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coronaurora's review against another edition
4.0
One of the better new authors from the subcontinent who has the potential to be the next Rohinton Mistry with how earnestly he is willing to detail a lovely cast of characters and how confidently he is willing to throw their faces into the grit, slime and grime of sociologically-cued reality. He bats two timelines here, seeking symmetry in the brutality of grassroots overwhelming the sublimity and authenticity the two protagonists are reaching for.
The violence and the strange, insight-free streak of self-destruction that the chief character of Ritwik is endowed with, make this a compelling read. Although the motivation for continued masochism is kept frustratingly opaque to the reader despite the deceptive closeness to Ritwik, with the continuous barrage of set-pieces and interactions, he keeps you rapt. Some of the stretches are so well-written (especially Ritwik's childhood in the joint family home in Kolkata), and throb with so much life, I had to look away.
He writes with vigour, has an original voice, his characters are admirably active in the world they live in with incandescent inner lives; the dialogue is well cadenced, he can be playful and throwaway like a thesp and I can't wait to see him wringing all his talents and bravado into his second, bigger beast The Lives of Others.
The violence and the strange, insight-free streak of self-destruction that the chief character of Ritwik is endowed with, make this a compelling read. Although the motivation for continued masochism is kept frustratingly opaque to the reader despite the deceptive closeness to Ritwik, with the continuous barrage of set-pieces and interactions, he keeps you rapt. Some of the stretches are so well-written (especially Ritwik's childhood in the joint family home in Kolkata), and throb with so much life, I had to look away.
He writes with vigour, has an original voice, his characters are admirably active in the world they live in with incandescent inner lives; the dialogue is well cadenced, he can be playful and throwaway like a thesp and I can't wait to see him wringing all his talents and bravado into his second, bigger beast The Lives of Others.
cec's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
_blueberry_pie_'s review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
I was impressed by the writing style considering that this was Neel Mukherjee's debut novel. Not an author that I was familiar with and I was delighted by his storytelling. He definitely knows how to write! That said, I think he was a little too ambitious with everything he was trying to achieve with this book. There were 4 main areas of focus that I found: Ritwik's past and his life in India as well as him coming to terms with his abuse, Ritwik's identity as a gay man, Ritwik's struggle with being an immigrant and the shady side of being an illegal immigrant, and finally the story that he is working on about Miss Gilby. Neither of these elements have any overlap with each other. Miss Gilby's story not overlapping with Ritwik's life makes sense. I think it would've been less jarring had it just been Ritwik's immigrant story and then the story he is working on. Ritwik dealing with child abuse, for example, is something that is introduced, Ritwik has this big realization that he was abused as a child, and then that is never brought up again. As an immigrant, you would think he would at least think about home, or compare his present to where he came from, considering that that is the only point of reference he has. NOPE! There's none of that either. Now that I think about it, the plot was just messy. The ending was equally unsatisfying. Ritwik's death honestly felt like a cop out. It almost felt as though the author did not know how to end the tale. Sure, there are plenty of books where the main character's death just happens and you wonder what the point of it all was, but even then, it's built up to that. The world is hostile or there is some kind of foreshadowing. There was none of that. He gets killed because of a racist hate crime, and there was no indication that he was ever subjected to that or had seen someone else being subjected to a situation as such. Overall, it was mediocre. I'd be curious to read Neel Mukherjee's other works only because he does write very well, and maybe his future books would be less riddled with plot holes.
maketeaa's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
4.0
following ritwik's story feels a lot like how ritwik follows zafar's story -- deceptively close, close enough to taste the grittiness, to see him at the most intimate of proximities, but with a barrier still up between us, like we truly don't know his motives, and can only glean them through the web of his experiences and the decisions he chooses to make. following the death of his mother, ritwik moves from kolkata to study at oxford university. from the outset, we are introduced to the traumatic abuse he had received from his mother, which further unfolds in detailed, albeit somewhat disconnected, flashbacks of memories and, in a memorably heartbreaking scene, a phone call to the nspcc which leads to nowhere. as he passes his time he writes a story based on tagore's 'ghare baire' from the point of view of miss gilby, whose own narrative reflects ritwik's in the context of being a pariah in a foreign country, and, ultimately, despite how one attempts to assimilate, being at the receiving end of a violent wake up call that they do not belong. what stood out to me most was the self sabotaging tendencies ritwik was stuck in through the book. we see his experiences, yes, but we hardly see the ways these change him -- he is solely reacting to his circumstances, and sometimes we wonder if maybe that is his only choice.
