Reviews

The Romantics by Pankaj Mishra

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pandem0nium's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

a cozy read! not a lot happens in it, and yet it’s atmospheric narrative and almost intimate storytelling made me want to continue reading it. i could see how this maybe isn’t for everyone but i really enjoyed the interaction between characters and its subtle reflections.

faintgirl's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm not sure I gave The Romantics enough attention. I read the final 80 pages or so in one fell swoop, and they stuck with me much more than the snatched moments I had devoted to it before. Another coming of age tale, this one is set in modern day India. The central character has come to Benares to take his civil service exams, but his attentions are drawn elsewhere by the mishmash of people and cultures all looking to find themselves in a town historically known for its spirituality. In the end, no one really manages to figure themselves out, and there is sorrow, but not of the striking, all consuming despair of life kind that you were confronted with in "A Fine Balance". It's unfair to compare the two really, as this novel is much simpler, and much easier. It's more a trip towards some kind of acceptance, away from the glint and drama of romance.

jess_mango's review against another edition

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3.0

The writing was beautiful but the story just didn't quite capture my full attention.

bookishblond's review against another edition

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4.0

The "romantics" referenced in this novel's title are the expatriate Europeans living in Benares, India, but also the young Indian men who have fallen in with this group.

Our narrator, Samar, is a Brahman (thanks to Google, I learned that this term refers to a member of the highest Hindu caste, that of the priesthood) student who has moved to the holy city of Benares to study for the Civil Service Exam. He spends his days reading nineteenth century European novels in the library (such as [b:The World as Will and Idea: Abridged in 1 Vol|537365|The World as Will and Idea Abridged in 1 Vol|Arthur Schopenhauer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388203951s/537365.jpg|41113740], [b:The Torrents of Spring, First Love, and Mumu|5254229|The Torrents of Spring, First Love, and Mumu|Ivan Turgenev|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328303410s/5254229.jpg|1298622], and [b:Sentimental Education|2183|Sentimental Education|Gustave Flaubert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327788473s/2183.jpg|314156]). Before reading this book, I had only a vague understanding of the caste system in India and the lingering effects of colonialism, and I was moved by Samar's fascination with these books and how he and his friend Rajesh were able to identify so deeply with Flaubert.

Every young Indian wants to pass the Civil Service Exam and gain a coveted government job, but the pool of hopeful applicants is far larger than the job market. Many students languish for years, studying for and fruitlessly taking the exam, before giving up, dejected, and moving on. In this post-colonial setting, members of Samar's caste have no outlet other than the Civil Service Exam and a government job. Samar's father is a member of an older generation whose way of life is a thing of the distant past. There is a disconnect between the Brahman's traditional societal role and what is left in this new India.

Samar, through his British neighbor, Miss West, meets a group of young European expatriates. The two members of this group he is most taken with are Miss West herself and her French friend Catherine. I kept getting these two women confused; their personalities are largely interchangeable. Regardless, they have a profound effect on Samar. Their "freedom," their aimlessness, their "romance" is alien to him. In one memorable scene, Catherine asks Samar if he had ever been in love before. He did not know how to answer her; in Samar's mind, marriage came first and love came afterwards; love before or without marriage was pointless.

The plot of this book is not action driven. Mishra is writing about caste and class in post-colonial India. I was deeply moved by this novel although it took me a while to get into the book.

mauryneiberg18's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a really terrific novel, though I thought the end was slightly weak. I'm not sure if it helped to have just been in Varanasi.

domdevine's review against another edition

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It was, in the words of Louise Willder, a book where nothing happens. I enjoyed lolling about with these laconic characters for a while, but they did nothing to make me want to continue our relationship.