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mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a finished copy of this title for review purposes - all opinions are my own.
STATE OF FREEDOM is said to be a novel, but I would prefer to classify it as a collection of connected short stories or novellas ~ with the connections being sometimes fleeting. I had to reread several portions of the books multiple times to find the shared characters/moments that I missed the first time.
I have been trying for hours to try to determine how to rate this work, because it's a book I completely appreciate. It's a book that showed me the world through a lens I hadn't read through before. It's a book that ripped my heart out with its tales of abject poverty in India. And the ending of the first chapter/story (I'm still a little confused) is one that I will NEVER forget. There were parts of the book that I loved and raced through. BUT. There is an entire section of the book that deals with mistreatment of an animal, and this is a major trigger topic for me ~ I honestly couldn't read the majority of this story because it unsettled me so much, except to go back to skim to figure out the connected pieces. Oh, and the last segment/chapter of the book has zero punctuation or capitalization. It's a must read part of the book, though, and brings things together, so I really challenged my eyes and brain as I worked to read without my normal guideposts!
Ultimately, I'm happy to have read this book as I know it has made me a better world citizen and has given me a glimpse of India that I needed. It made me think in ways that most books don't and really pushed my reading comprehension. Recommended for fans of literary fiction and for those who want to push their comfort level and grow as a reader. I'm using this as my title for the "India" prompt for the 2018 Read Harder Challenge.
STATE OF FREEDOM is said to be a novel, but I would prefer to classify it as a collection of connected short stories or novellas ~ with the connections being sometimes fleeting. I had to reread several portions of the books multiple times to find the shared characters/moments that I missed the first time.
I have been trying for hours to try to determine how to rate this work, because it's a book I completely appreciate. It's a book that showed me the world through a lens I hadn't read through before. It's a book that ripped my heart out with its tales of abject poverty in India. And the ending of the first chapter/story (I'm still a little confused) is one that I will NEVER forget. There were parts of the book that I loved and raced through. BUT. There is an entire section of the book that deals with mistreatment of an animal, and this is a major trigger topic for me ~ I honestly couldn't read the majority of this story because it unsettled me so much, except to go back to skim to figure out the connected pieces. Oh, and the last segment/chapter of the book has zero punctuation or capitalization. It's a must read part of the book, though, and brings things together, so I really challenged my eyes and brain as I worked to read without my normal guideposts!
Ultimately, I'm happy to have read this book as I know it has made me a better world citizen and has given me a glimpse of India that I needed. It made me think in ways that most books don't and really pushed my reading comprehension. Recommended for fans of literary fiction and for those who want to push their comfort level and grow as a reader. I'm using this as my title for the "India" prompt for the 2018 Read Harder Challenge.
heatherymakes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
whimsybookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
dillarhonda's review against another edition
It takes a couple sections of Neel Mukherjee's new novel A State of Freedom to catch on to what he's grappling with. As you progress through the novel, you start to see how the stories link up with each other, eventually forming a narrative circle which leaves you back where you started. What you experience in between is a dizzying exploration of the lower socioeconomic classes of modern India and the suffering they face as they attempt to rise above the circumstances of their birth. Mukherjee's India is a nation of strivers, of entrepreneurs, and shrewd businesspeople. His characters illuminate the efforts of the families that support their brightest members while working equally hard to free themselves. Unfortunately for most of Mukherjee's characters, the road to freedom is paved with pain, violence, and terror. A State of Freedom presents an unflinching look at the trials of India's lowest classes with subtle nuance and lyric intensity.
jess_segraves's review against another edition
2.0
I received a galley of this book to read and review courtesy of W.W. Norton via NetGalley. This has not influenced my thoughts or opinions about this book.
I went into this book thinking it was a novel, only to realize it's a collection of short stories. It's a fascinating look at the lengths ordinary people will go to eke more out of their lives, but I found the prose challenging and inaccessible at times. The third short story – also the longest – details a long, troubling story involving animal abuse. I could have read an entire book about the fourth short story, about Milly's life and her experiences as a servant.
All in all, it's a good book but perhaps not the most accessible except the most discerning of readers. It strikes me as a book that literary types or those who teach classes on English composition will love.
I went into this book thinking it was a novel, only to realize it's a collection of short stories. It's a fascinating look at the lengths ordinary people will go to eke more out of their lives, but I found the prose challenging and inaccessible at times. The third short story – also the longest – details a long, troubling story involving animal abuse. I could have read an entire book about the fourth short story, about Milly's life and her experiences as a servant.
All in all, it's a good book but perhaps not the most accessible except the most discerning of readers. It strikes me as a book that literary types or those who teach classes on English composition will love.
thebooktrail88's review against another edition
3.0
This is not the book I expected when I sat down to read it but it’s one I felt very emotional about. It’s actually a series of fives stories interconnected in many ways but also open to being read as separate vignettes of observations.
They’re also stories about how someone can feel at home in one place or not, how they feel when moving from one place to another, their sense of belonging. The characters are all living their lives in various places across India and each place is put under a microscope - village, hamlet, city, every place and the person’s place in it is scrutinised. Where does each of them belong?
The story about the bear was very hard to read given the importance of animal welfare now. A man returning to his homeland with his child and feeling ashamed of what his home is like now. A girl forced to leave the only home she’s known but then finding her own place to belong.
This is a sad and heartbreaking account of a country and its people. Class, poverty, rituals, family, independence and freedom...
It did feel disjointed at times. But then maybe, given its subject, is the point.
They’re also stories about how someone can feel at home in one place or not, how they feel when moving from one place to another, their sense of belonging. The characters are all living their lives in various places across India and each place is put under a microscope - village, hamlet, city, every place and the person’s place in it is scrutinised. Where does each of them belong?
The story about the bear was very hard to read given the importance of animal welfare now. A man returning to his homeland with his child and feeling ashamed of what his home is like now. A girl forced to leave the only home she’s known but then finding her own place to belong.
This is a sad and heartbreaking account of a country and its people. Class, poverty, rituals, family, independence and freedom...
It did feel disjointed at times. But then maybe, given its subject, is the point.
zotty's review against another edition
I made it through, and it wasn't my pair of shoes. I didn't get what the author was trying to convey with all the different formats and unrelated stories - it was nonetheless interesting, but it would've been more capturing had it all come together at some point. Sadly, that just didn't happen for me.
kentcryptid's review against another edition
4.0
There's a looming air of menace to these inter-connected short stories set in India; a sense of threat from nature, other people, and the very world that surrounds the characters. A domestic worker is trapped for months in her employer's apartment. Village women face the choice between a life of exploitation or risking death by joining a communist guerrilla movement. A desperate man's decision to trap and train a dancing bear leads to a squalid, lonely life on the road.
Violent and often grim, but engrossing and well-described, A State of Freedom is well worth your time.
Violent and often grim, but engrossing and well-described, A State of Freedom is well worth your time.
mamanrees's review
I don’t think I have enough emotional distance from living in India to read this yet - the characterizations are so well done that it’s painful to read.