mukherjee has a GREAT writing style. this book was, not gonna lie, a little flat in terms of actual story, but i think the way he weaves together sentences to form scenes really makes it so much better
mukherjee has a GREAT writing style. this book was, not gonna lie, a little flat in terms of actual story, but i think the way he weaves together sentences to form scenes really makes it so much better
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
_lorelei's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bandagedloser's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
jfl's review against another edition
4.0
A beautifully chronicled tragedy. Less sweeping than ”The Lives of Others” but equally mesmerizing.
willal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
booktwitcher23's review against another edition
3.0
Two stories running together- one written by the protagonist of the main story, I preferred the secondary story.
monasterymonochrome's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
I was lucky enough to receive this through a Goodreads Giveaway. As a first novel, it certainly has its flaws, but, as a whole, it has enough heart, passion, and beauty to overcome them and make this an unexpectedly affecting reading experience.
First of all, the back-cover blurb (which is also used as the summary here) does a very poor job of selling the book, in my opinion. If it peaks your interest in the slightest, I would give the book a shot because it's honestly about a hundred times better than the incredibly vague blurb would imply. A lot of the plot points were really unexpected, and the book ended up being something wholly different than I was initially anticipating.
Its interest lies mainly in the character of Ritwik and his development over the course of the novel. Despite his enigmatic, reserved qualities, he quickly becomes a relatable and likable character. In some ways, he reminded me of a character like Jude from [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446469353s/22822858.jpg|42375710]; their experiences aren't necessarily comparable, but they're both the kind of character you root for and want so badly to have a happy ending even though you know deep down there isn't one coming. In that sense, it's a really difficult, upsetting book to read but also an important and emotionally-compelling one.
There were only two things that majorly stood out to me as problems. First, I felt like the initial desperation behind Ritwik's choice to remain in London illegally could have been made clearer. As it was, I didn't fully understand why he chose this option since it didn't read as though he had thoroughly explored more legal means of staying in the country and realized them impossible. If more time had been spent on fleshing out his reasoning, I think this element could have made more sense. Second, the ending did seem quite rushed, particularly the sequence of events leading to the flash decision that culminated in Ritwik's ultimate fate. It all happened within just a few pages, which made it feel less realistic and more like the book just needed to end that way.
Still, these were small issues in the grand scheme of things and hindered my enjoyment and appreciation of the book very little. I enthusiastically recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind having their heart ripped out of their chest by a fictional character's experiences every now and then.
I was lucky enough to receive this through a Goodreads Giveaway. As a first novel, it certainly has its flaws, but, as a whole, it has enough heart, passion, and beauty to overcome them and make this an unexpectedly affecting reading experience.
First of all, the back-cover blurb (which is also used as the summary here) does a very poor job of selling the book, in my opinion. If it peaks your interest in the slightest, I would give the book a shot because it's honestly about a hundred times better than the incredibly vague blurb would imply. A lot of the plot points were really unexpected, and the book ended up being something wholly different than I was initially anticipating.
Its interest lies mainly in the character of Ritwik and his development over the course of the novel. Despite his enigmatic, reserved qualities, he quickly becomes a relatable and likable character. In some ways, he reminded me of a character like Jude from [b:A Little Life|22822858|A Little Life|Hanya Yanagihara|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1446469353s/22822858.jpg|42375710]; their experiences aren't necessarily comparable, but they're both the kind of character you root for and want so badly to have a happy ending even though you know deep down there isn't one coming. In that sense, it's a really difficult, upsetting book to read but also an important and emotionally-compelling one.
There were only two things that majorly stood out to me as problems. First, I felt like the initial desperation behind Ritwik's choice to remain in London illegally could have been made clearer. As it was, I didn't fully understand why he chose this option since it didn't read as though he had thoroughly explored more legal means of staying in the country and realized them impossible. If more time had been spent on fleshing out his reasoning, I think this element could have made more sense. Second, the ending did seem quite rushed, particularly the sequence of events leading to the flash decision that culminated in Ritwik's ultimate fate. It all happened within just a few pages, which made it feel less realistic and more like the book just needed to end that way.
Still, these were small issues in the grand scheme of things and hindered my enjoyment and appreciation of the book very little. I enthusiastically recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind having their heart ripped out of their chest by a fictional character's experiences every now and then.