of the world around us. I've seen Tagore and Ray in a new light once again. Also, new authors to read.
Overall, the musings delighted me in how it relates from one material to another. It is not for everyone, but this book somehow opens up a space to be who we are with our own inhibitions.